Second World

When he woke up, he received notification of a guild quest, War Summon: assist Prince Alonzo against Prince Therribus' army. This meant their guild had registered to join the war. Every member of the guild would then receive the quest notification. Rewards of this war summon quest would be based on war contribution points if they won. There would be individual rewards for players as well as rewards for the guild.

After checking the description, he decided to first go visit the Guilds Association and see how things were going. Guilds were better candidates for reinforcement, especially those that had gotten Guild Headquarters because these guilds would be able to summon their guild troops into battle.

When he arrived, there seemed to be a commotion. There stood two groups of players in the middle of the large hall, with lots of other players scattered around these two groups. The two leaders of the groups seemed to be talking heatedly. Both leaders were someone he knew, Bowler and Earmouth.

He looked at a projection that displayed guild quests. He saw the war summon quest to help Prince Alonzo. However, it was not the only one. There was another war summon quest. The other one was the summon to help Prince Therribus.

Seeing the two war summon quests, Jack foresaw the players would be torn into two sides. He looked again at the two groups in a quarrel. Perhaps they already had.

"Prince Therribus must have found out the war summon quest issued by Royal Advisor Mason," Peniel said. "So, he issued the same quest as well. He is the legitimate heir of the kingdom, so he has the authority to do so. Just like the civil war in Liguritudum, outworlders are assisting two sides of the conflict."

"Yeah. Therribus must be doing this to disrupt our recruiting process," Jack said. There was nothing he could do about it. This was the intended system, he couldn't prevent Therribus from recruiting players. All he could do was influence the players' decisions.

Jack came to where Bowler and Earmouth were addressing the crowds. The group with Bowler was the Everlasting heavenly Legends players while Earmouth was backed by Death Associate members. The two groups appeared to be ready to lunge at one another. The other guilds were just watching the two.

"Friends! There is no need to listen to this clown!" Jack heard Earmouth's loud voice after getting closer. "Prince Therribus has a larger force. Prince Alonzo is sure to be defeated. What's the point of joining the losing team? The side that wins the war will receive more rewards!"

"What's the point of winning if you can't stay in this country anymore?" Bowler shouted back. "Everyone here knows how Prince Therribus discriminated against players. If he becomes the king, the first act he does as a king will surely be chasing us, players, out of this kingdom."

"That is a baseless claim! Prince Therribus is not like that," Earmouth returned. "He does appear cold to us players but it doesn't mean he hates us. Take me and my guild, for example, we are very tight with Prince Therribus and I can attest that he is not as the rumor paints him to be."

"Horseshit!" They were startled by the voice of someone who was pushing through the crowd.

The players who were getting pushed were getting angry and were just about to scold the person. They stopped abruptly when they realized who that person was. Not only did they abort their scolding attempt, they even moved aside and let him pass. The players at the front looked back and saw the reason the people were moving aside, they immediately followed suit as well. Soon, a pathway was cleared, allowing Jack to walk through easily.

Jack was slightly surprised by a pathway that suddenly appeared. He looked at the players by his two sides, smiled, and thanked them. The people here were rather polite, he thought.

Earmouth saw Jack approaching. He felt panic for a beat, but then he realized this was inside the city. Jack wouldn't dare to act violently. However, he still equipped the Amulet of Rebirth, just in case. He instructed the others to do so as well.

Bowler, on the other hand, was grinning when he saw Jack approach.

"How dare you say you are close to the crown prince?!" Jack yelled again once he was near. "Your guild has always associated with the second prince. Now that he is gone, your guild jumps ship just like that. Not to mention it is the first prince who murders the second. You are now helping the guy who killed your previous benefactor. What kind of person are you?"

"Do–Don't you spout nonsense!" Earmouth stammered. "Who says the second prince is killed by the first? You are slandering! I can ask the guards to catch you for false accusation."

"I saw it with my own eyes. What? Are you saying I am lying?" Jack asked.

"Wha–What if I am…?" Earmouth tried to act defiant, but his fear was evident on his face.

"Then you deserve a slap!" Jack uttered. His open palm slammed onto Earmouth's face. The force was so great that Earmouth fell to the floor. The other Death Associates members were stunned. This guy truly acted with violence here. Was he not afraid of getting detained by the guards?

Jack was not worried. First, there were too many people blocking the guards' view. Second, he didn't use any mana manipulation on his slap, so Earmouth suffered no damage. The third, he was an Earl. The guards wouldn't bother him for a small violation.

The crowds around were also stunned. Those who had moved aside when Jack pushed through them were secretly celebrating that they had done so.

"Anyone still wants to say I am lying?" Jack asked the Death Associate members. They looked at Jack with anger and shame. They wanted to draw their weapons but were unsure if they should risk the consequences.

Jack then turned around and addressed the crowd. "Friends! What my bro here, Bowler has told you is indeed the truth. Prince Therribus' discrimination of players, or outworlders as they called us, is very real. He considers us trespassers in his country. None of us will have a good day in Themisphere once he is crowned the king. I've experienced his discrimination first hand. I'm sure many of you who have the misfortune of crossing his path know that I'm telling the truth. Prince Alonzo, on the other hand, is a very fair person. He is kind to both his friends, subjects, and also us, players. I implore you, we have to aid him, not for this country, not for good cause, but for our own future!"

Queen Magenta, who was amongst the crowd, shouted at this time, "You are saying all that, but that is all your own opinion. We, who never involve ourselves with both the first and third prince, how do we know you are telling the truth?"

Jack glared at her. Damn hag, he had known the coalition would stand with one another. Which was what he was worried about. Many of the guilds that possessed Guild Headquarters were part of the coalition. This would cut away a large portion of potential reinforcements for Prince Alonzo.

Luckily, he also brought helpers.

One of his helpers spoke out then. "I am one who has worked for the crown prince before, I believe my words carry weight." Everyone turned and saw it was Silverwing who spoke. "My guild, White Scarfs, has been doing many tasks for the first prince because our leader, Goldfeather, wished to develop good relations with the crown prince. I have been the one that met Prince Therribus most of the time. So, I can tell you, Storm Wind is telling the truth. If Prince Therribus becomes the king, we will all be in trouble. In this war, my guild, White Scarfs, will stand with Prince Alonzo!"

Jack didn't call Silverwing here to help him debate. He didn't even know he was going to do a debate here. He contacted Silverwing after he woke up not long ago because he remembered White Scarfs members represented Therribus during the selection tournament. He was worried that White Scarfs won't be joining the war summon, so he contacted Silverwing. Silverwing assured him they would help Prince Alonzo and he was heading to Guilds Association to handle the formal process.

"Hmph! Everyone knows you two are friends. How can we know you are not conspiring?" Manager Steelhand, who was also amongst the crowd, said.

"Then what if I add my words?" Another person said. Everyone turned and saw it was David, from Dogs of War. This was Jack's second helper. Jack didn't have him on his friend list, but Jeanny did. He was worried about Dogs of War for the same reason he was worried about White Scarfs, so he asked Jeanny to contact David. Jeanny assured him that David's guild would also support Prince Alonzo.

"Everyone knows I represented Prince Therribus during the tournament," David continued. "You have seen me during the tournament broadcast. So, you will know for sure I have contact with the crown prince. And I also assure you, mister Storm Wind's words are not lies. My guild is joining the war effort to help Prince Alonzo."