By now, Excalibur (E.X.C) was rapidly ascending in prominence, its regional influence expanding with every passing day. Eden spent hours sequestered in her office, studying tactical formations and investing heavily in her archer tiers. But a lingering question kept her awake at night: How do you force an entire alliance to participate in active warfare?
Then, she slapped her forehead. Lead by example.
Reviewing her strategic objectives, she flagged the upcoming cross-server event against the Valkaries server, scheduled to drop in fourteen days. Cross-server deployment required a brief relocation to enemy territory, leaving her home citadel's territorial shield down. Recalling her vacant administrative slot, she scrolled through her general registry, ultimately commissioning an officer specializing in heavy siege warfare.
While researching the operational parameters of the realm challenge, a private ping flashed across her console. It was a feature added for private conversations without meeting in person. It was from FOX CallanRok, requesting a "friendly" chat.
Eden narrowed her eyes at the prompt. Friendly? Right.
Curious to see if she could extract any information regarding the server war, she opened the channel.
"Hello Miss Eden, how are you doing today?" CallanRok inquired smoothly.
"I'm fine. I'm looking at the server war briefs—do you happen to have insights that aren't printed on the intro page?" asked Eden. There was a grand catalog library all monarchs could visit in their academy. They just had to ask the right questions.
"I see you aren't interested in small talk." Replied CallanRok
"I assumed that's why you messaged me."
"That's part of it. I just wanted to talk as a friend."
"I think 'friends' generally refrain from setting each other's homes on fire," Eden countered, a cold spike of irritation hitting her as she recalled the pillaged border posts.
"I'm merely conducting defense inspections. Community service. They really ought to lock their doors."
"How about we test your defense instead?"
"You're welcome to try, Miss Eden. Just you, though."
"I recognize a trap when I see one."
"Smart lady."
"Flattery won't get us anywhere. You still haven't signed the non-aggression pact."
"FOX doesn't need treaties. We handle wars just fine on our own."
"Seeing as you're uninterested in diplomacy or sharing tactical intel, then I must have to end our chat soon. I have an army to run."
"Come to FOX," CallanRok pressed, his tone shifting. "Leave the dead weight behind—the ones who don't care about PvP. We can help you scale, but you have to fold into our ranks."
"I don't abandon my people," Eden snapped. "It's all or nothing."
Closing the chat, she exhaled a sharp breath. She was growing exhausted by rival warlords attempting to poach her while demanding she discard anyone deemed useless. Part of her craved the unburdened progression required to clear the realm's exit conditions, but her moral code firmly anchored her to the flock. She had grown fond of them and wanted to see them out of the cage they were trapped in.
Before she could decompress, a second notification chimed. It was FTG Jericho, the server's undisputed heavy-hitter and most sought-after warlord. Eden had cultivated a friendship with him, aiming to secure a non-aggression buffer so her lower-tier members wouldn't get crushed under his boots.
"For the server war, we need your vanguard present," Jericho stated without preamble.
"I'll need time to prepare. I haven't coordinated the cross-server logistics with my alliance yet," she replied, chewing nervously on her thumbnail.
"Eden. As your friend, I want to show these external servers they can't mess with our server. That includes your alliance."
Taking a slow, centering breath, Eden yielded. "I'll be there."
Rising from her desk, she strode down to the stables. She needed to train and level up. The fastest way to gain experience points is through P.V.P. The servant girl tending to Thunder offered a swift bow and stepped aside. Mounting her black stallion, Eden rode out to the main gate, where Arthur and her elite knight-commanders stood at attention.
"Chief-Commander, the strike force is assembled," Arthur saluted.
"I want exclusively my attacking archer formation. Keep a secondary reserve ready to process casualties into the hospital," she commanded.
Spurring Thunder into a gallop, she tracked down a flagged target across the contested border—an unsuspecting rival stronghold with its front gates left unlatched.
Bursting through the threshold, Eden vaulted off her saddle mid-stride, executing a fluid aerial flip that brought her feet down crashing into the enemy soldiers. She moved with supernatural speed, carving a path through the enemy lines while leaving a billowing cloud of dust in her trail. Her dual blades sliced cleanly, leaving no visible residue of blood.
Arthur matched her pace stride for stride, while her archer units rained arrows from a distance, systematically dismantling the garrison.
Within minutes, Eden stood at the threshold of the enemy lord's bedchamber. Kicking the door open, she strode across the floor and tapped the sleeping monarch across the face with the flat of her sword.
The lord bolted upright, scrambling backward in sheer panic. He darted his eyes toward the door, expecting an incoming guard detail that would never arrive.
"They're gone," Eden stated coldly, her voice dropping into a flat, emotionless register. "I've taken the survivors as forced labor, and the rest of your garrison has been neutralized. You have two choices: accept a clean, swift execution, or swear an absolute oath of non-retaliation. If you break that oath, you will beg for the alternative."
Her eyes flickered with a faint, unnatural crimson glow.
The lord sneered, trembling with rage. "How do you live with yourself? Don't you have a shred of human decency left?"
"I lost whatever compass I had the day I woke up in this digital cage," Eden replied flatly. "Make your choice. Now."
"You bit—"
Her blade silenced him, driving forward with surgical precision. She withdrew it instantly, wiping the steel clean against his silk bedsheets. Drawing a vial from her belt, she shattered it across the floorboards. Alchemized white phosphorus caught instantly, devouring the room in an unholy blaze. Eden turned her back, walking out without a trace of hesitation or remorse.
Later that evening, seated in the courtyard gazebo, Corruption sipped her herbal tea, watching Eden with a heavy, troubled gaze. Setting her cup down, she broke the silence. "You can't keep torturing yourself after every target you neutralize. You have to detach."
"That's precisely the problem—they are real people," Eden answered, her voice hollow. "I keep telling myself this is a simulated sandbox, that these aren't our original bodies, and that the fallen aren't permanently gone. But when you're standing in the room, it feels terrifyingly tangible. I wonder if the entire purpose of this realm is to systematically desensitize us into ruthless killing machines."
"We don't have all the details," Corruption countered gently. "How else do you explain players who 'die,' vanish for a cycle, and return claiming they merely went dormant with zero recollection of the engagement?"
"True," Eden murmured. "I even confronted one of the soldiers I personally executed last week. He had no memory of the event and stared at the battle report like it was fabricated. It's an enforced memory wipe."
"Did you recover the stolen assets from that lord's vault?" Corruption asked, shifting topics.
""I didn't find proof of who the traitor was, but I found the items stolen from our members. Unfortunately I can't return everything, the system consumes some of them to increase my E.X.P Level and the level of my army. It's all on this report. I think it's best if we join in the battle and let the person take the lead, but the strongest will still take the majority of the goods, ," Eden sighed, dropping a parchment manifest onto the table. "I think our best play for the upcoming cross-server war is to let the apex alliances take the aggressive approach, while we clean up the perimeter margins and recover our lost goods."
"Even so, the members whose resources you recovered owe you a massive debt. It's essentially a tax for asset retrieval," Corruption noted.
"The combat itself gives me an adrenaline surge, but the final execution phase... that's what drains me," Eden admitted, resting her forehead in her palm.
"You know I prefer managing the algorithmic boss raids." responded Corruption.
"Which benefits us all immeasurably. Thank you for helping carry that weight," Eden said warmly.
A sharp clatter of hooves interrupted them. Then moments later Maur strode into the garden, flashing a bright, disarming smile, closely followed by Onibat.
"Did we miss the operational briefing?" Maur greeted them cheerfully.
Eden cleared her throat, squaring her shoulders as the cabinet settled. "Since you're both here, I have an official announcement. In four days, I will deploy to join the cross-server coalition at the request of FTG Jericho. Since he has honored his non-aggression promise to our border posts, I will honor his call for assistance. During my absence, Corruption assumes executive command of the alliance as my proxy, while Onibat takes direct operational control of territorial defense."
"Where are Ron, Notme, and Blowzabella?" Maur asked, scanning the seating arrangement.
"Ron and Notme are currently reinforcing the northern buffer settlements; they've agreed to take tactical direction from Onibat," Eden explained. "As for Blowzabella... she explicitly stated she 'isn't a war person' and opted out of the summit."
Onibat scoffed, taking a heavy pull from a flagon of ale. "If Blowzabella isn't a war person, why the fuck did she get dragged into a death-match server with the rest of us? All she does is lecture us about peaceful initiatives that literally nobody is following."
Maur winked slyly. "Well, her name does have 'blow' in it. Perhaps she's an expert at blowing smoke."
Onibat choked mid-swallow, ale spraying across the table. A few chuckles rippled through the group—though Corruption merely covered her mouth with the silken sleeve of her kimono, maintaining her composure.
"I think she is still trying to establish herself among the realm to be an influential person. This helps for recruitment purposes, so I don't mind her leaving and going," said Eden.
"I think you did that without leaving your alliance and traveling. Eden just is" said Maur as he refilled Onibat's mug of beer while Onibat gave him a glare.
"I just say things and don't want anyone else to hold on to the burden. They can make their assumptions and think what they want as long as we stick together. We know who we are and what we stand for," replied Eden as she handed a napkin to Onibat.
"People can draw whatever conclusions they like. As long as our core stays unified, our foundational identity remains unshakeable."
"What's the status of that merger proposal FOX presented?" Onibat asked, wiping his beard.
"We can learn from them, but my terms are non-negotiable. I told them: our entire active roster enters, or the deal is dead. I am not abandoning anyone."
"They don't want our lower tiers; they just want to absorb our heavy hitters," Maur observed astutely.
"Naturally. They want raw muscle for their war machine," Onibat added.
"We can manage independently. We just need to buy enough time for the general roster to catch up on their research," Eden concluded, her expression pensive.
"Wherever you go, I follow," Corruption affirmed softly.
"Same here," Maur and Onibat added in unison.
"Sticking together is our primary survival tactic. Eventually, we'll need to absorb neighboring Alliances just to punch through the server's apex boss raids," Eden noted.
Maur leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "You still haven't identified who leaked our patrol schedules to CallanRok, have you?"
"He dropped hints, but he shielded his source," Eden replied. "That alliance broadcast I sent out regarding Menki's disappearance was a deliberate trap to sniff out internal leaks. CallanRok is dangerously charming. He plays the friendly neighbor so convincingly that even I find myself almost believing him."
"A master of psychological warfare," Maur warned. "Best to keep him at arm's length."
"Nah, fuck that guy," Onibat slammed his mug down hard enough to slop ale across the wood. "He claims he's an ally, then blind-ganks our members the second our backs are turned. He caught me during a scouting loop last week."
Eden reached across the table, grabbing a cloth to dry the spill. "Well, you gentlemen are tasked with keeping my administrative impulses anchored. If you ever see me drifting off-course, pull me back."