"Do you still not get the situation? If things keep going like this, that dragon tar will win by a landslide! Do you even realize how many people he's gathered?" Kane shouted, his face flushed red.
Justin casually scratched his ear, answering indifferently, "Not sure."
"95! He's gathered 95 people!" Kane scread in frustration.
Justin wasn't surprised, having already known the number. The only thing that had really caught him off guard was Lucian's impressive personal force.
'Who would've thought that all 50 of the pioneers I first saw were from his territory?' Justin mused.
Inside the banquet hall, three major forces were at play. The first was Justin's, which had been secured through pre-established alliances. The other two were Lucian and Kane.
At first glance, it seed like a delicate balance between the three. But in reality, the power difference between them was quite clear.
'Lucian has 95, I have 64, and Kane has 43. It's a strange situation,' Justin thought.
It wasn't an even match, and the gap in numbers was evident. However, it wasn't enough for anyone to dominate another force entirely. Even the one with the most people would be weakened after a battle, leaving them vulnerable to a third-party attack.
This tenuous balance was what had kept tensions in check so far. But, of course, the one most on edge was Kane, who was standing right in front of Justin, desperate for an alliance.
"Even if we join forces, we'd only outnumber him by ten! That's nowhere near enough to overwhelm him! Are you seriously rejecting an alliance and planning to go it alone? Have you lost your mind!?" Kane exclaid.
"Lost my mind?" Justin chuckled coldly. "You're the one who's out of your mind. I have half as many more people than you. With a force of only 40, why are you acting like you have leverage?"
"Only 40? That's not...!"
"Yes, only 40."
The logic behind Kane's appeal wasn't entirely wrong. Historically, alliances between second and third place had often been used to topple the leader. But Kane kept avoiding the most crucial part of the conversation.
"We need to decide who's in charge here, don't we? Why do you keep acting like we're on equal footing?" Justin asked, his smile sharp.
"Are you saying you want to absorb my entire force?"
"Unless that's the case, there's no alliance. Let be clear: I have no intention of forming an 'equal' alliance."
"In a life-or-death situation, you're wasting ti arguing about who leads! Are you insane!?" Kane slumped into a chair with a dramatic sigh.
Justin sneered at the pathetic performance.
'He's trying to paint as so petty fool who can't see the bigger picture. It's laughable.'
"Stop the act. I can see right through you," Justin said.
"There's no ulterior motive!" Kane snapped.
"No, there is. You want an 'equal' alliance. That's your real goal."
"What nonsense is this!?" Kane yelled, but he flinched, clearly unsettled.
"'Equal' alliances sound good on the surface. They make it seem like both parties will share the gains and losses equally, right? Fair and balanced," Justin continued.
"It's not just a feeling—it is fair!" Kane insisted.
"But when it cos to losses, isn't the wealthier side always expected to cover more? People always argue that the wealthy can afford to lose more, as if a rich man's loss of a dollar is the sa as a poor man's loss of a dollar."
Kane visibly flinched, confirming Justin's suspicions.
'Got him.'
Justin smirked. "Just to be clear, you weren't planning on splitting the losses proportionally, were you? You weren't going to say sothing like, 'If I send two n, you send three,' right?"
"...No."
"Good. So it's a strict one-to-one exchange? If I send 40 n, you'll send 40 as well? You'll fight, support, and sacrifice equally? If you can guarantee that, then I'll consider an equal alliance."
"That's—!" Kane stamred.
"And don't give that nonsense about needing to leave a minimum defense force behind, or asking how you can trust us not to take over after you've weakened yourself. That's just a load of crap, and it won't work on ."
"...."
Kane fell silent, his face flushing red with anger and sha as he turned away. His true intentions were out in the open now.
Justin pointed to the door with his thumb.
"The exit is that way, guest."
"You'll regret this later."
"You're the one regretting things right now," Justin shot back.
Grinding his teeth, Kane stord out, slamming the door behind him.
After Kane left, Justin let out a long sigh and slumped back into his chair.
"That guy's such a pain."
"Are you alright?" Zachary asked, stepping closer after witnessing the exchange.
Justin gave a weary smile and shrugged.
"My body's fine, it's my mind that's tired. I didn't expect him to co back seven tis after being rejected so directly."
It wasn't so grand gesture like the three humble visits. It was more like childish persistence, a one-sided demand. The so-called alliance offer was mostly just a veiled threat—"If you don't accept, we'll all die!" And despite being turned down every ti, the conditions never changed, making it all the more exhausting for Justin.
"Well, at least it's over now."
Justin opened the system window and checked the remaining ti until the quest ended. The tir displayed 4 minutes and 56 seconds.
Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire
The shifting alliances and deals over the past three days were about to co to an end, and the final quest was about to begin.
"How are Rachel and Nathan? Are they ready?"
"They're all gathered at the dormitory and prepared for battle. Damian and the priest are with them, too," Zachary replied.
"Good. Let's go."
Justin stood up and led Zachary toward the dormitory. When they arrived, all 64 of Justin's pioneers were gathered in front, including his allies.
"Oh, oppa!"
"You've arrived," ca the overlapping voices of Rachel and the other allies, showing they had been waiting for him.
Of course, Justin's own subordinates were naturally expected to wait for him as the leader, but he noticed a distinct change in the attitudes of his allies over the past three days.
'Three days ago, they were clearly uncomfortable with the idea of following my orders.'
Even though they had conceded command to him, it was obvious they had struggled with the idea of obeying soone else's instructions. But now, after three days, both allies—especially Damian—had undergone a dramatic shift in their attitude.
They had co to realize that none of them were more capable than Justin.
Most of the pioneers were on par with Kane, and even Lucian, who had shown so courtesy, couldn't hide his ambition to take over their territories completely. In contrast, Justin's leadership must have seed like a godsend. At least he didn't pry into the internal affairs of the territories once he took control of leadership. As a result, even without doing much for the past three days, Justin's position had only solidified. It was an unexpected gain for him.
"Looks like everyone's here. Seems like you're all ready," Justin said, breaking the silence.
The pioneers fell completely quiet, hanging on his words. Justin wasn't one for grand speeches, so he spoke in a casual tone.
"Soon, the real quest will begin. This is probably the final stage of the main quest. I'd like to say, 'Let's work together and win this,' but...."
At that exact mont, a system ssage chid in with impeccable timing:
"Ding! 72 hours have passed, and the 'Banquet of Kings' has ended."
"Ding! The rewards for the 'Banquet of Kings' will be distributed to all participants."
"Ding! The main quest 'The Final Legacy' has been added."
"Ding! The entrance to the 'Final Legacy' will appear in the center of the banquet hall."
Justin paused to let the ssage sink in, then finished his thought with a smile.
"...Let's check out the rewards first. After all, we've got new armor to test out."
Before Justin even finished speaking, the pioneers had already opened their inventories.
Though no one said it aloud, anticipation was written all over their faces. Armor was far more difficult to obtain than weapons, so the idea of being given new gear had everyone curious about what they would receive. But the excitent didn't last long.
"What's this? All the gear looks the sa."
"It's slightly different, but there's no big difference."
"They just handed out class-specific gear, nothing special."
The pioneers frowned at the mass-produced appearance of their armor. Those who hadn't reached the second class change were all given nearly identical equipnt.
'Warriors get leather armor, paladins get chainmail, and mages get robes. All standard issue,' Justin thought.
From an objective standpoint, the equipnt was decent. The warrior gear balanced agility and defense, while the paladin gear sacrificed agility for more protection. The mage robes ca with bonuses that increased mana regeneration and expanded spell usage.
'Not bad, not bad at all... but it's not great either.' Justin mused. The armor was solid as a safeguard, but it wasn't ga-changing in battle. It might prevent critical hits, but it wasn't going to drastically shift the tide of combat. Given that most of the pioneers had received the sa mass-produced equipnt, disappointnt was understandable.
'It's a bit of a letdown, but there's a silver lining. At least Lucian's 50 direct subordinates didn't receive anything exceptional either,' Justin thought, sowhat relieved. His disappointnt over his subordinates' lackluster gear was offset by the fact that none of the others had received better equipnt.
The only mystery now was what the second-class pioneers had received.
"Hey, uh, boss?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you take a look at this? I just got it," Nathan said nervously, holding out a piece of clothing.
It was a green garnt adorned with feathers from various animals. It looked nice but didn't seem to offer much in terms of defense. However, its soft material made it perfect for moving silently.
"What's wrong? Does it have a good effect?"
"Well... it's situational, but it's really good when it matters...." Nathan answered hesitantly.
That was an odd way to describe armor. It was either useful or it wasn't—what's with the conditions? Curious, Justin took the green garnt and checked the item's description.
〈Cloak of Silence〉
Type: Tar-exclusive armor Grade: Epic Details: A mysterious cloak that quells killing intent and calms rage. Monsters will not attack the wearer unless provoked. To ta a creature, one must first soothe its aggression. Bonus: If accompanied by fewer than 100 pioneers, the effect applies in a chain reaction.
"..."
Justin's eyes widened as he read the description. The cloak had only one function: to prevent monsters from becoming aggressive. But that one feature was incredibly powerful.
'This isn't just about ensuring safety in the wild. With this, you could explore freely, scout for resources, launch expeditions against other territories, establish trade routes, and even map the land without fear of being attacked.'
The potential of the cloak was limitless. Honestly, the value of this single piece of gear made all the effort to get here worth it.
"...It's an incredible treasure. Take good care of it," Justin said.
"Don't worry. I'll only wear it when necessary. Otherwise, it'll stay safe in my inventory," Nathan replied, nodding earnestly, clearly aware of the cloak's significance.
Satisfied, Justin shifted his attention from Nathan to Rachel.
"What about you, Rachel? What did you...!?" Justin's voice trailed off as his eyes widened in shock.
Without a word, Rachel held out a helt in both hands. But it wasn't just any helt. It was a full-face helt, with only small slits for vision and breathing.
Justin imdiately recognized it. There was only one type of armor set that ca with a helt like this.
'Full plate mail.'
The strongest armor in terms of pure defense was now in their hands.
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