Chapter 360 Chaos is Brewing
Chapter 360 Chaos is Brewing
Alex knew that without using his gifts as the Ruler, he didn't have any immediate means to put on a show and destroy three big guild cities, and to use them, he needed permission from Zero.
Alex just hoped that the current situation and what he planned to do were considered a special circumstance and allowed him to ignore the restrictions placed on him, but even if Zero didn't agree, he had come prepared to leave with what he wanted.
So, standing near a lake, next to Zero, who was busy barbecuing on a charcoal grill dressed as a chef, with the chirping of the birds echoing as a song, Alex awaited his answer.
"Your actions would make them stop going overboard for the time being, but showing your strength would also make them see you as more of a threat and desire to either control it or destroy it," Zero said calmly as he flipped the steaks on the grill.
"If they can't find me in the real world, there is nothing they can do to me," Alex said, knowing very well that Zero was not going to give his or any other player's identity to even the people in power.
Alex was so sure because, in his previous life, a group named Libraters was seen as one the worst of the criminal groups as they had various guild houses of important government-controlled guilds all over the world and took responsibility in the ancient world, and Zero never gave their identities up.
"You can use battle puppets taken from Ruler Treasury to destroy three big guild cities, but remember this is just an exception, and it doesn't mean you can wage an all-out war with various guilds using your influence as the Ruler," Zero said, and after a moment of silence, he continued.
"However, It's best if you use the honorary Arcduke status handed to you to send a message without causing any violence, and seeing the influence you hold, the big guilds would be cautious, giving you some free time to grow," Zero said, making Alex think like he was being given advice.
"If I don't make a stand, those heartless bastards will keep escalating things. So, if I'm going to make a statement, isn't it better to do so with a grand display of power?" Alex questioned, feeling Zero was hinting at something, and he probably had a clue as to what it was.
Alex knew that the people in power had a three-year head start and very likely help from Zero to get an even bigger advantage, so he didn't believe that there were no other shadowy organizations out there or that some of the guilds were not much stronger than they made themselves appear.
Alex knew There could be guilds that were not even in the top hundred rankings and had the strength to annihilate the top-ranking guilds if they wanted, but he also believed he had enough influence to stand against anyone.
"You are right, but all I can say is that you are not the only one with technology and a continent backing you," Zero said with a big smile before Alex's vision turned dark.
"If he had taken my advice, he would have been able to acquire a high status, and when the news spread that the Emporer had fallen, he would been able to rescue him, but now he is going to find out late,"
"It would result in him losing the advantage he currently holds on the Human continent and ultimately need to take extreme measures if he wants to save the human continent from falling into the hands of wolves,"
"No matter what he does, he would face the consequences of provoking the individuals in power he knew little about."
"But he is a crafty and lucky individual, so maybe he could turn this around," Zero said with a thoughtful look on his face.
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'I expected this to be true and wouldn't be surprised if there is more than one continent not known to the public, and as for how they kept it secret for all this time, it definitely is the work of Zero,'
'But the question is how many and how strong they are,' Alex thought while standing at the edge of a cliff, gazing down at a sprawling city nestled in the valley of a mountain range.
'So should I take Zero's advice or go with my previous plan,' Alex thought, taking a few moments to think about the possible consequences of his actions.
Alex had taken two battle puppets from the treasury, both at the peak of Seventh Rank, and he planned to destroy the main cities of three guilds, all ranked at the top of guild ranking.
The guilds were the Asgardian Guild, Olympian Guild, and Egyptian Guild, the top three guilds entirely owned by various governments and mega companies worldwide and stood at the top from the day they were created.
The Chosen Champion guild, which Vlad was the guild leader of, was also majorly owned by a few governments, and the same was true for all the top ten guilds.
Alex decided to go for the top guilds to send a message that if he could do that to them, then he could do the same to any other guild, but after what Zero said, he was forced to question if things would go as smoothly as he wanted.
Before meeting Zero, Alex already knew the risks of going against the big powers and knew no matter what he did, the people in power would see him as a threat.
So, if he wanted to stay free, he needed to show that he was strong enough to keep his freedom.
Alex also knew that destroying those cities using the powerful battle puppets and putting on a show with a display of his own strength would not make it clear if the organization was a sham or if it was as strong as they made it appear, and that was what he wanted.
But now he was questioning if the top three guilds had the means to counter him and if his actions would start a war he was unprepared for.
'I already have picked a fight with them, so who cares how strong they will be? If things did escalate for worse, I would strike a deal with the Human Emporer with my own means and deal with it,' Alex thought, making his choice.
'Let's inform the Emporer about what I plan to do,' Alex thought as he took out a crystal slip given to him by the Emporer and began establishing a connection with it.
'Why is the Emperor not picking?' Alex thought after a full minute had passed and the connection had not been built, yet he decided to wait and kept using mana to keep the slip active.
'I understand he is a busy person, but shouldn't I be on his priority list of people to stay in contact with because I am literally responsible for saving his life,' Alex thought, a bit frustrated after more than ten minutes had passed.
Alex waited for another few minutes, and when, even after twenty minutes, no response came, he placed the slip back into his inventory because he couldn't wait a whole day to warn the Emporer.
"Elder Darrien, The Emporer is not picking up, so I will need to trouble you to keep anyone from interfering," Alex said, knowing his actions could attract the attention of many powerful figures.
'Well, let's warp up things quickly,' Alex contemplated as he took out a daunting reality mask.
'Now I am ready to make a public appearance,' Alex thought, as his jet black hair turned gray, and so did his eyes, with his appearance and physique shrinking a bit in size while a gray mark in the shape of a half-moon appeared surrounding his right eye.
Alex had changed his appearance to his persona of Aeon, which he created to join the demon cult, yet after his encounter with the Champion of Greed, joining the cult was not an option.
However, his avatar was quite famous among the players because of his feats of strength in the gladiator arena, so appearing as him instead of a face no one recognized to destroy the cities could leave a better impression on the player.
As the transformation ended, Alex opened the live streaming platform and created an account in the name of his organization, set everything to private, and then bought an AI-created avatar of a holy angle for the profile.
Alex started a live stream with the title "Life Is Not Fair" before sharing it on the official forums as the first ever post from his organization before making the organization account public, yet ensuring every detail was private.
Alex proceeded to take out two towering figures of metal from his space rings, both of them humanoid in appearance.
The first puppet, stood over twelve feet tall, wore a long-sleeved red robe with a high neck covering half of its metallic, expressionless face, devoid of eyes.
The second puppet stood closer to ten fights in height, wearing a variant of dark pants, his bluish-gray metallic body at full display, his face created in the image of a handsome man.
He stood with his arms crossed while two circular disks floated surrounding his shoulder that had three individual arms on each side positioned in various stances, and behind him floated a circular wheel with long spikes at its edge while in place of his abdomen was a circular crystal ball shimmering in blue light.