Second World

The next morning, the armies and the fleet went separately following the plan. The land armies went in a straight direction toward Dritzuut while the ships moved along the river in a roundabout way toward the capital. The ships were faster, though. According to John's calculation, the arrival of their two forces at the capital would only be a few days apart.

The land armies moved while continuing to build a supply line. John left two caravels at the river to ferry the supplies.

They also attacked the settlements on their way and turned them into bases for their supply lines. Master gathered his remaining forces in the capital, so there wasn't much resistance from these settlements. One even surrendered after spotting their massive army.

Against the ones that fought back, Jack sent only the elite troops to take them down. He didn't use siege weapons and commanded the troops to not use AOE attacks to limit civilian casualties. This was achievable because there were not that many defenders inside the settlements.

On one settlement they encountered on their way, its gate was opened when they arrived. In front of the opened gate was a group. Jack's dragon eye allowed him to see who the people in that group were.

He ordered the armies to halt and he rode ahead to that group. Arther carried out Jack's order and commanded the troops to stop but he rushed ahead and followed Jack. He couldn't let Jack enter the enemy's territory alone. Grace and Paytowin also followed.

"Hey! I've been wondering when you lot will join us after entering this country," Jack greeted the group. He then asked, "This city is under your control?"

The head of the group in front of the settlement was Wilted Tree. Behind her were Anotherday, Handsome Joe, Blackhole, Darkradiant, and several other players Jack didn't recognize. There were also natives in the group. Jack didn't know any of them except for one.

"We meet again," Geod greeted Jack. He was the ethereal noble Jack met at Daminos Square Garden during the Outworlder World Tournament hosted by the Council of Virtus. He was also the one who gave Jack the title, Liguritudum Honored Guest.

Jack replied to the greeting. One other native in the group also caught his attention because that native was a level 80 mythical ethereal. From his Inspect, he learned the native's name was Morphic. He knew the name. Morphic used to be Liguritudum's high marshall but left his post after Master took the throne. Morphic joined Wilted's gang of resistance after that.

"We only took control of this city today," Wilted answered Jack's question. "This is the city where a majority of my underground resistance is hiding. In my resistance are several natives who work in the city hall. When we heard the news of your armies approaching, we came out of hiding. Working with the ones in the city hall, we took control of the city. With Master hiding inside Dritzuut, he won't be able to send his army to quell our resistance."

"Hm… That is one hell of an army. Are you sure they are all yours?" Handsome Joe asked. He was the one asking, but it was clear from the eyes of everyone that they were all awed by the sea of troops Jack brought.

"Not all of them," Jack answered. "Mine is just a portion. Inside that army are also troops from five other countries."

"His Majesty is the main commander of these combined armies," Arther announced.

"Well, yeah. I guess so, hehe," Jack said.

Handsome Joe and the others were speechless. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine this unknown player whom they met long ago is now a king and the leader of such a massive army. They were still trying to make sure if the person before them was truly Jack.

"You even have a mobile fortress…," Wilted said.

"Yeah. It's cool, isn't it?" Jack said. "You and your partner designed one hell of a war machine in that mobile fortress. We can even upgrade it further."

"I know. I can see that it has not reached its full potential," Wilted remarked.

"Oh, you can tell?" Jack asked. Most of the upgrades available in the mobile fortress were small changes that didn't give the mobile fortress much difference in its appearance, so Jack didn't fully understand Wilted's comment. He chalked it up to Wilted having eyes for details in her creation that she could know even from subtle differences.

"I still can't believe my partner implemented the monarch system and all its add-ons to the main system behind my back," Wilted said. "Well, let's talk inside. You force will be camping soon, won't they? It's almost dark. Might as well camp near this city."

Wilted had saved them the time of conquering this city, so Jack supposed it was okay for the armies to have an early rest. He accepted the invitation. He told Arther to have the armies advance to near the city but to camp outside. Only high-ranking officers and high-ranking players were to be allowed inside the city to spend the night. He didn't want to frighten the city inhabitants. Having too many people in the city had a high potential to cause a disturbance.

Wilted invited Jack and his gang to a dinner inside the city hall. They chatted about what they had gone through all this time. Wilted narrated her time in this country where she and her gang continued to evade Master's pursuit.

Many of their hiding places were found and assaulted after the State of Galhana moved into Liguritudum. The players in that guild were ex-mercenaries and cutthroats from a warring country. They were used to hunt rebels. Many of Wilted's allied natives were killed and her fellow players captured.

Jack once asked Wilted to look for Jeanny and the others inside Liguritudum. Wilted said she would try her best but she asked Jack not to have much hope because she herself was having trouble. She didn't explain much about her troubles then. Now, Jack knew the reason.