FB: Chapter 60 – Mobilization Order

Everyone important to the Fanged Fox Guild was waiting when I entered the conference room. Everyone rose to their feet as I took my seat. “I apologize for the urgent summons, but I have just come back from a meeting with Prime Minister Verus. The Human Emperor, in his endless benevolence, has decided to bend us over and screw us as much as possible. We have received a mobilization order,” I said.

There was silence and then Quant Z spoke up. “That requires a guild to go and fight against the enemies of the Human Empire?” he asked.

“Yes. The larger the guild the more war merits are required to get out of the conscription. Since we had 25,000 members when the order came through, we are required to get 25,000 war merits. It also doesn’t matter if people leave the guild. We are required to get that many,” I said heavily.

“We kill some things, then we leave, right?” Hammer Crusher asked.

“If it were that simple. The problem is that the enemies start at level 100 and go up from there. If we don’t go, then our guild will be sanctioned which will be a death sentence,” I replied.

“And we can’t contest this mobilization order?” Don Anthony asked.

“If it was some noble powerplay, then there would be wiggle room and things I could do to counter it. Unfortunately, the Human Emperor has nominated our guild himself. Any one of my actions or the actions of the guild could have attracted his ire. Realistically this is probably QAI trying to balance our first mover advantage and recent victories, not that it matters since there is no difference only the outcome,” I answered.

“We are in the middle of an expansion, we can’t divert resources, without slowing down construction,” Quant Z said.

“How many people do we need to send?” Joker Seven asked.

“At least 12,500 and myself. Everyone else will continue to work to progress their skills, levels, and the guild,” I declared.

“I will go with you,” Hammer Crusher declared as well.

“It is your funeral, but I appreciate the support,” I replied with a nod in his direction.

“There is no one who can intercede?” Kill Blade asked. I shook my head.

“Perhaps a Cardinal of the Trinity Church could intervene, but even that is questionable since it is a mobilization order directly from the Human Emperor. Any favor would have to exceed the headache of contravening this order which isn’t possible. Anyone who comes along is going to die, a lot. We have 20 real world days until we need to mobilize. The biggest risk is that another guild will move on us during this time. So, while I appreciate the support, you would be better off staying here as a Champion,” I told Hammer Crusher who shook his head.

“I will go with you. After you have defeated me so many times, it will be nice to not be on the receiving end,” he said to chuckles around the table.

“Well, I hope you are prepared, since it is highly likely that the Dark Saint Gamabuturon of the War God will target me directly. I have come to his attention in my last adventure. While I escaped his grasp, I suspect he will be looking to hunt me down personally,” I said heavily. There were probably schemes going on with the NPCs in the background, but trying to counter such schemes with other schemes was a massive headache. Better to resolve things with strength if at all possible before looking at much more troublesome alternatives.

“How strong is he?” Hammer Crusher asked.

“Around level 220,” I replied to complete and utter silence. I let the shock linger for a couple more seconds before continuing to speak. “Make the preparations. I will be preparing as well. I suggest everyone buys magical guns. While their damage is sub-par, they have a 25% chance of a critical hit on average, which will do damage no matter what even if their damage output on an individual basis is garbage. Also start buying lots of cheap low level HP and MP potions. Have the guild members train on the weapons in large groups, don’t use potions in training. They will need to move in teams of at least 500 to have a chance at killing anything.”

“What about skills, anything that should be focused on?” Kill Blade asked.

“Health is never a bad choice. The problem is the absolute level difference. We will need a lot of building supplies as well. Quant Z, figure out the optimal building team with 100 people, necessary to support 500 person magic gun formations, and a fort we can use” I ordered.

“Why me? I am already swamped with work,” he complained.

“You are the only one capable of coming up with a large scale structure that can be quickly and efficiently built in the time frame we have. We will need to train teams to set up such structures once we are deployed,” I explained.

“How long will you be gone and should we cover for your absence?” Isabella asked and I shook my head.

“It will be impossible to hide, so we might as well invite Dave from ENN to tag along and get footage for a hefty fee, around 10 platinum,” I said.

“ENN won’t be able to afford that,” Isabella said.

“The people behind the news company can and they will want the information on what a mobilization actually means for the future. If they don’t bite, then go to a rival network. Also, there are actions I can take if other guilds cause too much of a problem. It would be a massive hassle, but I can do something if things get out of control here.”

“Any kind of intelligence we should get?” Joker Nine asked.

“No. It is far too early to worry about forces outside the Human Empire.”

“How long will this mobilization last for?” Don Anthony asked.

“Since we need 25,000 war merits, a long time with our weak combat power. At least a couple of real world months. Killing the basic monsters doesn’t give war merits. The equivalent of a team leader would be 1 war merit, staff member 5 war merits, an officer 20 war merits, and a Champion would be 100 war merits with the leadership paying out more. Our best hope is to take a strong defensive position where our flanks are secured, and to fire constantly while I hold the front lines and prevent the fortifications from being overrun.”

“Can you hold?” Don Anthony asked me. I shook my head.

“Even if people die, they will be resurrected. The problem is that magical guns will drop on death. Also, non-soul bound skills. Let anyone who is going know that death will most likely happen and not to bring anything they aren’t willing to lose,” I explained.

The conversation continued, with the questions directed at me becoming less and less. This was a massive disaster. I would be tied up for months dealing with this nonsense. In five years, no, three years, then the entire situation could have been managed easily enough.

Right now, the levels weren’t there with the rank and file members. While plans were made these people didn’t understand the horror that was about to be unleashed. There was no upside to this at all. The Human Empire could issue mobilization orders however it saw fit and I had no doubt we would end up being a regular choice of the Human Emperor.

Dying constantly was not fun. People liked winning. Our guild was about to get hammered down quite a bit. While I joked about trying to hold the front lines, they wouldn’t hold in the slightest. The NPCs following the dark gods were all a bit crazy.

The real problem was the Dark Saint Gamabuturon. I had no doubt he would eventually show up and go right for me. He was the kind of NPC that didn’t like people escaping from him. A sanction against the guild would be even worse then going up against a high level NPC that could wreck my entire character. One was certain character death the other was social death.

Ignoring a mobilization order was grounds for a sanction, where penalties would quickly escalate and mean the end of the Fanged Fox Guild. The meeting soon came to a close and I logged out of the game. I still cleaned my capsule myself and was living in my refurbished home. I could see security patrols happening outside. There was even a drone flying about in the sky doing patrols around my home as well.

Local pre-made food had been purchased by my assistant Henry and dropped off. He picked a different store each day using a dice roll to keep things randomized. I enjoyed today’s sushi platter and mango juice. My phone beeped. Opening it up there was a picture of my friend Bethany tied up and bruised. I let out a sigh of frustration. When it rains, it pours.

Put up 20% stake of your company for private sale, or we will mail her to you in pieces.

Sorry Bethany, but it looks like you are getting dismembered. I wiped away a single tear. She had been a good friend, but there was nothing I could do to save her. Without a target, revenge would be difficult as well. I got dressed and messaged Henry to come to me. He entered my home and came to my relaxation room, where I was on a massage chair with a wet towel over my eyes. I unlocked my phone and gave it to him.

“A friend of yours?” he asked.

“A friend who is now dead. Forward this to the authorities, leave me out of it. I won’t be dealing with people like that. Purge all contacts and the rest of the data on the phone. Get me a new phone number and phone,” I said.

“Very well,” Henry replied and left with my phone. Bethany was nice friend and I liked her. But she wasn’t worth billions of dollars. I was signing her death warrant by letting the authorities know about her predicament, but I was not about to deal with this headache personally. I had a mobilization I needed to prepare for. To stand atop of the world was no easy thing. Bethany was just a minor sacrifice on my path to the top.

My heart hurt quite a bit, since I would never see her again. While she had lived with me, she was annoying, frustrating, but she had energy and life that had drained from me. All I focused on now was work. Fighting, battles, maximizing profits. I was happy that I had reached the top of humanity, but there was no more happiness to be found up here. Another tear fell down my cheek and I wiped it away.

I had a second chance, and instead of building connections and happiness, I had built a guild of death and despair. But that was the future. It was my future. I would stand at the top no matter what.