"Ethan, White Bear Tsar just beca an Orange Legendary Hero too—sa rank as you," Emily said, eyeing him curiously. "Aren’t you even a little worried he might catch up to you?"
"Him?" Ethan scoffed, curling his lip. "Even if you gave him another hundred thousand years, he still wouldn’t co close."
"Wow, that confident?" Emily raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"Obviously," Ethan rolled his eyes. "Did you forget I’ve got Seraphina, Cicero...? To them, a Hero Unit that started out as a re Tier 9 hidden class? That’s nothing."
"Nothing?"
"An ant."
"An ant they could squash with a single finger," Ethan said, shaking his head with a smirk. "Forget them—even I’m an SSS-rank Orange Legendary Hero now. Among Orange Legendaries, at the sa level, I’ve got almost no real competition. But whatever, let’s not get into that. You’ll see for yourself soon enough. Now, tell more about the three major factions."
"Alright..." Emily’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him, then nodded and continued. "After becoming an Orange Legendary Hero, White Bear Tsar shot straight to the top—he’s now considered the strongest player in the world. The first ever to reach that rank."
"Under his lead, it took less than three days for the Russian Empire to swallow up most of Asia and Africa. Those countries are basically vassal states now."
"To push back against the Russian Empire, the European players—led by the top European guild, Olympus Pantheon—tead up with players from Oceania and ford a new alliance: The Pantheon."
"As for us... we joined forces with the South Arican players and created The Free Federation."
"But even with that, neither we nor The Pantheon are doing great. With White Bear Tsar around, no one dares to go head-to-head with them. We’re getting pushed around hard..."
Ethan shook his head. "That’s why power and status in the world of Glory Lords X is everything right now."
"Ethan, since you’re offline anyway, why not et with General Grant and give them a hand?" Emily’s eyes lit up with a mix of frustration and hope. "The Russian Empire’s been getting way too cocky lately, all because they’ve got White Bear Tsar backing them."
"They’ve even bullied a few tis. I didn’t dare fight back... Even though I’ve got those Tier 11 and Tier 12 units you gave , I’m still worried I wouldn’t stand a chance against White Bear Tsar."
"Just Tier 11 and 12 regular units? Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it," Ethan said, shaking his head. Then he gave her a knowing look, half amused. "Let guess—soone put you up to this?"
Emily’s cheeks flushed pink, clearly caught, but she didn’t deny it. She mumbled, "Honestly, Grant and the others have been really good to and Isabella. Even that mission Isabella had... technically, they burned through a ton of resources just to help her complete it."
"So I figured, if we can help, we should. And besides, you clearly don’t see White Bear Tsar as a threat. It shouldn’t be a big deal for you, right?"
"It’s not," Ethan said with a shrug, then chuckled. "Alright, alright, do what you want. You can tell them I’ll help—but have them gather intel on the Eight Grand Duchies while they’re at it."
"That’s easy!" Emily grinned, grabbing Ethan’s arm and practically bouncing toward the door.
"Co on, let’s go grab sothing to eat first."
...
The Free Federation Headquarters
Nathaniel sat at the head of the war room table, brow furrowed as he flipped through a thick report. The tension in the room was palpable. Several other high-ranking officers stood before him, their faces just as grim—anger simring beneath the surface.
"General Grant, the Russian Empire’s getting more outrageous by the day!" one of them snapped, slamming a fist on the table. "This ti they didn’t just provoke us—they straight-up slaughtered our people. And now they’re demanding we compensate them? What kind of twisted bullshit is that?!"
"Unbelievable!" another growled, fists clenched.
"Co on, can’t you see they’re doing this on purpose?" a third officer sighed, his voice heavy with frustration. "Now that White Bear Tsar’s beco an Orange Legendary Hero, there’s no one on the planet who can match him. If they’re not gonna throw their weight around now, when would they?"
"So what, we just sit here and take it?" soone else snapped. "General Grant, maybe it’s ti we take a gamble—go all in, real war, no holding back!"
"White Bear Tsar might be strong, but he’s still just a D-rank Orange Legendary Hero. I’m an SSS-rank Purple Epic Hero! That’s only one Tier below! I refuse to believe he’s that unbeatable!" the man—Drake—shouted, his voice echoing through the room.
"Enough, Drake," Nathaniel said, rubbing his temples, his voice low and tired. "That kind of talk is useless..."
A gamble? With what? If White Bear Tsar were the only Orange Legendary Hero in the Russian Empire, maybe—maybe—they’d have a shot.
But that wasn’t the case.
The Russian Empire had no shortage of Purple Epic Heroes—many of them SSS-rank. In fact, they might even outnumber The Free Federation’s top-tier units. And in a full-scale war, numbers mattered. Power mattered. Every soldier, every life—they’d be throwing it all into a at grinder.
So no, it wasn’t a gamble. It was suicide.
"Damn it..." Drake’s face stiffened. He fell silent for a mont, then let out a long, bitter sigh. The fire in his eyes dimd, replaced by reluctant acceptance.
He knew it too.
Everything he’d just said? Empty words. Wishful thinking.
If they went to war now, they’d lose. No question. So even if they were being pushed around, humiliated, they had no choice but to endure it—for now. If they lashed out recklessly, it’d only get worse. It could an the end of The Free Federation.
BZZT.
Suddenly, a faint hum broke the silence. On Nathaniel’s desk, a small, unassuming black communication device lit up—one that only a handful of people in the world even had access to.
"What the...?"
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. He stood up abruptly, the classified SSS-level docunt he’d been reading forgotten as he snatched up the device.
The screen displayed a single line of text.
Just one sentence.
But that one sentence hit him like a bolt of lightning.
His entire body tensed. Then, in the next instant, his face lit up with raw, unfiltered emotion—shock, joy, and sothing dangerously close to hope.
"General Grant, my brother just logged off."
Signed: Emily, sister of Mr. Ethan from Draconic Pact.
"General Grant? What’s going on?" one of the officers asked, confused by the sudden shift in Nathaniel’s expression.
But Nathaniel didn’t answer. He was already moving.
"Drake, with . Now."
His voice was sharp, commanding. No room for questions.
He strode toward the door with purpose, his coat flaring behind him.
The others exchanged puzzled glances but didn’t dare speak. Whatever had just happened, it was big.
Drake’s expression hardened. He didn’t ask questions either. He just followed, his boots echoing against the floor as he fell into step behind Nathaniel.
...
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