"Have all the guilds been settled?"
"Three remain unregistered Master, Vehement, Paradice Palace, and the one you didn't expect to come, Death Row"
"Hmm"
In fact, he expected the last two to not show up, Vehement's absence was a little surprise
'That guy is always off to a battle anyway, they should show up by the end of the fight'
"No matter, we will hold a meeting without them"
"What should we be discussing?"
"Everyone's role in the upcoming attack, these wraiths would not just idle until our countermeasures are complete"
"Will we also begin building a front on the other side?"
With how quick the mist was moving during the past two months she was more concerned about being attacked from the barren back than the upcoming battle
"No need to concern ourselves with that for the time being, other forces have been cornered now, which only means everyone will be putting their life on the line to stop that side from closing in, our main task is to put up a show"
"A show?"
She asked, confused, weren't they strategizing for battle?
"Our strength combined with the guilds is more than capable of decimating whatever testing forces thrown at us, this causes a problem"
How was being strong problematic? She remained quiet to find out
"If the enemy finds us to be packing great power then this war would turn into a stalemate where they cautiously test us out, little by little until they know how and where to strike, and that's something we wouldn't be capable of interfering with given our current hidden status, that puts us in a situation where a quick and direct war is a must"
He sighed, not entirely liking the idea he was about to put up
"In other words, we must lose the first battle to win the war, and lose hard at that, to the point of sacrificing thousands to the mist, only that would be enough to convince them of our weakness and promote a full on raid"
"I see…"
Mia did not understand why the ever heartless master of hers would actually be sullen over the lives of a few thousands
What she did not know was that these thousands originated from men and women who survived, either by fighting or making themselves useful, and unlike other times he wouldn't be able to pick out the skivers to sacrifice
'So many potential war assets lost, such waste'
A necessity it was, for the better good of humanity
Thus with not the most optimal mood, he explained to Mia what she would have Sofia do in the meeting, what the main points were, and how the guilds would be allocated
The next day news of the meeting was delivered to the leaders of each guild, informing them of the place, timing, as well as the conditions
There were no objections from any of them and everyone arrived at the conference hall of the Somia guild, located within the large hotel
Seats were filled one by one, by the time Sofia entered the room only five of the twenty two seats were unoccupied
"Welcome everyone, I am glad all of you came at such abrupt notice, it is of para importance we stand united in such difficult times"
The leaders remained silent at her greeting words, observing the holy archer they heard so much about in the past few days, their eyes especially drawn to the large chest she hefts
Sofia wasn't bothered by the strongest few of humanity staring at her, nor where their gaze lingered, having met much more powerful foes steeled her mind
"I shan't prolonge pleasantries, the reason I gathered all of you is due to our scouts picking up on some strange activities from the mist, if the reports are correct we might be facing an attack soon"
"Something your defence lines cant protect against?"
A woman with battle scars spread across her body commented, taken the lead in breaking their silence to which Sofia nodded with a grim face
"As our preparations and numbers are not yet complete we are ill prepared to fight off this sudden invasion"
"What can we do to help though? You think if we could have fought the mist everyone would still be here under your protection like plebs"
Remarked one man with a mask, one depicting a demon wolf
"There is nothing wrong with seeking protection against forces you cannot fend off, going back to your question however I assure you everyone here is capable of providing major assistance in the upcoming battle, you just need to adhere to your roles"
"I'm all for lending a hand, especially since you seem to be a righteous person, but I do believe everyone here needs some sort of clue as to what exactly this place is, how it came to be, and more importantly who our allies are"
A loosely dressed man in his forties spoke everyone's thoughts out, eyes drifting toward the five empty seats
Sofia readily answered his question, apparently prepared for it in advance
"This defense line came about with the help of many forces like yourselves, to be exact, all the powerful forces of this side of the world came together as soon as disaster struck, combining our strength and knowledge we put together formations with much difficulty"
"And where are those people you speak of? How come we never heard of them even during our short stay if they are so mighty"
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "We are here, just out of sight"
Spoke a sudden voice, a giggle held back in its pleasant tone, perhaps finding everyone's reaction to its unknown origin funny
"Hat of the missing leaders?"
Pressed the man, ignoring the voice unlike others who twisted their heads left and right in search of its originator
"Three are guilds such as yourselves, from the other side of our lands, except they seem to refuse to come together or are hindered, as for the other two.."
She paused, pursing her lips in dissatisfaction
"One is unwelcome due to the nature of his ability, the other is residing within the mist"
Silence once more filled the room, everyone thinking about who was crazy enough to remain in that dreaded mist, was it stubbornness or strength that allowed him to do so?
"I believe we had enough chit chat for now, preparations are the priority"
The following hour saw the guild leaders intently listening to Sofia's plans for themselves, getting more and more numb to the knowledge she had pertaining to their classes, skills, even some titles were not spared
"...and with that everyone's position should be clear, are there any objections?"
One hand was raised, garnering everyone's attention to the young man who appeared wanting to avoid their gazes even at this moment
"Might I ask something"
"Go ahead"
"The way you positioned everyone, with one group supporting the next's survival, wouldn't it mean everything falling apart the second one guild fails to hold their position"
Sid wanted to say 'if one guild retreated' but held his tongue seeing how everyone here was scarily strong, if anything he and his gang were the weakest link
"Our plans were made according to every side's strength, as well as the estimated power of our enemies, as long as there aren't any outside interference everything should go well"
"And...what if there are forces that take the opportunity to strike?
"Like who?"
Having the tables turn with him being the one being question Sid gulped silently to calm down his nervous heart
"Like, I guess beasts and humans who seek not the best interest of their race?"
Sofia shook her head, disappointed with his pessimistic view
"The beasts have been long cleared around these parts, and humans are not as bad as you may think, we may have had our disagreements and wars, but in the face of extension our will is combined, at the very least no one would sabotage an attempt at protecting the race as a whole when their lives would be at stake"
Her words radiate the belief she had in mankind, something not everyone at the table found agreeable, at least four other people did as they shook their head at the over optimistic mindset, none said a word however, it wasn't like they had a better plan
Feeling like he spoke out of turn, offering questions without solutions made him look like a cowered rather than a concerned leader
"If that is all then the meeting is adjourned"
Sofia announced, rising from her seat and exiting under everyone gaze, once she was out of sight they turned to each other with the intent of making friends, it wasn't every day that they got together so they had to make the opportunity count, especially since they would be having each other's backs from now on
'I hope she is right'
Sid thought in concern, pushing the thoughts to the back of his head the next second and forcing out a polite smile, his guild needed strong allies the most now and it was his duty to acquire them
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