The conversation with Ashley was over. She had agreed to Ethan's proposal to send 2,000,000 gold to Guild Avalon, considering LionArk still had plenty of reserve funds.

He walked out of Ashley's office and returned to his own. No one was in the room that day because Sherly had been ordered to rest for two days.

Ethan was a man who kept his word. He would let Sherly rest and focus on handling his work alone.

He turned and picked up the map scroll of Mavelard City, complete with the small towns around it.

Some were quite far, while others were close like neighbors. His eyes found four towns located near Mavelard, not counting Seacrest, which made it five even though Seacrest was far from Mavelard.

But the cooperation agreement between the two cities was already established, and Ethan and Noah had been friends for a long time.

Ethan was confident that the Trident Sea Guild, which ruled the city, would accept his city-alliance proposal.

"Northwein. Arkban, and Kuniko," Ethan said, reading the remaining three towns.

The last town was Porco. Porco and Mavelard were already officially allied. Seacrest was in the process.

Now, Ethan needed to convince the rulers of Northwein, Arkban, and Kuniko.

Going there in person wasn't ideal, especially since Ethan didn't know the exact condition of each town.

Still, he would send an official letter with LionArk's seal to the rulers of the three towns.

Whatever their response might be, he could only hope they would join without conditions.

He sat at his desk and wrote the letters on three sheets of paper. The contents were invitations that did not include any alliance benefits.

Ethan only wanted to know if they could be loyal without looking at profit.

Once the three letters were finished, he stamped them with the LionArk seal and carried them down to the first floor.

The first floor was full of administrative operational staff.

For official correspondence, outgoing and incoming letters always passed through the lobby. That was why Ethan came to the lobby to deliver letters addressed to the three towns.

One of the female receptionists who was relaxing was startled when her coworker nudged her. The reason was simple: she needed to get to work because Ethan was standing in front of the desk.

"M-Mr. Ethan?!" the woman gasped.

"I'm sorry for relaxing and—"

"Send these letters to the city ruling guilds of Northwein, Arkban, and Kuniko," Ethan said, placing the letters on the table.

The woman reached out and took the letters. Each one clearly had a timestamp and the LionArk seal. According to their correspondence standards, it was more than enough.

"O-Of course. We will have them delivered in two days."

"One day," Ethan requested.

"O-Of course. We will send them express," the woman said, nervous and intimidated.

Ethan approved. His next destination wasn't the third floor but the second. Ethan needed to visit someone: Hanss, the officer responsible for military affairs and espionage.

When he arrived on the second floor, several staff members walking through the corridor froze at the sight of Ethan.

The last time he came to the second floor was when he exposed the bribe given by Jason. Jason hadn't been heard from since.

Some rumors said Jason had died in the Raid Tower, and others said Ethan had possibly killed him.

They watched Ethan stand in front of Hanss's office door. His hand lifted and knocked. Hanss's voice responded, telling him to come in.

The door opened. Ethan stepped inside and saw Hanss busy with LionArk member documents on his desk.

"Where did you come from? Which division? What do you need?!" Hanss asked without looking up.

"Hanss."

Hearing the familiar voice made Hanss lift his head, pulling his focus away from the papers.

His shock was clear when he saw the person who had come to see him was Ethan, his leader.

Hanss panicked instantly, frightened and uneasy. He had just acted disrespectfully toward Ethan.

"My apologies for my rudeness, Sir Ethan," Hanss said.

He quickly dropped to the floor, kneeling with his head lowered, begging forgiveness for his disrespectful behavior. Ethan didn't mind at all, especially since he saw how busy Hanss was.

"I understand your workload. You don't need to apologize."

"Thank you, Sir Ethan," Hanss replied, relieved.

He stood again and asked why Ethan had come to his office. Ethan immediately mentioned the names of the three towns: Northwein, Arkban, and Kuniko.

"What about those three cities, Sir Ethan?" Hanss asked.

"I'm trying to propose a city alliance to them, hoping one of them will accept my proposal."

Hanss went silent, then unexpectedly sighed. He turned around and returned to his desk chair, while Ethan was invited to sit in front of him.

"Northwein and Kuniko might agree, but don't expect Arkban to follow you," Hanss said.

"Arkban? What's wrong with them?"

Hanss stayed silent for a moment, watching Ethan's face seriously.

He realized Ethan didn't know what had happened, including the small conflict between Mavelard and Arkban. Hanss began explaining why the ruling guild of Arkban would not obey Mavelard.

"Arkban is located to the west. It is the outermost town in the eastern region bordering the central region."

"Even though the central region is known for its desert, the area around Arkban itself is filled with wide grasslands."

"It's probably the last grassland near the central region. Arkban uses that land to build their food supply."

Ethan stayed silent, listening to Hanss's explanation. So far, he had only explained Arkban's land, not the reason they resented LionArk.

Hanss sighed again. At that time, Arkban was struck by a crisis after being attacked by three guilds. LionArk helped defend the city and its ruling guild.

But Ashley's decision to demand 45% of their farmland to be developed and owned by LionArk sparked outrage.

At first they accepted it, but slowly their food supply decreased and LionArk took advantage of the situation by raising prices.

Eventually resentment grew. They began refusing to buy food from LionArk. Instead, they cooperated with towns in the south and north to meet their food needs.

LionArk did not accept that. LionArk issued an ultimatum: if Arkban did not buy their food, LionArk would topple the ruling guild.

But the ultimatum was never carried out. Ashley canceled it after MagisterDao and JohnRick01 left LionArk.

The split happened. MagisterDao and JohnRick01 disliked the way Ashley treated other players. Ashley had no choice. She canceled the ultimatum and still hoped her two friends would return.

That was the reason Gordon and Rick left LionArk.

"The land has returned to Arkban's ruling guild, but they still hold hatred toward LionArk," Hanss explained.

"I'm sorry, Sir Ethan. I'm very sure your proposal will be rejected by them."

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