Hearing Celia's reply, Ethan's heart sank.

"No one?" he pressed.

"Not that I can recall, at least not among the dedicated crafters," Celia said quickly. "As for combat players who only dabble in professions, I wouldn't know if any of them were expelled."

"Check for me," Ethan said. "You have thirty minutes to find this person."

The quest timer gave him sixty minutes, but that was deceptive. Tracking her down, confirming her identity, and then bringing her back would eat up far more time than it sounded like on paper. Thirty minutes was already cutting it close.

"Thirty minutes…" Celia frowned. "But all of our combat personnel are tied up in the Fortress Wars right now. This is the worst possible timing for a manhunt."

"We already own a fortress," Ethan replied evenly. "That assault is just a training exercise. If you have to, call them back. Find this person."

The order was blunt and final, leaving no room for debate.

Hearing the steel in his voice, Celia straightened immediately. Whatever this was, it clearly mattered far more than a single battle.

"Alright," she said after a brief pause. "I'll do my best. I'll report back within thirty minutes."

The communication cut off.

With nothing else he could do for the moment, Ethan exchanged a few lines of idle small talk with Master Roger, then opened the official in-game website. The WCC live broadcast occupied the center of the screen. Even without clicking in, he could already see Leo, Victor, and the others leading the Renegade Alliance's elite forces in their assault.

He opened the stream.

The first scene showed Leo standing atop the fortress wall, Victor and several other commanders beside him.

"Huh," Ethan muttered, a faint smile forming. "Not bad. They're already on the walls."

Originally, he hadn't expected much from the assault. Attacking a high-tier fortress without proper siege engines was brutal, especially with most players still underleveled. Fortress Wars were designed for characters around level sixty and above, yet Ethan had triggered them far earlier in this lifetime.

What he had momentarily forgotten, however, was the reward the system had granted when he named Renegade Citadel.

For six hours, every member of the guild received a buff: all stats increased by one hundred percent.

Those thirty thousand elite players were now fighting with doubled attributes across the board, damage, attack speed, casting speed, even movement speed. On top of that, Leo had already issued another order. The entire guild, including non-elite members, was to assemble and move toward the battlefield.

With the buff active, every combat-capable member of the Alliance, excluding pure crafters, experienced a massive leap in strength. Even average players now possessed stats comparable to the elites before the buff.

The elites themselves only accounted for one fifth of the Alliance's total force. Once the remaining three fifths of combat players arrived, the pressure would become overwhelming. The final fifth, of course, consisted of the crafters.

On the distant hills surrounding the fortress, groups of players closest to the area were already gathering. Farther away, streams of figures could be seen rushing toward the battlefield from multiple directions.

These members had initially been unable to participate in the assault. They hadn't complained, but the regret had been obvious. Now, having received the Vice Leader's summons, along with generous rewards and the chance to take part in a major battle, their enthusiasm was unmistakable.

Back on the wall, Leo suddenly raised his hand.

His expression shifted almost imperceptibly.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. He didn't need to guess for long. Leo must have just received Celia's message.

At the same time, the broadcast commentators grew confused.

"Huh? Why has Skyblade suddenly halted the attack?" one of them said. "They've already secured a section of the wall. This is the perfect time to push!"

"Wait, they're pulling back?" another added. "What's going on here?"

The bullet chat erupted almost instantly.

"Why is the Renegade Alliance retreating?" "They had such a good position!" "What the hell are they doing?!"

Even within the Renegade Alliance itself, doubts began to surface.

Leo, Victor, and even Celia were struggling to contain the rising unrest spreading through the guild channels. Frustration simmered everywhere. After seizing the wall, morale had reached a fever pitch. Everyone believed they were moments away from breaking into the fortress interior and claiming total control.

A second high-tier fortress.

Just imagining it was intoxicating.

Through shared intelligence channels, they also knew their long-standing rivals, the Blade Syndicate, had already breached a mid-tier fortress and were now fighting its commander. If they succeeded, that fortress would fall under their banner. Similar battles were unfolding across other regions. The Blade Syndicate was competing on a global scale for the right to claim the second captured fortress in the world.

Yet no other guild was assaulting a high-tier fortress.

If the Renegade Alliance succeeded here, they would seize the world's second high-tier fortress, along with the staggering prestige and rewards that came with it.

Then the retreat order came.

It was like throwing ice water on a raging fire.

What stung even more was the unspoken comparison burning in everyone's minds. Their leader had already taken a high-tier fortress with only two others, one of whom was the Honorary Leader who barely even fought. They knew her level. They knew her role.

So, in their perception, it had been the Boss and the Boss Lady.

That thought didn't inspire relief. It ignited pressure.

'The Boss is too strong. The gap is too big. If we can't prove ourselves, what right do we have to stand under the Druid God?'

Every major victory seemed to revolve around him charging ahead alone while the rest of them handled what felt like cleanup work. Half of the guild's benefits came directly from him. Pride mixed with insecurity, and the result was unrest.

Leo and the officers were bombarded by questions, doubts, and open challenges flooding every channel. Control was slipping fast.

Ethan saw it clearly.

If he didn't intervene now, things would spiral.

He activated the Guild Leader's exclusive all-hands communication channel.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

His voice dropped into the chaos like a pebble into a stormy sea, swallowed instantly.

Ethan narrowed his eyes and turned the system volume to maximum.

"I SAID QUIET DOWN!"

The command thundered directly into the ears of every Alliance member. Countless players winced, some instinctively covering their ears. Even those mid-battle froze for a moment.

"Have you all calmed down?" Ethan continued, deliberately keeping the volume high. Even Leo and Victor grimaced on the fortress wall.

"B-Boss… t-turn it down a little…" someone finally muttered.

The Guild Leader channel couldn't be muted or adjusted unless a player left the guild entirely.

Seeing that silence had finally fallen, Ethan lowered the volume back to normal.

"Good," he said calmly. "Now listen carefully. The retreat order came from me."

The murmurs stopped completely.

"Look at the walls. The defenders have fully reinforced the frontal section. Ground-level defenses are in place, and the mines embedded along the wall are enough to wipe you all out if you push blindly. Pulling back doesn't mean we're giving up, and it doesn't mean your mission is over."

His voice sharpened slightly.

"It means we're going bigger."

A ripple of attention spread through the guild.

"Skyblade," Ethan continued, "take ten thousand elite members and hold your current position."

Leo straightened instantly.

"Slashblade," Ethan said next, "take ten thousand elite members and move to the high-tier fortress west of Harmony City, in the Western Theater. Hold position and stand by."

A sharp intake of breath echoed across several channels.

"SeraphWarrior," Ethan went on, "take ten thousand elite members to the high-tier fortress east of Harmony City, near the coastline. Stand by as well."

The implications were sinking in now.

"Leafshade," Ethan finished, "divide all non-elite combat members into three equal groups. Assign one group to Skyblade, one to Slashblade, and one to SeraphWarrior."

He paused deliberately.

"Once everyone is in position, await my signal."

The silence that followed was heavy, charged.

"I've already taken one high-tier fortress," Ethan said evenly. "The remaining three…"

His voice carried absolute certainty.

"…will be ours as well."

Ethan stopped speaking and let the words settle, waiting for the reaction he knew was coming.

***

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