Although they would rather die than admit it, the remaining members of the council realized that, when Gobbleguy logged out of Elementia, the Noctem Alliance had claimed him as their victim. Even if Gobbleguy had been useless in the grand scheme of things, the fact remained that he had been driven out by the fear and pressure that the Noctem Alliance was spreading throughout Element City so effectively.
The most frightening fact of all, though, was that the council had reached a startling landmark: of the nine of them who had started the war against the Noctem Alliance, more than half of them were now gone.
“I think that it is fairly safe to say,” the Mechanist spoke after a moment of scared silence, “that our city is, as of now, incredibly well protected. Due to various innovations in defensive technology—”
“All of which you created,” Kat cut in with a smirk. There was a grim chuckle of agreement around the table. In fact, Kat was right; the Mechanist had been the one who had designed the city’s superb outer defences.
“Well, yes, that’s true,” replied the Mechanist humbly, “but it is also beside the point. As I was saying, because of the resources that we have put into the defences of our walls, I think that the Noctem Alliance will have a difficult time getting into our city. We are well equipped to fight off any approach of theirs as of right now, whether it be through stealth or by brute force. However, I think that it is also time that we acknowledge that the Noctem Alliance is, at the very least, equal to us in power.”
There were sounds of repugnance around the table. The council still found it difficult to accept that what had started off as a small protesters’ group had grown into an organization that had pushed them to the brink of annihilation in just a single month. Although they could not bring themselves to disagree with the Mechanist, saying it aloud would mean accepting it, something that Jayden, G and Kat were not prepared to do.
“Therefore,” the Mechanist continued, reaching under the table and pressing a button as he did so, “I am forced to assume that our current stalemate is temporary. The Noctem Alliance will manage to break through our walls if we are not able to weaken them somehow. For that reason, I’ve asked Bob to come in here and brief us on what we, as high-ranking members of the city, should do to actively fight the Noctem Alliance.”
“Wait a sec,” said Kat as she realized what he was saying. “Are you saying that you want us to actually go out into the server and fight the Alliance? Like, in combat?”
The Mechanist nodded. Kat’s face lit up, and she looked psyched at the prospect of finally going out into the field and actively doing something to take down the Noctem Alliance.
“Hold on,” asked Jayden, a puzzled look crossing his face. “If we’re out in the server doing the fighting, then who’s going to run the council?”
“That’s actually the one thing we need to discuss before Bob gets here,” the Mechanist said tiredly. “In my talks with Bob, he suggested that while the rest of the council goes out and undertakes several highly important objectives throughout Elementia, I myself remain here as the sole governor of Element City.
“I was the first to point out,” the Mechanist continued quickly, as all three of the other council members looked alarmed, “that this idea would give me sole power over the entirety of Element City, which is something that our constitution was designed specifically to avoid. After all, if handled improperly, the idea of a single person leading the city sounds dangerously similar to the doctrine of King Kev.
“However,” the Mechanist said as the others nodded in agreement, “it does say in the constitution that one person is allowed to control Elementia by him- or herself in time of emergency. This can be done if the other council members are required to take action to resolve the emergency, and only if the police keep a sharp eye on the single ruler to make sure that he or she does not turn into a selfish dictator, and keeps the well-being of the city in mind until such time as a council may be re-established. I don’t think anybody will disagree with me when I say that we most assuredly have an emergency on our hands at the moment.”
Nobody at the table even felt the need to say that they agreed; they all knew that it was true.
“Let us be honest with ourselves, my friends,” the Mechanist explained, sounding exhausted. “The four of us, along with the police chiefs, are the most powerful players in Element City. There are various tasks that need to be done for the sake of protecting our people and ending this war, and I believe that we, the council members, should carry them out. Of the four of us, I think we can all agree… and forgive me if I sound arrogant… that I am the best leader.”
There was a moment of silence. All the other members gave slow, consensual nods.
“So are we all in agreement?” the Mechanist asked with a definite air of finality about him. “I will stay here and lead Elementia while the three of you complete the missions that Bob has put together for you?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Kat with a grin, and G and Jayden both nodded in agreement.
“Well, good. That’s settled then,” the Mechanist sighed, clearly relieved that none of them had been opposed to this admittedly radical idea. As a matter of fact, the three of them seemed hyped and incredibly excited to finally take action against the Noctem Alliance instead of endlessly plotting out troop movements over the stone brick–block table of the council room.
There was a knock at the door, and all turned to face it.
“Enter,” ordered the Mechanist authoritatively.
The wooden door swung open, and in marched Bob. He looked somber, and judging by his appearance, he had clearly just come from the front lines. His scarlet jumpsuit was ripped and torn in various places, and his pale face and blond hair were tarnished with soot from being at the back end of a TNT cannon. He was seated on Ivanhoe, who looked equally war hardened; his once-shiny saddle was now worn down, the colour faded, and the pig himself bore the marks of various wounds that had been healed by potions.
“Ah, good to see you, Bob,” the Mechanist said quietly. “How are the defences holding up?”
“We’re doing pretty good as of right now,” Bob answered wearily. “The Noctems didn’t launch any major attacks today, and we were able to repel the usual bombardments. That being said, it was pretty obvious that the Noctems weren’t fighting full force either. They didn’t even seem to have that many guys there. I have a feeling that they’re planning something… some sort of stealth mission, maybe.”
“You’re probably right,” the Mechanist said. “I trust that you and your brothers will have all the alarms online soon, should they try to use the Invisibility Potions.”
“Of course,” Bob replied.
“Good. Now, you’ve arrived just in time, Bob. The council has just agreed to our plan. I will stay here and run Element City under your supervision while Kat, Jayden and G head out into the server and carry out your missions. Are you ready to brief them?”
“Yes, sir,” Bob responded, nodding and looking over to the enthused council members. As soon as they realized that he was speaking to them, Kat, Jayden and G sat straight up in their seats, their ears perked as Bob began to speak.
“As of right now, all available forces in our army are being used to defend the outer walls of Element City from penetration by the armies of the Noctem Alliance. However, there is a pressing situation that must be dealt with as soon as possible: the hostages. As of right now, Stan, Charlie, DZ and Commander Crunch of the navy are being held prisoner on the Greater Mushroom Island. We don’t know anything about their status, but we must assume for now that they are all still alive, and the Noctem Alliance will be using them to demand a ransom very soon.
“Also, you’ll remember that when the offensive on Nocturia failed and our armies were pushed back to the city, the Noctem Alliance captured around two dozen residents of the Adorian Village. My brothers and I have sent some scouts out, and we’ve determined that these players