Chapter 280 280: Part 1: Territory Defense I

Cole arrived at the entrance not his territory, to see that almost every aspirant within Glade solitude were there, but looking at the state of them, it was obvious that they were not here to make trouble, but rather they were being chased by trouble. As always, Thunder-Jack was there dealing with them, as more and more people seemed to be making a push to enter t he territory, but they were firmly stopped by a barrier raised by the system.

"What's happening here?" Cole asked as he landed besides Thunder-Jack, his very presence being what was needed to calm the rowdy crowd as they went silent. Thunder-Jack took a deep breath as he pointed at the aspirants and said.

"The Glade Is Under attack. We believe there are aspirants from the northern Glade, but not just them, they seem to be working in conjunction with the darklings. They're using illusions to hide the fact that they're already here, along with mind control as they pick off powerful aspirants one by one. We can't tell who the infiltrators are, even the darklings. So as it stands we're are fighting an enemy we can't see, and it seems the only place that can truly be safe is our territory.

We're fighting blind sir, and even worse is the fact that morale had been really low, the stream of deaths have been brutal as the corpses are not respawning, and they're all left in a rather gruesome caricature of art. As it stands the only way we can say that the people who have been killed are actually aspirants is due to the fact that quite a few other people know who they are. But it gets worse, ever since the attack no one has been able to reach them in our reality, we're still waiting for new but I believe that perhaps they're dead, and how that can be possible through this medium….this game! Is something I don't really know.

Cole could understand a lot of things, but at the same time things also confused him. Death in reality through the event was possible, Cole had come close so many times and it was only by his [Sin Seeking Eyes ] skill that his life has been saved so many times before, but ultimately people dying here and in their reality was not good, not when those people were supposed to be working into fortifying and building the human race. But this was a problem, Cole could deal with the unseen by virtue of his senses, but he had no idea how much damage they would have caused in the Glade, before he would have been able to find them, he was worried. But from the looks of things it seems the northern Glade had brought the fight to him.

"Lock down the territory! Nobody leaves and nobody comes in." Cole said to Thunder-Jack as he prepared to take to the air, he had to find a way to find these intruders.

"But what about the other aspirants?" Thunder-Jack asked Cole, pointing at the massive crowd in front of his territory, Cole raised an eyebrow at that and said to Jack.

"I did say nobody comes in or goes out, as it stands we have no idea who has been compromised. They could be right in front of you right now as you wouldn't know, as far as I'm concerned the entirety of Glade Solitude has been compromised and my first priority would be to protect my own people. Which includes you, so forget about everyone else and look to our people okay?" Cole said to Thunder-Jack but the man was having none of it.

"But they are your people too, You made Glade Solitude you're the leader here why won't you protect them?" Cole raised an eyebrow then turned to face Thunder-Jack. It was obvious the man had strong sense of values and he was standing his ground, facing up to Cole who practically no one had the balls to face. Cole walked up to him, until their noses were almost touching, you could see the sheer animosity and anger in Cole's features.

"They're not my people, perhaps I might have been quite childish about my responsibilities to the Glade, but I have always been fair. But they voted me out while I was away, so I'm not the leader of Glade Solitude you are. But you answer to me now, as you've always did. I'm not a hero or some fearless leader with a heart that's pure, you know this, and you also know I'm right. I am being realistic, letting them in would mean more losses and it would be us who would suffer it. I don't believe you are so blind to not notice that this was a trap, since they're all here then who the fuck is protecting the damn Glade.

Things here don't function the same as the other Glades. I doubt all the council members would need to be present for someone else to come and take over the damn thing. And beyond that this could also be a ploy to get into my territory and cause havoc, finding a way to cripple my operations. I will not make compromises for anyone, not when the Consequences far outweighs the gain. So I'll say it again, Lock. Down. My. Fucking. Territory! Are my fucking understood?" Thunder-Jack hesitated, he was supposed to answer and he hesitated.

"I understand sir!" he said through gritted teeth, but by then it was already too late. Cole like the guy, he was a good fighter and his heart was in the right place. But there can be no place for him amongst his people. Not with a heart like this, Cole did not mind being told he was wrong when he was wrong, but right now he was not wrong. This was a risk, a very big risk and Thunder-Jack was too nice a person to see the obvious consequence of the shit that's about to go down, it made the man a liability.

[Thunder-Jack has been Kicked out of the World Breaker Guild!]

"Sir?" Thunder-Jack asked with a shocked look on his face, but Cole gave him a hard look as he placed his hands on his shoulder.

"The Raen Valley would always be open to you, if you like you can take the Oath and change your race to a Raen, you can enjoy all of the benefits of being a part of my race and my territory. But I can't trust you to take care of things, not even for a second."

"But-" Thunder-Jack tried to explain himself but Cole cut him off, his voice taking on an eve harder edge.

"You did nothing wrong, in fact you're doing everything right. But my vision for the future is not build on right Thunder-Jack. There's hell coming our way in all kinds of fucked up ways that we can't afford to be 'right' at least not all the time. The best thing I can do for these people and I know they're all hearing me is to go out there and find the bastards responsible for all this Chaos. If I let you guys in, and one of you is the enemy, a lot of damage can be done, I'm not omniscient, I can't be everywhere at once, and I can't tell for sure if I'll be able to find them. So I can't let them in as that would be inviting a snake into my own backyard and a snake that has the potential to end everything I have built so far in a heartbeat.

You are more than well aware Thunder-Jack that I am right, but you're still challenging my authority because of your misplaced priorities. If you really wanted to help them then you would not have suggested and fought me so strongly to let them in. You know why? Cause if I had found even a single intruder amongst them, I would have killed everyone, denizens and aspirants alike.

If you still believe in what I'm fighting for then let's have a talk once this is all over, but if not, I'll support your decisions either way. However I can't trust you with a position of authority, not until you get your head on straight. Now I'd ask you and the people here what you know about the northern Glade, it would go a long way in helping me figure out a way to find them." Cole said as Thunder-Jack straightened up and gave him a nod, surprising Cole by his quick change or attitude.

"I do have some information sir, but I am not sure it is one that you would like. From what we here the northern Glade is not a Glade of aspirants, but of Denizens. But not just any, original denizens belonging to this world sir, they have more knowledge with territories and the Glade itself being at least the silver rank if not Gold. They have powerhouses of your level if not higher, and a functional army….. sir I believe in this case it's not them that are the intruders...We Are!"

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