Chapter 2084: The Summons. The skies above the world of Vael’Terros shimmered with different magical energies and colors. No, it wasn’t because Vael’Terros was a beautiful world with a unique atmosphere or something like that. It was because these different energies continued to crack the space barrier around it, forcefully tearing it apart as foreign beings or ships rushed in. This happened so often that the space barrier of Vael’Terros thinned to the limit, almost as if it no longer existed. This made it easier for the foreigners to enter its boundaries, causing the colorful change in the sky. Yes, Vael’Terros was the Middle-Level neutral World directly under the Supreme World of Balance, and right now, it was being used as a base of the Supreme Worlds’ actions. In the Supreme Worlds’ recent announcement, Vael’Terros was the world the Mercenary Guild Leaders were told to appear in. And this was exactly what was happening right now. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶 There were only two hours left before the given time ended. Because of that, the Mercenary Guild Leaders pouring in had become more frequent. More than a few were coming at the same time now. More and more warships of different origins came in. There were also some regularly seen ships pouring in—it seemed like more than a few Mercenary Guild Leaders were using them. One look at them, and it was enough to know that these were the ships from the transport company who moved efficiently and made a ton of profit from this ordeal. Yes, in this game, they were the true winners. The Mercenary Guild Leaders who were already in Vael’Terros stared at those ships with envious looks on their faces. Clearly, they were jealous. As more and more ships appeared from every corner of the world, the chaos rose. "Move! MOVE! We land in one minute!" A hulking ogre-lord roared, his arms coated in chains of molten iron. His skybarge slammed into the landing tier, scraping across crystallized marble as hundreds of his attendants scrambled behind him. "There’s no space left!" Barked a bird-headed commander in iridescent armor. "Tell them to circle! The fifth convoy is still in line!" "There IS no line anymore, fool!" Another snarled. "Just land wherever you can!" The central Assembly Plateau groaned as more and more vessels descended. Many didn’t wait to dock. Some leapt, some more capable ones teleported, while others simply crashed. It didn’t matter if the ships were destroyed, they got here in time—and that’s the only thing that mattered. Yes, even though there were still two hours left, these people were that desperate, simply because none of them wanted to anger the Supremes. Of course, not all the Guild Leaders were the same. Some complained, "We were just given twenty-four hours," A knight in golden runes cursed as she removed her helmet, sweat dripping down her brow. "Only twenty-four hours to cross the Chaos Zone and three sealed borders!" The Outer-Space wasn’t just the open space filled with Universal Energy anyone could travel randomly through. There were different areas with difficult challenges and, of course, the farther these beings came from, the more such areas they encountered. "And you still came," Said a gray-robed lich beside her, not bothering with the complaining knight. "As did I. As did they." He gestured to the swelling crowd. "So shut your mouth and stop complaining." The lich growled, annoyed. And honestly, the knight couldn’t counter his words. She just walked back and started instructing her subordinates. Yes, the situation was chaos—World Leaders who would never share a room stood side by side, pressed shoulder to shoulder. A wolf-headed war chief from the Ten-Star Howl Pact growled at the scenery. "All the Mercenary Leaders in one place. If they want, they could kill us and take over all the mercenaries all over the universe without any issues." He commented with a solemn look. "Heh." Another leader just laughed, "As if they would want something like this." The wolf-headed war chief turned toward the one who laughed at his words and narrowed his eyes, "You talk as if you know what they are thinking." "No, I talk as if I know where I stand—and this is because I do. Could this be a trap to get rid of us all? Who knows? Could very well be. But is there anything you or I can do about it? No. There is nothing we could do. If this is the trap, we have no choice but to accept our fate—because if the Supremes want us dead, our death is inevitable." The man retorted. "..." And the wolf-head turned silent. Those words were harsh, demeaning even—but... Could he say anything against them? Of course not. They were the truth. What the Supremes were planning did not matter because they had no way to resist them. At the end of the day, they could only lower their heads and do what they were told, even if that meant finding everything there is about buried information and giving results in a ridiculously low amount of time. Yes, it was unfair. The time given was too short—it was near impossible to complete this task, and yet... Over fifty thousand leaders had gathered, and more were coming. Some of these leaders brought small entourages, others came alone. Every single being here was powerful enough to command armies, influence economies, and burn different worlds if they so wished. But here? Here, they waited like children outside a throne room. "I had to abandon three strongholds mid-siege just to make it here," Grumbled a horned tyrant wrapped in bone-laced silk. "Do they think we can just teleport through the Veins of Zhyrith?" He complained. "I did teleport," Another being muttered in a smoky voice. "Used half my world’s remaining power reserves to do so." "I lost contact with half my council on the way," Another glass-skinned monarch muttered with shaking hands. "I don’t even know if my world still stands." "All of that—" A sharp voice cut in, "—just to stand in this place and wait." The voice belonged to a pale woman with features like an elf and silver tattoos flowing like rivers across her cheeks. "They knew we’d drop everything," She smiled weakly. And the other leaders nodded. They knew— The summons was not an invitation. It was an Order. An order where the penalty for disobedience was... erasure. "..." "..." A heavy silence fell on the place. But then— "OUT OF THE DAMN WAY!" A shout was heard as another massive ship descended from the skies, its jagged hull glowing red with friction as it tore through the clouds. "Make space! Make space or I’ll land on your fucking heads!" The man commanding the ship screamed. "Right, more are coming..." The other leaders laughed. Honestly, they were laughing at their own situation. In the end, they scattered. They didn’t wish to start a conflict here, not in an area commanded by them. As they moved away, the ship slammed down, cracking the ground beneath it. Crimson mist burst outward from its impact zone, warping the air with residual energy. "Do you have any idea how long we waited in orbit!?" A towering Molgarr beast-lord leapt off the deck, horns dripping magma. "Two damn hours!" "And whose fault is that, fire-head? You tried to cut the queue!" Suddenly, another voice was heard. A sharp-tongued mercenary queen, her blade-arm twitching with annoyance. "I don’t give a voidborn damn about queues! This whole place is a madhouse!" The Molgarr growled, nostrils flaring. "We got the summons less than a cycle ago—we tore through three neutral sectors and five Chaos Zones just to get here in time!" "You’re not the only one!" The mercenary queen retorted. "My citadel is still burning. I left mid-assault!" "Mine is..." Yes, the same conversation happened again—just that this time, it was another set of Guild Leaders complaining about stuff. The other leaders just laughed, and this didn’t go unnoticed by the Molgarr. "The fuck are you laughing at, huh!?" "You really wish to do it here?" The lich looked into his eyes, and after a moment, Molgarr turned silent. Again, no matter how reckless he was, he couldn’t act wild in Supreme Worlds’ lands. In the end, he settled down with the rest of the mercenary guild leaders. For the next two hours, they stood like this. Yes, the so-called World Leaders who were respected wherever they went weren’t even given a seat and were forced to stand on the ground like commoners with no rights. It was humiliating, and since there was no one to manage these people or address their questions, there were constant complaints as well—but the funny part was that every time after they complained, After a short while, these leaders silenced themselves on their own. That was simply how strong the Supreme Worlds’ influence was. Even when they weren’t present, these arrogant people still kept themselves in check. Time passed, more and more guild leaders rushed in. As the time got close, the rush increased as well, Until finally, Two hours later, exactly at the time given by the Supreme Worlds, They appeared.