Chapter 93: [93] : The Warlord’s Law, New Rules of Survival
The next morning, the Iron Bastion was the loudest place on Earth.
Outside the massive spiked walls of the city, the rest of the planet was burning. The news broadcasts had completely died. The power grids across the globe had failed.
Millions of Abyssal monsters, Flesh Stalkers, and massive World Bosses roamed the ruined streets of human civilization.
But inside the ten kilometer radius of Declan’s megacity, things were actually running smoothly.
Declan stood on top of the heavy iron gatehouse. He was staring down at the wasteland that used to be Sector 7.
Outside his transparent energy shield, an absolute sea of desperate starving people had gathered. There were millions of them.
Word had traveled fast. Anyone who was not killed in the initial Convergence rushed toward the massive glowing purple dome in the slums.
Entire families were huddled together in the freezing toxic rain. Factory workers in cheap overalls, office drones in ruined corporate suits, and terrified children.
They were all pressing their hands against the invisible barrier. They stared at the clean dry courtyard inside.
"Let us in!" a man yelled. His face was bruised and covered in wet mud. "Please! There are monsters everywhere!"
"My kids are freezing!" a woman cried out while holding two young children tightly. "Just open the gate!"
The noise of their pleading was a massive desperate roar.
Sloane walked up next to Declan on the wall. She crossed her arms and let out a heavy sigh.
She was wearing her real world clothes, but she had equipped her glowing green healing staff from her digital inventory.
"We have a massive problem, boss," Sloane muttered. "I did the math. We have a ten kilometer city. We have the space. But we do not have the food or the beds for millions of people."
She took a deep breath and continued.
"If we just open the gates and let everyone in, this place turns into a starving refugee camp in two hours."
Declan nodded. He knew she was right.
He was not playing a city builder game to run a charity. This was a survival scenario.
The megacorps wanted him dead. The Grid wanted Earth deleted. He needed a functioning highly aggressive military base, not a homeless shelter.
But he also knew that manpower was a resource.
"They cannot just sit outside," Declan said flatly. "I might have hit the fast forward button on the apocalypse by dropping that server, so I will be fair. But they need to pull their own weight."
"How?" Sloane asked. She raised an eyebrow. "Look at them, Declan. They are not gamers. They do not have synchronized stats. They are just normal people. If a Flesh Stalker looks at them funny, they die."
"The Grid’s rules bled into reality," Declan reminded her. "When you kill a monster now, it drops Origin Points and Reality Shards. The system is operating here. That means the basic rules of progression apply. Anyone can level up if they fight."
Declan tapped his admin console hovering in the air.
He activated the city’s broadcast system. His deep highly resonant voice boomed out across the ruined wasteland. It was easily heard by the millions of people outside.
"Listen to me!" Declan’s voice echoed like thunder.
The entire crowd outside fell dead silent. Millions of faces looked up at the Warlord in the black coat standing on the wall.
"The old world is over," Declan announced coldly. "The megacorps lied to you. This is not a game anymore. The monsters outside are real. The governments cannot save you."
He paused for a second.
"I am the only thing standing between you and absolute deletion."
He pointed down at the massive crowd.
"This barrier runs on my power and my materials. This is my city. There is no money here. Your credit chips are useless. The only currency that matters now is Origin Points and monster cores."
Declan paused to let the harsh truth sink in.
"From this moment on, the Iron Bastion operates under Martial Law. You want to live in my city? You work for my city."
"We will provide you with basic scavenged weapons. You will form hunting parties. You will walk out into that wasteland, and you will kill monsters."
"You bring the loot back to my Quartermaster to pay your rent. You pay the rent, you get to sleep inside the shield."
A frantic murmur broke out across the crowd. People looked at each other in sheer terror. Fight monsters? With swords?
Suddenly, a heavy set man in a ruined expensive tailored suit pushed his way to the front of the barrier. He violently shoved a poor teenager out of his way and knocked the kid into the mud.
"Are you insane?!" the rich man screamed up at Declan. "I am a Platinum tier citizen! I am a senior vice president at Apex Paradigm! I demand you open this gate immediately! I will pay you ten million credits!"
Declan sighed. He really hated corporate elites.
He did not yell back. He did not argue. He just snapped his fingers.
SNAP!
The shadows beneath the rich man’s expensive leather shoes suddenly bubbled and stretched.
A massive towering figure made entirely of pitch black dark matter rose out of the ground.
It was one of Declan’s Eclipse Clones.
The shadow clone grabbed the screaming executive by the collar of his suit. It effortlessly lifted him three feet into the air.
The clone held a massive shadowy halberd in its other hand. Its glowing purple eyes stared directly into the man’s terrified face.
The crowd shrieked and scrambled backward. They left a massive empty circle around the rich man and the shadow demon.
"I do not care who you were yesterday," Declan’s voice boomed over the speakers. It was ice cold and utterly ruthless. "I said money is useless here. And let me make one more rule very clear."
Declan leaned over the wall. His own pitch black eyes glared down at the crowd.
"No bullying. No cutting lines. No stealing. If you disrupt the order of my city, or if you harm another worker, I will not waste time putting you in a cell."
"The Shadow Legion will simply throw you out into the dark and let the zombies eat you alive."
He waved his hand.
The Eclipse Clone casually tossed the screaming executive backward into a deep puddle of toxic mud. The shadow figure then vanished back into the ground.
Nobody else complained. Nobody else offered him a credit chip.
They understood the new world order perfectly.
"Sloane, Kendra," Declan called out and turned away from the wall.
Both girls stood up straight.
"You two are officially the enforcers of this city," Declan ordered.
He tapped his console. He granted them high level administrative tags.
A glowing purple badge appeared over both of their heads.
[System Remark]
↳ Target: Sloane
↳ Status: Enforcer Granted
[System Remark]
↳ Target: Kendra
↳ Status: Enforcer Granted
"Sloane, you run the treasury and the loot exchange. Kendra, take command of the guard patrols. Use the players who already have high level gear from the Grid to lead the newbie hunting parties."
"Got it, boss," Sloane said. A sharp capitalist grin spread across her face. "I will start setting up the toll booths at the main gate."
Declan nodded. He looked over at Bram.
The old Artificer was already barking orders at a group of players. He was teaching them how to load the massive automated turrets they had built overnight.
The Iron Bastion was fully operational. The Warlord’s law was set.
It was just a matter of time before the world adjusted.
Let the monsters come.
