William didn't want to let the city suffer for generations to come thanks to the treason of the old powers, and the incompetence of this generation.
So he ran towards the portal zone with a single thought in mind. If they dared to ask for anything excessive, then he'd harshly reject it right on the spot.
It took him roughly half an hour to reach there. And once he arrived, he found lots of masters as Lara said, all arranged in different groups, led by a single group of masters.
"Almost one hundred forces… It seems times of war are really the right moment to do great business," William smiled when he noticed the large number of groups standing apart. And then he moved towards the single group that stood at the forefront.
The entire place that was empty before was now filled with masters. Tens of thousands stood here, and William knew this was just the tip of the iceberg.
"Are you the leader of the Vancouf family?"
"I heard the current leader is a young lady."
"I met her before, met with a few of their upper circle. So, who are you?"
As William drew closer, he got such comments from the masters in this group. There were around a hundred masters standing here, with the youngest being at mid-forties.
"I'm William," William cupped his hands in greeting, "the leader of the Fox guild."
"The Fox guild?!"
"Isn't it…"
"You are that rumoured fox spirit master, right?"
William noticed that he got a reputation already, and that made him smile regardless of anything else.
"I'm here on behalf of Lara, the leader of the Vancouf family," he paused, moving his eyes among everyone before adding, "how may I be of service?"
"Well…" the group exchanged looks before an old man started to walk a few steps up front. He looked so old, so old that his back even arched and couldn't walk without leaning on a short and thick stick.
"You will do fine," that old man spoke, and it seemed he got a greater reputation among this group than William. The moment he spoke up, William noticed how everyone looked at him in respect, as if he was their leader or something.
"I'm glad I can help," William paused, "I believe you are aware of what's going on here, right?"
"We were here for an hour or so," the old man seemed like he got a leg away from the grave or something, "you are really doing great with such odds, against such scary monster tide."
"I'm honoured," William spoke in a neutral tone, and remained silent ever since.
"You should be," the old man didn't let William wait for long, added after a few seconds of pause as if this was his habit, "we came here believing the place is ruined and forsaken, lost beyond any means of repair or saving. But we saw something that can be least described as admirable. I'm glad I came here on the head of my Loran family, asking to join the city upper echelon."
"That's what we also came for."
"Yes, we want to join the city."
Others spoke up, expressing their intentions that William already guessed. The latter wasn't paying attention to them. Instead, he focused more on the ones who didn't speak or express their intentions.
Out of the one hundred leaders here, around twenty didn't speak up.
"I'm authorised to welcome all of you in the city," William didn't beat around the bush, "but… We first need to have a city to share together, right?"
"Don't worry," the old man paused again, and with his simple sentence he silenced others, "we came here just as the representatives. All the masters here are our guards, not the real army waiting for our mark."
"Then what are you waiting for? Send the signal and let them come," William acted the same way others imagined him to act in, "or… Was this what you expected as an answer from me?"
"What do you mean?" The moment William said his words, many whispered among each other. Once the old man spoke, everyone got silenced, "do you think we came here to fool around?"
The old man was indeed someone scary in the entire continent, even in the world. He lived for long enough to see lots of things. And the fixed gazes of William over the small group of twenty masters and leaders who didn't express their real intentions yet didn't escape his keen eyes.
He knew William didn't mean anything bad towards them, at least towards the ones who came here with honest intentions of help and get their forces and families to join the city.
"I mean… We are in a desperate situation indeed, ready to welcome any helping hand for sure, but aren't that willing to sell ourselves to anyone," William didn't shift his eyes away from the little group of suspicious masters, "let's do it this way… We welcome anyone wanting to join the city, be part of the grand council of it, granting you the right to share in the decision making of the urgent matters of the city, providing you with land, support, all the help you need to rise up and recruit masters even from those inside the city. Whoever agrees on these terms, please tell me your names, your forces and families names, and let's go and protect our city together…"
William's words were clear. He straightforwardly drew a line between those who came here to really help, and those who came to fish in the muddy waters.
"It's fine for me…"
"What about the pay for our help? You don't believe we will risk our lives for just a useless piece of land and nothing but empty words and promises!" and before the old man of the Loran family would continue his words, others stepped in and interrupted him.
"Yes, we want a good share of this portal area."
"We want a big cut in the Spar Arena."
"We want to rule over the marketplace."
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