One day after the outworlder convention, and one day before Jack escaped from the forcefield cage, there was an announcement inside Eridrus. Edrirus was one of Hydrurond's main cities. This announcement called for every non-army native combatant inside the city to gather at the city square.
These were natives who had levels but were not part of the kingdom faction. Most were adventurers, some worked as bodyguards inside the city, and the rest just worked normal citizen jobs without caring about their levels.
They were confused about the announcement. Some didn't want to comply, but another announcement made them change their minds. The second announcement warned those who didn't comply would be given a penalty. If they left the city, their families would be the ones to suffer the penalty.
These natives grumbled at the announcements. They had levels so they could leave the city, but their families who were commoners wouldn't be able to brave the wilderness. They had no choice but to comply with this call.
They grumbled while heading to the city square. They had been dissatisfied with the situation in their country. They knew their country had lost the war and the draconian who sat at the throne was just a puppet sovereign for the Liguritudum Realm. Their true queen was currently in exile in the Themisphere Kingdom.
Even so, they didn't dare to rebel. Such a matter was for the people in power to deal with. They were just civilians. This power play had nothing to do with them. As long as they could safely live their lives, it mattered little who was in power.
When they arrived at the city square, they saw that it was surrounded by the ethereal soldiers. This further confirmed the true power that controlled their country. These ethereal soldiers inspected those who came and if anyone was carrying a weapon, it was confiscated.
The city square slowly filled to the brim. There might just be a small percentage of non-army native combatants, but the city's population was large. Even a small percentage was significant.
Their levels were mostly low though. Some who were long-time adventurers had the highest levels, around level 40 to 70, but mostly they had levels below 40. A few even had levels below 10.
"Are they trying to force us into conscripts?" One of the gathered draconians asked the draconian next to him.
"I think that is likely," That draconian replied.
"What? I don't want to be a soldier!" Said another draconian who heard their conversation.
"They can't force us if we don't want to!"
"I agree… But what if they use our families to threaten us? Like what they did to force us to gather here."
"Damn these invaders! I don't care about them conquering this country but if they start threatening my family, I will join the rebels!"
"So am I!"
"Calm down. We don't know yet what they want. Let us listen to what they have to say before we decide anything."
So, they just waited there as more and more people gathered. Some were escorted by soldiers, which alarmed the ones who had gathered. It appeared that the soldiers patrolled the streets and forced the combatants who had not come to the city square to start going.
Everyone was restless but they didn't dare to do anything.
By noon, it seemed that every combatant had been rounded up. They then saw an ethereal in a regal outfit stand atop the podium of the city square. It was the Liguritudum ruler.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming here," Master began. "I believe everyone knows who I am and what I have been doing. You must all have heard about our loss in our campaign to Palgrost. It was unfortunate. I plan to unify this land and bring true peace to the world, but not everyone is willing to give up on their power. Those shortsighted rulers just want to prolong the suffering of the world. To have the world embroiled in the never-ending wars between countries. Such a waste of lives and resources is what I am trying to prevent. By having all countries under one umbrella, there will be no conflict!"
Many in the crowd disagreed but they didn't dare to voice their opinions.
"For this grand undertaking, I need soldiers! Great cause always requires great sacrifice. The loss in Palgrost had depleted my manpower. For that, I need to replace the soldiers I've lost. I call you here for that very purpose!"
The crowd still didn't voice any objection, but there were murmurs now. Everyone talking to the people next to them in low voices. But because almost everyone did it, the murmurs became rather loud.
Master didn't seem offended, though. He continued speaking. His voice was empowered by mana manipulation. Everyone could still hear him clearly despite the murmurs.
"You should be proud to become part of this holy conquest. Once we unite this world, we can start to build a utopia. Your names will be remembered among those who had made such a feat possible!"
"I… I don't want to go to war…!!"
Someone finally voiced their opinion.
Master turned to the voice, who was a young draconian. Master's face was still calm. He didn't show dissatisfaction with this dissent.
"What you want or don't want is irrelevant," Master said to the young draconian.
"You… You can't force us to fight for you!" That young draconian exclaimed.
"That's right! I won't be a soldier who fights for Liguritudum!" Another joined in.
Soon, many voiced their disagreement with being conscripted and expressed their disapproval of Liguritudum's subjugation of their country.
The uproar went on for some time. Master let this go on. He was even smiling as they protested. Those who stood the closest felt uneasy by the smile. They started looking around to see if they could slip away unnoticed, but they saw that the ethereal soldiers had taken a formation that boxed them inside this city square. All those soldiers were carrying tower shields that were placed on the ground next to each other. These tower shields formed a solid wall that prevented anyone from escaping.
Seeing this caused their uneasy feeling close to becoming a panic.
Master spoke again then. "I didn't call you here to ask for your consent. I'm simply telling you, so you can rest assured that your sacrifice is for the good."
"Sa… Sacrifice? What do you mean by sacrifice…?" The one closest to Master asked.
Master looked at him amusingly. "What do you think it means?"
Master suddenly started casting spells. At the same time, sky-splitting roars were heard. From above, two huge dragons dove toward them. Both opened their jaws and unleashed devastating breaths. These breaths washed over the crowd gathered inside the city square.
Master's spells followed soon.
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