A different world game? A different world game!

a long distance away.

In Whitestone, a large city that guards a vital transportation hub, a small teleportation array inside the Night's Watch stronghold glowed with intense spatial distortion.

As the light faded, five well-equipped and menacing figures instantly appeared—the "Guardians" squad, who had received orders.

Without pausing, Captain Cedric roared as soon as he steadied himself, "Coordinates confirmed: 'Hamton'! Full gear activated! Mounts ready!"

The team members moved with lightning speed, each taking out their mounts from the special magical pet pouches at their waists.

Five large, robust chocobos covered in tightly forged steel armor appeared in the specially made enclosure at the outpost.

These are not ordinary mounts; they are war companions carefully nurtured and alchemically enhanced by the Night's Watch.

Over the years, the Night's Watch's chocobo breeding program has expanded to the point where every Night's Watchman can own two.

Furthermore, with the development of the [Beast Taming] secondary profession, many even better breeds have been cultivated.

This mount can be described as perfect to the extreme.

The only difficulty might be that it cannot take off directly and can only glide from a high place.

But this is already very, very good.

The mere fact that they are chocobos is enough to make many forces extremely envious.

Not to mention that after being bred and leveled up, chocobos can use some simple magic and even their intelligence has increased significantly.

Each one is around level 6, with beaks and claws as if forged from fine steel, and muscles beneath the armor containing explosive power and speed and stamina no less than that of an ordinary warhorse.

Cedric took the lead, flipping over and leaping onto his largest chocobo, "Barrier".

The mount's armor gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen in the dim light of the stronghold, and subtle magical energy could be seen flowing across it.

To outsiders, the Night Watchmen seem to live an extravagant lifestyle.

Even the armor on the mounts was engraved with runes.

He shared the urgent information he had received with the other Night Watchmen remaining at the outpost—most of whom were civilian or low-ranking combat personnel responsible for intelligence transmission and logistical support.

This is the Night's Watch configuration in a large capital city.

"White Rock Stronghold Night Watchmen, heed my command!" Cedric's voice echoed through the stronghold's hall.

"Signs of a Void Rift detected in Hamton Town! Situation critical! Outpost placed on red alert! Information immediately encrypted and transmitted to provincial headquarters!"

"The remaining personnel are activating the first step of the local 'Void Defense Plan'! Now, all combat personnel who can handle weapons, immediately go to the armory to collect the 'Standard Emergency Kit' and follow us to Hamton Town!"

"Remember, we're not going to fight the void head-on; we're going to establish a blockade on the perimeter, clear out any potential secondary contaminants, and protect civilians during evacuation! Hurry!"

"Yes!"

A chorus of responses rang out from inside the outpost.

The few combat members who remained immediately rushed to the armory and began to quickly arm themselves.

Meanwhile, the person in charge of the Whitestone stronghold—a calm and capable middle-aged male mage named Ovid—had already donned a gray robe with silver trim, a symbol of his status.

He nodded quickly to Cedric with a grave expression: "Leave this to me! You all proceed at full speed! Hold on! Messenger!"

"Here!" A young halfling Night's Watchman responded and ran over.

Mage Ovid spoke rapidly, his eyes flashing with wisdom and composure: "Immediately notify the city lord, military commander, and all high-ranking noble representatives of this information and the order I am about to issue, with the highest priority."

The wording is as follows: 'A void rift that is about to open has been confirmed to have appeared in Hamton Town, Central Plains, Anvian Continent!'

"This level of disaster will result in high concentrations of void energy pollution and a large-scale invasion of void creatures. Its radiation impact will extend far beyond a single town, completely covering a radius of at least fifty miles around Hamton."

"Whitestone City may also be impacted by secondary pollution and threatened by roaming void creatures! In accordance with the Night Watcher-Void Emergency Act and the World-Covenant-Mutual Defense Treaty, Whitestone City is hereby ordered to immediately enter a state of emergency! The order is as follows:"

He took a deep breath, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority and a hint of anxiety: "First, the city shall immediately enter a state of void alert! Close all non-essential outer city gates, activate all defensive rune towers, cancel all leave for the garrison, and have the city defense forces stand by for defense."

"Second, all noble private armies and city guards shall immediately assemble in the designated square and stand by, ready to be deployed by the Night Watch to carry out outer defenses and cleanup tasks at any time!"

"Third, immediately mobilize the entire city's resources to prepare for receiving and resettling the civilians who are about to seek refuge in Hamton Town and other surrounding villages!"

"Fourth, a warning to all nobles and their families: obstructing orders, hoarding goods, or spreading rumors at this time will be considered a betrayal of the human camp and an aid to the Void invasion!"

"The Night's Watch will use every means to completely eliminate them! Do you understand? This is an order, not a request! If you don't want your whole family to become snacks for the Void, execute it immediately! Send it out!"

Although that is what is said.

But he knew that there would definitely be some foolish nobles who would violate what he called the fourth law.

It's just that the nature of those nobles is something they can't change.

But it doesn't matter; before the void, everything must give way.

These were merely signed regulations; these nobles, who never imagined these regulations would befall them, were about to learn the obligations they would have to fulfill after signing their names.

This matter must be handled according to the rules, after all, this is the first Void invasion since the regulations were signed.

It's like setting an example for the whole world, telling those nobles who haven't figured it out yet.

The Night's Watch was not joking.

Get those jumbled thoughts out of your head.

Ovid quickly signed his runic mark on the magic scroll and handed it to the messenger.

"Use the fastest eagle-falcon magical message, and simultaneously send someone to the city lord's mansion to read it aloud in person. Tell them that the moment Hamton's signal flare is launched, it will be the signal for the start of the White Stone City defense battle. We have no time!"

He looked out the door and saw that Cedric and his "Guardians" squad had all mounted the five heavily armed chocobos.

The powerful chocobo let out a loud cry, its iron hooves pounding sparks on the stone slabs.

"For order! Move out!" Cedric's roar was like a war drum.

The five men and five riders transformed into a torrent of steel. The moment the stronghold's gates suddenly swung open, they shot out of the city like arrows released from a bow, heading south towards Hamton Town in a desperate rush to provide reinforcements, as the night deepened.

Within Whitestone City, following the issuance of this thunderous emergency order, the entire city, after a brief moment of astonishment, will be plunged into a frenzy of panic and urgent mobilization.

The echoes of the Night's Watch's highest emergency order still reverberated over White Rock, and panic spread rapidly like ripples from a stone thrown into a pond.

However, in this tense torrent sweeping across the city, not everyone chose to stand together through thick and thin.

As expected, there are always fools who fail to see the situation, and the nobles are the first to be affected, as their interests have indeed been seriously offended.

Even if they weren't that stupid, considering the infringement on their interests and the potential consequences, they had to take action. West of the city—at the mansion of Viscount Lucius Wayne.

The atmosphere was completely different.

This nobleman, known for his shrewdness or perhaps greed, was roaring at his steward.

"Fool! What Void Rift? It's just an excuse for the Night's Watch to take control of White Rock! Immediately, move all the food, medicine, and especially the holy water from the warehouse to the depths of the cellar."

“Price, raise the price three times, no, five times! This is a great opportunity to make a fortune.”

However, the Night's Watch is known for its rapid supply of provisions, so thinking of making a fortune at this point can only be described as foolish.

The guards around him all felt that he was really starting to lose his mind.

The steward looked troubled: "My lord, the Night's Watch won't care about the things in the storeroom. Besides, the Night's Watch's orders... state that any obstruction will be considered treason, aiding the Void invasion..."

"Shit!"

Viscount Lucius's obese face flushed red with excitement, spitting as he spoke. "What are they? A bunch of bumpkins from out of town. My Wayne family has been operating on this land for three hundred years! They dare to touch me? Do it immediately! Send more guards to watch the warehouses!"

Almost simultaneously, outside the city's garrison command post, a Lord Malcolm Black, who had a long-standing feud with the Night's Watch, was leading a squad of heavily armed family soldiers, attempting to force his way in.

"Get out of the way! I need to see the commander!"

Lord Black roared at the Night's Watch members and city guards who tried to stop him, "The Night's Watch has no right to mobilize my private army. Who knows if they're trying to weaken our family's power? The Void? Ha!"

"Who knows if that 'crack' is just a trick they created themselves? I need to verify the intelligence myself."

Behind him, his private soldiers drew their swords, creating a tense atmosphere as they attempted to breach the makeshift defenses of a small number of city guards and night watchmen.

Panicked citizens watched from a distance, whispering amongst themselves; chaos was brewing.

However, the Night's Watch reacted far faster and more ruthlessly than these nobles, still clinging to their old dreams of power, had imagined.

Perhaps many nobles simply wanted to take this opportunity to force the Night's Watch to back down slightly, allowing them to catch their breath under the usual pressure.

But obviously, there was no such opportunity.

Just as Lord Black’s private soldiers were trying to shove the Night Watch clerks, several figures appeared like ghosts at the edge of the conflict.

They were members of the combat squad left behind at White Rock outpost, and had just received the "standard emergency kit"—which contained weapons, simple protective charms against void contamination, and purification potions.

The squad leader, a resolute-faced human warrior, didn't waste any words, simply coldly sweeping his gaze over Earl Black and his restless private soldiers.

His hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and his voice, though soft, clearly pierced through the noise:
"Based on the Night Watcher-Void Emergency Act and the World-Covenant-Mutual Defense Treaty, your actions constitute wartime insubordination and sedition, threaten public safety, and are suspected of assisting a Void invasion. Final warning: Lay down your weapons and stand back! Otherwise, coercive measures will be taken!"

"you dare!"

"The Earl of Black shouted, his voice stern but his heart was filled with fear," he said.

His response was a decisive gesture from the squad leader: "Imprisonment array, target: armed attacker!"

The two Night Watch mages behind him instantly raised their hands, and the pre-prepared spell models were activated in an instant.

Pale golden energy chains shot out from the ground like living snakes, precisely wrapping around the ankles and wrists of the private soldiers who were trying to break through.

The flashing runes of order on the chains instantly suppressed their power, rendering them immobile, and their weapons clattered to the ground.

“You…you all!” Earl Black was filled with shock and anger, pointing at the Night's Watch, trembling with rage.

This isn't Night's Watch territory, yet they actually dared to attack directly without any scruples.

“Your Excellency,” the Night’s Watch captain said, his gaze icy, “please restrain your men and have them immediately proceed to the designated square to await orders. This is an order, not a request.”

"Any further obstruction will be considered a direct challenge to the covenant states and a betrayal of world security, and the consequences will be borne by them."

His gaze swept over the imprisoned private soldiers, the meaning of which was self-evident—next time, it wouldn't just be imprisonment.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Viscount Wayne's dream of hoarding and speculating was shattered in an instant.

The heavily guarded warehouse gate was forcibly broken open by several Night's Watch combat members and Night's Watch supporters among the city guards.

"By order of the highest commander of the Night Watch White Rock stronghold, Mage Ovid, and the provincial headquarters, all strategic resources here are to be requisitioned for disaster relief and Void defense in Hamton Town!"

Afterwards, the Night's Watch will return all the strategic supplies temporarily requisitioned in full. The lead Night's Watchman's voice was loud and clear, brooking no argument.

“This is my property! You’re robbing me!” Viscount Wayne screamed as he tried to stop them.

The butler standing nearby was also surprised that the night watchmen would actually take a liking to their little gadgets.

Because compared to the Night's Watch's supplies, this is really nothing.

A Night's Watch warrior blocked his way, his tall figure casting a shadow.

"Your Excellency, your actions are suspected of violating the Wartime Material Control Regulations and Article 4 of the Void Emergency Act. You may choose to cooperate, and the materials will be registered and you will receive a compensation certificate."

"Alternatively, you may choose to continue obstructing, in which case we will arrest you for 'aiding the enemy' and 'endangering public safety,' and your supplies will also be requisitioned. Please choose."

Seeing the unwavering gaze of the Night's Watch warriors and the gleaming weapons in the hands of the city guards around him, Viscount Wayne collapsed to the ground like a punctured balloon, his face ashen.

Are the Night's Watch finally about to bare their fangs?

Not all nobles were so foolish as to choose to resist.

In the city's central square, the elderly but sharp-eyed Marquess of Harrington had already arrived with his family's elite private army.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gave a solemn salute to the Night's Watch commander, the mage Ovid, who was organizing the defensive line.

"Your Excellency Ovid, the Harrington family's private army consists of one hundred and twenty men, fully equipped, familiar with the local terrain, and at the command of the Night's Watch."

"With the threat of the Void looming, personal honor and family interests are insignificant. Protecting our homeland and the people of our kingdom is the duty of every noble! Give the order!"

The private soldiers behind him stood silently, their eyes resolute, clearly having already received clear orders and training.

They are one of the few local forces that had already seen the situation clearly and proactively incorporated their private army into the Night Watch's coordination system.

A hint of approval appeared on Mage Ovid's stern face: "Thank you for your understanding, Marquis Harrington. Your troops will be incorporated into the Third Blockade Line, responsible for patrolling the western river channel to prevent the spread of pollution and the infiltration of small groups of monsters. May the Light of Order protect us."

Suppress the old forces that are stirring up trouble with an iron fist, and unite all forces that can be united.

After a brief period of chaos, White Rock began to be forcibly united by the will of the Night's Watch in the face of this unprecedented crisis.

Sharp alarms blared throughout the city, the lights of defensive rune towers lit up one after another, and the footsteps of soldiers and volunteers converged into a heavy torrent in the streets, rushing to their respective posts.

All eyes were fixed nervously on the direction of Hamton Town to the south. (End of Chapter)