A different world game? A different world game!

Inside the town conference room.

"...They're gone,"

Mayor Wendell broke the silence with a heavy voice, his tone lingering with hoarseness.

"Thanks to the reputation of the Night's Watch, especially Toru and Sera, we managed to drive them back, which may buy the town some breathing room."

He looked at Gertaire: "Captain, we thank you and your brothers and sisters of the Night's Watch for standing in front of us. Without you, today..."

After expressing his gratitude, the mayor took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening.

"But this is by no means a long-term solution! Those wolf cubs have suffered such a great humiliation, they will definitely not let it go when they get back! They will definitely embellish what happened today in their report."

"They say we at Turnip Root are gathering to defy orders and resist the Empire's conscription—and more importantly..."

He emphasized his words, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "They will definitely use the Night's Watch's 'interference' as their most crucial crime!"

He was once a member of the army, so he understands these things all too well.

The Night's Watch, in particular, are already feared, and any overstepping of their bounds will touch a nerve with these powers, causing them to react excessively.

He paused, glancing around at his fellow clansmen and Night's Watch members at the table: "What time is it now? The Void is eroding our world, and the front lines are under immense pressure. The need for Sentinels and Pathfinders is greater than ever before!"
"If the higher-ups can't recruit soldiers and can't deliver on their promises, the pressure will only keep piling up. We've started this 'rebellion,' and to make an example of one to warn others and extinguish this spark, the higher-ups will inevitably take even tougher measures!"

Unlike humans or other races, orcs are essentially still wild animals; otherwise, they wouldn't be called orcs.

It is precisely this wildness that makes their politics and certain behaviors somewhat crude.

Such crudeness would turn a strong approach into a negative example, directly wiping out tribes that had gathered together to rebel.

Even if they did not rebel, but simply resisted conscription, and it was an unreasonable conscription at that.

However, given the current situation, even if the conscription is unreasonable, anyone who dares to resist will still be forcibly suppressed and violently exterminated by those above.

Not to mention they are just rabbits, and the rabbit population is countless, with rabbit settlements everywhere.

A small rabbit town with a population of only twenty or thirty thousand.

More importantly, what if this kind of leadership ignites the courage of other rabbits?

A forceful suppression and annihilation seemed almost a foregone conclusion.

Elder Alyssa nervously twisted her fingers: "Then... what will they say about the Night's Watch? The Night's Watch protects the homes of Toru and Sera..."

"They'll say the Night's Watch instigated a rebellion, interfered in the Empire's internal affairs, and even intended to divide the Empire!"

Hope Bronzebeard interjected, explaining that he was a bronze dwarf whose ancestors had come here with the silver dwarves during a past migration. He had lived in the orcish empire for a long time and was well aware of the tricks commonly used by the higher-ups.

"They'll throw mud at you ruthlessly and quickly!"

Young Ferre couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Then...then will they immediately send a large army to suppress us?"

“No,” Captain Gertai’s deep and powerful voice rang out, like a stabilizing stone thrown into surging waves.

Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on him.

Compared to others.

Gerthai naturally had a higher perspective; he was a level nine Night Watchman. The reason he didn't reach level ten was because he later shifted most of his focus to other missions.

He has been a member of the Night's Watch for eight years, and has seen and learned a great deal.

Compared to these people who are merely confined to this small area, he, who grew up with Cana and the newly formed Night's Watch, has a better understanding of the world's situation and the circumstances of various factions.

Simply put, he understands politics better, and he understands the political styles of various forces and countries, as well as the personalities and thoughts of certain members.

"Why?" Wendell pressed, as this was also his concern.

Gertai's gaze was steady and his reasoning clear: "The reason lies in the 'void' you mentioned earlier. This is not the usual time."

The Void's invasion began more than two months ago and has continued until now, and it will not stop in the future; it will only get worse until it suddenly erupts at a certain point.

This is a point that every power clearly understands.

He held up a finger covered in calluses.

"First: Reputation. The Night's Watch has earned tremendous reputation and trust through its two months of fighting the Void around the world."

“It’s not just civilians like you who were saved; there were also some soldiers and officers.”

"Anyone in the Orcish Empire's leadership who isn't blind or deaf knows what the Night Watch's support and resurrection promises mean in resisting the Void."

"Openly opposing the Night's Watch, especially over a 'trivial' matter like conscripting men from a lower-ranking rabbit tribe, would be extremely foolish and irresponsible, and would be condemned by the entire Empire and even by allies."

What wasn't mentioned was that the orcs had many hidden allies of the Night's Watch, as well as pro-Night's Watch factions.

Especially for the soldiers on the front lines, the Night's Watch has a very high regard for them.

It's inexplicable to blame the Night's Watch for something that was wrong in the first place, as if a fabricated charge had been leveled against them.

This would seriously provoke discontent among both internal staff and frontline soldiers; no one would do something like this unless they were completely out of their mind.

Even if he's having a brain fart, someone else will kick him awake.

It's no joke that even if the current Orc Emperor gave the order, the officials below would do their best to stop it or outwardly comply but inwardly defy it.

He raised a second finger, his voice growing even colder: "Second: the price. If the higher-ups of the opposing faction are pro-Night Watch, they'd be happy to suppress this matter, and might even secretly make things difficult for Karen and his ilk, all to curry favor with the Night's Watch."

This is no joke; the Night's Watch is righteous, generous, and friendly, and always fights on the front lines.

Aside from the upper class and those with vested interests, the middle and lower classes have a very high level of goodwill towards the Night's Watch.

What they've accomplished over the past decade is no joke; their influence has already taken root and flourished all over the world.

Good intentions lead to good results.

"If it's a faction hostile to the Night's Watch..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the tense, listening crowd: "...They dare not act rashly either. Because at this critical juncture, anyone who jumps out to publicly accuse or attack the Night's Watch for 'interfering in internal affairs' is tantamount to standing against all the races and forces being aided by the Night's Watch, and is tantamount to obstructing the operation of the entire Joint Defense Council."

They cannot afford to be isolated, or even seen as 'sabotaging the anti-virtual forces'.

“Those who are more powerful than them, regardless of their true thoughts, will certainly suppress such restless dissent for the sake of the greater good at this critical juncture!”

Toru's eyes lit up: "So... the people above just want them to pretend they can't see it?"

"Yes."

Gertai nodded. "This matter will be 'handled over' for the time being."

"At most, the higher-ups in the wolf clan can only reprimand Karen for his poor performance, tell them to handle the situation discreetly, or recruit soldiers from another place."

"Under the pressure of the Void invasion, no one dares to rashly start a conflict with the Night's Watch over this minor incident." His explanation was clearer and more organized, easily convincing everyone present.

Upon closer reflection, it does seem to be true.

Such actions would naturally not be ignored; the orcish high command would certainly be aware of them. However, at most, they would simply record the incident and use it as a minor piece of information when the conflict erupted or when they launched a coordinated attack, thus intensifying their offensive against the Night's Watch.

But that's just a nice idea.

At this stage, all factions are becoming increasingly reliant on the Night's Watch.

Even though the leaders of various factions still harbor ulterior motives.

The oppressive atmosphere in the council chamber seemed to ease slightly.

Elder Elisa let out a long sigh of relief, and Ferre's clenched fist relaxed slightly.

Mayor Wendell's furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but deep worry remained in his eyes: "Captain, you're right. But how long can this 'cooling-off' last? The Void Crisis will eventually ease or... worsen. The Wolf Clan's resentment won't disappear; they're still watching this place."

Unlike the others present, as the mayor, he had a vague sense that Gerthai wanted to do something, or rather, that the Night's Watch wanted to do something.

Today's conflict, while helpful to them, also suited the Night's Watch's intentions. They deliberately mediated the conflict, never expecting the other side to actually do anything; it was something they had anticipated and planned for.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the wolf clan's conscription was related to them; it's just that they anticipated this and had been waiting for it.

The mayor had always resisted this kind of thing.

Both the werewolves and the Night's Watch seem to want to use them.

However, the werewolves were purely exploitative, and the Night's Watch still couldn't understand what they were trying to do.

"This is exactly the time we need to take advantage of."

Gertaire stood up, his voice filled with unwavering determination, "Wendel, Hope, Ferre, Elder Elisa, inform everyone in town who can take up arms: assemble at the guild training ground before dawn tomorrow."

"The Night's Watch will provide basic combat, archery, and scouting training. Toru, Sera, you're in charge."

He looked at the dwarf: "Hope, you are familiar with engineering. Take the men and reinforce the town's walls, especially those weak points that are easy to breach. Build them according to the standard semi-underground bunker structure, and make use of your rabbit tribe's advantages."

Finally, his gaze fell on the old mayor, a barely perceptible glint of decisiveness flashing in his eyes: "At the same time, I need a safe and secluded location. The Night Watch will set up a terminal node to connect to our communication network."

“If the situation escalates, the Night's Watch will be aware and react immediately. This period is a window of opportunity for the turnip root to breathe and grow—so that it is no longer a fertile field to be slaughtered, but can grow thorns that can withstand the storm!”

The mayor's worst fears have come true.

The wolf pack only wanted a few dozen adults to fight, while the Night's Watch seemed to want all of them, and appeared to be doing it for their own good.

He looked at the others present.

No one seemed to notice anything, or perhaps they had already noticed something.

Even Alyssa, the elder who looked somewhat frail, nodded slightly at this moment.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Because he couldn't accuse the Night's Watch of anything; their actions over the years had earned them the trust of everyone, including him.

He knew the Night's Watch seemed to be planning something that could endanger the town, but he still couldn't stop them.

The fact that he only hinted at it today shows that he has been very responsible.

He also understood that as the world faced more and more crises, if they did nothing, the exploitation by the upper races would lead them to an even more painful future.

The words of the Night Watch captain were like a torch lit in the darkness, pointing the way for the fearful rabbits and rekindling the flames of "resistance" and "hope" in their eyes.

The Night Watch doesn't want anything in return; they just want these weak rabbits to pick up their blades and say no for themselves and for their future.

After the meeting concluded, the rabbit clan elders and warriors nodded in agreement and quickly departed to carry out the plan.

Gertai stood still, gazing at the night outside the window, his resolute face filled with calm and contemplation.

The storm is not over; it has only been temporarily suppressed by an even bigger storm.

What he needs to do is, during this brief period of calm, turn the "turnip root" into a nail that can survive the storms to come.

"So, Captain, I beg you to tell me, what exactly do you want us to do? We've now staked the lives of everyone in the town on the Night Watch."

"As the town mayor, I feel I should be qualified to know even a little bit about your plans, right?"

The captain turned to look at the town mayor.

Suddenly, he patted the other person on the shoulder, put his arm around the other person's neck, and pulled him to the windowsill, from which one could see the entire town.

As night fell, the whole town lit up, looking so warm and cozy, as if the fear of the daytime had never existed.

"Do you think it's fair?"

"what?"

"Rabbit race, have you and your race received any so-called fair treatment in this so-called orc empire?"

Upon hearing this, the town mayor opened his mouth slightly.

"But, but if our ancestors hadn't joined the orc empire, wouldn't we have been even more miserable?"
"At least we have a safe home, even though the races above us are constantly oppressing us, and we need to send young people to compete to become so-called sentinels."

"But it's better than losing your home and having everything destroyed, isn't it?"

This is a very simple comparison; understanding the history of the rabbit race, which existed hundreds of years before the orc empire, will reveal this point.

Every race has its own crises, and every race faces its own difficulties.

The reason the first Orc Emperor was able to gather these Orcs together was because he solved at least one serious problem facing these races.

For example, the wolf tribe is a nomadic tribe, and their lives are not peaceful. They are always migrating to avoid the dangers brought by the seasons, and they do not have a stable food supply in winter.

If a harsh winter with a blizzard hits, everything could vanish into thin air.

The rabbit tribe also faces military threats from the outside world. They are not particularly skilled in warfare, but they have no choice but to fight back.

They were enemies of other raiding orcs, yet they were no match for them and were always being raided.

Each race has its own set of problems, which come together to form an empire, making things much better than before.

This is also a sign of progress in civilization.

“That’s right, but that was in the past. Now we’ve progressed. All races are looking forward, not standing still, and certainly not comparing themselves to the past.”

The captain said calmly. (End of Chapter)