Chapter 174: Shocking Global Announcement
Eventually, the initial wave of chaotic expansion reached a tense, fragile equilibrium. Factions like that of King Alexei, Black Sun, and the Castiglione family firmly carved out their borders against the World Government and La Familia La Suprema.
But the faction that benefited the most from all this turmoil was the Free Ascenders’ Guild.
Unlike the criminal syndicates or the heavy-handed World Government, the Guild maintained a neutral, decentralized stance. They did not enforce strict allegiance, nor did they answer to a single absolute leader. Their highest-level member at the time was only Level 20, with a council of Level 18 and 19 ascenders managing operations through democratic voting.
To the millions of average ascenders who were exhausted by constant war and terrified of being forced into government service or mafia protection nonsense, the Guild was a safe haven. Ascenders flocked to their ranks by the hundreds of thousands, forcing the World Government to officially recognize the Free Ascenders’ Guild as a serious global power that could not be easily pushed around.
Yet, despite all the shifting borders and newly formed alliances, one question lingered in the minds of every faction on Earth:
What was the number one ranker on the planet doing?
In fact, not just him alone. There was also another key player that had been silent...
Jolene Okafor. The richest person on the entire planet.
These two figures — Uhtred, the strongest on the planet, and Jolene, the richest on the planet, had remained silent throughout the whole turmoil. What exactly were they up to the entire time?
After thirty days, everyone finally found out what they had been cooking up.
.
.
In the central hall of a sprawling stone fortress on the Western continent, a heated debate was underway...
Antoine Blanc stood near the head of a massive mahogany conference table, his arms folded across his chest as he listened to five men argue. These men formed the regional executive council for the Free Ascenders’ Guild in the sector.
"If the World Government pushes their enforcers another five kilometers north, we have to respond," one of the councilmen said, slamming a hand on the table. "Our members are looking to us for protection. If we let them bully our border outposts, people will lose faith in the Guild!"
"And if we engage their forces openly, we’ll trigger an all-out war we aren’t equipped to win," another councilman countered instantly. "We can’t afford such losses now!"
Antoine Blanc listened quietly, a faint, amused smile lingering on his lips. He had officially severed his ties with the Coalition weeks ago, refusing to be part of their new "World Government." Now, he had joined the Free Ascenders’ Guild... though not officially. He only advised them on strategy, intentionally keeping himself unaligned on paper.
As the argument in the room began to escalate, Antoine Blanc had no choice but to finally step in.
However, before he could, a System message flashed across his and everyone’s visions simultaneously, making them all go silent:
[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Sender: Jolene Okafor (Global Wealth Rank No.1)
Subject: The First Global World Summit
Notice: All regional factions, sovereign powerhouses, and global organization leaders are formally invited to the First Global World Summit.
Location: Marina Archipelago (Territory of Jolene Okafor)
Purpose: Deliberation on global trade standards, territorial boundary enforcement, and post-trial resource allocation.
Time: T-1 day : 23 hours : 59 minutes : 56 seconds
Key Intelligence Briefings will be presented by:
- Red (Global Power Rank No.1)
- Jolene Okafor (Global Wealth Rank No.1)
[Confirmed Factions Attending: 1/50]
Red [Vacant] [Vacant]...
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Silence fell over the grand hall.
Antoine Blanc stared at the floating blue panel for two full seconds before a burst of genuine, delighted laughter escaped his throat.
"So that’s what you were up to, Uhtred," Antoine chuckled, shaking his head. "You sly bastard."
The council members around the table were in total shock, their previous argument completely forgotten as they stared at the notification.
"Jolene Okafor... and Uhtred?" one councilman stammered, his eyes wide. "The two of them are working together?"
"It seems they’ve been in contact the entire month," another whispered, cold sweat visible on his forehead. "The richest person on Earth and the strongest ascender on Earth... inviting the entire world to one location."
If Jolene Okafor had issued the invite alone, the reaction would have been vastly different. Factions would have been intrigued by her immense wealth, but that would have been all. The World Government and La Familia Suprema might have sent expendable envoys just to probe her territory and see what made her so rich.
But with Uhtred’s name attached as a co-host and confirmed attendee, the entire dynamic changed.
Refusing to attend was no longer an option for anyone claiming to be a major player. Skipping the summit would be viewed by the rest of the world as a clear admission of fear, a public statement that your faction was terrified of standing in the same room as Uhtred and Jolene Okafor.
Before the council could even digest the announcement, the global announcement changed again. The vacant attendee slots on the floating panel began filling up in real time at a blinding speed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Confirmed Factions Attending 6/50]
Red King Alexei (Tsar’s Dominion) Isolde Castiglione (The Castiglione Family) Black Sun (The Black Isles) Stormcaller Inagawa-kai (Shogun)...
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The powerhouses were locking in their attendance without a single second of hesitation. King Alexei, the Castiglione family, Black Sun, and even the now-reclusive Yakuza faction, Inagawa-kai, had chosen to attend within seconds of the broadcast. It was a massive flex of confidence. None of them were willing to look weak in front of their global peers.
Seeing the top rankers jump in immediately, the remaining vacant slots began disappearing as the World Government and secondary factions frantically joined to avoid being left out.
Antoine Blanc turned to the frozen councilmen, a sharp grin on his face.
"I suggest you gentlemen call your vote very quickly," Antoine said, tapping his fingers on the table. "Unless you want the Free Ascenders’ Guild to look like a collection of cowards on a global stage."
The council members snapped out of their stupor.
Without hesitation, the Free Ascenders’ decentralized leadership went into a voting session, coming out with a unanimous decision to join.
"Now," the lead council ascender said, turning to Antoine. "Antoine, you need to represent us. You have the level, the prestige, and you know Uhtred personally. If you lead our delegation—"
"No," Antoine interrupted smoothly, raising a hand to cut him off. "I’m not a member of the Guild, and we need to keep it that way on paper."
The councilman frowned. "Why? With your backing—"
"If I publicly align with the Guild right now, it breaks the current balance of power," Antoine explained patiently. "The World Government is already looking for an excuse to crush you before your numbers grow too large. If I join you officially, they will view the Guild as an immediate existential threat and launch a full-scale war. You need time to consolidate your low-level members and build infrastructure. Don’t invite unnecessary trouble."
Antoine stepped away from the table, adjusting his collar with a calm, eager smile.
"Do not worry about me. I’m definitely going to find my way there. There’s no way in hell I’m missing a spectacle like this."
.
.
Across the entire planet. From the strongholds of the United New Eden World Government to the fortified mansions of La Familia Suprema, and even smaller factions scattered across Zone 1, millions of ascenders stared at their system panels in breathless anticipation.
The month of quiet reshuffling was over.
The two silent titans of the global leaderboards had finally made their move, and everyone knew that whatever happened at the summit, the world order was about to be completely rewritten.