Pillar of Yita

”Four?”

”Because there are three more, located in the second world, Lord Captain,” Hilveld answered, ”one on Mount Holy Pact, one in the Murky Domain, and the whereabouts of another are unknown.”

Miss Miya gave her a look, ”Ade, the Obelisk beneath the Black Holy City has already sunk underground. To the outside world, you are the only one who has ever been in contact with it, not to mention the secret of the Hailin Crown you carry. So once you appear before the public, the Descendants of Flor will shadow you, and you only have two choices—cooperate with them, though I do not recommend cooperating with those people ...”

Fang Hong also shook his head, interrupting, ”I cannot possibly cooperate with those people, Miss Miya.”

Hearing this, Miya did not argue, ”Then you must be extremely cautious. V.E.M left a massive political legacy. Within the country, the Super Competitive League, though you are a Free Summoner, can still bind you.”

Fang Hong was somewhat surprised, ”The Super Competitive League? Aren’t they only able to penalize those Invokers who violate the spirit of the Stargate Treaty and the competition?”

He had heard that the Super Competitive League was committed to maintaining the interests of the Grand Guild and the Invoker—of course, primarily the Grand Guild. However, he had no intention of joining any guilds, and he had no desire to violate the Stargate Treaty. How could the Super Competitive League govern him?

Isn’t Eteliria a free world?

Seeing his reaction, Miya knew that this young man, just like herself, had once thought too simply of this world. She lightly shook her head, ”The Super Competitive League also has many internal rules and clauses, for example, declarations of war and ceasefires between guilds must be completed under the control of the Super Competitive League. You should know that in the general sense, wars between Invokers, as long as they don’t involve Natives, are not bound by the ’Stargate Treaty.’”

”This is just one example. There are more detailed clauses targeting individual Invokers. In the future, you will inevitably grow, and even as a Free Adventure Group, you will still need various resources. But in the distribution of resources, the Super Competitive League also has a say.”

The political legacy left by V.E.M was the result of the joint efforts of several large capital groups, with intertwined relationships but unified interests. Domestically, the only area they might not have penetrated could be the military, but at Stargate Port, they still have their spies. Think about why the lone wolf struggles to make steps? Because breaking out of these rules is hardly easy.”

”Beneficiaries will naturally not easily let challengers emerge, especially those who might threaten them—”

Listening to this, Fang Hong had come to understand; within a large competition region vying for resources, naturally, no guild or club could be allowed to annihilate another, though competition is beneficial to strength growth, a fight to the death is not beneficial for preserving strength in a competition region. Therefore, resource distribution among the guilds actually operates according to a set of inherent rules.

Specifically, Points—

A guild, team, and adventure group’s rank based on points accumulated during a season determines how much ownership they can claim in production areas for the next season. Points must be earned through numerous battles and matches, and not just for guilds; fixed teams and adventure groups have their rankings as well.

The so-called top ten guilds are actually the super guilds and powerhouse clubs that have consistently occupied the top ten in the ladder rankings. Besides these, there are also top ten teams and individuals, although the individual leaderboard is the only one among the three major ladders unrelated to resource distribution.

It only determines a player’s actual level and position among their peers, or as a very popular saying goes in the Stargate Era—a personal ladder is, in essence, a ranking of one’s worth.

Of course, Invokers like Fang Hong, who are on the second or third tier, generally don’t make it to the list, as they not only lack points, but also ranking millions of places down is unlikely, and if there are, likely no one would pay attention.

And this entire ladder system, the behind-the-scenes rule-makers, are actually the Super Competitive Alliances of each competition region themselves.

While the alliance is still subject to the control of national governments and is not a true political entity, generally speaking, governments rarely intervene in normal business operations to avoid causing tension with other countries—

As such, the Super Competitive League actually holds the power of life and death over most guilds, groups, and individuals; they do not need to overstep their bounds, merely a banishment penalty could cause a guild’s points to drop significantly in a season and trigger a chain reaction.

Especially for emerging guilds, it’s a matter of life and death.

This was exactly what happened with the incident at Mount Holy Pact years ago.

Fang Hong fell silent.

And Miya didn’t say much more; she did not want to interfere with Fang Hong’s choices. Everyone has their own path to follow, and a person who always lets others manipulate them can never truly grow. She had once been called the Witch of the Sea, a deeper meaning to these words.

She turned around, only saying to Hilveld, ”Ade is in your care now, Miss Hilveld, please take good care of him—”

The Wolf Clan girl’s sharp canines gleamed in the sunlight.

Hilveld just smiled and responded, ”I will, Miss Miya.”

Miss Miya looked at her, her silver sharp ears twitching slightly before she stepped past and quietly, as quietly as she had come, opened the door and left the room.