Chương 65: An Eye For Two Eyes

It's been five weeks since Brighthaven was established. June sat across from Leo, Leonard, Sidri, and Atish, with his fingers clutching his brow. Good things have happened in the meantime. June was now able to sense something due to his and Leonard's toil. Brighthaven was now one of the safest places in the virtual colosseum. June's faction was the largest, most robust, and thriving compared to the other factions. And finally, of the 580, 000, only 93, 000 remain. 45, 000 of those survivors belonged to his faction.

And during the five weeks, bad things happened as well… very, very bad things. June leaned back on a giant feather-filled pillow that someone had gifted him and used as his bed.

"Shit!"

"…"

"Shit!"

"Is there a possibility the scouts made a mistake?" Atish took a swig of a homebrewed alcohol he was gifted.

"June… I was there…"

"Most of our people are mundanes, a decent portion are Aspirants, and we have a dozen Dreamers."

"Our people… they aren't fighters; meanwhile they…" Atish took another swig from his gourd. June tapped his foot on the floor; his body was shivering. He didn't mind dying, but he was finally getting accustomed to the life. Brighthaven was a home away from home; it was a beautiful place. The two remaining factions destroyed a third warring faction, and now that Brighthaven was the largest faction, the other two joined hands.

"It's going to be 45, 000 against 48, 000." June kept tapping his foot violently, and it started making an indent in the soft leather floor.

"Ok, ok… We have a castle, and the terrain is to our advantage, and we don't need to eat in the virtual realm…"

'God dammit, why are you looking at me? I'm 20! I don't know anything about war, and I come from a place where I live on my ass all day.' This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. June cupped his fists together while his foot violently bounced on the ground.

"They're active fighters, most likely Aspirants; they realistically have hundreds of Dreamers."

"Sidri, recall the groups at other bases, except the ones that produce the most and the ones closest to Brighthaven."

"Leo, talk to our craftspeople; start stockpiling spare weapons, arrows… a lot of arrows; and try to get explosives, as many as possible."

"Leonard, get some people to dig pitfalls and guide our people away from them, and set up an escape tunnel that leads into the lake."

"Atish, since you have the most people to handle, help the others when they need you."

"…and start layering explosives in key points around Brighthaven." Leonard's eyes widened, and the others seemed to understand what June meant immediately.

"JUNE! How could you destroy EVERYTHING that we worked so hard for?" June clasped his hands together and slouched over, pressing his temple against his index finger.

"Leonard."

"I don't have an excuse."

"I'm not good with my words, so I can't convince you properly."

"Brighthaven can be wherever it needs to be, but to build another Brighthaven, we need people who want a Brighthaven."

"…"

"Leo, before you go to the blacksmiths, find me Eren and his cohort." Leo nodded before flying out with gravity magic. Sidri and Atish followed right after leaving Leonard and June alone.

"Leonard… you know you have the right to hate me for what I have planned." June had seen the elf man mad before, but the look in Leonard's eyes was pure defeat. June felt a trembling from within him. He initially wanted these people to kill him; he didn't even want to be a part of these war games, but now these random people, whom he held the mantle of responsibility over, were some of his closest friends.

Leonard was like Fin; they were both pragmatic and incredibly busy people, but both would go through hell and back or just silently listen to someone wallow.

"Leonard… if I die… You can just come see me in the real world." June let out an awkward chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn't working. He let out a sigh.

"Leonard, there are two parts to my plan. Change it if you need to, but you and Leo are going to be in charge while I'm gone." Leonard's eyes flickered for a second before he asked.

"Gone? Where are you going?" June stood up and stretched.

"The enemy has 3000 more people than us, but we have a castle; we have a defensive point; our soldiers don't need to eat; and as embarrassing as it is to say out loud, people in Brighthaven look at us like heroes, so morale won't tank as easily."

"The castle might be enough; our people might be enough, but there's no shame in scurrying away like a rat."

"So, fight for a while; retreat if you need to, and if they take the castle."" BOOM."

"Me, on the other hand, I'm going to finally stretch my wings, let my spine take a breather, and run with all the power I can muster."

"I'm taking Eren, Ann, and Silvester."

"Eren's a hunter at heart; he also knows what to eat and what would kill him."

"Ann's almost as ruthless as me; the only difference is rank. Having someone who's ready to do anything to win seems like a good way to win."

"And Silvester, he's a little bit of an idiot, but if I want someone dead from a distance, and I want it done discreetly, well, he's the fellow, isn't he?"

"So while you fight to protect home, my group will sow chaos in the enemy; we'll poison them, brutalize them, and kill them when they least expect it."

"Not to mention, I'm literally a living boogeyman."

"So how do you feel, my friend?" June walked up to Leonard and patted him on the back.

"Better!" June looked visibly happier when his friend said they felt better.

"Oh, also rig my tent with explosives; let's give them a light show. Also, don't forget the pillow."

June merrily watered his bed of flowers one final time before going to war. The cohort has arrived, and June greeted them with open arms.

"Eren!!! Ann!!! Silvester!!! Are you ready for war?" During the past two weeks, Eren, Ann, and Silvester visited June for no other reason other than to just chat or bring gifts, like the giant pillow he used as a bed. Eren and Silvester laughed.

"Oh, you guys think I'm joking…" Eren and Silvester's laughs died down. Ann seemed aloof as always, but June could smell surprise and anger boiling from her.

'Let's just hope she's not angry at me.'