(Leo's POV)
Unlike the DarkSky guild, who seemed to be taking their own sweet time contemplating Leo's offer, the WhiteSaber guild was quick to respond with a 'Yes'.
"Esteemed Sir Boss, Thank-you for reaching out to us and considering our organization as one of your future allies.
The WhiteSaber guild solemnly pledges to acknowledge you as Emperor and join your cause, provided you can kill the existing NPC nobility and seize control over the central, southern and eastern region.
Looking forward to our happy future collaboration—
The WhiteSabers"
It was a short and sweet yes, which emboldened Leo, as this was more in line with how he expected most organization's to behave.
"They don't have much to lose by joining hands with me, this is the logical response" Leo concluded, as emboldened by the response of the WhiteSabers, Leo reached out to three major guilds in the North, namely the "Galactic Rangers" "Astral Pandemonium" and "Freshmen".
He gave them the same terms that he offered to the WhiteSabers, and just a couple hours after he reached out to them, all three of the major northern guilds accepted his proposal with open arms.
His identity as 'TheBoss' carried weight within the gaming world and although Leo did not realize just how big of a deal he was, guild masters of major guilds trembled in fear when they received a message from him.
The responses that the three guilds gave him were also similar to that of the WhiteSaber, where they mentioned that it would be an 'Honor' to work with him, which made Leo wonder what the hold-up was for the DarkSky?
Everyone else seemed to be happy to collaborate with him, but it was only his brothers guild that seemed to still be contemplating this golden deal, even though it was clearly for their best.
"Nah, I'm sure my brother will pull through for me…. In any case, I can wait for a couple more days for his response" Leo mused, as although the hold-up annoyed him, Leo decided to be patient for now.
*********
( Meanwhile the DarkSky guild )
At the DarkSky guild headquarters, Cervantez called for a meeting of the six remaining guild elders, after Amanda vacated her spot when she left the guild.
The remaining elders were, Lysa the mage, Tor the berserker, Cola the tank, Jex the archer, Snoop the scout, and Toni the inscription master.
Alongside Luke and Cervantez, the full council consisted of eight members and for the subject of whether or not the DarkSky guild should join the rebels, Cervantez decided to put the decision on a consensus vote.
Once the meeting began, Luke re-explained Leo's full proposal before the council, explaining both the pro's and the cons of accepting such an offer, and the council listened intently to his words.
Once he was done, Cervantez tabled the matter for a vote, where each member expressed their opinion on what to do.
"I say we let 'TheBoss' kill The West Duke, but instead of joining him, we then seize the Western Duchy for ourselves and backstab him.
This way, we can take the umbrella of righteousness and take the power that comes with it too–" Toni suggested, as he voted against joining hands with the rebels.
"I agree with Toni on this one, if the situation will really turn out the way 'TheBoss' thinks it will, then we can just use his naivety to our advantage.
We can rally the righteous players behind our guild and drive him out of the Western Duchy which will be the last safe haven of the Empire.
The rebels will already be stretched thin trying to take hold of the southern, central and eastern states, it would become impossible for them to launch a powerful campaign in the west too" Lysa said, as she voted against joining 'TheBoss' too.
"I don't think double-crossing 'TheBoss' is honorable, I don't want to face such a great warrior while having used such cheap tricks…..
I vote towards joining his cause, he's a man I won't feel ashamed bowing to" Tor said, as he did not agree with the approach that Toni and Lysa suggested and instead voted for joining 'TheBoss'.
"Well, I agree with Tor…. I don't think the guild stands to gain much by betraying 'TheBoss', so my vote is to join him–" Luke said, who could feel his heart beat loudly in his chest, as he did not appreciate the direction this conversation was going in.
"Well I disagree with the Vice Guildmaster here…. I think it's a great chance for us to truly rally support behind us.
We are already the best guild in the game, and although 'TheBoss' is powerful, the rebel forces he commands are not that formidable.
They only win because they take the local administration by surprise and have spies infiltrating their ranks, however, they don't have the skills to win in an open war.
If we have time to prepare against them, which we do, now that we know their plan of action.
I think we can use this chance to take the Western Duchy all for ourselves and become Kings–" Snoop said, as he voted against joining 'TheBoss'.
The vote was now 3-2. And three members were yet to cast their votes.
After a lot of contemplation, Cola the tank decided to not go against 'TheBoss', and voted in favor of joining him, which tied the vote 3-3, leaving only Jex and Cervantez to decide.
"Well, my vote will be the same as the guildmaster, I don't mind going either way, so to avoid a deadlock, I'm supporting the guildmaster on this one" Jex said, as all eyes turned towards Cervantez, who now held the decisive vote.
While the other members had no idea who 'TheBoss' was, or what was his real identity or connection to Luke…. Cervantez was fully aware of it all.
Luke hence took a sigh of relief, as he believed that surely the guildmaster would not wrong him here.
However, to his absolute shock and horror, Cervantez decided to not join Leo, in what Luke took as a personal betrayal.
"I think I agree with Lysa and Toni on this…. This is a chance for our DarkSky guild to build a legacy for us and our members.
I say we don't join the rebels.
I say we fight back—" Cervantez said, as listening to his words, Luke felt his heart drop within his chest.