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Ashton wasn\'t having it today...

He hasn\'t slept for almost a week now. Typically, this shouldn\'t be a problem since sleep doesn\'t really do much for people like him at this point but the stress is what makes it worse.

Ever since Felicia and Mary brought back the news that the Celestials and the Hypogeans noticed Humanity\'s development despite the preparations he made, Ashton hasn\'t been able to rest easy.

He won\'t lie, yes he is indeed afraid. He won\'t deny that.

This mostly stems from the unknown factors all around him. For one, he didn\'t have any idea just how many enemies were there. He knows that there\'s a lot but he wants to know exactly how many.

Though, does that truly even matter? If there was so much then what\'s the point of counting? Aren\'t they screwed either way?

At this point, he knows that he\'s just making it even more stressful for himself. But he can\'t just stop worrying about their situation.

He, of all people, knows that Humanity is nowhere near ready to receive the army they\'re up against. There has been too little time for them to prepare. They needed more.

And just as he thought that things were starting to look up, this happens.

Ashton was aware that the history of the Celestials and Hypogeans is richer than Humanity, he\'s also aware that their technological advances are greater than theirs thanks to their rich history.

What gave him confidence was Humanity\'s innate traits. Their sheer desire for progress and innovation will eventually overcome these obstacles. Yet without time, that won\'t happen.

It\'s clear what must be done. He needed to buy more time for Humanity to develop even further.

Time that hopefully, he will have once the Twisted Heavenly Tree\'s upgrade is finished...

He had accepted the Twisted Heavenly Tree as his Beneficiary not too long ago. It worked somehow and he was able to see the further enhancements and upgrades he could apply for it.

For the enhancements, he made it so that the durability of the tree increases by at least 50%. There\'s also an enhancement that allowed him to add a reflective effect on the barrier, causing a portion of the damage it received to be reflected to its sender.

And for the last enhancement, it was called the Last Stand, which triggers when the damage it accumulates goes to dangerous territory. Once triggered, the Twisted Heavenly Tree will become invincible for a whole week. But once that week was up, the barrier shatters, allowing whatever was on the other side access to land in this world.

Today was the 7th day of that week...meaning that during the next couple of hours, if his plans doesn\'t work, Humanity was over.

Now, does it finally make sense why he\'s stressed?

"Damned foreigner dogs..." Ashton cursed under his breath.

The worst part was that he could feel their attempts of forcing their way in.

It\'s coming from the opposing poles of this world. He could feel the tremors rippling all the way to Last Bastion. Both the Celestials and the Hypogeans sent somebody to force their way in and snuff out Humanity. He doesn\'t need to know how exactly their conversion went, the fact that these creatures were doing their best to invade said enough for him.

"Master, all protocols are online. Say the word and it will immediately take effect."

Jerry\'s voice sounded in his ears.

"Good. Activate the \'Royal Reception Protocol\' please."

"As you wish, Master."

With his perception covering the entire metropolis, Ashton saw how five obelisks rose from the ground. These pillars were so tall that they were eye-catching. One could see them in any part of the metropolis.

Once they settled down, these obelisks lit up and projected a beacon of light that connected to each other. The Central Obelisk that stood on top of the Federation\'s Headquarters became the focal point.

Then, an expansive curtain of light covered Last Bastion as a whole.

This was something that was built along the overall enhancement of the metropolis. It\'s an integral part of the ARC Project. A defensive protocol that will hopefully help them survive what comes next.

Once the defensive protocol was activated, it definitely caused strong reactions from everybody. The majority of the people had no idea what was going on, but those who were part of the guild knew exactly what just transpired.

His friends and consultants arrived at his side shortly after. With them knowing that the protocol was activated, means that they know that a problem was about to occur.

"Is it unable to hold on anymore?" Mary asked in a concerned manner.

"We\'ve got a couple of hours at best." Ashton replied, "I need you all to be ready. Whether we like it or not, we cannot avoid this. We will meet the enemy with the same ferocity."

"Should I tell the others to prepare as well?" Alice asked. She\'s referring to the guild members.

"They\'re already on the move. We did not lack in our reminders." Aria replied for him, "Though, it is very likely that they\'re feeling pressured right now, so a little bit of encouragement from you guys would be nice. If you can go there and be an example for them, that\'d be better."

"Let\'s go then, standing here won\'t do anything," Blake stated.

He then immediately disappeared from the room followed by Mary and Alice.

Those who were left were Aria and Felicia.

"I\'m assuming that the Twisted Heavenly Tree is currently evolving?" Aria asked.

Ashton nodded and said: "Yes. I almost didn\'t make it since the last material needed for the process took a lot of time to be ready. But I manage to make it in time, though that delay will surely cost us."

"You\'ve done your best, don\'t beat up yourself over this." Aria remarked.

"I know but..." Ashton sighed, "I have this burden for a reason. It\'s hard to remain stoic when I know that there will be risks involved."

They couldn\'t really say anything to refute that since it\'s true. Being a leader is hard. This kind of responsibility could crush anyone who isn\'t prepared for it, yet if not Ashton then who?

He had made a vow that Humanity will flourish under him. It hasn\'t been long since he made that vow yet something was already testing him.

"Why don\'t we focus on what we can do instead? Having a pity party doesn\'t help anyway." Felicia stated.

That caused Ashton to sigh and say: "Yeah, I guess that\'s true."

He opened up his System Interface and wrote a message for the whole Guild to see.

[Guild Chat]

Guild Master: @all. You\'ve seen it right? The Royal Reception Protocol is in full effect. To all of you, we did not lack when it comes to lecturing so you should know what this means.

Yes, we are in a perilous situation right now. I won\'t go into detail since there\'s no use for that anyway, but do expect that we will soon be under heavy assault.

The Guild\'s foundation was solely to respond to this kind of situation. All of you who made your vow know that we need to stand up against this. We are the protectors of Humanity. So go ahead and prepare, a long battle awaits us.

Rest assured, I will be watching you.

Ashton then waited and saw the flood of messages after his announcement. It was a mixture of hot-bloodedness and uncertainty. Not everybody was stoked to be in this position of course, despite that though, nobody refused the call to arms.

From his perception, he could tell that all of the Guild Members were gearing up for battle.

Hell, even the cowardly Doug was dishing out meals through Spirit Cuisine like a madman. Unlike the others, he cannot participate in the battle on the frontlines but that doesn\'t make him useless.

He\'s preparing military rations in bulk. The kind that not only refreshes the stamina and endurance of those who ate it but also tastes like actual food.

The other departments also went into full throttle. The Medicine Pavillion was currently busy restocking potions and handing them out to the Guild Members. The agents were deployed to keep the streets safe. Golems were activating for the first time to protect the metropolis, and so on...

Most of the citizens were still baffled. Ashton signed off Jerry to start playing a commercial to all networks informing the citizens of what was about to happen.

With all of this in play, there\'s only little for Ashton to do.

There are only a few hours until the invincibility runs out. After that, the barrier will be broken. He could only hope that the upgrade of the Twisted Heavenly Tree finished before the damage escalates to an uncontrollable level.

Sitting down on his chair, Ashton clasped his hands and looked somber. Aria was there to massage his head, anything to make him feel relaxed since he was really feeling the burden now.

"We will be fine." She whispered.

Ashton wanted to believe that oh so badly. But he didn\'t say anything. Instead, he just rested his back against the chair.

The only thing left for him to do was to wait until the chaos erupts.