Xasha walked a few steps behind Tulip, still deep in thought. His mind was full of information he needed to decipher. For the past few months, he had been taking every free second he had to revisit those memories. Tulip would glance at him over her shoulder from time to time but said nothing. She led the way and knew he would subconsciously follow.

She was used to this dance as they had been doing it for months. Xasha spent every waking moment examining the memories he read, and every time he found something interesting, he would share it with them. Raid teams were out exploring every single ruin and dungeon he saw in the memories.

He built an archive of every plant and geology he saw in those memories. He then had them all found and tested. They needed new materials to make new and improve artifacts and potions.

The entire guild was busy trying to get everything in place. Xasha snapped out of his thoughts when he got to the doorway. He fixed his attire, put on a regal expression, then walked through the doors confidently.

The crowd in the Assembly venue all stood to their feet when they saw someone coming from under the archway. They did not know who it was, but from the way the people of the Falling Stardust reacted, they were sure he was at least a young master.

Xasha walked along the catwalk, then stood in the middle of the raised platform. The whole place became quiet, as it became obvious he would like to speak.

"This must be strange for you all, from what I understand." Xasha chuckled. "A new overlord calling you away from your homes and operations to sit and talk about the future. Especially in the time of war, where you are unsure if you will exist a month from now. Never mind ten or a hundred years from now."

He gestured, and everyone retook their seats.

He continued. "I called you all here to ask you this. Are you tired of being weak? Are you tired of being poor? Are you tired of being stepping stones and servants? If your answer to any of these questions is no, then you are free to leave. If it's yes, then you will be glad you met me today, because I can change your fates. All of your fates." Xasha ended his statement and silently stared at the crowd. Everyone was looking around to see what each other's reactions were.

There were shuffles and whispers, but nobody even attempted to leave their seat. Seeing this, Xasha nodded, "I have been here a while, and I've observed many things." As he spoke, Xasha's aura expanded and compressed into a giant in full armor standing behind him. "Your auras are all weak. They are weak because you all don't train them. Your bodies are weak, even those of you with natural strength never train your bodies. You don't use tools to help yourselves become stronger and more efficient. And the most important reason you are all weak, you are divided, crabs in a barrel.

"You have made those around you who should be your allies into enemies, and now you are afraid. Afraid they will grow stronger and come back for revenge. So, you fight against it with all your might, keeping each other down, keeping each other weak." Xasha gave a stern reprimand. "You don't have relationships, and you all don't have trade, barely amongst yourselves and never outside of Estia. All the valuables you have you sell to the Kou Collective for a fraction of their true value. Lastly, you all lack knowledge. You don't know enough about the world you live in, therefore, you will forever be in the dark.".

Most people had ugly faces but did not dare to rebuke Xasha, as they understood the consequence.

Xasha didn't care about their feelings, it needed to be said. "If you want to become stronger, if you want to change your fate. My door is open. Come join me. If not, simply go back to your regular lives and be left behind by those who do." Xasha's words were powerful and with finality.

The crowd was in an uproar as whispers became a constant hum in the assembly arena. Xasha looked on with a calm expression, not seeming to care about whatever decision they had.

A short, slim woman with short white hair and a face full of red spots stood forth. "What do you have in mind for us? My lord."

Xasha gazed at the brave woman intently for a short while, then chuckled. "that I can only tell you if you choose to join me. If you do, you will swear to absolute secrecy. Nothing you see, hear, smell, taste, touch or perceive within the borders of Estia can be communicated to anyone verbally or non-verbally. "

The other leaders heard this and nodded. This was common when one swore loyalty. Most of them still had frowns, they weren't ready to forgive his prior insult, and they were unwilling to swear anything to such a disrespectful man.

"That's it? And you teach us how to become strong? What would you get out of this?" The woman asked suspiciously.

Xasha glanced at the woman. "Who are you?"

"I am Bly Ring, of the Bly Estate," the woman replied proudly.

Xasha sized up the woman again, then a smile broke on his face. "Nice to meet you, miss Bly. To answer your question, all of you are already my vassals. In my understanding, in exchange for living on my land, you have signed up to be a free workforce and army. Therefore, I have what I want as it relates to that. But what I need is my free army to be stronger, much, much stronger."

The crowd responded with shocked gasps and grunts. Some were angry, while others nodded in understanding. Xasha paid attention to them, all he said was what needed to be said.