As John's words fell, the scene went quiet, and no one dared to utter another word.
Indeed, John had already stated earlier, "Traitors to the fortress, die!"
But they had never considered that leaving could also be seen as a form of betrayal.
Some people expressed their dissent, yet John simply smiled faintly.
"After leaving this fortress, they can only go to the second or third fortress. Isn't that a betrayal of our first fortress?"
This statement left everyone speechless.
Yes.
This was a game of surviving 15 days while also fending off monster attacks.
Besides moving to other fortresses, there were no other possibilities!
In another sense, this indeed constituted a betrayal of their first fortress.
Percival stroked his beard, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
"This young man's temperament is to my liking. If he were a swordsman, I would certainly take him as my apprentice!"
As the dean of the Swordsman Academy, Percival was known for his straightforward nature.
He favored those who were capable and knew how to show it.
John was just such a person; capable, yet not hesitating to play coy or underplay his strengths, instead openly demonstrating everything he had.
However, Geoffrey was somewhat worried.
"He is still too young, having offended so many families all at once; I fear he might face a tough path ahead."
Among those recently dealt with by John were several from prestigious noble families.
If these families were to target John in the future, he might face difficulties.
"People with strength fear no one's schemes, no matter where they go!"
Percival retorted, dissatisfied with Geoffrey's comment.
Principal Sophia remained silent, her eyes closed as if she was trying to desperately reestablish her connection with the realm.
After those individuals were teleported out, she felt the last thread of connection between herself and the realm dissipate completely.
This was not right, utterly abnormal!
This had never happened before.
She closed her eyes again, attempting to restore the connection with the realm through her mind power, but could only regain a mere fraction, not even 1% of what it used to be.
Something was terribly wrong!
Principal Sophia opened her eyes again and looked at everything happening within the secret realm, her hand involuntarily clenched into a fist.
Someone had tampered with the realm!
"However, these youngsters are still too inexperienced to withstand a 15-day monster attack," remarked a high-ranking official nearby.
Geoffrey waved his hand dismissively, his expression confident.
"There are guardians within the realm, all diamond-tier, nearly reaching the transcendent-tier. They should be more than capable of protecting these children."
When John saw the gem-setting room, an idea struck him.
His Dragonblood Stone had not yet been set into his Bloodthirsty Blade.
He planned to visit and, if possible, set the gem to further enhance his weapon.
Additionally, there were armory and storage rooms that required level-one access, or the equivalent permissions for commanders.
John adjusted Archibald's access to level-one and left the distribution of the remaining permissions to him.
While John was still familiarizing himself with the relatively complex features of the panel, Archibald had already returned to report some findings.
"I just made some inquiries, and we have a total of 1983 people here. Among them, 423 have skills and classes geared towards support, so I've grouped them into the fourth squad," Archibald explained.
"The rest I've evenly divided into three squads based on their roles as maguses, warriors, and swordsmen. These are the captains for the four major squads."
"The fourth squad will primarily handle our logistical work. If we can't secure logistics over these 15 days, the following days will undoubtedly be very challenging."
As John delegated authority, Archibald had also started to understand the situation within the fortress.
While the supplies seemed abundant at first glance, they would quickly run low with just a bit of use.
Furthermore, combat resources were critically low; they needed to gather a significant amount before the onslaught of monsters began!
John looked at Archibald with a slight surprise.
Honestly, he had initially assigned Archibald the role of a chief steward merely to lessen his own burdens.
However, he hadn't expected Archibald to perform so excellently and handle the related tasks so perfectly!
Feeling John's gaze, Archibald felt a bit uncomfortable.
"What are you looking at? I'm just doing what I need to do. Why are you looking at me with that kind of expression?"
John's lips curled into a slight smile as he gently patted Archibald on the shoulder.
"No, I just suddenly realized how capable you are; no wonder you had the guts to step up to the platform earlier."
Initially, when Archibald saw John approaching, his muscles tensed, and he instinctively wanted to step back! But he held himself back, thinking John wouldn't strike at him at such a time.
However, not only did John not attack him, he actually complimented him!
What kind of joke was this? Was this even real?
For some reason, Archibald suddenly felt flattered...
The feeling of being acknowledged by someone stronger gave him an unexpectedly cherished sensation.
"Alright, now, let's have an introduction," John said, looking at the four squad leaders in front of him.
"Edmund Warrington, captain of the first combat squad."
"Leopold Hargrave, captain of the second combat squad."
"Darius Ashford, captain of the third combat squad."
"Lavinia Montague, captain of the fourth support squad."
Each person made a brief introduction.
John nodded slightly and finally turned to Archibald.
"I've delegated authority to you. Whether to pass on some of that authority to them is up to you to decide."