The ride back to the bandit camp was rather fast, and when they arrived Gabriel saw that the walls were still intact. Refugees turned militants could be seen patrolling along the top.
The three players naturally had a lot of questions but kept their mouths shut and simply observed, though they already had an idea of what this place was.
After spotting the armored truck from a distance, one of the militants cautiously approached them while the others on the wall, including Sniperbowlegend, remained on standby, ready to unleash a storm of bullets and arrows if anything went wrong.
Gabriel could have simply driven in, disregarding all this procedure, but he wanted to set an example for his subordinates.
"Welcome back, Leader," the militant greeted quickly when he recognized who it was.
Gabriel nodded his head and ordered in a deep voice, "Open the gates."
"Yes, sir!" the man replied before scurrying off, shouting, "Open the gate!"
Moments later, the wooden gate creaked open, and the truck drove into the camp. When he stepped out, Gabriel found familiar faces waiting for him with eager looks.
Naturally, these were Anna, Sniperbowlegend, Bunny, Ragnarok99, and BrawlerX.
"Welcome back, boss!" they all greeted one after another, to which Gabriel gave only a lazy nod of acknowledgment.
"We saw the announcement," Ragnarok99 said with a grin. "I–is it real—?"
"Yes. The Broken Dawn guild has been officially established," Gabriel cut him off as he walked past. "Report to the surveillance room. We will have our first meeting there."
"Yes, sir!" they all echoed, their faces filled with excitement. Sir Broken was the biggest personality back on Earth; to them, it was an honor to be the founding members.
Right then, they noticed the presence of the three other players, and frowns appeared on their faces. Gabriel had left with Anna but returned with outsiders, without any explanation.
As for the three, they could barely believe their eyes when they saw the No. 1 in the server, Ragnarok99, the No. 2 Sniperbowlegend, and the No. 3 Bunny standing right before them.
Although BrawlerX wasn’t known as a professional gamer, they recognized him as the current No. 4 in the server.
"Who are you guys?" Ragnarok99 asked with a frown.
The first one, who went by CasualLarry, bowed his head nervously. "W-we are members of the B-Broken Dawn guild."
"Wait!" BrawlerX suddenly shouted. "Members of the Broken Dawn guild?"
"Yes," the girl among them confirmed. "We were there when Sir Broken created it."
"D-does that mean you weaklings became members first?!" Ragnarok roared in annoyance.
"Not really." Bunny’s calm voice slid in as she explained. "The process of creating a guild for NPCs is more complicated. Three members are required to be present. I’m guessing Sir Broken didn’t evaluate them and simply used them to fill in the gap since we weren’t around."
"This still doesn’t answer the question... does this make them the first members?" BrawlerX pressed, biting his lip.
Bunny shook her head. "We were the first to swear allegiance to Sir Broken, so technically we are the first members of the Broken Dawn guild."
Visibly, BrawlerX and Ragnarok99 exhaled in relief.
Bunny and Sniperbowlegend exchanged a glance and shrugged. The two siblings didn’t really care, but it was clear the title of ’first’ mattered a lot to the others.
As for the three new members, they weren’t rejected after hearing this clarification. In fact, they were happy to be included—especially after seeing the hundreds of players eager to join right away.
...It was a privilege!
---
After taking a long bath to wash off the grime accumulated over the past days, Gabriel changed into a fresh pair of clothes—a sports tracksuit that hid his lean, toned muscles.
As he walked down the mansion’s hallway with Anna trailing behind, the maidservants couldn’t help but swallow nervously when they saw his towering frame and striking appearance.
The maids lined up neatly along the walls, heads bowed, though their eyes sneaked quick glances at him.
Whispers spread softly between them.
Anna raised an eyebrow, clearly catching on, but stayed silent. She understood their perspective. Even after spending considerable time with her master, not even she could completely resist his charm and aura.
When Gabriel stepped into the surveillance room, he found everyone already present, and the only seat reserved was his own.
The room, once filled with chatter, immediately quieted, and everyone rose to their feet.
Once Gabriel sat, the others followed suit, except Anna, who remained standing behind him.
Clearing his throat, he spoke in a deep voice. "Tell me the current situation of the camp during my absence."
Bunny stood and reported. "During the time you were away, nothing serious happened. However, we noticed occasional spies coming from the eastern direction. We investigated a little and discovered they belong to the same camp Crane came from."
Gabriel tapped the armrest once. Checking out Crane’s camp was already one of his major plans upon returning to the wilderness.
It was always better to eliminate nearby enemies than to fear sudden attacks.
"Noted," he said with a nod. "Double the watch in that direction. How is the food situation?"
This time Amelia rose, lips pressed into a tight frown.
"The storage room is almost depleted," she said gravely. "At most, it can feed the settlement for one more day. After that... we will have nothing left."
Gabriel’s eyes flashed. He knew if word spread that food was running low, spirits would plummet. The others thought the same but also worried about worse outcomes—hungry people would stop listening, and soon they would turn on each other.
He had already thought of this and knew exactly what to do.
"I will handle the food," he said in a low voice. "Until then, no one spreads rumors. No one speaks of shortages. Everyone eats their normal portions until further orders."
"Yes, sir!" they all answered in unison, though the tension still lingered on their faces.
Suddenly, in the midst of the meeting, sharp knocks echoed. Everyone turned their heads in unison.
One of the guards entered and bowed deeply. "Leader... visitors are waiting at the gate."
"Visitors?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting anyone. "Who are they?"
The guard swallowed nervously and replied, "Two women. They asked to meet the Leader. They said their names are Sophie and Cassie."