"But according to the new species citizenship law, you have to serve the Golden Swords Country for Fifty Years as well!"
Jacob's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked, "Can you explain this 'Serve' in detail?"
Jacob had long expected this coming because he knew they wouldn't just give him freeway in their ranks without restraining him. Jacob would be more suspicious about their true intentions if they could let him join and then leave as he pleased.
Although Milan had also told him about this level-2 citizenship But that old fox didn't reveal the details and let Jacob enter their base first, where he had no choice but to agree to their conditions.
Furthermore, things were moving quite fast, as if they had already decided how to handle him, and this also revealed another cunning aspect of Golden Swords Country's upper echelon.
Douglas plainly replied, "When I say 'Serve,' it meant your service in the army before you could retire or continue with your rank. But fifty years' service is a must for you.
"If it was an entirely new tribe of new species who wanted to join the ranks of our country and benefit from us, then they had to serve in the army for a hundred years before they would allocate a territory in our country.
"Furthermore, this service is not slavery if you have this concern, and we won't work you to death. You just have to complete army assignments sporadically. You will be given corresponding rewards and many more benefits that the army provides its excellent members."
Jacob went silent for a moment before he asked, "You have another option for me, right?"
Douglas's eyes widened ever so slightly when Jacob quickly saw through him. He was indeed right since this was just a hard choice before Jacob would give an easy option.
This would raise his chances of choosing that easy choice tremendously that the country had already selected for Jacob and wanted to manipulate him into it!
Milan smiled wryly on the side. He had already experienced Jacob's sharp intuition, and he warned Douglas not to play with words so much, or he might get seen through.
Jacob wasn't a wild stray as they made him just because he never came to the rare region. Just his strength alone was enough proof of his survival capabilities.
Douglas nodded, "Indeed, Mr. Jack had guessed right there is another chose which won't require you to serve for fifty years in the army or face any danger, and you'll earn full backing of the country and resources."
"What do I have to do?" Jacob asked curiously.
"You just need to go through the Nightmare Knight Legion entrance test, and if your result is satisfactory, we'll gladly offer you this choice and even more," Douglas stated impassively.
"So, you're saying this second choice depends on this test result? But what if I didn't get the results you expect me to get?" Jacob questioned. He knew what kind of place the Nightmare Knight Legion was, and this was the only power between three hegemonies which whom he had yet to come in contact.
So, he could guess this test might reveal something about this true potential or something related to his species, which he didn't want at all, not without knowing what they were planning or what this test actually did.
Douglas had expected this question as he said, "In that case, you have to serve for fifty years before you're allowed to retire with a level-2 citizenship.
"Let me explain about our citizenship first before you decide.
"When level-2 citizens have offspring in our country, they are considered level-1 citizens, and they are required to serve in the army for ten years to raise their citizen level the same as their parents.
"However, to rise from level-2 to level-3 citizen required excellent merit and a level-3 citizen offspring born as a level-2 citizen, which means they didn't need to do any services in the army and live a life free from worry.
"As for level-4 citizenship, it's the most difficult to acquire, and only a few people have it, and they're all leaders of our country.
"If you managed to get those expected results, then you'll be given a level-2 citizenship directly and even have a chance to acquire level-3 citizenship," Douglas explained patiently.
Jacob wasn't moved in the least bit by this level bullshit since he wasn't planning to spend his life here. So, getting this citizenship or not matters little to him.
"What about if I don't want citizenship in your country at all? I mean, let's be clear, I didn't commit any crime against you, neither I have any grudge against you, and I'm a free man.
"So, you can't force me to join your ranks, and that's why you gave me these excellent choices, and I'm flattered. But I'm more adventurous, and fifty years of my life is far too long for me.
"Since you guys give me a passage and show your hospitality, I'm in your debt, but it won't be called for fifty years of my life now, are they?" Jacob sharply questioned.
Although he was willing to lower his head, it might get cleaved if he lowered it too much. Furthermore, since they're talking about law, he wanted to see how much regulation they could bend when it came to their benefits.
Douglas's eyes narrowed when he heard Jacob's unexpected response because in rare freedom plains, anywhere someone goes, they had to abide by these rules unless they didn't want to live in safety of rare freedom plains.
"Mr. Jack, I agree with what you just said, and we won't own you just because we give you a lift. However, I would like you to reconsider this choice because they would have the same conditions even if you join some other power.
"Unless you want to live in the Rare Wilderness Plains, which are filled with unknown dangers and those vile evil creatures who were enemies of all living beings like us."
This unexpected comment left Jacob baffled because he did not know what they were talking about.
Douglas sensed Jacob's confusion as he plainly said, "It's only natural that you didn't know about those evil creatures since they exist on the rare plains, and we've all been fighting them for centuries.
"However, I can't reveal this top-secret information before you join our ranks, and if you still want to leave, then you're free to go, but you can't enter our cities without our citizenship."
Jacob fell into silence when he heard this because he could feel Douglas wasn't lying about this danger or whatever he was talking about. But he was definitely lying about his inability to enter their cities.
After all, there were still three hegemonies, and he didn't believe that those high-ranking members were their citizens as well, but the question was, would they let him come in contact with them?
Furthermore, he was now absolutely sure that they didn't want to let him come in contact with three hegemonies, and he wasn't sure if he could leave here in one piece if he really tried to escape.
So, Jacob chose the most straightforward option and saw what happened. "It seemed I was being ignorant and too arrogant. So, alright, I'll choose the fifty years' service."
Douglas was again baffled by Jacob's choice since going through the second choice won't put Jacob at a disadvantage, but if he succeeded, then he would gain an advantage.
Milan, who was silent for all this time, finally spoke. "Jack, don't choose too soon because if you really choose this option, then you're not allowed to join any branch of three hegemonies until your fifty years' service is over."
"Why is that?" Jacob's voice turned somewhat cold, as if he was angry. This was utterly cutting him off from their knowledge.
"It's also in the contract that no citizen below level 2 could join three hegemonies. So you can see these laws in the other three nations as well, not just us. But if you agree to the second option, we'll let you join the nightmare knight legion, and you can also gain access to their resources." Douglas revealed.
'What the fuck is with these twisted laws?' Jacob was exasperated by all these strange laws and why those three hegemonies were putting up with all this in the first place since they were all high and mighty.
They were simply letting these four nations control them as they pleased while taking advantage of them. This made Jacob even more curious about what was going on here.
'I don't know how they will hold these contracts, and if they're valid in other nations as well, then I can't just desert them. I need a clear graph of the situation, and the Nightmare Knight Legion might give me some leeway.'
Jacob sighed and agreed in resignation. "Alright, you have convinced me. I'll take this test!"