The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 130

Chapter 130   New Culture

Laurent and his group had been progressing smoothly through the “Volcano Dungeon,” but as they reached the middle of the “Metal Line,” their momentum finally began to wane.

Behind them, the sound of many footsteps echoed, signaling that “Crown of the Sage” was closing in.

Leon grew uneasy.

“Laurent, are you sure we should keep going? The troops are visibly tired, and ‘Crown of the Sage’ is right behind us. With the fight against ‘White Wolf’ still ahead, if ‘Crown of the Sage’ decides to attack…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already thought about that.”

“If you say so, well…”

(The aces of ‘Crown of the Sage’ are already exhausted. Jamil won’t miss the chance to exploit that.)

“Alright, I can see the ‘Spirit Workshop’ alliance ahead. We’re almost there; just a little more, and we’ll overtake them!”

Neil led the Grand Alliance, speaking with determination.

“Neil, maybe it’s time to consider negotiating with them,” Ian suggested.

“If we encounter them in the dungeon, both sides could suffer heavy losses. To avoid that…”

“Negotiations? No need for that. We’ll only sit down at the table when they come crawling to us. If they don’t step aside, we’ll force them out of the way. Tomorrow, we go to war. Get ready and stay sharp!”

With that, Neil entered his tent.

(Neil plans to fight the ‘Spirit Workshop’ alliance… Was it a mistake to push him? I didn’t expect this to drag on for so long.)

Three days had passed since the chase began.

The Grand Alliance had become singularly focused on overtaking the “Spirit Workshop” alliance, sacrificing everything else in the process.

Ian was uneasy.

He had noticed something suspicious about the movements of the “Spirit Workshop” alliance.

(Their movements are strange.)

Even though the “Crown of the Sage” was trailing behind the “Spirit Workshop” alliance, they were still managing to collect rare metals.

Neil dismissed this as leftovers that the “Spirit Workshop” alliance had missed, but Ian wasn’t convinced.

(If they’re leaving things behind, it means the “Spirit Workshop” alliance has nearly finished gathering the ore. Yet, they haven’t stopped their dungeon exploration. They must be after something. But what?)

The next day, as the Grand Alliance was gearing up to finally overtake the “Spirit Workshop” alliance, the latter had suddenly vanished.

At dawn, they had packed up and circled around to descend the mountain.

(We’ve been played! The “Spirit Workshop” alliance must have already finished gathering ore.)

It was only at this point that Ian realized they had been lured by the “Spirit Workshop” alliance.

(Their plan was to get us to fight the “White Wolf.” They’re using us as bait to avoid an ambush.)

Neil, on the other hand, was pleased that their rivals had disappeared.

(Finally, that thorn in my side is gone. Now we can focus on exploring and gathering ore.)

“The ‘Spirit Workshop’ alliance fled out of fear. Anyone who runs away from a dungeon doesn’t deserve to call themselves an adventurer!”

Neil spread this news to boost the morale of the troops.

Amidst the rising excitement, only Ian remained troubled.

(It’s certain that the “White Wolf” will focus their attacks on us. All we can do now is hope that they at least divert some forces towards the “Spirit Workshop” alliance.)

Ian looked downwards.

(Euphene, you probably think you’ve successfully escaped by now. But, we’ll see. The “White Wolf” won’t let you off that easily.)

Meanwhile, Jamil was preparing as he trailed behind both the “Spirit Workshop” alliance and the Grand Alliance, anticipating their descent.

He had already selected ambush points to catch the descending troops and set up bases to retreat to, where he had hidden potions, weapons, armor, and other backup equipment.

As Jamil was doing a final check with the leaders of each squad, Rodo, who had been out scouting on the back of a “Fire Dragon,” returned.

“Jamil, the ‘Spirit Workshop’ lot has started descending the mountain.”

“Is that so? And what about the ‘Crown of the Sage’? Were they able to weaken the ‘Spirit Workshop’ even a little?”

“Not at all. They couldn’t even engage in battle.”

“…I see.”

(Tch. Useless fools.)

“We have no choice. We’ll focus our main forces on the Grand Alliance. Zain, take a reserve unit and go after the ‘Spirit Workshop’ alliance.”

“Got it.”

(Laurent, just because you’ve managed to shake off the Grand Alliance doesn’t mean you’ll escape us. Now that you’ve entered our territory, you’ll have to pay the price.)

The ‘Spirit Workshop’ alliance was attacked just as they reached a path with a slope on one side.

A rain of arrows poured down on the troops.

“Enemy attack!”

“They’re coming from the right side!”

Laurent quickly deployed the troops and strengthened their defenses.

(They’re ambushing us from a good position, as expected. Well, here begins the second half. Let’s see what happens with Euphene and the others in the mix.)

Rick, holding his shield at the front line, was brimming with determination.

(Haha, so the Thieves’ Guild finally shows themselves. I’ve been stuck on defense all this time—now I can finally vent my frustrations.)

After holding up his shield for a while, the rain of arrows stopped.

“Alright, now’s our chance! Charge! Follow me!”

Rick drew his sword and boldly attempted to charge into the enemy lines.

However, only a few of his comrades followed him.

“What?”

In the end, Rick, who had pushed ahead, was the one who faced the concentrated attack.

He quickly retreated in a panic.

“Hey! What are you all doing? This is our chance to cut them down!”

But his allies remained unwilling to leave the safety of their positions.

(What the…?)

In the end, they were simply worn down, only for the “White Wolf” to escape.

“Hey, you guys! What’s the meaning of this? Did you lose your nerve after coming this far? We let the enemy get away!”

Rick was furious, but the local adventurers merely shrugged.

(Tch. These guys…)

Leon watched the scene with a bitter feeling.

(So, it’s come to this, huh? Even with the addition of the “Guardians of the Magic Tree,” it ends up like this… Now that we’ve secured the ore, everyone wants to avoid any more losses. This bad habit of ours is seriously troubling.)

At the next ambush point, the light-armored troops of the “White Wolf” once again took the initiative, causing the “Spirit Workshop” alliance to falter in their assault.

“Ugh, enough! If it comes to this, I’ll charge in alone. ‘Agility Boost!’”

Rick’s body was enveloped in a green light, and he dashed up the slope with incredible speed.

But just as he was about to strike the enemy, a red beam shot towards him.

“?!”

A fireball struck Rick’s armor directly.

“Urgh…”

Rick collapsed to his knees.

(What was that attack? It’s different from ordinary ‘Explosive Flame Magic.’ Could it be… ‘Dragonhead Gauntlet’?!)

“‘Dragonhead Gauntlet’ hit its mark!”

“Now! Focus fire on him!”

Once again, a hail of arrows rained down on Rick.

“This is nothing!”

Despite the rain of arrows, Rick raised his shield and charged forward again.

However, the thieves retreated, skillfully dodging Rick’s attack.

From a higher vantage point to the side, more arrows were shot, forcing Rick to retreat.

“Ugh… Damn it…”

Rick’s attack had failed, but Elio, watching the scene, was amazed.

(Amazing… So that’s the intensity of an A-class shield-bearer…)

As the battle reached a stalemate, Lerio found an ideal shooting position. It was in a lower area, but it was shielded by low bushes from attacks from above.

(Alright, from there…)

“!? Wait, Lerio! Not there!”

Ignoring Jeff’s warning, Lerio dashed forward.

However, as he approached the spot, iron spikes rained down.

(What… What is this?)

A sharp pain shot through his leg.

“Ugh… Ah!”

(Damn… Caltrops…)

Before he realized it, caltrops were scattered all around him.

Reluctantly, Laurent had to divert some men to rescue Lerio.

Euphene and Shaqma, providing healing and support, were utterly confused by the “White Wolf’s” combat style.

“What is up with their fighting style?”

“It feels more like they’re wearing us down mentally than trying to defeat us.”

With Rick and Lerio retreating, the entire unit began to fall back as if being dragged along.

The lack of coordination between the “Guardians of the Magic Tree” and the local guild was starting to spread unease throughout the alliance.

“Hey, Laurent, this isn’t good,” said Leon.

“The ‘Guardians of the Magic Tree’ aren’t used to fighting the ‘White Wolf,’ and us local guilds are reluctant to engage in battles on the way back. We managed to evade the Crown of the Sage successfully, but at this rate, the ‘White Wolf’ is going to trap us. We need to do something…”

“Leon, haven’t you noticed?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The Fire Dragon hasn’t shown up at all.”

“…Oh.”

“None of the enemies we’re fighting now can wield ‘Dragon’s Tone.’ Which means…”

Laurent pointed to the sky.

“It means the ‘Dragon’s Tone’ from our side will be effective.”

Nicola had already begun playing his harp. A large shadow passed over the unit.

A roar echoed through the sky, and three “Fire Dragons” attacked the “White Wolf.”

The thieves, caught off guard by the ambush from behind, scrambled to escape.

Laurent and his group did not pursue the enemy further and withdrew from the battlefield.

Zain tried to regroup his forces to chase after Laurent, but since they weren’t the main unit, he struggled to do so quickly.

Taking advantage of this, Laurent’s group swiftly descended the mountain, evading the “White Wolf’s” pursuit force.

They returned to the town almost unscathed.

In town, the residents were eagerly awaiting the adventurers’ return. They were curious to see whether the “Spirit Workshop” alliance or the “Grand Alliance” would arrive first.

Some even climbed onto rooftops or watched from lookout towers to catch the earliest glimpse of which alliance would return first.

When word spread that the “Spirit Workshop” alliance had returned first, the town erupted in celebration.

The residents saw this as a victory for the “Spirit Workshop” alliance over the “Grand Alliance.”

People gathered at the dungeon entrance to welcome back the adventurers.

Laurent ordered his alliance members to take a detour to ensure they returned to the “Spirit Workshop.”

As a result, the town turned into a parade-like celebration.

A new culture was beginning to take root on the island: the tradition of watching for the first guild to return from the dungeon, and the growing expectation for the success of local adventurers.

There were even some who turned this into a gambling opportunity, betting on whether the local or external guilds would win. However, the town’s anticipation for their local adventurers grew stronger with each passing day.