The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 138

Chapter 138   Sales Meeting

Jamil, who was facing Leon’s troops occupying the high ground, sensed a change in the battle situation beyond the hill.

(The sound of battle has ceased. Did the “Grand Alliance” lose?)

“Hey, Jamil, does this mean…”

“We’re pulling back.”

“Huh?”

“It’s impossible to take on the ‘Spirit Alliance’ without the ‘Grand Alliance.’ We need to withdraw from the battlefield before the enemy directs their full strength toward us.”

Jamil’s forces began to retreat in an orderly manner, keeping Leon’s troops in check.

Leon, seeing the “White Wolves” retreat, let out a sigh of relief.

(I was worried when we were almost surrounded by the enemy, but we managed to pull through.)

After confirming the retreat of the “White Wolves,” Leon spoke to Cecil, who was beside him.

“Alright, inform Laurent that the ‘White Wolves’ have withdrawn. We’ll stay here a bit longer to monitor the enemy’s movements, just in case.”

“Understood.”

Cecil descended the slope to report back to Laurent.

Leon then turned to look toward the “Grand Alliance” battlefront.

From where Leon was standing, he could clearly see the battle between Laurent and the “Crown of the Sage” mages.

The “Spirit Alliance,” having defeated the enemy’s main forces, had transitioned to a mop-up operation.

However, with three A-class mages defeated, the “Grand Alliance” no longer had the morale for even a retreat. When the local guilds were approached by the “Spirit Alliance,” they quickly disarmed and surrendered.

Leon felt immense pride as he watched Elio, Hans, and the “Guardians of the Magic Tree” fight valiantly.

Now, the local guilds could hold their own against the external guilds.

(Laurent finally did it. He accomplished what no one else who came to this island could—he achieved the fusion of local and external guilds through training.)

“Seriously, what an incredible guy.”

After suppressing the remaining enemy forces, Laurent went around to check on the adventurers who had exhausted themselves in battle.

He called out to Hans and Will, who were walking together, supporting each other by the shoulders.

“Hans, Will. Good job out there.”

“Laurent.”

“Ha, as soon as I cast the spell, I nearly lost consciousness. I can barely walk,” Will said with a wry smile.

“No, the power was incredible. A mage capable of casting such a powerful ‘Explosive Magic’ with that kind of range and activation time is rare, even in the entire world. Hans, your attack was excellent too. The timing of your advance, the accuracy of your shots, and the way you took out the enemy leaders were all flawless. That’s exactly what I was hoping to see.”

Hans and Will exchanged proud glances. For them, being recognized by Laurent was the greatest reward.

“Laurent.”

Rick and Elio, who had recovered after receiving healing magic, approached, also supporting each other by the shoulders.

“Rick, Elio. You both fought well until the end. Without your sacrificial charge, Hans and Will wouldn’t have been able to land the finishing blow.”

“Heh, I just did what was expected of me as a frontliner.”

“No, I was in danger on my own. Who knows what would have happened if Rick hadn’t been there with me?”

“But more importantly, Laurent, we saw it. The number of A-class adventurers on this island has now reached four. I’d like to praise your training skills, but this means we, the ‘Guardians of the Magic Tree,’ can’t afford to be complacent anymore.”

When Rick said this, Hans and Will looked at him in surprise.

“Four A-class adventurers?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no need to wait for an appraisal. Both of your skills have reached A-class—Hans, your shooting range, and Will, your magic casting range. It’s hard to believe either is still at B-class.”

“Huh? Is that true?”

“I did feel like my range had extended more than usual…”

“Elio is already A-class, and that girl Karla’s swordsmanship has also reached A-class. So, with Will and Hans included, there are effectively four A-class adventurers. Isn’t that right, Laurent?”

Everyone present turned to look at Laurent.

“Yes, Rick is right. Hans’s ‘Archery’ and Will’s ‘Explosive Magic’ have both reached A-class,” Laurent confirmed.

“That’s how it is. From now on, I’ll consider you both as A-class. As a frontline fighter, I expect you to perform at an A-class level too. Don’t think you’ll be allowed to slack off at a B-class level anymore,” Rick added with a grin.

“Haha, that’s intimidating,” Hans joked.

“We’ll do our best,” Will responded.

The four of them continued their relaxed conversation, now as equals who had all reached the top tier.

Seeing this, Laurent felt a sense of relief.

(Hans and Will have become A-class. With this, we can take a more aggressive approach against the ‘White Wolves.’ It should also give us more freedom in our explorations.)

“Laurent,” Cecil called out as she approached.

“A message from Leon: ‘The White Wolves’ have retreated. Leon and his team are continuing their vigilance.”

“I see. Got it. We’ll head back to town as well. We need to have a discussion with the ‘Grand Alliance.’ Let Leon know,” Laurent instructed.

“Understood,” Cecil replied, and with her usual swift pace, she headed back to relay the message to Leon.

(We were able to focus on defeating and subduing the ‘Grand Alliance’ thanks to Leon’s solid defense of our rear. I’ll need to thank him later.)

Laurent and his team then began their return to town, bringing along the captured adventurers from the ‘Grand Alliance.’

Neil woke up some time after they had reached town. As he sat up, he realized he was in the quarters of the ‘Crown of the Sage.’ He was hit by a wave of confusion and fragmented memories.

“Neil, you’re finally awake,” Glen said as he entered the room.

“Is this… our quarters? What happened to the battle… with the ‘Spirit Alliance’?” Neil asked, still disoriented.

Glen hung his head in response.

“The battle is over. Our forces were annihilated, and all of the ‘Grand Alliance’ adventurers surrendered their equipment and were taken prisoner by the ‘Spirit Alliance.’ The negotiations for the release of the prisoners have just been finalized. Ian took over and handled the negotiations on your behalf while you were asleep,” Glen explained.

“No… this can’t be happening,” Neil muttered in disbelief.

“The ‘Spirit Alliance’ has three demands. First, the ‘Grand Alliance’ must be disbanded immediately. Second, ‘Crown of the Sage’ must sever all contracts and alliances with ‘Dragon’s Ember’ and ‘White Wolves’ at once. And third, as soon as our forces are able, we must vacate the island as quickly as possible. If we agree to these terms, they will return the majority of our equipment and release the prisoners,” Glen continued.

“…” Neil was speechless.

“Ian has already agreed to all of these conditions in his negotiations with Laurent,” Glen added.

“Wait a minute. Who gave him the right to decide that? I haven’t accepted defeat yet…” Neil tried to get out of bed, but his body wouldn’t cooperate, and he collapsed back onto the bed, supporting himself with his elbows.

It seemed the damage from the arrow Hans had shot was still deeply affecting him.

“Neil, we were utterly defeated. Our funds are exhausted, and the local adventurers have lost all faith in us. It’s impossible to keep the ‘Grand Alliance’ going. Considering that, the ‘Spirit Alliance’s’ demands are actually quite lenient. We have no choice but to accept them,” Glen said with a heavy heart.

“Damn it…” Tears of frustration welled up in Neil’s eyes, but even he couldn’t argue any further.

A few days later, the ‘Crown of the Sage’ was preparing to leave the island, loading their belongings onto a ship.

There were no locals at the port to bid them farewell, nor were there any to jeer at them.

Laurent had ensured that the islanders’ attention was focused on the ‘Spirit Alliance’ instead.

As Ian oversaw the withdrawal, he let out a sigh.

(It’s a complete defeat in every way…)

“What’s the matter? That was quite the heavy sigh,” a sudden voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ian turned around, startled, to find Euphene standing there with a mischievous smile.

“Euphene. You came,” Ian said.

“It’s a shame you couldn’t complete your mission. If only you had teamed up with us, the ‘Spirit Alliance,’ from the start, this wouldn’t have happened,” Euphene teased.

Ian gave a wry smile.

“I finally understand what you were trying to tell me. There are people in this world who can’t be measured by our standards. This whole situation has made that painfully clear,” he admitted.

“Good, as long as you understand,” Euphene laughed cheerfully.

“Well then, see you later.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“Of course. We still have dungeons to clear after this. Fulfilling Laurent’s requirements is no easy task. We can’t afford to slack off. We have to keep working hard and prove ourselves,” Euphene replied with a determined smile.

Ian could only feel a sense of exhaustion.

(To think that even after such a battle, they’re still pushing for improvement. So this is what it means to be an S-rank appraiser.)

With that thought, Ian boarded the ship.

Soon, the stern and bow lines were untied, and the ship set sail.

(If anyone can defeat the Giant Fire Dragon, Grand Fafnir, it might be them.)

Neil watched the island recede into the distance with frustration.

“Glen, we were completely defeated this time.”

“Yeah. I never imagined there would be someone capable of training the adventurers on this island to that extent. Laurent, the S-rank appraiser, is a terrifying man.”

“We’ll rebuild our skills and stats from scratch. And we’ll definitely return to this island one day.”

Having settled the dispute with the ‘Crown of the Sage,’ Laurent led the ‘Spirit Alliance’ back to the dungeons.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the ‘Spirit Workshop,’ a business meeting was about to commence, focusing on the next dungeon expedition.

“Is everyone here?” Ranju asked as he opened the conference room door.

“Good, we’re all here. Let’s start the meeting.”

Seeing that all key members were present, Ranju took his seat and began the meeting.

“Even though the threat from the ‘Crown of the Sage’ is gone, ‘Dragon’s Ember’ and ‘White Wolves’ are still active. As you all know, the new workshop we built at the ‘Spirit Workshop’ was established to defeat ‘Dragon’s Ember.’ To do that, we need to win over the external adventurer guilds that come here seeking equipment from ‘Dragon’s Ember.’ We’ve already received reports from the fast ship that the three guilds, ‘Knights of the Black Wall,’ ‘Crimson Sands Players,’ and ‘Fortress Archers,’ will be arriving on the island this year, as expected. While we’ve gathered the facilities and personnel needed to produce equipment for large guilds, and our quality is on par with that of the Quartet, ‘Dragon’s Ember’ still holds significant renown. These three guilds will likely choose ‘Dragon’s Ember’ at first. No matter how many external guilds the ‘Spirit Alliance’ defeats in the dungeons, as long as they continue spending money at ‘Dragon’s Ember,’ it will be impossible to take them down. That’s why we need to launch a strong sales campaign targeting those adventurer guilds that have decided to contract with ‘Dragon’s Ember.’ We’ll need to have our sales strategy for these three guilds ready before Laurent returns from the dungeon. Lizetta?”

“Yes,” Lizetta responded.

“You were partially responsible for producing equipment for the ‘Knights of the Black Wall,’ ‘Crimson Sands Players,’ and ‘Fortress Archers’ as part of the Quartet at ‘Dragon’s Ember’ last year. To successfully sell alchemy to adventurers, it’s essential to understand their needs. Tell us what you know about the needs of these three guilds.”

“Yes. First, regarding the ‘Knights of the Black Wall’…” Lizetta began.