The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 91

Chapter 91   The Hero left stranded without support

“They’re coming again. This time, it’s five ‘Fire Dragons!'”

“The ‘White Wolf’ archers are here too. This time from behind!”

The war of attrition between the ‘ Crescent Knights ‘ and the ‘White Wolf’ continued.

Each time, the Crescent Knights would take on the task of repelling the ‘Fire Dragons,’ while the local guild would handle the ‘White Wolf’ attacks.

However, the morale of the local guild was exceedingly low.

They would only raise their shields to defend against arrows and never advance.

It was the fifth day since they began descending the mountain, and this pattern had continued, preventing them from delivering a decisive blow to the ‘White Wolf.’

“What are you doing? Advance!”

Even when the Crescent Knights lieutenant shouted this, they only retreated slowly.

“Don’t fall back. Move forward. If you retreat any further, you’ll be excluded from the alliance next time!”

When the lieutenant reprimanded them like this, they finally advanced reluctantly.

However, as soon as the arrows started concentrating on them, they turned their backs and began retreating again.

“Damn it, this is no good.”

“Run!”

One by one, they began to retreat, pressing against the Crescent Knights warriors who were fighting the ‘Fire Dragons’ on the other side, endangering their safety.

Eventually, one of the Crescent Knights took a major hit, scattering the ores they were carrying around.

“Tch. Enough of this. I’ll deal with the thieves myself!”

Yugan dashed forward.

Deflecting the rain of arrows with his sword, Yugan charged towards the enemy.

“Yugan is coming!”

“Run!”

The thieves scattered like spiders.

In the end, they only managed to capture two or three enemy archers.

(Tch, this again. If only those local guild guys were more useful, we could handle this easily… Damn it! This is so frustrating. Isn’t there any way to fix this?)

Yugan noticed that the members of the Crescent Knights and the local guild were watching him.

The Crescent Knights adventurers had irritated expressions, while the local guild adventurers looked anxious.

It was a clear sign of division.

“Sigh. We let the leader of the thieves escape again, but no problem. Everyone did well. From now on, the Crescent Knights will handle the ‘Fire Dragons,’ and the local guild will deal with the ‘White Wolf.’ I’ll take care of everything else.”

Some sighed with relief, while others looked dissatisfied, but everyone returned to their positions.

As they resumed marching, Yugan whispered to his lieutenant.

“Hey, we lost some ore in that last battle, right? How much do we have left?”

“Yes, we currently hold 90% of our procurement target.”

“…I see.”

(We didn’t gather as much as planned. Still, we can’t prolong our time in this dungeon any further.)

“We’ll gather the remaining 10% in the second exploration. For now, our top priority is to avoid losing any more ore. Don’t expect anything more from the local guild. I’ll handle all the thieves myself.”

“Understood.”

The ‘White Wolf’ was equally frustrated with their inability to secure a decisive victory.

“Tch. We can’t break them.”

“Usually, by now, there’d be friction between the local guild and the external guild, but…”

“So far, there’s no sign of that.”

“Yugan’s agility shows no sign of dropping. He’s a monster.”

“We’ve lost over 15 archers as captives. We can’t afford to take more losses. What should we do, Jamil?”

“Convert the swordsmen into archers. Even D-class ones. Don’t let the enemy rest.”

(Double S-ranked adventurer, the Black-Clad Swordsman Yugan. As expected, he’s formidable, not showing any openings… Don’t rush. We’ve taken considerable damage, but we should’ve dealt some significant blows to them as well. The real battle will start when they head out for the second hunt.)

The battle between the Crescent Knights and the ‘White Wolf’ continued, but neither side could deliver a decisive blow. Both returned to the city.

This happened the day after Pat and Lina began working at the ‘Arsenal of the Spirit’s Workshop.’

Thus, we return to the present.

Edgar, having failed to counter the ‘Spirit’s Workshop,’ was struggling with how to report to Medes.

(Now that Pat is gone, there’s no one to speak out of turn, but how should I report this to the Guildmaster? If I ask for more budget, the Guildmaster’s impression of me will worsen.)

“Edgar, why the troubled look?”

“Huh? Oh, Charles. It’s about the countermeasures for the ‘Spirit’s Workshop.’ I’m pondering what to do.”

“You’ve got a lot on your plate, huh?”

“You jerk, easy for you to say.”

“Haha. Come on, don’t be so testy. I’ll help out again if something comes up.”

“It’s not manpower I need now, it’s the budget. Without ore, we can’t maintain or produce weapons. We’re stuck.”

“Speaking of ore, the Crescent Knights have returned.”

“The Crescent Knights…?”

“Yeah. The Guildmaster said to prepare to welcome them. What’s up with you?”

Charles noticed Edgar grinning and looked puzzled.

“No, I just thought I might be a genius.”

“Huh?”

“Well, just watch.”

(I’ve thought of a way to recover from this mess.)

The Crescent Knights had barely returned to the city to recover from their exploration when they were swarmed by residents demanding an explanation about the ‘Giant Fire Dragon, Grand Fafnir.’

Yugan reluctantly took the stage again and explained the following:

They had entered the dungeon, but there were no signs of activity from the ‘Giant Fire Dragon, Grand Fafnir.’

Therefore, they prioritized gathering ore with the local guild.

In the next dungeon exploration, they plan to challenge and subdue the ‘Giant Fire Dragon, Grand Fafnir.’

The local residents should continue to remain calm and not stir up unnecessary trouble.

As Yugan finished his speech, the sun was setting. He couldn’t hide his exhaustion as he climbed into the carriage.

(Damn, these islanders are wearing me out. They need to calm down a bit.)

“Good job.”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted. They keep making me do things I’m not used to.”

“The sun is setting, so let’s head back to the inn for now. We’ll leave the equipment with ‘Dragon’s Ember’ tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I can’t do anything else today.”

Thus, the Crescent Knights headed back to the inn. This delay gave ‘White Wolf’ and Edgar time to exchange information and make their moves.

The next day, Yugan went to ‘Dragon’s Ember’ to request maintenance for their equipment.

Raoul personally greeted them and took their equipment.

“Well done, Sir Yugan. How was the dungeon exploration?”

“Ah, we almost met our goals. I think we’ll be able to take down the ‘Giant Fire Dragon, Grand Fafnir’ in the next exploration.”

“I see. As expected of a Double S-ranked adventurer. We will support you with our alchemy to the best of our ability.”

“That’s good, but what about that thieves’ guild, ‘White Wolf’? Can’t you do something about them? They’re a real nuisance, threatening us from behind.”

“…’White Wolf,’ you say? Indeed, they are troublesome, but this doesn’t sound like you, Sir Yugan. To hear you speak so weakly about mere thieves…”

“They themselves aren’t much of a threat, but they keep harassing us while we’re fighting ‘Fire Dragons.’ They constantly threaten our rear, so we have to stay on guard.”

“…Well, we don’t think highly of them either. However, we can’t control their activities. We can’t choose our customers, after all.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It wasn’t something I should have brought up with you. Forget it. Just take care of our weapons.”

“Of course. Leave it to us.”

So, Yugan left his equipment with “Dragon’s Ember” and took a rest.

However, soon after, he received a notification from “Dragon’s Ember.” They were unable to accept the earlier request and would have to return the equipment. Yugan was urgently requested to come to the workshop.

In a hurry, Yugan went to “Dragon’s Ember.”

“My apologies, Sir Yugan, for making you come back so soon,” Medes greeted him cheerfully.

“That’s fine, but what’s going on? Why can’t you accept our request?”

“I’m truly sorry. The fact is, due to a mistake on our part, we are running low on ore and can’t accept new requests.”

“New requests? We told you from the start that we’d be exploring the dungeon in three stages. You agreed to support us until the third stage. What’s going on?”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do if we don’t have the necessary materials.”

“Yugan, may I make a suggestion?” Edgar, who was sitting nearby, spoke up.

“In this last exploration, the Crescent Knights gathered ore, right? How about using that for this maintenance?”

“What?”

Even Yugan couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

“Don’t mess with me. We came all the way to this island to bring back the ore. Why should we provide it for your work? If you’ve taken on the job, you should procure the ore yourselves.”

“Then we’ll consider the request canceled. I’m sorry, but you’ll need to find another alchemy guild.”

(Damn these guys.)

(Hmph, the first stage of the plan succeeded.)

Edgar inwardly smirked at Yugan’s reaction.

Of course, the whole exchange was a setup. “Dragon’s Ember” wasn’t actually short on ore. Edgar had advised Medes to act this way.

From the perspective of “Dragon’s Ember,” prolonging the Crescent Knights quest to defeat the “Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir” would be more profitable.

Thus, they prioritized supporting the “White Wolves” and decided to force the Crescent Knights to supply their ore. If the knights ran out of ore to bring back, they would have to dive into the dungeon more often, leading to more frequent use of “Dragon’s Ember.”

Medes accepted Edgar’s suggestion. As a result, Yugan had no choice but to give in to “Dragon’s Ember’s” demands, reluctantly parting with the ore they had collected.

Raoul stormed down the hallway with a furious expression. He roughly opened the door to the workshop designated for the Quartet and, upon seeing Edgar, immediately yelled at him.

“Edgar! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Huh? Raoul? What’s got you so riled up? Calm down.”

“What do you mean, calm down? Why did you refuse the Crescent Knights request on your own?”

Raoul grabbed Edgar by the collar, bringing their faces close.

“Why are you so angry? Refusing the request was part of the negotiation tactic to get better terms. In fact, the Crescent Knights accepted our conditions and made another request.”

“So, you messed up my work for your games?”

Raoul tightened his grip on Edgar’s collar.

“Hey, calm down. Violence won’t solve anything,” Charles intervened.

Lizetta continued fiddling with the silver, ignoring the commotion.

“My work? This is ‘Dragon’s Ember’s’ work. It’s a guild effort involving the whole Quartet. Don’t act like it’s just your responsibility.”

“I see. So that’s why you didn’t bother to inform me before refusing the job? Is that all you have to say? Then brace yourself.”

Raoul raised his fist, ready to strike.

“Whoa, Raoul. You’re mistaken if you think I’m acting alone. This move was approved by the guild master. If you’ve got complaints, take them up with him.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Raoul lowered his fist and released Edgar’s collar roughly. He then left the room without a word.

“Are you okay?”

Charles asked Edgar with concern.

“Ugh, cough. Damn Raoul, he grabbed me so hard.”

(But now, the Crescent Knights will have no choice but to pay our guild extra money. Without much effort, the guild’s income will increase. As a result, the failure regarding the ‘Spirit Workshop’ will likely be overlooked.)

Later, Raoul visited Yugan to apologize.

“I apologize for our mistake. We caused trouble due to our mishandling. At the very least, please allow us to take responsibility for the maintenance of the equipment you entrusted to us.”

Yugan accepted Raoul’s apology, but his distrust towards ‘Dragon’s Ember’ deepened even further.

(These guys aren’t unified, are they?)

Yugan was forced to revise his plans.

(Damn, what should I do? Financially, we can manage two more dungeon explorations, but if we can’t trust ‘Dragon’s Ember,’ we can’t afford to take it easy. Should we gather the ore and defeat the ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir’ in the next exploration all at once? Or should we aim to collect more than double the ore? But that would mean increasing the number of local adventurers in the alliance due to the increased amount to transport. Adding more of those useless guys? That’s suicide. Damn it. If only the local guys were a bit more useful. Training them within this limited time is impossible… Training…)

Yugan recalled what Laurent had said.

He was training local adventurers.

Be careful of ‘Dragon’s Ember.’

(I see. Now I finally understand what Laurent meant.)