Maruyama Kugane - The Invaders of the Large Tomb

"Fumuu… Well then, between Unglaus and Uzruth, which one would be stronger? Tell us your thoughts."

"Uzruth." Greenham answered "If compared against the Unglaus of that time then the winner definitely would be that guy. It was only recently that I watched some of his battles in the arena, so I’m sure of it."

"So in other words, Uzruth would have been able to match evenly against the Kingdom’s Warrior Captain of back then? Is he really that strong!? Otto!"

Due to over excitement, Hekkeran accidently raised his voice and had to suppress himself.

"I see. Unglaus huh. Looks like I was able to gain a bit more information about the Kingdom… Oh that’s right, have you guys heard? Doesn’t the Kingdom now have its third adamantite ranked adventurer team?"

"Of course, I’ve already heard, elder."

"Ah, sorry. I haven’t heard."

"Hekkeran… Thou ignorance could bring much harm to thy team. "

"I already know that. However, it’s really difficult to gather information on those of the same profession as us within the Kingdom. It’s also a waste of money."

"Hya hya hya. So courageous. This old man does not dislike that!"

"Elder, I wish to hear thy opinion on this. I’ve heard lots of rumours about Momon from ‘Darkness’, but some of them are just ridiculously outrageous. For example, being able to successfully subjugate a Gigant Basilisk with only two members and without the support of any healers."

"Uwah, aren’t those simply false rumors?"

Even for adamantite adventurers, to be able to defeat such a strong opponent like the Gigant Basilisk with only two people was simply near impossible.

"Does thou also agree, Hekkeran? The more information I gather, the more dubious the whole thing seems. Even regarding the information on the event that happened within the Kingdom’s capital, the rumors were that they defeated a demon with a difficulty rating of over 200 in just one hit. In my opinion, it seems more likely that the Kingdom’s Adventurer Guild deliberately spread wrong rumors out of personal interests, just to gain additional adamantite ranked adventurers.”

"That’s possible. The appearance of new high ranking adventurers is definitely an amazing thing.

However, would the Guild really do something like this? They’re very strict on certain things, that’s why they’re called a guild."

"In that regard, it’s a bit different in each city depending on the Guildmaster who’s in charge. Back when this old man was still an adventurer, the Guildmaster that was in charge of my city was the absolute worst. I ended up punching him straight in the face. Hya hya hya! I’ve been a worker ever since that incident."

Parupatra laughed happily.

The story behind why Parupatra became a worker was extremely well known. It might be reasonable to say that there shouldn’t be any workers within the Empire’s capital that didn’t knew it. This was something that was often brought up by Parupatra after he gets drunk.

"Having said this much, I don’t think it’s likely that the Guild would do this kind of stuff."

"In that case, you think it’s true then?"

"It’s hard to believe. Even when I try to think about it rationally, a difficulty rating of 200— it’s already hard enough to imagine just how terrifyingly strong that would be, to be able to defeat that kind of opponent in just one hit is simply impossible. Even if that was possible the probability would have to be extremely low. Could it be that the event happened more like this, a super high difficulty rating demon appeared and countless teams tried to subjugate it, and the final blow was delivered by the 'Darkness'?"

"If you say it like that, then it sounds a lot more believable."

"I think it’s possible. It wouldn’t be that strange for someone within the adamantite rank to be that strong. The skill range between adamantite rank adventurers can be extremely big."

"So Hekkeran and I are of the same opinion, but elder thinks it really happened as told, is that right?"

"Hya hya hya. I do think of it that way."

"Seeing in person beats hearing a hundred tales. Now I want to meet him at least once… yet at the same time I don’t."

Just as the two of them were about to agree to what Hekkeran had said, the sound of someone getting hit, followed by the cries of a woman, interrupted their conversation.

The workers that were present quickly focused their attention on the source of the disturbance. Some had already drawn their weapons and entered their battle state.

The source of the scream, which came from Eruya’s direction, was one of Eruya’s female companions, who was laying on the ground. Considering the situation, it seemed that Eruya was the one who had sent her flying. His face was distorted with rage, while a fearful expression could be seen on the woman as she begged for his forgiveness.

While desperately trying to suppress the feelings that fluctuated within his chest, the first thought that flashed in Hekkeran’s mind was his comrade—he hurriedly cast a glance at Imina.

Having made up his mind, Hekkeran eliminated the expressions on his face and remained where he was. However, the pressure that was emitted from Hekkeran suggested that if anything further happens, he would definitely be the first to strike out.

Hurriedly, Hekkeran signaled to Roberdyck and Arche, instructing them to stop Imina from taking any independent actions.

Personally, Hekkeran felt the same way as Imina. However, right now he didn’t have the right to meddle in other team’s affairs. Of course, if he really wanted to, there was nothing stopping him from taking action. It was just that he would then be required to take responsibility. Because of reasons like this, the other teams also didn’t show any signs of wanting to be involved and simply expressed their disgust.

In the end, Imina was finally able to come to her senses, and suppressed her emotions. She made a rude gesture towards Eruya’s back and spat on the ground.

"…It seems he can only match his swords skills with the Kingdom’s Warrior Captain. It would be great if he could also match his personality, but that’s just asking for too much. Well then, let’s just end the useless chattering here."

"…I agree. Since Hekkeran has already arrived, it’s time to decide on the most important thing."

"Since that guy has already backed out from this it’s just between the three of us, but who will take the overall command of this operation?"

Suddenly everything became quiet.

There were four worker teams here. The amount of combat potential from the combined four teams could already be considered as something remarkable, however if not properly commanded, much of it would be wasted. No matter how many arms one might possess, if one was unable to make use of them in harmony, it’s no better off than having just a single arm.

Managing multiple teams with a diverse range of personalities was already a difficult enough task to accomplish, to do so without receiving any complaints was even harder. Mistakes that occurred when giving commands could directly result in failure. And if the leader prioritized his own team first, then he could even end up being the target of everyone’s resentment.

To make it clearer, it’s a responsibility that requires ability, yet comes with more demerits than merits.

Knowing this, the leaders quietly waited while studying each other’s expressions. After nearly one minute of silence, the tired Hekkeran made a suggestion.

"Honestly, I think it’s better not to do it this way."

"This will only delay the problem. What if it gets messy once the battle starts?"

"…I propose we dost take turns. This way dissatisfaction can be kept to a minimum. We can also discuss this further after we arrive at the ruins."