After finishing her work for the day, Aina looked toward the "volcano dungeon" from the second-floor balcony of her workshop (atelier).
She thought idly about Roland, who was probably in the dungeon fighting the "White Wolf" at the moment.
While she was pondering, a black-clad witch appears in front of her, floating in the air astride a broom.
''Fah!
Hello. I am Lilianne Rouchet, head of the "Guardians of the Magic Tree" guild. You are an employee of the ''Arsenal of Spirits,'' right? Is there a guild president, Mr. Roland?"
Aina looks at Lilianne seriously, surprised at the suddenness of the situation.
(Also, a beautiful stranger came to visit Mr. Loran.)
As Aina was about to speak, she suddenly heard a rumbling noise coming from the "volcano dungeon".
The sound of metal clanging against metal, angry shouts and screams, and what sounded like magical explosions.
Lilianne turned around involuntarily.
What is that noise? It seems rather murderous for a battle between adventurers and monsters. ......
Oh, that''s adventurers fighting each other."
Adventurers?
Yes. People who come to this island for the first time are always surprised. Adventurers are allowed to fight each other on this island.
Well, is that so?"
Lillianne puts one hand on her cheek and looks elegantly surprised.
Lillianne puts one hand on her cheek and looks elegantly surprised. Yes, that''s right. That''s why Mr. Roland is probably in the middle of that noise right now. ......"
What?" Mr. Roland?"
Lilianne involuntarily stared at the "volcano dungeon" and stared into her eyes.
She could faintly see two crowds of people clashing and the gleam of swords, but from here she could not grasp the details of the battle.
(Mr. Roland is fighting over there at ......)
Lilianne was tempted to rush to Roland''s side right now.
Roland, who had been devastated by the "White Wolf," was trying to somehow rebuild his unit.
(Most of the new recruits had been killed. But we will defend our existing forces! (However, in this state of affairs, it is not possible to march, let alone fight.)
Roland glanced in the direction in which the enemy had turned back as if to reenergize himself, and began to issue instructions.
Leon. This is the end of today''s battle. There is a place ahead where we can make a position. Let''s stay there for the rest of the day.
Oh, oh."
Elio was astonished to see Roland''s resolute attitude.
(Roland. What spirit. Even though he was outnumbered this badly, he still hasn''t given up. Is this the greatness of S-Class?)
Erio gulped and meditated.
（I can''t do it. (I can''t do it. Class A is too much for me.)
Although they managed to secure safety in their positions that day, the morale of the troops was inexplicably low.
A mood of war weariness spread among the adventurers, and many argued that it would be better to surrender to the "White Wolf.
It was in this atmosphere that Jeff finally lost his temper.
''Don''t you two foot-soldiers talk all you want. We''re just along for the ride to satisfy your convenient demands, aren''t we! The moment things get a little rough, you want to surrender? You''re being selfish, you know that?
Jeff, calm down."
Roland soothes.
d*mn, but..." Roland.
If our allies get into trouble with each other now, that''s exactly what the enemy wants. Keep it down.
Jeff reluctantly backs down with a bitter look on his face.
Seeing Jeff''s attitude, however, the new adventurers began to complain.
What the hell? What''s wrong with him? He''s talking one-sidedly.
You''re trying to be an ace, aren''t you? You''re not even an A-class adventurer.
Carla saw this and sighed.
(Oh no, here we go again. The division between the group of talented people and the group of laggards. Sein and Yugan couldn''t get this out of their system, and they went bankrupt. I guess this is what happens when you form alliances on this island after all. I thought Roland was different from the adventurers we''ve had before, but this is as far as we''ve gotten?)
Will and Lana''s faces were also clouded with anxiety.
''It''s getting a bad vibe, isn''t it, brother?
Yes," he said. Even the quintessential Roland couldn''t cover so many unskilled adventurers. Roland is Roland, too. I don''t know why he decided to go on such a reckless search.
I still think it would have been better if you hadn''t followed me. You can still go to ......"
''Lana, I owe Roland a debt of gratitude. This is the place for him to step up to the plate. Let''s share the alliance and the hardships here and support Roland."
...... Yes."
Roland then went around to each of the guilds to persuade them not to surrender and to continue fighting.
It was no mean feat, however, to persuade these demoralized adventurers to continue fighting.
In the end, they were unable to reach a consensus that day, and a decision was reached only tomorrow.
The next day, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance was holed up behind an earthen wall without leaving their camp.
Jamil blocked the way down the mountain to prevent Roland and the others from escaping, and waited patiently for the enemy to strike.
Jamil was waiting for the enemy to come out and attack. Shouldn''t we attack from here?
Rodo suggested.
No," Rod suggested. The enemy''s defenses are strong. If we fail in our assault and lose our position, we may lose the advantage we have built up so far. It would be just what the enemy wanted.
But you know what? If we don''t do something, we''ll never get away with it.
No.
Although they were pushing hard, the "White Wolf" was also facing a difficult phase.
Since they had taken too many prisoners in the previous battle, their marching speed would inevitably slow down, and they could not treat the prisoners with impunity.
If we negotiate well, they will become hostages to be ransomed from the "Arsenal of Spirits.
Therefore, we must continue to provide them with potions, but if the battle drags on, we may run out of potions before they do.
On the other hand, although the allied side had suffered a blow, they still had their main force and elite, and they should be able to move more easily now that they had lost a large number of their foot soldiers.
In such a situation, if we made a hasty move and made a mistake, we might lose our footing.
It was a delicate situation in which "White Wolf" had to be very careful.
(The final nail in the coffin is the most important part of anything. If you make a mistake here, everything is lost.)
Jamil noticed that Rodo still had a grim look on his face, and he chuckled.
No, it''s the enemy that''s cornered," Jamil said. They are the ones who are cornered," Jamil said. That''s when they will make their last move. We just have to wait for that moment and finish them off.
Leon was on the defensive, relieved that the enemy showed no sign of attacking.
（No enemy is attacking," he said. Thank God. If we had been attacked by the enemy at this time of division, it could have been the end of the story. However, we were still at a disadvantage. We have run out of potions. I wonder if Roland can persuade those who want to surrender by the end of the day. That will be the deciding factor.)
Roland was meeting with a group of guild leaders who had offered to surrender.
I hear you want to surrender to the White Wolf. Why? We''ve worked so hard to get this far, let''s finish it."
He said, "....... He can''t do it anymore."
Yes," he said. You couldn''t even get a handhold in the last battle.
I''m done here.
I don''t know. I don''t think we''re at such a disadvantage.
Or, let''s all just break up and run away. If we all break up at once, some of us will get caught, but some of us will escape. Let''s leave our luck to the heavens here: ......"
No," he said. Then even if we could escape from the White Wolf, we might be caught and beaten by a pack of monsters on the way.
When Roland said this, one of the people present snapped.
''Well then, what the hell. Are you saying we should continue to be cornered and cruelly beaten until we''re jittery?"
In the first place. In the first place, isn''t there a problem with the equipment in the "Arsenal of Spirits"? I can''t believe that all the equipment is getting wrecked like that. It''s strange, isn''t it? How can you explain it if you can''t just say it was a bad shot?
That''s right.
Maybe they''re cheating on the equipment specs.
I get it. Three more days then. Just three more days. Let''s fight that hard, and if it doesn''t look good, we''ll surrender to the bandits."
"Nah. ......! Don''t change the subject.
Yes," he said. You''ve got to be accountable. ......
One more day, then. Just one more day, will you fight with me? If we surrender, we want to surrender on the most favorable terms possible. With one more day, I think we can change the situation so that we can get the upper hand in the negotiations."
......"
The guild representatives looked at each other.
Roland, who had finished persuading the guild representatives, could not hide his tired face.
Pato spoke to him in a reserved manner.
Um, Mr. Roland, how did your persuasion go?
Yeah, somehow I was able to convince him not to surrender and get him to promise to keep fighting for one more day."
One more day. ......
(It''s still a long way to the city, not very far for just one day, but ......)
I''m sorry. Pato. I''m a little tired. Let me rest for the day."
...... yes."
Pato could not speak to him any more, not very much.
(Even Mr. Roland can''t hide his fatigue. It''s times like this when we have to support them. ......)
Pato looked at Wayne, who was skulking in the corner.
He had been acting as inconspicuously as possible, perhaps fearing that he would be held accountable after Roland had discovered that he had cut corners on his equipment.
(Wayne. Roland-san is trying very hard to follow up on your mistake. Don''t you think anything of it? You were just that guy. Wayne!)
The "White Wolf" crew was waiting for the Alliance to go on the offensive, and they were waiting now.
Then they saw someone from the Alliance camp coming toward them.
The "White Wolf" camp was nervous that a decisive battle would finally take place, but they tilted their heads when they saw only one person coming toward them, and he was a prisoner of war held by the Alliance.
He was carrying a white flag.
Jamil, puzzled, decided to call out to him.
Stop! Hey, you. You''re the guy who was captured by the Alliance, right? What''s going on? Did you escape?"
Captain Jamil! I have come as a messenger of surrender."
What?"
Jamil welcomed him and asked him what was going on.
According to him, there was a mood of war weariness prevailing in the alliance, and opinions were divided between groups that wanted to surrender and those that were determined to fight the war to the bitter end.
Roland insists on fighting, but the majority of the alliance is tired of the captain''s hard-line attitude.
The man holding the white flag is a messenger sent in secret by the surrender group.
The surrendered group has already lost its will to fight and intends to secede from the alliance.
They intend to desert when the time is right.
If the "White Wolf" attacks the alliance''s resistance group, we will have nothing to do with it, so we hope that the "White Wolf" will let us off the hook.
You''ve got to be kidding me!"
Rodo said irascibly.
I''m surrendering now and you want me to let you off the hook? Don''t be sleepy. We have a huge advantage here. I can''t accept those terms at this point in the game.
Well, wait a minute, Rod."
Jamil soothed him.
Hey, you''re not going to take these terms, are you?"
Ostensibly.
What?
They would pretend to accept the surrender group''s terms and then collapse the alliance from within. Then we will split them up and hit them when they are in disarray. Once the anti-war groups have been eliminated, the rest are cowards who are not prepared to fight. We can boil them, roast them, or cook them as we like. We can make any number of pretexts, betray them, and hunt them individually."
I see. Well, if that''s the way it is.
"Hey, you. Tell the surrender team this.
Jamil conveyed his reply to the messenger.
The surrender party is to leave the camp tomorrow morning after disturbing the alliance as much as possible by causing mayhem in the camp by setting fires, ransacking baggage, taking equipment, and so on.
When the time is right, "White Wolf" will also launch an offensive against the alliance''s position.
If you fulfill these provisions, you can let the surrender party off the hook.
Jamil sent a messenger back with these words.
However, Roland vacated his position in the shadows of the night before tomorrow morning.
When Jamil saw the empty camp, he finally realized that he had been deceived by Roland.
The messenger who had come here yesterday had been a trick by Roland.
(Yaro).
You dirty son of a b*tc*. I''ll take it! If you want to die so badly, I''ll beat you to death as you wish!"
The White Wolf" hurried after the alliance.
However, on that day, the Alliance encamped in a possible encampment without being caught up by the White Wolf.
They chose a place where they could block the road so that the "White Wolf" could not go around them.
The "White Wolf" was right behind the Alliance''s position and pressing in.
Good. Now that we''ve made it through today''s march unscathed, let''s go for another day!
Roland said this to the leaders of the Alliance Guild in one place.
The leaders of the Alliance were stunned to see their commander retract his previous statement after waiting less than a day, but they decided to accept Roland''s idea for the time being.
A day had passed since the defeat, and they too had recovered and were feeling optimistic.
Carla was stunned.
(No way. He''s going to recover from that?)
You easily scattered the ''White Wolf'' guys today."
Oh," he said. We can do it.
While the newcomers were chatting amiably, Jeff was getting frustrated with their ever-changing attitudes.
Don''t lose your temper, Jeff. We can''t put any more pressure on Roland.
Leon said.
''Yeah. I know."
Jeff somehow restrains himself.
Leon was relieved to see that.
（He was not sure what to expect, but he was relieved to see that. We should at least support him.)
The next day, the chase began again.
Jamil looked for a squeak of an alliance while chasing.
（The next day, Jamil was in pursuit again, looking for a chance to catch up with the allies. Morale is definitely down. It may be true that a part of the alliance is inclined to surrender. (Whatever the case, a little shake-up should bring out the rags.)
Jamil orders an agile assault force to be formed and sent ahead to stall the alliance.
Here come the enemy stall troops!" Fifteen bandits (Thief)!"
Jeff said.
(Seeing that our morale is low, they''ve been trying to shake us up. What do we do?)
As Roland was struggling, Will stopped.
''Big brother?''
Will uses "blast magic" to create a tornado on a narrow path, making it impossible for the enemy to pass.
Will? What the hell are you doing?"
It would be bad if the ''White Wolf'' attacked us now. Isn''t that right? You can go ahead. I''ll hold them off here."
Oh, no! Dear brother ......"
If you keep invoking magic like this, of course you will run out of magical power very quickly. So you must go quickly."
I don''t want to. I will not leave you.
Lana. If the White Wolf captures you too, there will be no one left to pay the ransom for my captivity, right? You have to run."
But ......
Come on, sweetie."
Lana decisively backed away from Will.
''Roland, take care of your sister.
Will ....... I''m sorry. I owe you."
Roland and the others left the scene, leaving Will behind.
Soon, the blast that rolled up to the heavens stopped, and Will was trapped by the "White Wolf".
Hearing that the stoppage had failed, Jamil clicked his tongue.
(I see. The enemy had attack mages? But I never thought they would use mages as pawns.)
Jamil regained his composure and decided to launch another attack to shake up the alliance.
(As I recall, the road ahead is winding for a while. ) "Shooting from a height would be effective.
Jamil ordered Zain and his archer squad to go around the high ground and snipe the alliance to stop the enemy in their tracks.
Zain took up a position on the high ground with his archer squad.
A little far away, he could see the Alliance marching along a narrow path.
Zain threatened to fire at their advance with his "dragon-headed cage" (dragoon).
Roland ordered his troops to keep going, but they were afraid of the fire from the "dragoon" and refused to advance.
（The main body of the "White Wolf" would catch up with them if they continued. d*mn, what are we going to do?)
Pato looks up at the enemy, who is camped on high ground.
(It''s tough to get the Warrior to go around there. (It''s also hard to fire a shot at them with flying weapons.)
Pato stares at the location of the enemy for a while, then begins to unpack his backpack as if determined to do so.
(Let''s try that one.)
Pato took out his lyre (harp) and began to play.
Nicolas felt uncomfortable when he heard Pato''s tone.
(......What is this disastrous sound? Not like "Dragon Sound?")
Roland also noticed this.
(No way, Pato, are you going to do that one?)
[Status of the lyre (harp)
Special Effect: "Demon Sound" C
("Onion Sound" is still in its infancy. At best, it can only make the demon tribe run wild. But in this situation ......)
Fortunately, a group of "goblins" seemed to be hiding in one of the high places where Zain and his group were camped.
Motivated by the sound of the "demon sound" played by the patrol, the "goblins" attacked Zain and his men.
Zain and his men, who were not prepared for a hand-to-hand combat, had a hard time fighting the "goblins.
Roland and the others moved on.
What? The tone that controls the goblins?
Jamil frowned when he heard the report sent by Zain.
Yes, as soon as we started hearing the strange harp tones, the ''goblins'' became furious and attacked us," he said. They must be manipulating the ogres with sound, just like the ''dragon sounds'' that manipulate the dragon tribe."
Jamil staggered lightly.
(What the hell is this? My aim was dodged at every turn. No, it''s more than that! Why are there so many unique skills and new equipment popping up in Roland''s camp? ...... skills. (No way, Roland''s skills!)
Jamil calls for someone who can use "skill appraisal" and farsightedness to appraise Loran, who is conducting under his eye.
The "skill appraiser" looked at Roland''s skill structure and was absolutely amazed.
[Roland Gil''s skills].
Skill Appraisal: S
Status Appraisal: A
Item appraisal: A
Cultivation: A
What a guy. ......
Hey, what''s up?
His, Roland''s skills are A''s or better in three appraisal skills. He has three appraisal skills above A. His skill level is S class for "Skill Appraisal. He even has an A in Nurture.
What ......?