The "Grand Alliance" had managed to outrun the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance, but after entering the "Metal Line," its marching speed had visibly slowed down.


    Even now, local adventurers are having an unusually difficult time defeating a single fire dragon (Fafnir).


    Neil watched on in frustration.


    How long are they going to take to slay a single Fafnir?


    It''s Neil. Don''t get so frustrated.


    Glenn said admonishingly.


    The cooperation of local adventurers is essential in this dungeon," he said. We need them to be able to defeat Fafnir on their own.


    I know, but...


    The leadership of "The Wise Man''s Crown" tried various things to boost the morale of local adventurers.


    Rewards were set, the chain of command was revised, and surveillance was strengthened.


    However, none of these measures had much effect, and in fact, they only made the work more complicated.


    Neil even suggested that the local adventurers be fined for being lazy, but this was stopped by Glenn.


    Such a measure would have resulted in the mass defection of the Alliance Guild.


    (What the hell is this? What is it with these people? If you have any complaints, speak up!)


    Neil was frustrated by the unsatisfactory work of the local adventurers and was trying not to yell at them, when he was startled by the sound of footsteps coming from behind him.


    They were not the footsteps of a monster.


    They were the footsteps of humans running up the mountain in their shoes.


    It was coming closer and closer.


    (No way.)


    Neil turned around and saw the "Spirit Arsenal" alliance below him.


    (Did those guys ...... already catch up with us?)


    Glenn. Change of plans. Let''s pick up the pace."


    The "Grand Alliance" was in the middle of a hectic battle, clearing away the "Fire Dragon (Fafnir)" and pulling away.


    The "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance also captured the "Grand Alliance.


    The distance between the two alliances is within reach if they shoot their bows.


    If the two alliances continued on their way, they would clash.


    Hostility and vigilance were suddenly on the rise, and tensions ran high.


    Glen. Shoot some magic to check them.


    Neil ordered.


    Mm. It''s unavoidable. ''Firecracker magic''."


    The explosion bursts into flames right before the eyes of the lead unit of the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance.


    The lead unit was so stunned by the "fire magic" that it seemed to burn the earth to the ground, that they stopped dead in their tracks.


    (Is this "fire magic" ...... Glen Ross, the leading attack mage of the "Wise Man''s Crown"?)


    Rick, who had joined the lead unit, was fired up with fighting spirit at the prospect of encountering such a formidable foe, and put all his strength into the hand gripping the sword on his back.


    （He is not short of opponents!)


    However, a magical circle of yuffines swept underfoot, signaling them to retreat.


    (Chi. (Tee... Again, no fight in the face of the enemy...)


    Rick looks frustrated, but obeys the order honestly.


    Even in the center where Roland is, he senses that he is approaching the "Philosopher''s Crown of Wisdom" and that the "Blast Flame Magic" has been released as a check.


    He is not happy about it," he says. Tell Rick to fall back. Leon, take Rick''s place and take command of the lead unit. Keep them at the tail end of the enemy and out of bow and arrow range while you pursue.


    Copy that.


    All right, man.


    After switching command of the vanguard with Rick, Leon proceeded through the dungeon, maintaining a perfect distance from the "Grand Alliance.


    The day passed without further incident as dusk fell.


    (Okay. It looks like the checks and balances worked for the time being.)


    Seeing that the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance had not made any moves, Neil decided that it was a good idea.


    He called Ian and Glenn over for a meeting about tomorrow.


    Glenn, you''ll be in the tail section of the unit, just like you were today, and you''ll be giving them the same stare down. If they get within magic range, shoot them without mercy.


    Okay.


    I''ll lead the way. If there is a chance to pull away from the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance, I will not hesitate to use my support magic. Ian. You''re in the middle of the pack. You''ll handle the information between the front and the tail, and keep the balance. If recovery magic is requested, respond accordingly.


    Okay.


    And you know that if they try to fight us or overtake us, we won''t hesitate to fight them either.


    Neil said with a great deal of horror.


    The key to the game, anyway, is whether we can collect the ore and get down the mountain before the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance does. If we do that, we can put the burden of the "White Wolf" on the other side and return home safely. For that reason, we can''t take a step back here. We will defend the lead to the death."


    While Neil and the others were meeting, the "Arsenal of Spirits" Alliance camped a short distance away from the "Grand Alliance" camp, Roland was also organizing his thoughts based on the information he had received from Leon.


    （The "Grand Alliance" had not made any moves since then. (The "Grand Alliance" had not made any moves since then. So, they don''t want to fight without any consideration. If that''s the case, it''s what we want too. (Let''s wait and see for a while.)


    Roland proceeded to keep a constant distance from the "Grand Alliance," waited for the moment of victory, and told all departments to never initiate a fight until he received instructions to do so.


    The "Volcano Dungeon" has as many as 50 mining sites of various sizes that appear every month.


    In the first exploration of the dungeon, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance and the "Grand Alliance" had extracted rare metals from as many as 15 mining sites.


    There are 35 mining sites left.


    No matter how many adventurers you gather on this island, the number of mining sites you can take out in a single search is limited to 15.


    Therefore, it should be sufficient for the two alliances to share the mining site.


    So what are they fighting over?


    What they are fighting for is the right to avoid raids from the "white wolves.


    The only way to receive that right is to procure the ore first and go down the mountain.


    The next day, and the day after that, the same development continued.


    The "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance followed behind the "Grand Alliance" as it advanced through the dungeon, maintaining a certain distance.


    When the "Grand Alliance" showed signs of encampment, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance followed close behind and encamped.


    Glen, who was in charge of checking the enemy at the tail end of the "Grand Alliance," was astonished at the unrestrained movements of the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance.


    （What a leadership! What a leadership! They didn''t even seem to be moving at all in the face of my fire magic. I have never seen such a well-coordinated unit, even in the city of mages. Is the enemy really a hodgepodge alliance?)


    Neil and Ian also felt an unfathomable fear of the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance.


    Normally, with such a large force marching so close together, there would be some sort of skirmish, but there was no sign of such a skirmish at all, and the enemy behind them simply pursued them quietly at a fixed distance.


    This was the result of Leon''s outstanding command ability.


    Leon''s status


    Command: 90-100


    (Leon has become a dependable person. I can trust him with my troops without saying a word.)


    As time went on, Neil and Ian began to get impatient.


    Neil was unable to pull off the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance.


    Ian saw no signs of wear and tear on the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance.


    （d*mn. Why is that? We''re going as fast as we can. Why can''t we disperse them?)


    （That''s not good. (This is not good. We are more exhausted than those of us running in front if we are so closely behind. At this rate, even if we finish procuring the ore first, there is a possibility that the "White Wolf" will target us. ......)


    In the meantime, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance has a great opportunity.


    On that day, the "Grand Alliance" was unable to reach the planned point and had to camp at a halfway point.


    It was a flat plateau as far as the eye could see, with nothing to defend it except a few sparse rocky mountains.


    (This is the place. This is the only place to set up camp.)


    Roland and his team set up camp at a point where their bows and arrows could not reach and began to fortify their defenses.


    It was as if this was a prelude to battle.


    Tension ran high in the "Grand Alliance.


    Neil ordered them to fortify themselves, but the work did not progress at all.


    The next morning, the "Grand Alliance" was ready for an all-out war, but on the contrary, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance was locked up inside its defenses and showed no sign of coming out.


    The sound of a harp was still echoing in the air.


    As Neil and the others wondered why, they heard the sound of powerful wings behind them.


    It was a group of "Fafnir.


    As the "Fafnirs" attacked the "Grand Alliance," the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance also rushed out from their positions, as if in cahoots.


    Under the support of the "Bow Shooters", the shieldmen charged into one of the defenses of the "Grand Alliance".


    The Grand Alliance, forced to operate on two fronts, had no choice but to let the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance break through.


    Ian felt suspicious.


    （What is it?　Just when we thought the "Fire Dragon (Fafnir)" attacked, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance came out as if to show its support?　Don''t tell me the lyre (harp) just now was "dragon sound"!　d*mn. They still had their trump card in their pocket?)


    The "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance, which had broken through the "Grand Alliance," sped up and ran up the mountain at a tremendous speed.


    Neil was determined to overtake them again, but the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance, using "Earthcraft" to its fullest, proceeded to explore the dungeon without worrying about equipment wear and tear, and soon disappeared from sight.


    (d*mn it. What is it with these guys? We''re running as fast as we can, and they''re just taking us for granted. Is there really that much of a gap between us and them? It can''t be. There''s no way we could lose to these unknown guys.)


    However, despite Neil''s thoughts, the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance is opening up more and more distance.


    Neil and his team were forced to change their strategy.


    (d*mn. What are we going to do?　We can''t catch up with the enemy. Morale will not improve. If we continue like this, the "White Wolf" will snatch our ore on the way back again.)


    Neil. Got a minute?"


    When the race against the "Arsenal of Spirits" alliance became hopeless, Glen began to speak in a grave tone.


    Would you leave your troops with me?"


    Troops?　Why on earth ......"


    We are here to ambush the ''White Wolves'' and take them out.


    <>