...
After the arrangement that Shin and the group had made, the team immediately proceeded toward the Frozen City ahead of them.
The distance of city was not far from their current position, but it was also not near either. They could see the silhouette of the city from the distance because of how massive it was, which also signified how wealthy it was in its glory days.
From the current standard of the cities within the game, and given that it was too majestic compared to the Holy City which was about to be promoted into a Capital City, the group was thinking that this particular city was at least at Royal Rank, if not in Imperial Rank already.
Having that thought, the group could not help but see the Frozen Kingdom in a new light. From their knowledge, there were only a handful of cities that were in the Capital Rank within the game and all of them were from the largest countries that they had known so far.
And the kingdoms and empires which had a Capital City or more were the wealthiest regions within the game. And not a single guild or organization was able to control the resources running within them.
A huge war was always present in those places because of the rich resources that they could get from them.
The powerful guilds and large organizations were also doing their best to occupy a decent space within those cities since the possible benefits that they could get from just staying within those Capital Cities were pretty appealing.
Just having the high-mana density from the environment of those cities was already beneficial for the players, so there was no need to ask about the improvement that they could make after training in that kind of environment.
This was also one of the reasons why a lot of powerhouse guilds were eyeing the Holy City of the Saint Heaven Kingdom. For such a city that had the potential to become a Capital City, any organization would want to take root within it while it was still at its improving stage.
If they managed to build a solid foundation within it while it was still at the 'infant' stage, the benefits that they were going to get once it fully 'matured' would be astronomical.
…
If a Capital City was already that appealing, then what more about a city with a higher rank than it?
Just mentioning the words Royal City and Imperial could make any organization drool over it together with their eyes that were full of greed.
Seeing the silhouette of such a huge city from the distance, the group could already understand why this ridiculously lengthy quest was set in the highest difficulty – it was an Empire Quest for a reason.
If the other guilds and organizations learned about the existence of this city, then all of them would surely go crazy.
A massive region full of rare and unique resources, filled with powerful and high-leveled monsters, alongside a Royal City situated at its center – these things alone were already rewarding if they became available to everyone.
…
As a member of a Powerhouse Guild, the trio of S.Tigris, Black Hand, and Ara were tempted to report it to their Vice Guild Leader.
If only it was not included in the confidentiality contract that they had signed earlier, then they might have reported it already.
At the very least, they could only ask their vice guild leader to tell the Alliance Leader to continue building a good relationship with the Empyrean Talons and Hand of Midas Trading Firm.
They just hope the greedy elders of the Wing's Alliance would not be blinded by their greed later when they learned about the existence of this place once the Empire Quest was over.
Knowing how greedy could the higher-ups of their guild could be, the three couldn't help but think twice while looking at the matter, especially for S.Tigris and Black Hand who were very familiar with those people.
– "This couldn't be shared with the others, only Amanda, the Vice Guild Leader that is on our side, could only know about their relationship with the Empyrean Talons, or the Alliance Leader himself." –
– "If it is learned by either of those sly foxes, then the consequence will definitely be serious, especially when the internal struggle within the guild is not in their favor." –
Different thoughts entered the heads of the two as they were reminded of the current problem that their guild was facing.
Setting aside his inner thoughts, Black Hand resumed observing the surroundings sharply, looking for any potential dangers that might come out and attack them at any time.
Since Shin was currently not present and Cloe wanted to focus on the supportive role for this battle, he was assigned as the shot caller once again.
His performance earlier also helped the others with this decision. His earlier instructions were always decisive and accurate, which made the others perform properly. That alone was more than enough for the others to further entrust him with such an important role.
As they were proceeding forward, the group was currently maintaining a solid yet flexible formation, where they could showcase their battle prowess unrestricted and able to make some adjustments when the situation call for it.
At the forefront of the group, Owen and Arthur were leading everyone, three meters away from each other, while Lawless was running closely behind with Zero following after him at the same distance as the other two.
They were moving in an arrow formation without a tip.
Slightly behind them were S.Tigris and Lawless who were running aligned with each other just like Owen and Arthur. But compared to those two, the pair were slightly spread away, leaving a huge empty space in between them.
Then a little behind them, Seven was running positioned at the center behind the empty space that the two left.
Then there was Cloe and Black Hand running side by side behind him, a couple of meters away from each other.
Then forming a diamond formation around them, alongside Seven, were the three mages of Charlotte, Ember, and Ravier, with the latter two flanking them on both sides.
There was also Chaotic Luck who was behind them. He hadn't summoned any of his Solaris Soldiers yet as he was instructed to save his mana as much as possible.
If the upcoming battle required them to increase their numbers, then he was free to summon his legion. But if it was not, then he could only use some of his magic spells to deal additional damage.
But he could only do it moderately since his role would still be important in the possible ambush that could happen in the raid. They need his Legion of the Chaotic Sun to deal with Immortal's Undying Army at that time.
Meanwhile, guarding the rear of the group, Alucard and Ara who had the longest range among them, were following after everyone. And since they had the sharpest perception compared to most of the group, they would be able to quickly sense it if they were ambushed from behind.
Faker, on the other hand, was left on his one once again. He was moving a little ahead of the group, scouting the area. Being the fastest of the group, he was able to quickly return to the group and inform them about his findings.
The group moved at the same pace to maintain their current formation, fully ready to fight anytime.
But after a long time of running, the group felt that there was something wrong. They didn't encounter a single monster along the way, not even a cursed knight or a vampire in sight.
Not encountering a vampire might still be understandable since they might be the final monsters that they were supposed to fight at the very end of the quest. Even if they were too near their nest, the Frozen City.
But it was completely different when it came to cursed knights, undead monsters, and other beings that they faced so far.
Based on the previous battles that they had experienced since their arrival in this place, they were supposed to fight a bunch of mobs first before facing the final boss – a usual setup for a standard setup.
Following the pattern, they should be fighting monsters first before Grand Marshal Draco appeared.
Swoosh!
While they were currently confused, they suddenly heard the sound of someone rushing in their direction.
"Wait! That must be Faker. Let's stop here for now and listen to his findings," Black Hand signaled everyone to wait.
Not long after, Faker finally arrived and appeared right in the middle of their formation like a ghost. The others walked over to him but still maintained their formation by only shirking it.
"Did you discover something?" asked Black Hand as he walked over.
Faker was currently wearing a deep frown as he didn't know how to respond. After a brief moment of silence, he finally spoke. "It is strange. I don't find any signs of life up ahead of us, not even an undead monster is present."
"I continue all the way close to the city, but I still found nothing," he added while wearing a deep frown.
"That is indeed strange."
"Hmmm."
"…"
"Not even a life signature? Suspicious."
The others gave their different opinion but their thoughts were the same.
After thinking deeply about it for a few moments, Black Hand finally said. "Does this mean our next battlefield will be inside the city?"
The others didn't react to those words verbally but their reactions signified that they agreed. And when they thought about it, they couldn't help but looked at the huge city up ahead, having similar thoughts in mind.
"Sounds like a perfect place to close the curtain," muttered Arthur before gesturing to the others. "Let's go! I've got a good feeling about this."
...
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