Isaac listened as Cheng Cho told him about his plan. Before that, the bearded man recounted the chronology of his time in the dungeon.
The story told by Cheng Ho was not much different from He Dong. The difference was when they crossed the strait. The crocodile monsters attacked them and they were able to survive. However, due to this incident, a quarter of the raid members were seriously injured. One of them was He Dong.
The arrogant man proposed that the raid be cancelled. Of course, his proposal was flatly rejected by Cheng Ho. Then he started to influence the other members in the party. He Dong tried to attract people to side with him. At least, all the injured raid members agreed with him.
Thus, there was a split in the group.
The situation got worse with Cheng Ho threatening to expel his men from the Phoenix Armada if they did not agree with him. He Dong took advantage of this situation. He told the other members that if they were expelled from their guild, then Crimson Dawn promised to take them in.
Cheng Ho and Wang Mei took the man's words lightly. As a result, some of the hunters chose to leave the guild and side with He Dong. Especially with the injured members. In fact, not a few Nine Sky members left.
Wang Mei did not prevent her members from leaving. She gave them freedom.
In the end, those people chose money over loyalty. They considered hunter to be a job. Not a responsibility, let alone a pride. As long as the income they earned was the same, they would choose the less risky option.
Later, the group went their separate ways.
With the loss of a quarter of his members, Cheng Ho still continued the raid. The old man did not entirely consider that this incident was a loss. In fact, the man thought he was relieving the burden carried by the group. Because, those who left the raid were the ones who were injured. They were only an obstacle.
Before they explored the unknown area, Cheng Ho turned around, exited the mangrove forest and entered into a swampy area filled with large trees. With the terrain watery and the depths, the bearded man decided they needed water transport. He ordered his men to cut down trees and build canoes.
Thank to magic, they were able to create one quickly. Although the results were still quite rough. At the very least, the canoe could float and carry people.
Cheng Ho sent one or two groups to search for dry land in the area around the mangrove forest. Meanwhile, he and other members built more canoes.
After a few days of his men exploring the mangrove forest, they returned with two important pieces of information. The first was the fact that this dungeon contained a large body of water. In their search, they found some large land masses covered with large trees that could be used to make camps.
The second piece of information was that they found the lab Lawrance was referring to. In the centre of the deep mangrove forest, there was an island of sorts with large rocks around it. Water could not enter and kept the land dry. Inside the island were various monsters with strange shapes that they rarely saw.
Lawrance confirmed that the island was where the lab was.
Without a second thought, Cheng Ho moved the location of the camp to the land where they were now settled. In this place, the bearded man instructed his men to create more canoes to carry the men to storm the lab.
As Cheng Ho and his men were about to observe the island, they heard a commotion. They checked the scene and found Ling Tian surrounded by hundreds of crocodile monsters. That's how Cheng Ho came to meet the Golden Dragon swarm.
"As I said before. Our meeting here is fate. We've been destined to attack the lab together. This is the will of god. He got rid of that coward He Dong and sent you here instead."
Isaac who heard the bearded man's explanation did not comment. Ling TIan also showed a similar response.
After hearing Cheng Ho's intention, Ling Tian asked that old man to explain everything. He wanted to know the whole story during their disappearance before deciding whether to help Cheng Ho or not. Because after all, Ling Tian was sent here to confirm their condition, not to help them. So he had no need to lend his men for risky missions.
"So, how is it?" asked Cheng Ho in a curious tone.
Ling Tian was still silent. Not long after, his eyes glanced at Isaac, as if asking for his opinion.
Of course Isaac realised that. He even wanted Ling Tian to join Cheng Ho's attack plan. However, Golden Dragon was not his responsibility. He had no intention of taking over Golden Dragon, because he didn't want a new factor to arise that could change the future again. Therefore, he chose to manage what was in his hands now.
After considering for a moment, Ling Tian finally made a decision.
"Alright, I'll help with this raid. But still, Golden Dragon should get the credit. I want the Power Crystal mining rights for this dungeon."
A smile bloomed on the bearded man's face. "Of course. There is no way I would say no." With He Dong out of this raid, he could give Golden Dragon the Crimson Dawn allotment. Cheng Ho had nothing to lose.
Then the two men shook hands. Isaac covered his face with a smile. Across the table, Wang Mei watched him with narrowed eyes.
"Alright, let's listen to my plan." Cheng Ho said excitedly.
That person opened wide the illustrated paperboard on the table. Then he began to place one by one the pawns on it. The index finger touched a picture of an island with a black dot around it.
"This is the location of the island. The black dots are rocks. The island is almost surrounded by tall boulders, the canoe cannot pull over. There are only two areas where there are no obstacle in the way."
Cheng Ho tapped his finger on the part of the island image where there were no black dots. All pairs of eyes were watching it.
"On the west and east of the island. However, according to the information from the people I sent there, these two areas are heavily guarded by strange monsters."
"Aren't all monsters freaks?" Ling Tian chided. That man said with a flat face.
"That's true. But the monsters here are 'really' strange. All the monsters you've seen from the dungeon have unusual forms. Three-headed goblins, large-bodied kobolds, and even slimes that have bones."
Hearing that, Linng Tian was shocked till his eyes opened wide.
Lawrance joined in on the conversation. "That's right. This place is the result of experimental monsters. Whatever you've seen in other dungeons are ordinary monsters. Master, you'll understand once you see it."
Lint Tian sighed. "Then how are we going to get there?"
Cheng Ho smiled widely. "So, here's my plan."
He would divide the hunters into two groups and send them to the two sides of the island. The first group, sent to the west with a hundred men. They would attack the monsters standing guard there and make a scene, drawing the attention of all the monsters on the entire island to the west side. In other words, they served as a decoy.
While all the monster's attention was on the west side, the second group, the main army, would move in through the east side. They would attack the lab and take out the boss on the 3rd Floor.
"Then, boom. We kill Alpha and get to destroy the lab. Mission complete. The three of us will get exclusive rights to manage the dungeon from the government. What do you think?"
Cheng Ho looked enthusiastic. Confidence was evident on his face. He was sure that his plan would be a success.
Seeing the bearded man's expression, Ling Tian was swayed. Moreover, he thought that this plan was also reasonable and workable.
However, not with Isaac. He saw many loopholes in this plan.
"This plan will be good if everything goes smoothly. Then how about something happens outside the plan. The decoy group certainly can't stay distracted for long. If they retreat, all the monsters will spread back to the island. Besides, there's no guarantee we can win against Alpha on this floor. Even if we win, we will certainly suffer damage. Have you thought about this scenario?"
Isaac's words opened the eyes of everyone in the tent wide. Wang Mei then spoke up.
"I think he's right. It's too dangerous to assume everything will go according to plan. There are bound to be one or two things that deviate from the plan. We need a plan B."
Cheng Ho took a deep breath when he heard two people doubting the plan. "Of course things like this will happen. Therefore, we will impose a time limit on this operation. The decoy group will have their attention diverted for one hour. That's the longest limit for a B rank hunter. During that time, we will infiltrate the lab and eliminate Alpha."
"Travelling to the lab, from entry and exit will take some time," Isaac replied. "Let's say it takes us twenty minutes. That means we only have forty minutes against the Alpha. Are you sure you can defeat a monster we know nothing about in that time?"
Hearing Isaac's answer, Ling Tian changed his mind. Wang Mei became even more hesitant about this plan. Of course, this made Cheng Ho unhappy. Nevertheless, the man with the black beard continued to persist.
"We have to take risks if we want to succeed. Besides, even if this plan fails, we can get information about Alpha. We can defeat him in the future."
"Then what if we all die?" Ling Tian uttered the sentence he least wanted to hear. If everyone in this raid died because of the dungeon boss, then this raid mission was a waste.
Cheng Ho was silent. Words were stuck in his throat. Ling Tian gave him a pill that was hard to swallow.
Seeing that the bearded man was speechless, Isaac finally intervened. He was already quite satisfied seeing the thinking capabilities of the Leader of Phoenix Armada.
"But, we have to do it anyway." His words changed the mood in the tent. "We've come this far. Retreating is not an option. Then we might as well justify what that coward He Dong said. Even if it takes a toll, we have to do it. Getting something without sacrifice is impossible."
Instantly, the expressions on Wang Mei and Ling Tian changed. His last sentence changed their thinking. Finally, the two people agreed to this plan.
"Someone has to become a martyr? Bad idea, but for the sake of mankind, I'll do it." Ling Tian said with great dignity.
"No pain, no gain," Wang Mei added.
Thus everyone inside the tent agreed. Cheng Ho seemed to glance at Isaac with a smirk on his lips, as if the bearded man was indebted.
"Alright, we'll attack the lab!"
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