Darius took a seat opposite the capital's Mercenary Guildmaster and proceeded to inspect the fellow. Lisbon was surprisingly average in terms of looks and stature. He wasn't a buff fighter like Carlton who radiated testosterone and muscles.

He was around 5'11 in height from what Darius could tell, with a lean build that was toned from his tight-fitting attire. He had short black hair that was neatly combed, a sharp nose, trapezoid-like eyes, and semi-thick lips.

He wore a nicely ironed long-sleeved white shirt and black trousers, looking dissonantly similar to office workers from Earth, only lacking the tie.

He had been pouring over documents before Darius had come in and had put them down to deal with his visitor properly. Just as Darius was inspecting him, so too was he sizing up this so-called prodigy of Andrato with his own two eyes.

In the end, Lisbon nodded. This lad had a boundless future, and so too did the one behind him. It was best to treat them with respect for now, unless they proved to be enemies of the guild's interests later on.

"So, what can I help you with, Lord Stone?" Lisbon asked slowly.

Darius smiled. "Sir Lisbon has hosted the mission of my master for the past 3 weeks, and I have been tasked to report that it has been a solid failure."

Lisbon blinked with surprise, trying to calm his suddenly beating heart as he digested Darius' words and the implications behind them. The man was silent for more than 5 minutes, and Darius also allowed him to freely consider what to do next.

Eventually, Lisbon looked at Darius and asked solemnly. "Can I ask Lord Stone for more clarification on your words earlier?"

Darius nodded. "Not a problem. Firstly, I am the representative of Master Anderson, the person who had tasked Listo's Guildmaster Carlton with issuing this quest. In fact, I was the one who met him directly and handled the negotiations."

Darius whipped out a special mission issuer's token that the Mercenary Guild used to identify specific mission issuers. "With this, any doubts you might have should be cleared. In the presence of more doubts though, feel free to contact Carlton himself to find out the truth."

"Secondly, the mission has collapsed in total failure. After fighting for 3 weeks, the various powerhouses decided to siege the bastion of the final target, Stonekeeper Marasmus."

Darius smacked his lips. "Regretfully, I have to admit that Master Anderson doubted the… quality… of the fighters of this erm… 'lowly kingdom'… as he had put it, hence why he sent me to take part of the battle. With the other powerhouses, we battled against the Bone Dragon and then Marasmus himself until the master of the Plains of Death himself descended."

Darius had a fearful expression on his face. "Luckily, Master Anderson gave me a life-saving talisman that had a Master-stage Spatial Transportation spell, taking me and my servant away. As for the fate of the rest... well I shall leave it to your imagination."

Lisbon was utterly flabbergasted, his face paling as sweat fell down his brows. Even as he tried to wipe it, new beads formed faster than he could clean them, leaving him drenched.

Like Garm and his deputies, Lisbon was able to understand the magnitude of the current situation. It was his understanding of this plus what Darius revealed earlier that left him like this.

With a weak smile, he inquired carefully. "What instruction does Master Anderson have for us?"

Darius had a bitter smile. "He… when I reported the situation to him… he coldly asked me to retrieve the rewards he put up so..."

He deliberately paused as if looking for the right words, before eventually adding: "So he may file the mission to a 'competent kingdom' as he put it."

Lisbon paled even further, and the worst-case scenario he had envisioned had come to pass. When Darius had told him the mission failed and that all the fellows had died, a spark of hope had lit in him.

If… if he could swallow those resources and use them to grow his faction, his position in the entire Mercenary Guild would rise!

One should know, that organizations like the Mercenary, Traders, Thieves, and Assassins Guild were not unique to the Andrato Kingdom, but were a continent-wide force with branches in every major city and town of all kingdoms.

It was only Adventurer's Guilds that were unique to each and every kingdom as they decided how their citizens could explore the treasure zones known as dungeons.

As such, while the guild did not exactly fear the pressure of a Master-stage expert on their own, it was not the kind of person Lisbon personally could afford to offend.

However, spitting out those resources seemed too painful, especially given the cost they had incurred because of them!

Darius saw the struggle on Lisbon's face as he analyzed the facts, trying to look for loopholes in which he could try to keep the reward within the guild - either for his higher-ups or for himself - then smiled provocatively.

In truth, he had expected this. Most adults on Earth had directly and indirectly experienced such a phenomenon at least once in their lives, especially with financial companies.

When insurance companies were taking their premiums from one's salary, they're able to calculate it quicker than a supercomputer and snatch the funds even faster than The Flash.

Yet, whenever there would be a time to cough up the money for whatever reason (car, life, health) they would be extremely reluctant to do so, and use almost every excuse they could think of to either delay or invalidate the insurance claim.

Lisbon was trying to pull the same thing right now.

Darius was not in the mood to savor the show and eventually beat the fellow into submission by mentally cornering him, as he was on the clock. Harder methods would need to be used.

Darius frowned visibly. "Mr. Lisbon, is there a problem? A matter such as returning the offered reward for a failed mission is not something to think about so deeply, is it?"

Lisbon was stunned by Darius' sudden aggressive approach to the matter and inhaled deeply. He understood that the person behind this fellow was impatient to see the mission done and did not want to waste his time dallying about.

If.. If he delayed further and caused the fellow behind Darius to come down, things would not be so pleasant and friendly!