Inside his office at noon, Keith rested his head on his right fist at his work table. His facial expression was tired and he rolled his eyes with a sigh. The cause of his current predicament was the large sheet of paper spread on top of the table and also the person sitting across, who was resting his chin on both hands and staring at the same paper sheet with total seriousness.

“Sedhoust.” Keith said while sounding audibly annoyed. “You know what I do for a living, don’t you?”

“Blacksmith, guildmaster, and chef.” Sedhoust replied without taking his eyes off the paper.

“Then why are you planning your land use here!? Go to a professional planner or something!” Keith shouted, but Sedhoust remained unfazed.

“And tell them that I’m going to put a spaceship wreckage there? No way.”

“You can just say that you need a large space for a big project, can’t you? Tell them only what they need to know.”

“I could do that, but people will start getting suspicious. For the time being, you’re the only one I can trust.”

“What about Vierra?”

“She’s got her hands full already, being the queen and all. I don’t wish to add more burden to her mind.”

“I don’t think she’ll consider this a burden.” Keith folded his arms while looking down at the paper. “In fact, she might find this an interesting change of pace.”

“Well, I’ll see if she’s a bit more free later.” Sedhoust leaned back on his seat. “Anyway, even after omitting the space taken by the ship there’s still enough land to build a village. I’m thinking of doing just that, with them as the villagers.”

“Not a bad idea.” Keith said. “But definitely not now. Heck, not even this year.”

“Yes, there are things that have to be settled first. Like, they have to make a name for themselves beforehand. Some people will cry foul when they hear that I basically give land to a bunch of unknown foreigners.”

“Correct. Don’t forget about the ship itself. There’s no way you can hide it from people if the land is basically right outside the city walls.”

“Yeah, I have to ease people into the fact first.”

“Have you figured out how to bring the ship over here, by the way?”

Sedhoust let out a rather heavy sigh the moment he heard Keith’s question. “The easiest and most logical way is to break it down into smaller parts, but it’s a wreckage. There’s no way I can reassemble it. As it is now, there’s no choice other than asking for their help.”

“It’s them, huh?” Keith said, turning his chair sideways and his head towards the window, staring at the sky beyond it. “Yeah, if you want to move the ship as it is, they are our best option.”

“But we all know how much of a pain it will be on all aspects.” Sedhoust said with an audibly frustrated tone while scratching his head with both hands. “All the politics involved with international relations, the financial cost for the operation, the fact that they will know about the whole thing, and other things I don’t want to mention. Ugh, I want to puke already.”

Keith grinned seeing Sedhoust’s behavior before speaking. “Looking at you right now, nobody would believe that you’re supposed to be the queen’s advisor.”

“Advisor my foot. All I ever did in official events was standing at her side looking important. She always knows what to do without me saying anything.”

“But you know very well that standing beside her has a significant meaning.”

“Yeah, I have known it since forever.” Sedhoust said. “By the way, what’s the status of the extermination quest?”

“A company of adventurers departed for it this morning.” Keith said, taking a piece of paper from the left edge of the table and reading it. “A number of the spacefarers are in there too.”

“How many of them?”

“Seven.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

“I personally requested Elana to participate, considering the fact that she’s been there and thus more familiar with the place. She accepted, on the condition that she can bring a number of men of her choice. I accepted since the quest has no minimum rank. With red centipedes involved, any extra personnel, even Rock rank, would come in handy.”

“Hmm.” Sedhoust folded his arms. “They departed this morning, so they most likely will arrive at dusk and spend the night camping before going into the mines.”

“Are you thinking of going there tomorrow?” Keith squinted while leaning forward.

“Yes.” Sedhoust replied with no hesitation. “I want to see their capabilities with my own eyes.”

“Well, not that I’m going to stop you.” Keith said, leaning back and folding his arms. “Just be mindful.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sedhoust said. “In any case, how about we put warehouses here?” He pointed at a section of the map on the table. Keith visibly rolled his eyes the moment Sedhoust finished asking.

***

Later, night fell and morning came in peace. Sedhoust was relaxing on the balcony of his room, sitting on his reclined chair specially made for this purpose. Accompanied by a healthy breakfast and a cup of warm, fragrant tea, he felt a sense of bliss and he was now ready to begin another day.

“Good morning.” A familiar voice greeted from behind. It was Vierra, still wearing her nightgown which covered her body from neck to ankle.

Without moving from his chair, Sedhoust replied. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Oh dear, any other person would be punished for insolence replying like that.” Vierra said while mildly laughing. She then sat down on the identical chair next to Sedhoust’s.

Sedhoust also laughed mildly. “As if you’d ever do anything like that.”

“Someday I might have to if I’m left with no other choice.” Vierra said in a serious tone, contrary to her mood just seconds before. “But let’s put that aside. I heard you’re going somewhere today?”

“Yes. After this I’ll fly to the infested area to check on the adventurers. I believe you can guess the specific reason without me telling you.”

Vierra smiled. “Elana is among the adventurers going there, right?”

“Yes. I heard that her group managed to slay a rock golem without magic, and that intrigues me to see what they are capable of with my own eyes.”

“I see. Then I have nothing to say other than to wish you luck.”

“Thank you.” Sedhoust said before standing up. “I should get going now.”

Vierra also stood up from the chair. “Safe travels and take care.”

“Yes.”

Sedhoust then activated his flight spell and flew up high to the point he wouldn’t be able to recognize people on the ground. He briefly gazed at the beautiful sunrise at the horizon, and then he looked around to determine which way he should go.

The mines of Lunavond territory... should be there. Alright.

With the direction determined, Sedhoust immediately accelerated to full speed, which allowed him to arrive at the destination within less than ten minutes. Later, once he saw that he was close to the twin mountain where the mine was located, he slowed down and lowered his altitude. The abandoned village where the adventurers should have set up camp was right below, and the moment he got close enough he noticed a bunch of tents and people in an open area within the village.

They’re still here as I expected. Hmm...?

Sedhoust noticed that there was a commotion among the adventurers, and it sounded like a quarrel. Normally he wouldn’t get himself involved in a random conflict between adventurers, but this time he decided to make an exception, especially because Elana was one of the people quarreling.

“I am his boss. If you have any dissatisfaction against him, you have to come to me first!”

That was the line spoken by Elana, which Sedhoust could hear clearly, before one of the adventurers around noticed him coming and shouted in surprise.

“L-Lord Grasmord! It’s Lord Sedhoust Grasmord!” The male adventurer shouted, and everyone’s eyes immediately went to Sedhoust. Just a second later, all the adventurers within earshot kneeled with one knee and lowered their head. Elana and the spacefarers alongside her were among the last to kneel, briefly looking around before doing so.

Sedhoust let out a small sigh, and then he spoke. “Rise up.”

All adventurers who kneeled stood up after hearing Sedhoust’s words, and then he resumed speaking in a dignified tone.

“It came to my attention that some of you were having a quarrel before I came. I demand an explanation of what happened which made such a shameful event arise.”

Before anyone around could reply, someone outside Sedhoust’s line of sight spoke up. “Master Sedhoust, as the appointed leader of this quest, may I answer for them?”

Sedhoust turned his head towards the person who had just spoken and recognized that it was Kurt Warden, the leader of Fledglings team. “Sure. Tell me what you know.” He said.

“I actually didn’t see it for myself, but Leon told me that someone openly accused one of Elana’s partners to be a murderer.” Kurt said.

Suddenly Elana went through the crowd and spoke loudly. “And he has been cleared of all charges, mind you.”

Sedhoust put his hand under his chin briefly before looking straight at Elana. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Yes, I brought Doctor Kai with me.” Elana replied.

“Aren’t you supposed to not let him go out until the guild makes an official announcement? But before that...” Sedhoust asked, then he looked at the crowd around. “Yes, it is true that Doctor Kai has been found not guilty after investigation.” He spoke in a larger volume for the crowd to hear.

“That can’t be true! It must be foul play!” A voice of a young man was heard from behind the crowd.

“Who is that?” Sedhoust asked, and all the people around immediately looked towards the one who had just shouted. It was indeed a young man, clad in cheap leather armor which logically fitted with the Rock rank guild card pinned on it. Two other young men, visibly older but not by much, held him back with fear and worry written on their faces.

“Pipe down! Don’t you know the man you just shouted at?” One of the two said.

The other of the two immediately added. “He’s the Royal Archmage! Don’t provoke him!”

“To hell with it!” The young man shouted even louder. “I want justice for my mentor!” When he shouted again, one could easily notice that he was on the verge of crying out.

“Mentor?” Sedhoust asked, turning his head towards Kurt.

“Well,” Kurt said, folding his arms. “Keith Pilgrim was a retired guard before registering as an adventurer about a year ago or so. I had a drink with him once, and from there I knew that he registered just to have some activities after retirement. He also said that he liked guiding new adventurers, often making a temporary party with them and doing quests while giving them an advice or two. That made him quite famous among Rock rank adventurers, and some Iron rank too.”

“I have a good guess that the boy over there is one of the new adventurers he took care of.” Sedhoust said while glancing at the boy.

“Most definitely.” Kurt said. “Having a mentor figure suddenly die in broad daylight is a huge blow for anyone. Would you be kind to shed light on what actually happened? Currently all the adventurers only know that it was a murder case, and a number of witnesses saw that man, Terumoto Kai, slitting Keith Pilgrim’s neck.”

“See!? I knew it! The filthy noble backed the murderer!” The young adventurer boy cried out.

Crackle! Crackle! Drrrddd!

A thunderous sound was suddenly heard from the sky, even though the weather was clear with few clouds visible. Kurt’s face began to look pale, and so did nearly every other adventurer around.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. He’s dead for sure.”

Some whispers could be heard among the crowd before they went completely silent as Sedhoust walked towards the young adventurer. The crowd dispersed, opening a straight path to the poor boy, who was being forced to prostrate by the other two beside him. His head was held down on the ground by them, who also prostrated.

“We deeply apologize for our partner’s behavior!” One of them spoke out with his face kissing the ground.

“Please spare his life! We’re willing to take any punishment in his stead.” The other said, also while kissing the ground.

“Hey! What are you-?” The boy said before the other two pressed his head to the ground again.

Sedhoust stopped walking. He was now right in front of the three prostrating young adventurers. Nobody around dared to say any words in his presence which was overwhelmingly intimidating. The rumbling sounds of thunder periodically repeated themselves and unnatural gusts of wind blew over the place, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

“Listen here, you little-“ Sedhoust began speaking, but then...

“Please excuse me.” Someone else intervened. Sedhoust looked towards the one who had just spoken, and saw that it was none other than Terumoto Kai or Doctor Kai, the center of the ongoing conflict. He bowed deeply to Sedhoust, and then he resumed speaking. “I sincerely apologize for the intervention, but would you please hear me out for a minute?”

Sedhoust put one hand on his hip and let out a small sigh. “Alright, I shall allow it. Speak.” He said, folding his arms with his eyes at full attention towards Doctor Kai, beside whom a number of other spacefarers gathered including Elana. They were clearly prepared to protect him if something bad happened.

“First of all, I won’t deny that what happened back then was my failure, and people’s hate on me is justified.”

A good number of adventurers within earshot gasped, and whispers began audibly circulating among them.

“See!? He admits-“

Crack! Rrrrumble!

The boy’s words were interrupted and drowned by the sudden rumbling noise of thunder. Sedhoust, with his eyes glaring sharply at Doctor Kai, spoke with an intimidating tone. “What is the purpose of you saying that? Investigations have concluded that you were innocent with undeniable proof. Are you telling me otherwise?”

“No! I know that, and I thank everyone who played a part in that.” Doctor Kai said after shaking his head briefly. “Back then I saw his life in danger, and all that immediately went through my mind was to save him by any means. Nothing else mattered to me at that time, and because of that I forgot that I was not at home where people were aware that I knew what I was doing. I failed to convey my intention clearly, and that was my downfall that cost the life of a good man.”

There was a silence which lasted for a few seconds before Doctor Kai resumed.

“I don’t wish to be hated by other people. Nobody wants that. However, it was a failure of my own doing. So, if they can feel even a little bit better by hating me... I’m fine with that.”

After finishing his speech, Doctor Kai turned around and walked away escorted by two other spacefarers.

“That’s bull!” The boy lashed out, coming to a stand despite the efforts of his partners to keep him down. “Saving his life!? By cutting his neck!? What kind of bollocks is that!? You’re just a murderer backed by a filthy noble!!” He loudly shouted while pointing his finger at Doctor Kai

Sedhoust facepalmed, and immediately another episode of rumbling noise of thunder along with cold wind gusts happened. He then glared at the boy, the two partners of whom were hitting the ground with their own heads frantically while apologizing with words that were now unintelligible thanks to their panicking.

“Now listen here you little boy.” Sedhoust spoke in a straight tone as he walked towards the boy. His face was somewhat smiling, but it only served to intimidate even more than he already did. “You kept saying filthy noble this filthy noble that, do you even know the weight of the words you threw around? Do you know how severe the consequences would be if it were anybody other than me standing here right now?”

One of the boy’s partners pleaded. “P-Please-!”

However, Sedhoust intervened. “I am asking this boy alone. Nobody else answers my question.” He then resumed glaring at the boy who, despite his attitude until recently, began showing fear on his face. “Now, give me your answer.” Sedhoust said, folding his arms.

“C-Consequences? W-What consequences?” The boy asked. Bewilderment was written all over his face, and drips of cold sweat began flowing down his forehead.

“So you don’t know.” Sedhoust said, glaring at the boy who lowered his head and averted his eyes. “Then I shall tell you. You called me a filthy noble in front of a substantial number of witnesses. That is an act of insult and defamation, for which there is a penalty in accordance with the law. And that is if you get lucky enough to live until then. There are those who will have you beheaded on the spot for having wronged the majesty.”

“W-Wha..? But why-“

“Now, explain to me. There must be a cause which made you believe this, and I want to hear it. From where did you get the belief that I am a filthy noble?”

Sedhoust waited for the boy adventurer who now looked left and right pleading for help with his eyes. Tears were starting to leak from there, but nobody could give any response. Sedhoust had an expectation that one of the spacefarers would try to intervene like Doctor Kai before, but they only watched with varying expressions no different than the other adventurers around. Elana in particular watched with a sharp expression, seemingly ready to take action anytime.

Regardless, for Sedhoust the most important ongoing matter was the frightened adventurer boy in front of him. The boy was clearly not in a suitable state of mind to give any answer, and therefore Sedhoust felt the need to give the boy a little push.

“Boy!” Sedhoust spoke loudly, accompanied by a loud sound of thunder which jolted the boy awake from his wandering eyes. “You are standing right here, so you must have come of age. You are no longer a kid who can rely on a guardian to help you get out of your trouble. If you get into trouble, face it with resolve and do whatever you must to overcome it. Are you truly an adventurer right now?”

“I-I...” The boy said right before gritting his teeth. “Yes! I’m an adventurer! I’ve always wanted to become one, and now I am one!”

Sedhoust smiled a little, and the wind gust seemed to subside a little. “Now, answer my previous question.”

“B-But I... I don’t understand.” The boy said. “Why... calling you rich is an insult?”

Sedhoust couldn’t comprehend the boy’s question, and therefore his response was only a single word question. “...What?”

“What?” The boy asked, looking genuinely bewildered. Seeing this, Sedhoust lowered his head and covered his eyes and forehead with his left hand.

“Boy, I shall change the question. What does ‘filthy noble’ mean to you?”

“Umm, a noble who’s very rich? Filthy rich... right?”

Sedhoust, and probably everyone else within earshot, were rendered speechless hearing the adventurer boy’s answer. The silence felt awkward, and within seconds there were faint noises of people bursting out laughing but quickly gagging themselves afterward. The sounds of thunder were no more, and the wind gusts were reduced to minor breezes.

“Boy.” Sedhoust said, walking even closer to the adventurer boy to the point that he was now right in front of him.

The adventurer boy, still looking confused, asked a single word question. “What?”

Smack!

And without warning, Sedhoust gave the adventurer boy a pretty hard smack on the head. It didn’t cause any actual injury, but anybody seeing it would be certain that it was painful.

“Ow!” The adventurer boy cried out, putting his hands over his head.

“That was your punishment. Ask your partners why later.” Sedhoust said. “But you were right in one thing. I backed Doctor Kai, but that was because he actually is not guilty of Keith Pilgrim’s death. The guild will disclose the information regarding the case in due time, so wait until then.”

Without waiting for the adventurer boy’s response, Sedhoust looked around towards all other adventurers within sight and spoke in a louder voice. “The same applies to all of you. Put aside your doubts and focus on doing your quest. The most important point to keep in mind during this kind of quest is for all of you to work together. The last thing I want to hear is you ending up perishing because you were doubting your fellow adventurers.”

Sedhoust could notice some adventurers looking around, seemingly gauging the weight of his speech just now. Ignoring that, Sedhoust spoke again to conclude the matter. “I have spoken enough. Continue your quest and I wish that you all will come home in triumph.”

Sedhoust then walked away from the spot, approaching Kurt who was still standing in the same spot as before having been watching everything unfolding from there.

“Thank you for resolving the conflict, Master Sedhoust.” Kurt said once Sedhoust was close.

“In a way, I was obliged to because I was more or less involved in the investigation of the aforementioned case.” Sedhoust replied.

“Oh, I see. By the way, may I know why you’re here?”

“I heard that Elana and her group managed to slay a rock golem when they were here before, so I want to see their capabilities with my own eyes.”

Right after Sedhoust finished giving his reply, Elana’s voice was suddenly heard from behind. “So you are here to stalk us?”

Sedhoust turned around and spoke to Elana with his arms folded. “Well, if you put it that way... I have to admit that you are not wrong.”

“Alright, I won’t stop you so suit yourself.” Elana said with one hand on her hip. “But I doubt I can stop you anyway even if I want to, looking that everyone else kneeled the moment they noticed you coming.”

Sedhoust rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Frankly, I’m not fond of that. But it’s now basically unavoidable.”

“Why?”

“Because I have the title of earl, the second highest rank of nobility peerage. It’s a drag if I were to be honest.”

Kurt immediately chimed in. “But it was granted for your heroic achievement, Master Sedhoust. Everybody looks up to you, and I know they still would even without the title.”

“Yes, I know. And the sole reason I accepted the title was because otherwise I would eventually become a duke, the highest rank, by inheritance. The responsibility in that title is too heavy and I would rather do research, along with other academic things.” Sedhoust said. “Anyway, enough talking. Go and resume preparing for the quest.”

“Oh, right.” Kurt said. “We better get going.”

Kurt and Elana soon left Sedhoust, who just now remembered that he had forgotten something.

Ah, crud. Forgot to ask why she brought the doctor here. Oh well, I’ll ask later if there’s a chance.

Later, Sedhoust watched as the adventurers made their preparations for the extermination quest. The plan made by Kurt as the quest leader was solid, with Rock and Iron ranks being mainly out of combat and taking care of logistics, while Silver and above would do the fighting against the calamity beasts. All the adventurers were split into two groups, where one would enter the mines and exterminate the centipedes while the other would stay outside and watch for more golems.

Once the adventurers were done preparing, they boarded the carriages they had and began their march towards the mines. Sedhoust hitched a ride on the carriage where Kurt’s team was, and for him it was both a little amusing and stifling looking at how frantically everyone other than Kurt and his team tried to make him comfortable inside. In the end, Sedhoust practically had half the space of the carriage for himself, and that was not pleasing at all for him.

“Kurt.” Sedhoust called, trying to ignore the situation.

Kurt, who was sitting across, responded. “Yes, Master Sedhoust?”

“Did Elana tell you why she brought the doctor along in this quest?”

“Oh yes, she told me that she brought the doctor and also medics just in case.”

“I see. While it makes sense, she should have considered the doctor’s current circumstances. You see what happened because of that.”

“I told her the same concern before departure yesterday, but she said that the doctor himself insisted on coming along.”

“Hmm...” Sedhoust put his right hand under his chin. “Related to the matter, how many participating adventurers are capable of casting healing spells?”

“Well,” Kurt pulled out a notebook from his armor suit and flipped a few pages. “Three. Two from Enhancement Weave, one from Water Weave.”

“With this many participating, that’s barely enough.”

“Indeed.” Kurt said as he closed the notebook and put it away. “But we need to make do with what we have.”

The ride continued, and half an hour later the convoy arrived at the open field near the mine entrances. The field was also the place where the massacre instigated by the rock golem, seeing the ruins of carriages along with what was left of the corpses spread all over. Most of the corpses had already been scavenged by wildlife, either natural or calamity. Still, there was still enough lingering stench of death to induce nausea on anyone in the vicinity, especially newer adventurers who had not experienced seeing death.

“Blerrgh!” A distant voice of someone vomiting was heard. Sedhoust paid little heed to that as he stepped off the carriage. He looked around while covering his nose with his arm.

“Any orders you want to convey to us, Master Sedhoust?” Kurt asked from the side. He had covered his nose and mouth with a cloth mask, and like Sedhoust he was looking over the field with hands on his hip.

“None in particular.” Sedhoust replied without looking at Kurt. “Today I’m here only to observe. Disregard my presence and do your job as the quest leader like normal.”

“Understood, Master Sedhoust.” Kurt said, then he spoke again in a lowered volume. “And thank you so much for the reward back then.”

Sedhoust replied, still without looking. “Make good use of it.”

“Definitely, Master Sedhoust.”

“But it’s your call if you want to retire with that.” This time, Sedhoust turned his head towards Kurt, showing a slight grin.

“No way, Master Sedhoust.” Kurt laughed a little. “It would be too boring.”

“Hmm, indeed. I concur.” Sedhoust said. “I experienced boredom first hand after all.”

Later, Kurt made an order to gather all the human remains and horse carcasses and cremate them all on the spot. The literally dirty work of gathering the rotting remains fell into the hands of Iron and Rock adventurers, while most of the higher rank ones stood guard around the field looking out for possible hostiles, either natural wildlife or calamity beasts.

While the work was in progress, Sedhoust noticed that three of Elana’s subordinates were now wearing heavy-looking armor suits. The suits seemed to enhance their strength somehow, looking at how easily one of them carried a pile of materials salvaged from the broken carriages.

Interesting. Those three are probably the ones who had been here before for the heavy lifting quest. No wonder they were requested by name back then.

Sedhoust kept observing from a distance, seeing the three people salvaging and arranging the heavier materials quickly, easily, and efficiently. What they had done in ten minutes would have taken at least an hour if carried out by ordinary adventurers, and that left quite an impression on Sedhoust’s mind.

Sedhoust kept walking around watching over the adventurers for another ten minutes, but then he noticed Elana hurrying to where Kurt and his partners were standing. Looking at how tense her facial expression was, Sedhoust decided to follow her and see what she had to say.

“Kurt, bad news.” Elana said the moment she was close enough. “Golems are inbound.”

“What?” Kurt asked without hiding his surprise. “How many and how far?”

“Two are coming from the southeast two clicks away.” Elana said, pointing towards a certain direction. “At their current pace we have less than ten minutes.”

Anna, who was right next to Kurt, asked. “Not that I doubt you, but how did you spot them from so far away?”

“Our homeland technology.” Elana replied. “Can we leave it at that for now and hurry up in preparing our defenses?”

“Right.” Kurt nodded. “Leon, Anna, spread the words. Have everyone Silver and up bolster our fortifications at the southeast.”

“Right away.” Leon and Anna said before leaving in a hurry.

Kurt then looked at Elana in the eyes. “Elana, if possible please continue watching for any more golems coming.”

“I’m still doing it.” Elana said, and Sedhoust noticed her eyeballs glancing somewhere else for a split second. “The coast is still clear for now, outside of those two.” She then turned her head towards Sedhoust. “Are you not going to help?”

Before Sedhoust could reply, Kurt spoke up. “Elana, we can’t rely on Master Sedhoust for this. Yes, he could obliterate rock golems in the blink of an eye, but we can’t grow as adventurers if we leave a problem to someone of his level.”

“Is that true?” Elana asked without taking her gaze off Sedhoust. “Even if they risk dying in the battle?”

“Yes, that is how it works.” Sedhoust said. “Each and every quest carries a degree of risk, and nobody can always rely on someone much stronger to carry them through. Adventurers risk their lives with every quest, and they take those quests knowing that they may not be able to see it through and make it home. Even my party did so in the past, and...” He briefly paused. “...One of us really didn’t make it.”

“Look, I’m sorry for your past loss but frankly speaking our common sense doesn’t match.” Elana said in an audibly upset tone. “Whatever, I won’t try to convince you otherwise. I just hope that you aren’t going to regret it if someone ends up dying.”

“Don’t worry, Elana.” Kurt said. “Nobody will die.”

“How can you be so sure? Even a single rock golem gave my squad quite a trouble.”

“We’re prepared for it, because that’s what we came for.” Kurt smiled with determination written over his eyes.

Soon later, at the southeast part of the field, a makeshift wall of dirt and rock was erected using a combination of Earth Weave and labor of the Rock and Iron adventurers. The wall was one meter tall and ten meters wide with a half-meter deep trench having been dug behind it, where a bunch of Silver and above adventurers were on standby. On each end of the wall, a large ballista had been assembled and both of them were ready to fire.

Elana and her heavy armor squad had been instructed by Kurt to remain at his side for the time being, while the remaining two and Doctor Kai stayed with the Iron and Rock rank adventurers at further back.

“Elana, what’s the status?” Kurt asked while overseeing the ongoing preparations around the wall.

“Their pace remains the same, and there are no other golems coming from anywhere else. They will be in our sight within three minutes.” Elana replied, looking over the wall. The ground ahead was a gentle uphill slope leading to the top of one of the two mountains, meaning that the golems would have a height advantage and the ballistas would have less effective range. “Please brief me on your battle plan.”

“Once the golems get into range, we’ll open fire with ranged attacks. Their behavior on defending from our attacks will help us judge the location of their cores. Once we determine the locations, melee fighters will advance and chip away at their body to expose the cores.”

“Where do we come in?” Elana asked with a skeptical tone. “I mean, we could just have my team and your team take on one golem each instead of all this. I believe Fledglings can handily slay one rock golem.”

“Right. You’re correct on that. But if we do that and some other beasts appear while we’re busy fighting the golems, we’ll be putting the others in danger.” Kurt said. “Calamity beasts can be sneaky at times.”

“Alright, that makes sense. So we remain on standby in case some of the sneaky ones attack the people back there.”

Kurt nodded. “You can still provide support fire with ranged attacks, as long as you don’t end up exhausting your resources.”

“Understood.” Elana said before looking at the three armored members of her squad. “One of you will provide support fire with heavy AP cannons. The other two will remain on standby with Blaze Guns and Blaster Spears. Lillie, decide who’s doing which.”

“Affirmative, Captain!” The only girl of the armored squad, Lillie, replied.

Sedhoust, who had been watching everything, smiled. To him, it felt like yesterday when Kurt, Leon, and Anna had been still inexperienced yet very enthusiastic Silver rank adventurers. Their hard work and dedication throughout the years had brought their team into the rank of Sapphire they had today, and he had stumbled upon them a good number of times purely by chance during their journey. Looking at how they’ve grown so much made Sedhoust feel happy somehow.

Regardless, a battle was imminent and despite what he had said to Elana before, Sedhoust made sure that he was prepared to join the battle if necessary. He was determined to never let any adventurer die on his watch.

***