Chapter 366: 354 Prison-like Building_2
Gegran stood together with Brian and, seeing him like this, said a sentence.
"I didn’t expect you to come along with us."
Of all the people present, only Brian was not an adventurer and had no relation to the capital. Even if the city were in trouble, it probably wouldn’t affect him much; hence Gegran really didn’t expect Brian to come along.
"I’m just following Lord Brilliant, don’t mind me."
The reason Brian gave was surprisingly simple.
"Well, I’m quite glad," Gegran chuckled broadly, saying, "Having a man like you come along with us is definitely reassuring."
Joking aside, how could they not feel reassured when an expert capable of fighting the neighboring countries’ strongest warriors to a standstill had joined them?
At least, Gegran felt he was no match for Brian, and Tia and Tina probably weren’t either. Within [Crimson Rose], the only ones who might be able to defeat Brian were Lakyus and Iveyer. With such high-level experts joining them, not feeling welcomed was impossible.
However, Brian’s reaction was very calm.
"Don’t expect too much from me. If the opponent really is that vampire, someone of my level could just go there to be killed in an instant," Brian said, "Don’t think I’m speaking too harshly, but let me be frank. If the opponent is that vampire, only Lord Brilliant could face her. The rest of us, even if we attacked together, would be instantly killed. If Lord Brilliant weren’t here, I surely wouldn’t have come here just to die."
Indeed, in Brian’s view, the operation Lakyus and the others were undertaking was no different from a death sentence.
If the mastermind behind [Eight Fingers] was the vampire once seen in the Ye·Lantier Northern Forest, then even if all of [Crimson Rose] joined forces, they wouldn’t have the slightest chance of victory.
"You should be grateful that you encountered Lord Brilliant before setting off and persuaded him to join us, otherwise..."
Brian didn’t continue his sentence, but his meaning was clear to everyone present.
That’s why many felt displeased with Brian’s statement.
"We haven’t even faced it yet, and you’re already sure we can’t defeat that vampire?"
"To be honest, I’m starting to wonder if you really are Brian Angelos. You’ve been making such demoralizing statements since earlier, which is quite unlike you."
"...I really am underrated, then. I hope that vampire is as strong as you say."
Tia and Tina consequently snapped at Brian, and even Iveyer tossed out a cold remark, clearly feeling somewhat indignant.
Who were they?
They were one of just two adamantine rank adventurer groups of the past in the kingdom, the famous [Crimson Rose].
They had encountered powerful monsters before, yet however formidable the monsters, they were ultimately alone. As long as [Crimson Rose] joined forces and fought as a team, there were absolutely few monsters capable of facing so many strong opponents alone.
Thus, they didn’t believe that [Crimson Rose] as a group would be unable to deal with a single vampire; mainly, they couldn’t imagine a vampire that powerful could exist.
In such a situation, Brian’s way of speaking, which boosted others’ spirits while undermining his own, was truly hard for them to accept.
Brian seemed to have anticipated such a reaction to his words and remained calm.
"Whether you believe it or not, that’s what I think. I just hope that the vampire we are about to face isn’t that monster."
Brian adopted an indifferent attitude, causing the women to frown.
"Alright, enough," Lakyus finally spoke up.
"No matter what, since we’ve already started this mission, there’s no reason to turn back. We have no way back."
The capital was the heart of the Re·Yestijie Kingdom, not only home to the royal family and the nobility but also to numerous commoners, and it was a hub critical to the kingdom’s stability.
Now that such a place was infiltrated by a powerful monster, no matter how strong that monster might be, they must eradicate it to protect the capital and the kingdom from harm and threat.
Therefore, as Lakyus said, no matter how powerful the opponent, they couldn’t retreat.
"Besides, even if such a strong vampire does appear, with Mr. Angelos so highly praising Lord Brilliant, even if we truly stand no chance, it doesn’t really matter, right?"
Lakyus deliberately spoke in a light tone to gradually ease the tense atmosphere.
"Indeed, with Lord Brilliant here, even if we really encounter that vampire, at least we will have the strength to fight."
Brian also displayed absolute confidence in Reiger, causing the dissatisfaction on the faces of Ivey and the others to slowly fade away.
Everyone then turned their attention to Reiger, the man who had been walking in the middle and had not spoken from the beginning to the end.
"We’re here."
Reiger, upon seeing everyone looking at him, completely ignored the previous topic and simply stated this.
The group then realized that, without knowing it, they had arrived at their destination.
They had passed through alleyways lacking in light and entered the central area of a secluded district, eventually reaching the place mentioned in the intelligence.
It was a building surrounded by towering walls, creating a space isolated from its surroundings, and at first glance, it looked more like an impenetrable prison than a fortress.
"That’s the place, right?"
A transparent gleam flashed in Reiger’s eyes before he turned to Lakyus to ask this question.
"Yes." Lakyus confirmed the location once more and then double-checked the intelligence she had received before nodding solemnly in response, "There’s no mistake, that’s the stronghold of ’Eight Fingers’ mentioned in the intelligence, where the sacrificed troops of the kingdom encountered ’Six Arms.’"
Hearing Lakyus’s words, everyone went on the alert.
Since the intelligence reported that members of ’Six Arms’ had been spotted here, even without considering the vampire who had taken control of ’Eight Fingers,’ they had to consider the possibility of encountering ’Six Arms.’
Members of ’Six Arms’ were all comparable to adventurers of the Adamantine rank; this level of individual was already on par with many members of the ’Blue Roses.’
Furthermore, almost all of those individuals had become vampires, transforming into monsters more powerful than humans. Considering this, members of ’Six Arms,’ apart from the ’King of Death,’ might be even stronger than before and were definitely not adversaries to be taken lightly.
Confronted with such a threat, even Brian focused intently, his hand resting on the knife at his waist, ready to strike with all his might at any moment.
Even Lakyus and Ivey tensed up a bit, their relaxed demeanor gone.
"Tia, Tina."
Lakyus called out to the twins without turning around.
The twins got the message immediately.
"We’ll go scout around."
"You guys wait here for our news."
As thieves, scouting was naturally Tia and Tina’s forte.
The two immediately merged into the shadows, blending into their own silhouettes and the darkness around them, heading towards the ’Eight Fingers’ stronghold.
However, just then, Reiger, who had been gazing in the direction of the building, spoke up.
"No need to go."
He simply stated this.
"There is probably something like ’Life Detection’ magic or a magical item set up around here? We’ve been discovered."
His statement was verified the next second.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—"
Along with a series of sounds cutting through the air, from the direction of the building, a volley of arrows suddenly came flying, shooting through the air towards where Reiger and his group were situated.
"Damn it!"
Lakyus couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
"We’ve been spotted! Get ready for battle!"
As her words concluded, the rain of arrows fell from the sky, raining down on the group.
The battle had arrived more quickly than anyone had imagined.