Chapter 84

The perspective of the leader of the War God's Great Sword, who had fled the previous time.

"Hmm, hahaha!"

As far as the eye could see, there was a vast grassland.

In the midst of it, I couldn't help but let out a laughter filled with joy.

When I recalled, I could vividly remember the humiliating memory of being kicked in the groin and knocked unconscious by that detestable defective healer, who had interfered with our attempt to take command of the adventurers in the Labyrinth City, using top-tier adventurers as a shield.

The anger over that incident had only grown stronger with time, rather than subsiding.

However, that anger was not present in me now.

Instead, what dominated my heart was the mockery towards Raust and the top-tier adventurers who were about to face hell.

Looking behind me, I saw the figures of the adventurers who had run from the Labyrinth City and were now resting on the grassland, recovering from their fatigue.

There must have been over five hundred of them.

Moreover, among them were intermediate-level adventurers and above, who were considered to be among the best in the Labyrinth City.

With such a large number of adventurers fleeing, the Labyrinth City must have lost a significant amount of manpower and combat strength.

While it was true that the abilities of Raust, Narseena, Ziek, and the top-tier adventurers were in a league of their own, they were still just individuals.

There were limits to what they could do.

Because of my anger towards Raust, I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pleasure at the current state of the Labyrinth City.

Alex, a mage and a member of the War God's Great Sword, spoke to me.

"Leader, that defective healer must be panicking right now, no doubt about it!"

"Yeah, you're right."

Alex's words made me smile even more.

Just imagining the healer's pale, panicked face made me feel incredibly amused.

I couldn't help but feel a deep regret that I couldn't see that face.

"Things are going so smoothly. At first, I didn't like the idea of bringing those deadweights along, but it seems to have been the right choice."

I then turned my gaze to the guild staff mixed among the adventurers, who were sitting on the ground.

At first, I had resisted the idea of fleeing with the guild staff, who would only be a burden.

Escaping with non-combatants while carrying comrades was already a heavy burden, and the risk was too high.

However, the guild staff had proven to be invaluable.

The fact that we managed to persuade so many adventurers to escape without Ziek and the others noticing, and the suggestion to detour through the grassland to escape from Narseena and the others, who had overwhelming physical abilities, were all ideas from the guild staff.

Considering all of this, bringing the guild staff along had been a very effective decision.

"Besides, as long as we have the guild staff, we can make excuses even if we have to drag the monsters into the neighboring town."

I understood to some extent how bad it was to flee during a Labyrinth Rampage.

Labyrinth City adventurers were given more benefits from the guild than those in other cities in exchange for lending their strength in emergencies, especially for high-ranking adventurers.

The Labyrinth City Guild sought out particularly strong adventurers for this very reason.

It was all to ensure combat strength during emergencies, specifically Labyrinth Rampages.

We were now ignoring that agreement and fleeing.

Under normal circumstances, this would never be allowed.

Even if we fled to a neighboring town, we would end up in prison for violating the guild's rules.

However, if the guild staff fled with us, the situation would change.

We could claim that we fled to save the guild staff.

Moreover, we would have the guild staff support us even if we had to drag the monsters into the neighboring town.

This way, we would never be harmed, no matter what happened.

"Everything is going smoothly."

Excitement welled up inside me as I envisioned a perfect future.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of my plan to avoid being caught up in the Labyrinth Rampage.

I knew that a Labyrinth Rampage worsened over time.

I had no intention of hiding in the Labyrinth City and waiting for the situation to worsen.

I mocked Raust and the others for choosing to hide in the Labyrinth City, unaware of the possibility that my vague knowledge might be incorrect.

"...Don't get too cocky, Azure. The situation is far from ideal."

The one who spoke to me with a bitter expression was Louis, a mage and the leader of the Wind Fire Spirits, another top-tier adventurer like me.

I felt a moment of dissatisfaction at being interrupted when I was feeling good.

However, Louis's words were true.

I looked back at the adventurers behind me.

Considering that they made up more than thirty percent of the Labyrinth City's adventurers, it was a matter to be proud of that we had managed to escape with so many of them.

...If the number of adventurers I originally intended to bring was not nearly a thousand.

"I know. We only have half the number of adventurers I originally planned for."

As I muttered this, I glanced sideways at the other members of the War God's Great Sword.

The warrior and healer who were supposed to be there were missing.

They had been knocked unconscious by Narseena and were the first to leave the scene.

Narseena had knocked out more than just those two.

"...At least fifty of them."

The number of adventurers who were lying on the ground when I looked back just before we entered the grassland sent a chill down my spine.

While the adventurers were focused on fleeing, they had not completely resisted.

Yet, Narseena had managed to knock out so many of them in such a short time.

...It was clearly abnormal.

However, the one who made me the most uneasy was Ronaldo, the top-tier adventurer and warrior with glasses.

We, who knew about Raust's abnormality, had been cautious about the escape.

We had fled when the top-tier mage and Raust were absent, and we had targeted the moment when Ronaldo and Amia were resting at the guild.

As expected, Amia couldn't use magic, and Ziek, who was slow on foot, was left behind after a few dozen adventurers had fled.

By the time Ronaldo appeared, most of us were already far from the Adventurer's Guild.

At that moment, we believed our escape was a complete success.

However, Ronaldo showed no signs of panic.

He calmly drew his sword, which emitted an unusual glow, and swung it at us, even though it seemed impossible to hit us.

The next moment, the adventurers behind me were blown away, spewing blood, as the sword left a mark on the wall of a nearby house.

It was then that I realized my underestimation of the top-tier adventurers.

That scene is still vivid in my mind.

After that, I ran forward, driven by fear, and I don't know what happened next.

However, from the current situation, it seems that many adventurers had stopped in fear of Ronaldo.

...If Ronaldo hadn't been resting, our escape might have failed.

The thought made my face contort.

I quickly shook off the unpleasant memory, reminding myself that we had managed to escape, so there was no problem.

However, Louis was not so easily convinced.

"...Do you think we should have fled?"

Louis's voice trembled as he whispered this, making sure the other adventurers couldn't hear.

"...!"

His words filled me with strong irritation, and I glared at him.

I had a nagging feeling that my decision might have been wrong, but I couldn't forgive Louis for voicing it.

"Are you kidding me? Do you want to serve under that defective healer?"

The main reason I had decided to escape from the Labyrinth City was that I couldn't accept serving under Raust.

While the top-tier adventurers would officially take command, the fact that Raust would be above us remained unchanged.

That was something I could never accept.

"Hey, Louis, you don't like that defective healer's sudden rise to power, do you? If that's the case, don't even think about going back now."

Louis, like me, didn't like the healer.

This mage, who had witnessed Raust defeating the mutated hydra, had been too cowardly to openly oppose Raust.

However, he shared my dislike for Raust, and I tried to use this to persuade him.

"Besides, do you think those top-tier adventurers, especially Ronaldo, would forgive us if we went back now?"

"...Yeah, you're right."

Louis's face showed a troubled expression at my words.

I had thought that with such a large force, we wouldn't be punished if we returned, but I didn't show this thought and continued.

"Besides, with our speed, we can reach the neighboring town in four hours. That way, we won't be in any danger. It's a million times better to keep running, don't you think?"

Finally, I leaned close to Louis's ear and pointed to the adventurers behind us.

"...If anything happens, we have five hundred decoys, you know."

Louis's eyes took on a suspicious gleam at my words.

I stepped back, satisfied with his reaction.

"Yeah, everything will be fine."

By then, the unease I had felt from talking to Louis had disappeared.

To reassure myself, I muttered.

"We are absolutely fine."

...While mocking the adventurers who didn't realize they were not included in our plans.

However, the next moment, my expression changed to one of anxiety due to an unexpected event.

"...What is that?"

"Is it the people from the Labyrinth City who came after us? No, the direction is different, right...?"

The first to notice it were some of the adventurers who were sitting on the ground.

Their conversation, lacking any sense of tension, made me casually look in the direction they were looking.

"–!"

I realized the emergency at that moment.

"Everyone, get ready to move quickly!"

"At a time like this...!"

Half of the intermediate-level and above adventurers understood the situation and began to prepare at my words.

However, the other half were still in shock and didn't understand what was happening.

"What are you doing! Get up quickly!"

I shouted at the adventurers.

"–It's a Labyrinth Rampage! The monsters are coming!"

...The adventurers' faces drained of blood at my words.

The next part will take two weeks to prepare.