Izroth did not mention anything about the Night Lord or Skounae Earls—just how he destroyed a city's magic grid to wipe out its inhabitants.
When it came to the Event Leaderboard, Izroth saw no reason to keep it a secret. Only top guilds were willing to pay to grab the slightest edge over their competition. It would eventually become common knowledge; therefore, why not receive some benefits before that point was reached?
Of course, Izroth was not worried about Ewan going back on his word. He did not believe Ewan was foolish enough to risk jeopardizing Cross Haven's relationship with his Mystical Realm Palace. While they could not be regarded as allies, they were, at the very least, on friendly terms. Izroth knew that Ewan would never go that far over a few materials. After all, just like Menerva, Ewan was also one of the few people Izroth could not read clearly.
'Now, how should I deal with you?'
Izroth turned his attention to an alert that stood out from the others he had received. It was a friend request from one of the last people he expected to send one.
〈System Alert: You have received a friend request from Vanaheim. Do you wish to accept?〉
Vanaheim was one of the Captains of Blue Oasis, who, needless to say, was not currently on the best of terms with Izroth. The one thing that stopped Izroth from flat out rejecting it was that, besides Niflheim, Vanaheim was the only other Captain of Blue Oasis who voted against forcing Izroth to relinquish the Guild Order.
After some thought, Izroth decided to accept Vanaheim's friend request—mainly out of curiosity. It could be that she had the same intent as Mariposa and Ewan; however, she would have to be quite shameless to request anything from Izroth after the stunt Blue Oasis pulled during the raid.
〈System Alert: You have added Vanaheim as a friend!〉
Less than a breath of time after Izroth accepted her friend request; he received two system alerts.
〈System Alert: Player Vanaheim has requested a voice chat!〉
〈System Alert: Do you wish to accept the incoming voice chat from Player Vanaheim?〉
"Accept," Izroth said.
[Voice Chat Has Started]
Vanaheim, "I did not think you would accept my friend request. First off, allow me to apologize for-"
Izroth, "Alright, you can stop right there. If you've called me merely to apologize, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time, Captain Vanaheim. Even if your words are sincere, I do not cross bridges that have been burnt. Do not twist your words, or I will not hesitate to terminate the voice call. So, tell me—for what purpose did you reach out to me?"
Vanaheim sighed, "Are you truly unwilling to reconcile with Blue Oasis? After everything that's happened, we have already lost more than we gained. Is this not punishment enough?"
Izroth, "Only a fool turns their back a second time to someone who backstabs them. Captain Vanaheim, am I a fool in your eyes?"
Vanaheim, "No, in my eyes, it was my Blue Oasis who acted as the fool this time. To be truthful, after we found out that the second Pill Emperor is a member of your Mystical Realm Palace, it was the vice guild leader who urged me to contact you in hopes of reconciling in addition to learning about the Event Leaderboard. He seems to mistakenly believe we formed some kind of connection during our brief time together in the raid. I, on the other hand, do not blame you for holding a grudge. Our judgment was too lacking at the time. I can only regret, but never change that which has already passed, Palace Master Izroth."
'So it's like that.'
Izroth found it odd that someone with Vanaheim's personality would be shameless enough to ask a favor of him, given the circumstances. Now, it all made sense.
After they severed their relationship with the Mystical Realm Palace, Blue Oasis hoped to get on the good side of the second Pill Emperor, Worldly Skies. However, they never could have imagined that the second Pill Emperor would also be a member of his Mystical Realm Palace!
Afraid they might lose their access to high-grade pills and lag behind the other top guilds, even if it meant temporarily swallowing their pride, they had no choice but to approach Izroth first to try and reconcile. As one of the top guilds in RML, it was a massive loss of face!
Izroth, "If everything went according to Blue Oasis' plans, tell me, would they still desire any reconciliation? I believe you know the answer to that question. You are mistaken to think that I hold a grudge against Blue Oasis. To speak plainly, Blue Oasis is not worthy of such an honor. I have zero interest in your guild and even less interest in feigning any type of paper-thin friendship. As you said, Blue Oasis has paid their price, so I have left them alone. However, I will warn you this one time and never again. If Blue Oasis is thinking of crossing a line to get what they want… It will follow in the footsteps of Sage Falls."
Vanaheim, "…You have made yourself clear, Palace Master Izroth. I will relay your message to the vice guild leader."
[Voice Chat Has Ended]
Vanaheim ended the voice call. She thought Izroth's words were too harsh, but if she were in his shoes with all the leverage on his side, Vanaheim felt that she would have responded similarly.
Still, she could not help but feel that the worst had yet to come for her Blue Oasis. If they did not do well in this event, then…
…
Around ten hours later…
Izroth had long since safely crossed into Rosentarus. At first, there was not much difference between it and Amaharpe; however, the deeper he traveled into the kingdom, the more prominent nature became. It was almost like one enormous jungle filled with numerous exotic creatures and plant life.
Izroth came across numerous settlements on his way to the Demilitarization Belt and realized just how unique Rosentarus was as a kingdom compared to the others he explored. This was not strange considering that most kingdoms he visited up to this point were run by humans. Rosentarus, on the other hand, was ruled by the Zensana.
The Zensana were a race of half-human half-animal hybrids. Some had more human than animal traits, and vice versa.
From what Izroth had witnessed thus far, each group of Zensana seemed to keep to their own sub-species. For example, rabbits stayed with rabbits, birds with birds, cats with cats, and so on.
However, when Izroth saw the troops stationed at Rosentarus' border, all kinds of Zensana sub-species were present and working together.
'I suppose outside of its capital and major cities; it is not common to see Zensana of different sub-species united.'
Suddenly, Izroth came to a grinding halt as he narrowed his eyes and glanced to his side. He activated his Energy Vision Sense and thoroughly investigated the environment.
'These flames are…'
ROOOOOOOOAR!
A powerful shockwave swept past Izroth as a thunderous roar filled the surrounding wilderness. The most frightening aspect was that this roar originated from more than thirty meters away from Izroth's current position!
How many wild beasts were capable of unleashing such a destructive roar from so far away?
Woosh!
Izroth used Wall Walking to run up one of the nearby trees as he jumped from branch to branch. The branches were thick enough to easily hold one or two people, so he had no trouble using them to get higher ground.
A few moments later, Izroth stopped atop a tree branch as he stood up straight and looked into the near distance.
Located approximately fifteen meters away in an open area of the jungle was a group of eight players circling a single monster.
The monster was a chimera-type beast with the head and paws of a lion, body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. The creature spanned nearly ten meters in length with its tail, and it stood three meters tall.
There was a bloodthirsty and vicious gaze present in its eyes as the beast's body was riddled with wounds.
From an outside viewpoint, the monster was on its last leg. But, the same could also be said of the players who encircled it.
'One tank, four supports, and three damage dealers remaining. Their damage output may not be strong enough to finish it off. After coming this far… How unfortunate.'
Name: Polkentin's Failed Chimera(WORLD BOSS)
Level: 50
HP: ??? (5.08%)
