The meeting itself proceeded fairly smoothly.
Various plans surfaced in their minds only to be discarded, while others took their place as viable strategies.
Just as the discussion was once again proceeding with Jun at its center, the Azure Cloud Adventurers appeared after recovering enough to regain consciousness.
Just as Eleanor had said, they arrived almost exactly an hour later.
Benjamin's face was filled with self-reproach when he first appeared.
Whether that expression was sincere, no one could say for certain.
“I truly have no excuse. I will personally confess my unauthorized actions in this matter to the Guild.”
Benjamin entered with his head lowered in humility, and there was sincerity in his demeanor.
The mercenaries still looked resentful, but none openly spoke against him.
Of course, that did not mean their anger over the current situation had disappeared.
They still wanted to seize Benjamin by the collar.
The only reasons they restrained themselves were their desire to survive and everything Jun had accomplished so far.
Now that things had come this far, survival was what mattered, just as Jun had said.
“Hah, whatever. The Imperial Family can decide your punishment afterward. What we care about is surviving.”
“……You are correct. In that case, I would like to begin discussing our next course of action.”
“We were already doing that without you. Ask that Mage over there for the details. He's the one who came up with the operation to rescue you people.”
At Colton's words, Benjamin finally turned toward Jun, who stood at the center of the meeting.
He remembered Jun as well.
How could he not?
Jun's group had been the only Level 1 group participating in this Conquest Operation.
Benjamin's eyebrow twitched.
It lasted only an instant.
But there was no one gathered here who failed to notice it.
“A Mage?”
“Yeah. The Mage who cleaned up the mess you people made. He even took a blade through the chest trying to save your Adventurers.”
“……I see. I heard what happened. We survived thanks to you. Allow me to thank you once again.”
“Save the pleasantries. I did it because I wanted to live too.”
Jun shrugged.
Then Benjamin spoke.
That was when the atmosphere abruptly cooled.
“In that case, may I resume command?”
“What?”
It was Colton, not Jun, who answered.
His expression twisted as he glared at Benjamin.
“Hey. Do you not understand the situation we're in? You're the one who failed, and that Mage is the one who dragged us this far despite it.”
Ordinarily, Colton would never have gone this far.
But Jun had already proven his exceptional ability as a commander.
Benjamin had failed.
Jun had not.
The difference in their social standing was enormous, but with his life hanging in the balance, Colton had no desire to place command back in Benjamin's hands.
“I have no excuse regarding that. However, dividing the chain of command in two at this point would also be problematic. Furthermore, we have directly fought the Fairy Queen before.”
“Are you seriously bragging to us about getting your asses handed to you? Besides, we're not going after that damned moth woman. We're killing that cursed tree.”
“……That is true. But that is precisely why I believe I should take charge. At the very least, I have prior experience subjugating the Forest Guardian.”
The argument continued, and the atmosphere gradually became hostile.
The mercenaries, having already suffered once because of Benjamin, insisted that they could not trust him.
Benjamin countered that if they wanted the operation to succeed, he needed to regain command.
Their feelings toward each other were already poor, and the atmosphere grew heated enough that insults involving one another's families would not have seemed out of place.
That was when Jun intervened.
“Of course you should have command. You're the Raid Leader. I don't particularly object to that.”
“What? Hey, Mage!”
When Jun voluntarily yielded first, Colton raised his voice.
But Jun explained his reasoning.
“Let's think rationally. I only know the Forest Guardian through knowledge. I've never actually subjugated one in a real battle. There are several reasons why putting me in command wouldn't make sense.”
“But…….”
“Of course, I'm not giving up Operational Authority. I'm the one who knows the details of this Conquest Operation.”
Jun pulled out the ‘Expedition Log of the Corrupted Forest’ and waved it lightly.
“Do you have anything to say about that?”
“…….”
Operational Authority was every bit as important as command.
In practice, the difference between the two was almost negligible.
Benjamin was about to say something when—
“That Mage is right, Leader Benjamin. I think it would be best to settle matters there.”
“……Priest Eleanor.”
Eleanor, the black-eyepatched Priest, had entered the tent at some point and added her voice to the discussion.
Benjamin bit his lip.
She might have been only a Priest, but she was not someone he could simply disregard.
Perhaps things were different on the surface, but in Blackout, the authority wielded by Priests was immense.
And if they survived and returned, a Priest's testimony carried extraordinary weight in a court trial.
“We've already wasted quite a bit of time. According to that Mage, there isn't much time left before the Fairy Queen fully recovers, right? Being too greedy only invites disaster.”
“……Phew. Understood.”
With that, an agreement was reached, and the meeting resumed.
“Then everyone, you've all worked hard. Let's see this through until we defeat the Forest Guardian.”
“As long as your side doesn't try anything stupid again, everything should work out.”
With Colton's cutting remark, the detailed planning finally came to an end.
All that remained was a brief rest before the operation began.
On the way back to the tent, Colton asked Jun with an expression of genuine incomprehension.
“Did you really need to yield, Mage? Frankly, the others probably would've preferred you taking command too. It would've been an opportunity for you.”
Jun lightly shook his head.
“Sure, if I'd been greedy, there were things I could've gained. But I stood to lose more than I gained. I also had to consider the Adventurers' morale.”
It was not as though Jun had backed down because he feared Benjamin.
In terms of personal combat ability and social standing, Benjamin undeniably stood far above Jun at present.
Still, public sentiment overwhelmingly favored Jun.
Had he insisted, he might even have managed to seize command.
The reason Jun took a step back was because Benjamin's intentions were obvious.
“His intentions?”
“Yeah. He probably still thinks Azure Cloud has a chance.”
“Hah! How does that make any sense? He completely ruined a Conquest Operation!”
“Well, from his perspective, it isn't entirely impossible.”
A Hidden Stage in a Conquest Operation offered an enormous boost to an Adventurer's Reputation.
Especially one that had remained undiscovered for hundreds of years.
No one understood its value better than Benjamin.
‘Even in the game, discovering an unknown Hidden Stage gave an enormous amount of Reputation.’
Had Azure Cloud successfully completed this Hidden Stage, their name would have gone down in history.
‘Things are different now that they failed. Still, the more they accomplish from this point onward, the more it will help their Reputation.’
Benjamin was probably planning to use that Reputation to secure the backing of a new noble sponsor, then use that support during the trial that awaited them.
At the very least, he might be able to reduce their sentences.
That was why Benjamin wanted to personally bring this incident to a conclusion.
“He probably used something along those lines to restore his members' morale. That's why I left him alone. Adventurers who've already suffered one failure need something to raise their spirits.”
“Ah…….”
By that point, Colton's mouth had fallen open.
In that brief exchange, he himself had merely been furious and carried away by emotion.
Jun and Benjamin, however, had read each other's intentions and moved accordingly.
Setting aside his personal feelings, Colton found their actions enlightening in several respects.
“Of course, his hope is still far too unrealistic. Whatever else happened, Benjamin directly disobeyed an Imperial Decree.”
“Ah……!”
“In the current Empire, the Imperial Family—and especially the Emperor—holds overwhelming power. The nobles are certainly struggling to increase their influence, but…….”
There was no noble foolish enough to attract the Emperor's displeasure merely to preserve the Reputation of a Level 3 Adventurer.
Of course, Blackout was separated from the Empire in many ways.
As a result, the Mercenary Guild and Adventurer Guild, both of which explored dangerous regions like this, possessed considerable influence.
Even so, Benjamin lacked justification.
“People have already died. Casualties caused by a simple accident are one thing. Casualties caused because someone disobeyed an Imperial Decree are another. Even the Adventurer Guild has no justification for defending Azure Cloud now.”
“Now that you explain it like that…… that man has fallen into a swamp he can't escape no matter what he does.”
“He's already sunk up to his chest.”
That was why Jun had chosen to secure practical benefits rather than create further conflict by letting his emotions take control.
“I keep learning things from you, Mage.”
“I've benefited plenty from you too.”
“Haha! Is that so?”
Unlike when they had first regarded each other with hostility, a surprisingly warm atmosphere formed inside the tent.
“You truly are remarkable, Senior…….”
Aiden also looked at Jun as though he had learned something from his behavior.
In truth, Jun found all their gazes rather uncomfortable.
‘I only let him off because he's already dug his own grave. Is that really worth looking at me like that?’
If Jun had simply kept his mouth shut, Benjamin would never have been driven quite this far into a corner.
Of course, he had committed a crime and deserved punishment for it.
But Jun could not deny feeling somewhat uncomfortable about being the one who had personally escalated matters this far.
“Anyway, there's only one battle left. Let's make sure we survive it.”
“GRAAAAH! Damn it! I just want to go home!”
“This is the first time I've ever missed that damned fortress!”
Accompanied by the mercenaries' roars, the operation to subjugate the Forest Guardian soon began.
Every heavy step made the forest tremble.
A living tree larger than ancient trees that had grown for centuries was moving through the forest.
The Forest Guardian.
It was the enemy the Raid Group absolutely had to subjugate if they wanted to survive.
“Damn. I heard it could stand up and walk on two legs, but that thing is obscenely huge.”
A mercenary muttered.
The creature was normally famous as a Stationary Spirit-Type boss.
Once it unfolded its hunched body and stood upright, however, its size exceeded imagination.
Benjamin and his Adventuring Group were locked in a fierce battle against the Forest Guardian.
“Dodge!”
At Benjamin's shout, every Adventurer in the area immediately scattered.
What crashed down from above was the Forest Guardian's enormous foot.
The instant it struck the ground, tree roots erupted from the foot and plunged into the earth before bursting upward from beneath the surface.
Had the Adventurers failed to obey Benjamin's command, they would have been skewered like frogs on sticks.
“Now! Climb it!”
“Expose the core as much as possible!”
“Aim for the legs!”
Some ran up its nearly vertical legs as though they were flat ground, while others swung their swords at its rooted ankles.
People often said that starting from Level 3, humans entered the realm of superhumans who had surpassed ordinary human limits.
Their movements made that description seem entirely appropriate.
‘They're definitely different from the twins I fought.’
Unlike the twins, who had only recently reached Level 3 and were equipped with Level 2 gear, the Adventurers fighting at the front under Benjamin were on an entirely different level.
‘If I'd met those people instead of the twins back then…….’
Jun probably would not have survived.
‘Rescuing them was definitely worth it.’
The Forest Guardian's attacks came from a monster larger than most buildings.
Yet the Adventurers evaded most of them through disciplined, coordinated movements.
‘The problem is the mercenaries.’
In a Forest Guardian Conquest Operation, the lower teams beneath the Assault Force were every bit as important as the Assault Force itself.
The reason was the monsters currently being fought by the mercenaries.
Ents.
“Damn it! One got through!”
“Forget the ones that escaped! Deal with the others first!”
An Ent slipped through the mercenaries' encirclement and approached the Forest Guardian.
A nearby root of the Forest Guardian promptly absorbed the Ent whole.
It was the Forest Guardian's Recovery Pattern.
The Adventurers who witnessed it cast resentful glances toward the mercenaries, but considering their own guilt, they silently returned their attention to the fight.
‘It can't be helped. Team 3 is missing entirely, and the mercenaries are in terrible condition.’
Unlike Azure Cloud, which had prepared for this for a long time, the situation had fallen on the mercenaries like a bolt from a clear sky.
The Forest Guardian's enormous size was also unconsciously intimidating them.
Dangerous situations arose repeatedly as a result.
“Hup!”
Every time they did, Aiden filled the gaps.
‘He's moving more lightly than usual. Is it because of the skill?’
But he did not seem to be actively using any particular skill.
His footwork was certainly different from before, though……
‘I don't know enough about Warriors to say exactly…… but he seems more confident? His footwork looks a little different too. Well, even in the game's lore, he was supposed to be absurdly talented.’
Jun roughly dismissed it with that explanation.
In reality, his guess was almost perfectly accurate.
The realization Aiden had obtained while fighting Pride, the Named Monster within the Hidden Piece, had awakened his talent.
‘Still, too many are getting through.’
This was a result completely different from the standard strategy.
Jun and Aiden were filling the missing gaps as much as possible, but even they had limits.
And the flow of the battle was gradually beginning to change.
It was taking longer than expected.
“Leader! At this rate……!”
“Hold out a little longer! We still need more time!”
“Damn it! Anyone wounded, fall back!”
“No! We can't give it any more time!”
At that moment, sacred light erupted from the rear.
It was Eleanor's Divine Power.
The sacred power of a god manifested within the corrupted forest and began healing the injured Adventurers.
If Jun and Aiden were compensating for the missing combat power, Eleanor was the one allowing the battle itself to continue.
Yet even her Divine Power could not display its usual strength.
‘Damn wide-area debuff.’
The Forest Guardian's wide-area debuff Aura Effect.
Every attack from the Forest Guardian, whose entire body was wrapped in the Power of Corruption, interfered with healing and worsened wounds.
Fortunately, Eleanor's powerful Divine Power compensated for that effect.
Had she been an ordinary Priest, the balance of the battle would have collapsed long ago.
‘Now I understand why Benjamin acted so cautiously around her.’
Someone with that level of ability would be welcomed even in higher-level areas.
Judging by skill alone, it would not have been strange for her to become a High-Ranking Priest before long.
‘The problem is that the battle is becoming more and more deadlocked.’
A Priest's Divine Power was not omnipotent.
It could not replenish spent Mana.
Nor could it erase mental exhaustion.
The Raid Group's movements were gradually beginning to falter, while the Forest Guardian grew increasingly violent.
It was not some fatal unexpected variable.
It was simply the difference created by insufficient combat strength.
‘This is taking far too long.’
By now, the Fairy Queen had probably realized that the Forest Guardian was under attack and had begun moving.
Jun finally reached a crossroads.
‘I have no choice. I'll join the attack. The Adventurers have already accumulated a decent amount of damage, so I'll have to trust that.’
Originally, Jun had planned to intervene only after the Assault Force had dealt sufficient damage to the Forest Guardian.
But the mercenaries were now beginning to suffer casualties as well.
No matter how capable a Priest Eleanor was, she could not possibly handle the mercenaries in addition to everyone else by herself.
If the mercenaries suffered further losses and more Ents reached the Forest Guardian to be absorbed, they could lose even the narrow timing window they still had.
“Aiden! Focus on defense instead of attacking!”
“Yes! Understood!”
Jun shifted their strategy toward preserving their forces and preventing casualties as much as possible.
Then he began operating his Mana at full strength.
He placed a hand on the Choker and controlled the Mana surging toward him.
‘Ordinary magic won't work.’
The Forest Guardian fundamentally possessed resistance to magic.
That meant spells carrying elemental power were unlikely to produce much effect.
Fire was comparatively effective, but……
‘With that much firepower, I might hit our own people too.’
So Jun prepared Impact-Type Magic instead.
The image that surfaced in his mind was steel.
Steel that refused to collapse even within blazing flames, instead being tempered by them until it emerged into the world as a weapon.
‘The image is…….’
A colossal hammer capable of shattering even rock with a single swing.
[Iron Fist(Iron fist)]
The earth responded to his Mana.
Ignoring the laws of gravity, it rose into the air and began gathering together.
What began as something no larger than a fist steadily expanded.
Before long, it had grown as large as a house.
Its completed shape was an enormous, blunt fist.
Jun's Mana coated it once more.
The Mana completely fused with the earth began to glow.
“Go!”
WHOOOOOOM——!!
At Jun's command, the enormous fist of steel hurtled toward the Forest Guardian.