Chapter 104

Level Up Heretic Inquisitor – Chapter 104 (104/227)

Chapter 104: Irregular Trader (3)

“No way! My bro went there himself, how could he miss?!”

Beken shouted in disbelief and outrage.

He’d just learned that Gordin and the guild members had personally gone after Ail, the one Beken despised endlessly, yet somehow let him slip away.

While Amaranth only got a vague summary, Beken knew his brother’s skills well enough to find this completely incomprehensible.

“Well, the guy pulled some weird trick. They’re on his trail again so they’ll catch him soon.”

“You mean they’re chasing that bastard right now? Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah, yeah. So stop being annoying and go do your own thing already,” the annoyed guild member said, waving his hand dismissively.

This was still a secret from Beken – that they were trying to recruit Ail into the guild.

When the guild members started pursuing Ail, Beken had been excited, thinking they’d finally put him on the guild’s hit list. But if he found out they wanted to bring him in as a member, he’d absolutely flip out.

As this guild member was trying to keep Beken occupied, three other White Falcon guild members headed off to an emergency meeting.

“We’ve got dead weight holding us back, progress is impossible. What’s everyone planning to do? We paid good gold to come here and just sit around?”

“Then what do you suggest? Start cutting throats out here?”

“Haa, I was planning to level up today…”

Their location was the famous Level 130 hunting ground: Scream Ravine.

Known for excellent hunting efficiency, plus having a convenient midway rest point nearby, it was a popular spot.

Of course, such prime territory wouldn’t be left unattended.

The ‘Glade’ guild, under the Nightmere organization, managed the area and no one dared enter without paying the toll.

This party had also paid to enter for better hunting efficiency.

But then came the problem…

Low-level Beken kept tagging along, demanding updates in real time.

Unfortunately for them, since he was the guild leader’s younger brother, they couldn’t get rid of him or leave him behind, making him quite the nuisance.

“Alright, fine. I’ll take care of him. Honestly, why did we even enter here without paying the toll anyway?” one member said, volunteering sacrificially.

Even if not direct subordinates, this was still technically territory managed by one of the Six Great Guilds – Nightmere.

Even if Beken was too low-level to hunt here, getting caught trespassing could cause serious problems.

Just as this member moved toward Beken though…

Clop clop clop!

Rough hoofbeats approached suddenly.

Out of the bushes burst riders on horseback, circling the group once before stopping.

“What the…?” the guild members stammered, startled.

All wearing unified green armor with a clear wren insignia…

Members of the Glade guild.

“Five users from White Falcon… Is that you guys?”

“Just a second, this one’s a newbie. He’s part of our guild but we were just about to take him back after he wandered in by mistake.”

The man standing next to Beken quickly interjected.

Thinking the Glade members were here to catch unauthorized users, he rushed to explain.

But their concern wasn’t actually about the toll…

“That doesn’t matter.”

Crack!

The man who stepped forward was struck full-force by a swung mace, his helmet and skull caving in as he tumbled to the ground.

It all happened so fast.

His allies could barely believe their eyes at this unexpected turn.

Before they could fully grasp the situation, the surrounding Glade members launched a synchronized attack.

“Guh…!”

“You bastards!”

A sudden ambush without warning.

Though the attacked guild members tried desperately to resist, it was futile.

With inferior stats and skills from the start, and outnumbered six to five…

Thwump!

The last resisting member fell, impaled by a spear.

Now only Beken remained, too terrified to even draw his weapon.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Beken roared.

As part of a Nightmere subordinate guild, they weren’t supposed to be messed with lightly.

Attacking another guild without proper justification was unprecedented.

Maybe against some small fry guild it might happen, but White Falcon was a mid-sized guild with hundreds of members.

If anything, this situation could lead to disciplinary action against Glade from Nightmere itself.

“How dare you launch a preemptive strike! Wait till my brother hears about this!”

“Hold on. Aren’t you Gordin’s younger brother, Beken?”

“Yes! You sons of…”

Thwump!

“Khh…?”

Blood spattered as Beken was pierced through.

The guild member who silenced him so swiftly looked down contemptuously at the dying Beken.

“Convenient timing. You’re a special target. The order is to completely exterminate you so you can never set foot in Warode again.”

* * *

“He was spotted on the airship heading to Media. Judging by how he’s walking around openly, it shouldn’t take long to track him.”

“Don’t get complacent. Put out requests to bounty hunter guilds too. We need to wrap this up as quickly as possible. Can’t keep focusing on this indefinitely.”

Gordin said from his seat in the guild office.

They couldn’t dedicate an entire mid-sized guild’s resources just to chase one person.

Important raid schedules involving key members, including Gordin himself, were lined up starting today.

They were pushing hard to power up in preparation for the upcoming major joint stronghold battle.

But then strange noises came from outside the guild building.

More than just noise – an unsettling commotion.

Sensing something was off, Gordin exited his office and descended to the first floor.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s bad! Over there…!”

A guild member burst in and pointed outside, prompting Gordin and several others to step out and investigate.

There, they saw users clad in black armor standing in front of their guild building.

Six unruly users causing a scene right outside their door.

‘Nightmare…!’

Gordin froze in place.

Approaching them were none other than direct members of the Nightmare guild, with a menacing air like they’d come to declare war.

Onlookers gathered as people noticed the tense atmosphere.

“What brings you here?”

“Are you the guild master of White Falcon?”

“I am.”

Gordin replied, trying to hide his growing tension.

Though over forty guild members remained inside the building, they all knew there was no way they could stand against these six.

Still, Gordin was confident they hadn’t done anything that would provoke issues with Nightmare.

Surely this wasn’t a major problem…

That confidence shattered instantly.

“We’ve come to dissolve your guild.”

“W-what did you say?”

The single sentence from the approaching man shocked not just Gordin and his guild members, but even the onlookers began murmuring in surprise.

Dissolution wasn’t just declaring war – it meant eradicating their very foundation.

“No way… This makes no sense. There’s no reason for Nightmare to attack us.”

“Seems you messed with someone you shouldn’t have.”

‘Messed with…?’

Gordin’s mind began swirling with confusion.

Running a sizable guild inevitably led to conflicts with other forces.

Plenty of enemies came to mind that could’ve caused trouble, but none that could influence one of the Six Great Guilds…

‘Dammit, who could it be? Someone powerful enough to sway one of the Great Six…’

As Gordin strained to think, the Nightmare members seemed to conclude their discussion and began drawing weapons, closing in.

“Just a moment! I need time to understand the situation. I need to speak with one of your officers.”

Gordin did have some minor connections within Nightmare.

Through one of the ranking members who shared a Clanwar game background with him.

Having never lost his top rank in Clanwar, he joined Nightmare in Warode, not quite a main officer but still a notable Ranker with considerable influence.

Though not close enough to contact regularly, arranging a meeting might help resolve this situation.

But the reply was simple.

“Sorry, talking to anyone won’t make a difference. This comes directly from the Guild Master’s orders.”

“N-no way…”

Gordin’s face showed deep shock.

There was no way someone in his circle could command the attention of a Great Guild’s leader themselves.

But if what they said was true…

No amount of scheming could change this dire predicament.

Cornered completely, Gordin, who had tried so hard to maintain composure, began to visibly waver.

There was no way he’d let the guild he’d poured everything into face such a crisis.

An organization built through fierce competition and countless efforts and achievements.

Trembling, Gordin gripped his arm and spoke with difficulty.

“I beg of you. Even briefly, please let me meet with your Guild Master. Or at least whoever gave these orders. I sincerely apologize. There’s no way I can accept this. Not like this…”

“Look, if you’ve run a guild as long as you have, you should know better. Useless pleading like this has no place in Warode. Apologies? What about all the guilds and players you crushed to grow your own? Did you sheathe your swords when they begged on their knees? Of course not. You wouldn’t be standing here now if you had.”

“That’s…”

The man’s words left Gordin speechless, an oppressive silence filling the air.

An undeniable truth for anyone deeply involved in Warode.

Then came the final verdict breaking the silence.

“Destroy them.”