[Floor 15]
[Mission Type – Guard]
[Objective – Protect a certain individual!]
The details of the mission did not fail to bring frowns to my comrades' faces.
"Guard… A new type of mission."
Jonah commented.
Darius nodded while examining his window.
"Protecting a certain individual. So we need to keep a person safe in this trial."
"Who, though? The window doesn't say the one we should protect."
Shanny said with a soft grunt.
Devisha shared her frustration, the emotion penetrated through the veil hiding the lower half of her face.
"Judging from the crowd on this street alone, there's about to be a million people in Tsuchi right now. How are we supposed to find the person we need to safeguard?"
Understanding the mission's current predicament, I sounded my opinion on the matter.
"Despite their immense difficulties, the Quintal Trials weren't impossible to overcome. Including this one. There has to be a way for us to locate the individual pertaining to this mission's objective."
I turned my gaze toward the singing people robed in white around us and then went on.
"The Serpent Festival itself has to be the clue for us finding that person. There has to be a reason we're deployed to Tsuchi in this specific timeline."
"Based on that logic, our target has to be someone important to the Serpent Festival being held in this city."
Devisha said, amber eyes looking really focused over her veil.
Darius nodded with her while stroking his thick white beard.
"Serpent Festivals usually holds events attended by significant figures. Though I heard each region and city have their own traditions in holding the festival."
"There are unique traditions in each region, but every Serpent Festival always has its commencement ceremony. Wherever you go, the Serpent Festival will always begin with the opening ritual done by the rulers in that region."
Shanny added, recalling her days as a chestnut-haired maid in a modest town.
Jonah's forest-green eyes suddenly widened upon her words.
"The commencement ceremony. I believe the imperial royalties often attended the ones held in big cities and would perform the ritual themselves."
He said with recalling gaze.
The shepherd went on.
"Fina said her hometown was visited by the crown princess once. And in the Exploration Dungeon, we learned another royalty was planned to come to Seraphold for the upcoming festival as well."
My other comrades immediately jerked their sharp gazes to me.
I could not help but smile at the outcome of the discussion.
They all spelled out what I was thinking in my mind.
"What Jonah said has to be the final clue we're looking for. If we had not saved Loro when it's supposed to fall, all the royalty visitations in that year's festival would have been cancelled."
I said to them.
"The person we need to protect is a visiting royalty in Tsuchi's festival?"
Darius repeated to confirm.
"How can we be sure of this?"
Shanny asked.
"Only one way to find out."
I replied her.
I turned to Devisha and continued.
"The commencement ceremony in Tsuchi should be done in the Tamelan Square in the First Wall district. The person we'll need to protect is likely to be there."
"Do you want me to infiltrate the square grounds and secure our target?"
The former assassin asked.
I shook my head.
"It'll be too dangerous if you act that far alone. We don't know for certain yet the threats in this trial. It's best if we handle things together for the moment."
"Then what do you need me to do?"
"Our party needs to reach the Tamelan Square as soon as possible. This huge crowd will slow us down. So I need you to go ahead and find us a safe location with a clear view of the square."
Devisha knew what I was intending to do.
I had briefed my comrades the new extent of my abilities and how some inconveniences could be removed with my skills.
"Understood! I'll contact you once I find us a spot!"
The Tsahanam mercenary said to me in confidence.
The veil-cladded woman immediately rushed to a nearby alley and vanished herself with her Stealthy Movement skill.
Using the power of her enchanted ring, Devisha would scale through Tsuchi's walls and high-rises and avoid the crowd-packed streets below.
It would not be long until she reached the Tamelan Square considering her agility.
With our scout set out to perform her duties, we must immediately fulfill our part as well.
"It is likely that our target will be in danger soon and we need to quickly extract them from that situation. So we need to setup a safe zone."
I told the rest of my comrades.
Given the many hours of strategy meetings we had done every night in the lobby, my comrades already knew what I meant by 'safe zone.'
A secure area accessible by my dimensional portal where we could always retreat to whenever the situation in the battlefield became too dangerous.
With the help of an amplifier instrument, like Jonah's beacon spear on the tenth floor, we could turn any space into a safe zone.
We only needed to find the most proper one.
"According to our nightly discussions back in the lobby, there are over one hundred safe zones in the Second Wall district."
Jonah said, recalling our strategy meetings.
Shanny nodded to him.
"We're in the Ladian Street, right? I believe there is a storehouse somewhere along the road which we marked as one of the safe zones."
"I see it! Over there!"
Darius immediately exclaimed.
The middle-aged archer was pointing to a dark three-storied building pitted by two five-storied constructs.
The storehouse was overshadowed by the two taller buildings that it was hard to spot the facility until you were right in front of it or knew what you were looking for.
I nodded to my comrades' discovery.
"Let's head over there. We'll go around and enter from the backdoor."
The four of us then began making our way toward the safe zone.
However, there were so many people in Tsuchi that it was quite difficult just to get to the other side of the street.
It would be troublesome if we had to escort someone and fight enemies while these many people were in the way.
Chaotic would be an understatement of that scenario.
My comrades and I eventually reached a labyrinth-like back-alley that would bring us toward the rear of the storehouse.
And then, just when we were about to reach the designated building, a firm voice called out to us.
"You four, stay where you are!"
My comrades and I quickly turned to inspect the source of the voice.
A knight was standing at the end of an alley leading back to the crowded main street. Four soldiers were accompanying him.
[Human Knight Lv.13 x1]
[Human Soldiers Lv.11 x4]
The five armored personnel strode down the alley, leaving the bustling street behind and made their way toward us in the shadow of the storehouse's building.
They must be a patrol of the city, ordered to guard the festival's proceedings and apprehend any troublesome or suspicious individuals they find in their route.
Which was why the knight inspected each of us with intense gaze. The soldiers behind him were silent and menacing like guard dogs.
"You people doesn't seem from around here."
The knight said.
He gave a suspicious look over my comrades' weapons and went on.
"What are you people doing in this dark alley while there is a merry festival out in the street?"
My comrades and I remained silent, keeping our faces expressionless.
But I could sense Jonah and Shanny were ready to reach for their weapon and unleash carnage any moment now. Darius was already gripping his bow and concealed dagger.
Seeing his question was unanswered, the knight unsheathed his sword.
"I'm arresting all of you under suspicion of ill-intent to the festival's proceedings. Resist and we will not hesitate to kill you. Count Jherendal has granted us the authority to slay any criminal we find."
Then I supposed there was never an option.
I twirled my finger and casted a silent spell.
Akarshanam.
"Urkh!"
The knight suddenly dropped his sword and fell to his knees. The four soldiers behind him followed suit.
Their faces soon turned purple as they made choking strangled gags, eyes seemingly about to burst from their sockets.
In mere seconds, the guards were lying still on the ground. Their corpses were decorated with distorted gaping mouths and bulging red eyes.