My inventory is full of monster materials.

Clyde's body stiffened abruptly, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes, and he asked in a dry voice, his lips slightly parted.

"Why...why do you think I have a trump card?"

The camp was so quiet that only the crackling of the campfire could be heard.

Even Vera, the fennec fox who had been chewing meat, sensed that something was wrong. She stopped what she was doing, drooped her ears, and looked everyone up and down with her dark eyes.

Faced with Clyde's question, Mark simply took a slow sip of his "bitter tea" and began to analyze the situation in a deliberate and methodical manner.

"From the very beginning, I analyzed and positioned all parties involved in this mission, but I always felt that something was not right."

Mark held up three fingers and broke them off one by one.

"The three parties involved in this mission—the guild, the commissioning party, and the executor—each have their own agendas and have jointly signed a Silver-level mission agreement."

Mark paused, glanced at Henry and the others, and continued.

"Our 'White Eagle' team's goal is very clear: to obtain one opportunity per person to craft attribute potions, or to be more precise, to help Henry take another step forward and advance to the professional level."

Mark abruptly changed the subject, his gaze landing on Clyde, his words hitting the nail on the head.

"And your goal is to extract the core of the Slime King to refine the Oracle Potion. Ultimately, it's all about taking a step further and advancing to the next level as a professional."

Mark's gaze swept over everyone one last time before he posed the crucial question.

"The first two reasons are quite valid and reasonable, but may I ask, what about the guild? What are they after in this mission? Are they just here to connect us?"

"???"

Confusion appeared on everyone's faces.

Brady, being outspoken, naturally took over the conversation.

"Isn't the guild just an agent for clients to post quests, then match adventurers to complete them, and profit from the difference between the two?"

Henry nodded silently upon hearing this explanation.

This perception is deeply ingrained among adventurers; everyone takes it for granted and never thinks anything is wrong.

Mark shook his head slightly, disagreeing with this statement.

"You're underestimating guilds. They're not just machines that issue quests. In reality, guilds also have their own considerations and calculations."

Clyde remained silent, his fingers tightly interlaced, his inner thoughts seemingly read aloud, and he gradually appeared tense and uneasy.

"What if the guild..."

At this point, Mark had already taken the perspective of the Adventurers' Guild and further elaborated on his point of view.

"According to Clyde's oracle, a very special slime king has appeared at the boundary between the inner and outer circles of the Golan Forest."

"If it were a Tier 1 Boss-level monster, the guild might not care too much."

"But a monster that is suspected of being promoted to the lord level and is guarding a key position will definitely have a significant impact on the overall situation of the Golan Forest."

"So I think the guild won't just sit idly by. They must have some backup plan for this mission."

Henry was about to interject when Mark waved him off, staring at Clyde as he continued speaking.

"I make this guess because of two suspicious points."

"First, the mission description does not mandate 100% completion, because the guild does not care whether you can extract the complete core. They only care whether you can eliminate the threat. Even our 'White Eagle' squad is just an advance team sent out to gather intelligence."

At this point, Mark couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

"Secondly, you're very afraid that the Slime King is a Lord-level monster. At first, I thought it was because you were afraid that we would find it too difficult and just give up."

"But now it seems that when the Slime King meets certain conditions, the final fallback measure must be triggered."

After saying that, Mark stared directly at Clyde, his eyes sharp as knives.

At this moment, Clyde knew he could no longer hide it, and mechanically raised his head to admit it.

"Yes, the guild gave me their trump card."

Upon hearing this, Henry and his companions gasped in shock.

—There's actually more to this mission than meets the eye!

Brady, who was already short-tempered, exploded instantly and shouted angrily.

"Damn it! Why didn't you take it out sooner?! We suffered for nothing!!"

Urged on by Brady and under the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Clyde finally made a move.

Clyde slowly raised his hand and took out a palm-sized object from under his wide robe.

This is a hollowed-out black metal twenty-sided die, with intricate magical patterns engraved on its body, firmly locking a crystal ball that exudes a pale, chilling aura.

The moment they saw the crystal ball, everyone instinctively felt a chill run down their spines.

The moment Mark saw it, his heart pounded, and a strong desire surged through him.

Clyde raised his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over the shocked faces of the crowd, and began to explain.

"This is the 'Exploding Ice Core,' a one-time-use magical item crafted primarily from the throat pouch of a sub-adult white dragon."

"White Dragon?!"

Upon hearing this term, everyone's expression changed.

In this world, dragons are one of the most powerful races.

They possess innate physical strength and magical control; even newborn cubs reach the level of a first-tier professional.

As for the White Dragon...

Although this group of colorful dragons was intellectually deficient and had been captured by frost giants and kept as dogs, it once lost the dignity of the dragon race and was humiliated as "the shame of the dragons".

But this is relative to other dragons.

In reality, the adult white dragon is as strong as a third-tier demon, on par with high-tier demons such as the six-armed snake demon and the eye demon.

As for mid-level monsters such as minotaurs, owl bears, and trolls (different from ogres), they are not worth mentioning.

Clyde took in the shock on everyone's faces and said with a complicated expression.

"This magical item is one of the strategic weapons of the Pinewood Town Adventurers' Guild."

"Upon detonation, it will unleash a 'Frosty Dragon Breath' attack within a 100-meter radius, with power equivalent to a full-force strike from a second-tier sub-adult white dragon. No first-tier monster can withstand such an attack."

Everyone was completely dumbfounded.

So there was such a... trump card?!

Brady was the first to react, his eagerness tinged with excitement.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's use it now! That way we can easily complete the task!"

However, no one answered his words.

Because everyone knows that if the guild has provided the trump card, then what's the point of having them? There must be a price to pay.

In the end, it was the meticulous Mark who managed to get the crucial details out of the question.

"How many seconds of delay are there after this thing detonates?"

Clyde's eyes were vacant. He shook his head slightly and uttered a single word.

"One second."

"!!!"

Everyone instantly understood the meaning, and Brady even started cursing.

"Are those guys in the guild crazy? They actually made us go and self-destruct with that slime."

"Who the hell would do something so stupid?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a firm and steady voice followed.

"I'll do it!"