Guild Boss's Ambition

I remember that I picked up Xiaolan in Panlong Forest.

However, the route drawn by Corvina on the map is located deep in the Panlong Forest. It takes a total of two days to reach the specific location. In order to avoid an ambush by the high elves along the way, I did not dare to march too fast. After reaching the dense forest, I only followed the scouts' reconnaissance and led the camp forward step by step.

On the first day of our departure, we did not encounter any high elves.

After nightfall, I had everyone set up camp in the forest.

Since we are so many in number, we basically don't have to worry about monsters attacking us at night. In fact, compared to adventurers like us, monsters are the ones who are more afraid. From a cost-effectiveness perspective, we adventurers are by no means their ideal prey. Their daily attacks on civilians are mostly out of self-defense instinct.

At dinner time, Raftan and I sat alone by a small campfire.

At this stage, I do not want to be overly close to other adventurers, because no matter how good the relationship between us is, at critical moments they may still come into conflict with me because of their own interests. At that time, friendship and righteousness will become obstacles for me to issue orders, giving those people an excuse to attack me.

The so-called distinction between public and private is both an advantage and a disguised disadvantage.

Among the many familiar adventurers, only Raftan makes me feel more at ease.

I believe that even if I put mountains of gold and silver in front of her, she would not betray my trust for the sake of greed.

After simply eating some unpalatable military biscuits, I thought about tomorrow's schedule and asked the paladin beside me, "Raftan, I remember that you came here as an adventurer for the territory of your hometown, right?"

She chewed her rations carefully and replied, "Yes, I came to Mopolis for Sophie's territory."

"Do you regret it now?" I asked.

"I will return in triumph," she answered with great determination.

I was noncommittal about her optimism and asked, “Do you believe the military’s predictions will be correct?”

Miss Paladin made an objective analysis and said, "I think the military's prediction is likely to be correct. Even if the entire Alliance of Light is supporting this war, they will definitely not allow 100,000 gold coins to be wasted. Moreover, the location of the Panlong Forest is hidden, and it is indeed an ideal food transportation route for the high elves' army."

I nodded calmly, took out the map, and started the same old story again.

"Suppose we really encounter the high elves' food carts, and suppose we successfully complete the sneak attack, but the food carts will only appear behind the army. If we destroy this batch of replenishing items, the enemy army in front will also take action. Therefore, we must have a correct retreat route to avoid the enemy's pursuit and return to Mopolis City safely."

Hearing this, Raftan pointed to a fluorescent yellow line on the map.

This line was not originally on the map. We drew it during our discussion yesterday.

"This is the retreat route that Mr. Hai drew for us." said the Paladin.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"The route goes through the army of the high elves. Although it seems like a trap, it is dangerous but in line with military science. It is to guess the enemy's troop distribution through reverse deduction, and use the advantages of our lean and flexible forces to walk between the forest and the river. Even if we return to Mopolis City, we can tire the enemy out and even defeat them without fighting."

Raftan's face was full of admiration for our shrimp.

To this day, I have a new respect for that old man. He is really good at pretending.

However, no matter how far-sighted Ebi is, he cannot predict the future and understand the situation on the battlefield in advance.

I said with a serious face, "Unless the future battlefield is exactly the same as the map of Corvina, we probably won't need the retreat route that Ebi drew yesterday. However, as the key point of the strategy, the retreat policy proposed by Ebi is also very clear, which is to achieve the effect of tiring the enemy through a circuitous and dangerous route. But the problem is──"

Raftan said in tacit agreement, "Although a small army can march more flexibly than a large army, given the level of our team, we are still very likely to be held back by the dangerous terrain before we can drag down the enemy's pursuit troops."

Swamps, jungles, rapids, ice fields...

In the Panlong Forest area in winter, there are many terrains that can be utilized. These terrains may not be a big deal if you stroll around them on a daily basis, but if you use them for a forced march during an escape, some unexpected situations may very likely arise. Unless you were unfortunately discovered by the enemy, I would not lead my troops and my men into these places of death.

"Ugh……"

I sighed and pointed to the red line on the map, ending this inconclusive discussion. "Forget it. There's no point in just talking here. Let's wait until we get to the designated location tomorrow and make other plans."

"Um……"

Raftan responded anxiously and asked casually, "By the way, President Ehard, where is ViVi? I haven't seen her since I last saw her in the arena."

"She has her own plans, and I can't control her if she stays."

Raftan asked worriedly, "But isn't she an adventurer of our guild? If she wanders around outside, the army might find out that she is not fulfilling her responsibilities as an adventurer, and then take her back to the stone house."

Hearing that, I raised my hand and said lightly, "Don't worry, I didn't put her and Bai Ye's names on the list of fugitives. As long as she doesn't think about escaping Mopolis, nothing will happen to her. But remember not to tell anyone else about the two lone rangers, lest they say I'm abusing my power for personal gain."

Raftan criticized honestly: "Actually, this arrangement is indeed a bit unfair to other adventurers."

Raftan's criticism is reasonable. There is no reason why Bai Ye and Foxy Clown should be free to do what they want while everyone is working hard for the war mission. However, after all, Bai Ye and Foxy Clown are not the kind of desperadoes who can be regulated by common sense. If I force them to stay, I really think I will be the one who will be troubled.

Facing Raftan's criticism, I could only helplessly say, "If you, Raftan, can come up with a good way to control Bai Ye and ViVi, then what if I send someone to call them back immediately? But, can you really come up with that method? Or, does that method really exist in this world?"

Raftan pondered for a moment, with an extremely conflicted expression on his face. "Miss Bai Ye's words may have some room for negotiation, but the other wild fox is 100% lawless. If we force her to do something, she will most likely just cause trouble for us. On the contrary, if we let her go on her own, she may be able to achieve something."

"So, do you understand why I completely forgot about her?"

"I will keep this a secret." Raftan said seriously.

……

……

18. Shadow of War (Luke)

(Luke)

With no other options, I was forced to follow President Ehard and participate in the war mission in the Stone House.

If I had not coveted the benefits of the remaining few days of the contract, I would not have come to this dangerous Panlong Forest.

On the second day of departure, our team successfully arrived at the target location.

The place where the supply convoy was scheduled to pass was only a bumpy forest path, which was a very suitable place for a sneak attack, as President Ehard said. We could ambush on both sides of the road, set up some inconspicuous traps, and then launch all kinds of obscene attacks on the convoy passing through.

But life is not a book. Even if our sneak attack is successful, we may not be able to defeat the high elves.

I'm not bragging, I'm fully prepared to hide at the back during the charge.

It was noon when we arrived at the ambush point. Since we did not find any trace of the high elves, President Ehad took us to a very hidden valley nearby, called Panlong Valley. We set up camp in the valley to avoid reconnaissance by the enemy's advance troops before the grain carts arrived here, so as to prevent our whereabouts from being exposed and attacked.

While we were setting up the temporary camp, our scouts, including Miss Tina, were also patrolling outside the valley.

For our stone house, the most ideal situation is to find nothing and wait for time to pass. When the day agreed in the mission book passes, that will be our greatest victory. After all, no matter how much I like this city of Mopolis, it does not mean that I am willing to give my life for it. I position myself as a non-combatant!

"I will try my best to survive!"

"Then open a catgirl cafe!"

"I won't give up until I achieve my dream!"

When I set up my tent, Tina, who was part of the first reconnaissance team, also returned to the main camp. She and her colleagues first reported the results of the reconnaissance to President Ehard, and then came back to me and the lion man Oddo with a smile.

Odo, who was squatting by the campfire roasting chicken legs, asked calmly, "How is it? Have you spotted any enemies?"

Tina smiled playfully and said, "We found a lot of unusual footprints. We roughly estimate that there are about a thousand people on the other side. However, judging from their movements, they should not have discovered us staying in the same forest. Fortunately, we came early, otherwise we would have run into their troops."

One thousand high elves?

I couldn't help but feel a chill in my heart.

I asked anxiously, "What did President Ahed say?"

"Don't be nervous~~Don't be nervous~~"

Tina sat on Odo's knees with a relaxed look on her face and said with a smile, "President Ehard didn't explain anything, but the appearance of the thousand people just proves that our decision to hide in Panlong Valley was correct, and wasn't it stated in the mission book? The date of the war is about three days from now, so it's not surprising that we have discovered the enemy's advance troops in Panlong Forest now."

"Does that mean we are now in a situation where we are attacked from all sides?" I asked in panic.

"Correct answer~~"

Tina smiled cutely and snatched the fried chicken leg that Oddo had just prepared: "We've been running around the forest all day, and we're almost starving. Let's eat this chicken leg first! Oddo, you can grill another one for yourself!"

The lion man, whose chicken leg was snatched away by his savage girlfriend, had no choice but to grill another one in silence.

At this moment, I no longer had the heart to complain about their open flaunting: "Tina, don't you think it's inappropriate? We are currently in the heart of the enemy's army. Once we are discovered, we will definitely be crushed by the army of high elves. We won't even have the option of betraying our country and surrendering!"

Tina gnawed on a chicken leg, sucked on her fingers, and said with a leisurely smile: "If we are discovered by the enemy, we will kill all of them who are in the way. As long as we kill enough of them, we can even complete one or two war missions. Then we can take a good rest for a while, eat some delicious food, play some interesting games, and have a pleasant **."

"F**k..."

I looked at Tina and Oddo who were acting intimately, and then looked at my right hand that had been with me for 19 years.

"Then it would be better for me to have a fight to the death with the high elves──" I made a negative comment.

Seeing this, Tina licked the chicken leg bone with full of lust, scraped the meat off with her flexible cat tongue, and said jokingly in a ambiguous tone: "Luke, it's actually not difficult to find a bed partner! With your conditions, Luke, you can easily get those voluptuous cat girls onto the big bed in the motel as long as you use the right method──"

Is it possible on my terms?

For the happiness of my lower body, I quickly asked, "Is there really a way?"

The seemingly experienced Tina shook her finger and made an extremely shameless suggestion in front of her boyfriend: "There are no problems in this world that can be solved with money. If there are, then add more gold coins! I have many friends who are interested in occasionally exchanging ideas with strangers of the opposite sex. With your financial situation, Luke, it shouldn't be a problem to buy two monthly subscriptions!"

After listening to Tina's sales pitch, I was chilled: "You mean the hard-earned money I worked so hard to open a coffee shop is only worth two months' worth compared to your friends? Is it really that expensive? Are their places made of gold and jade?! I can't believe that so many stupid men would spend so much of their fortune on them!"

As I was complaining, Tina raised her finger again and provided me with the latest market information in a clear voice: "By the way, with your conditions, Luke, as long as you are booked for two months, you should be able to earn enough to start three coffee shops. But you may lack some connections as you are just starting out. However! I can introduce customers to you. In view of our past friendship, I will only charge you 20% of the agency fee!"

I was speechless and said, "How come I didn't know you were also a pimp?"

Tina rolled her eyes and shrugged, saying, "It's not stealing or robbing, and it's not forcing women into prostitution. We are all willing to do this. It can satisfy the sexual interests of the customers and solve the economic needs of the people at that time. It's a win-win situation for everyone. If I don't go to hell for such a meaningful job, who will?"

Hearing this, Odd immediately smacked his girlfriend on the head.

"Don't listen to her nonsense. She is just making up stories. Besides, she hasn't been in this line of work for a long time."

Then Tina immediately clawed back fiercely, scratching Oddo's lion face until it bled: "What do you mean I haven't been in this business for a long time! It's like I'm not a businessman but a commodity being traded! And don't act so noble in front of me! If I wasn't in that business, you wouldn't have the chance to meet a beauty like me with a great figure!"

"I've told you so many times that I was just accompanying a friend that time."

Unfortunately, Oddo's helpless explanation only resulted in another claw attack.

When the two marks were combined, the six claw marks had a sense of symmetrical beauty.

However, this kind of spoiled, willful and slightly sadistic behavior is also one of the characteristics of a cat-like girlfriend. Just trying to imagine the hot feeling of the cat's claws scratching my skin, I can't help but feel a little out of control.

"I really want to have a cat girl..."

"I really want her to treat me like a slave..."

Suddenly, as I was watching the couple being affectionate, an indescribable feeling of palpitations enveloped my heart.

Judging from the situation at the scene, I'm afraid I'm not the only one experiencing this symptom.

The faces of the adventurers around them, including Tina and Oddo, changed. Many pairs of confused eyes kept looking around for the source of the palpitations. Among us, there was a half-elf who showed the strongest reaction.

She knelt on the ground in pain, muttering, "Here it comes──"

"It's coming—"

"That terrifying and irresistible force—"

"I hope its target isn't us?!"

"If it were to target me—"

But before we could fully understand what the half-elf said, a strong wind suddenly blew in the valley, and the originally calm blue sky was filled with white clouds. It seemed that even the air itself was afraid of the existence chasing them from behind, and they all fled in the same direction. We mortals standing on the earth could only silently witness its arrival -

Huh──

Huh──

Gradually, a sound like a horn came into the valley.

More than six hundred pairs of our eyes were on guard against the sky that was filled with danger.

silence.

There was a long silence during the alert.

But even if there is only the slightest sign of trouble, we can't take our eyes away from the sky.

We firmly believe that something will come.

And it did arrive.

It was a dark figure that disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It's not because the figure itself is black that it looks pitch black, but because it is so huge that the sun's rays cannot illuminate the bottom of it, and thus cannot reflect its own color to us -

what is that?

No one asked.

Because asking is asking even though you already know the answer.

What else can fly thousands of feet high in the sky but still not cast a shadow?

"Tina, do you think we can really survive this war?" I murmured tremblingly.

Unlike me, after seeing the giant shadow flying away, the sexy cat girl picked up the second chicken leg that Oddo had just grilled: "Don't think too much. Enemies of that level are not for cannon fodder like us to deal with. We can only burn the food of the high elves and the game in front of us. If you are really scared, let Oddo grill two more chicken wings for you to calm you down."