“…I understand,” Karl said after a moment of silence, with a hint of shame creeping onto his face. “I will get all the information by the end of the day.”

  “…Although I am glad that you can finally show some courage, there is no need to recklessly throw your life away either,” Alnea said, wondering if he had just pushed Karl from one extreme to another. No, if a Wanderer’s Heart could be swayed with just a few words, then they could never survive the Origin Sea. At best, he may have just helped Karl see a few things more clearly. There was no possibility of him turning into a reckless Warrior like Norren. Probably.

  “Take your time. Try not to get too close to those Wanderers. Observe them from a distance. It would be best if you could get all the information without arousing their vigilance. Do not take any risks though. You can give up the mission if it becomes too dangerous. Of course, you can also ask for help from the rest of us. Vestia, increase the rating of this mission to ten Stars. As for those who help in the mission… reward them according to their contribution.”

  “Understood.”

  “…I will try my best.”

  “That’s all I am asking for,” Alnea said, nodding with a smile, before turning back towards the rest of the Star Seekers. “And that holds true for all of you too. I am not asking you to complete your missions every time. No, this is not even about missions. This is about not being afraid of failure. About daring to stand up to your fears. And to have the will of never giving up.”

  “…Do not worry,” Yuri said, giving him a reassuring smile. “Though some of us may be afraid, we will never give up.”

  “…Who is afraid of those cowards?” Zain said with snort. “Not daring to show their heads to avoid being targeted by other Wanderers… Unlike them, we have been roaming all around the Black Desert even when we were being ambushed by both, Wanderers, and Oren Beasts. What right do they have to make us cower?”

  “…He does have a point,” Norren said, grinning along with Zain. “Besides, rather than being afraid, I am more excited to fight them. Breaking into the top hundred ranks of all three halls… I want to know exactly how strong they are.”

  “…We are so close to reaching the inner city… no one can stop us…”

  “…I am not giving up either.”

  “…Why is everyone looking at me like that?” Ralph said, scratching the back of his head. “Actually, I was more shocked than afraid. And yes, I may indeed think of staying clear of them if I were to encounter them alone. But we are not alone, are we? As long as we are together, I am not afraid of anyone.”

  “That’s right,” Vestia said, nodding along with a wide grin on her face. “We are Star Seekers. We dare to chase even after Stars. How can we be afraid of some mere Priests?”

  “Priests?”

  “…That’s what those Wanderers call themselves. Dark Priests.”

  “…Dark Priests… That’s a rather ominous name…”

  “Are they not afraid of being misunderstood as Heterodox Wanderers?”

  “Do you think a bunch of False Rank Heterodox Wanderers would dare to walk into a city ruled by a group of Grand Wanderers? Even if we do not count the Wanderers of True Rank and above, there are still at least hundreds of thousands of False Wanderers in the city. Just that number alone is enough overwhelm a group of ten Wanderers thousands of times. Heterodox Wanderers? Not to mention that all the Wanderers of the Dark Priests have a clear background, even if they truly are Heterodox Wanderers, they would still have to behave obediently in the city.”

  “If you say it like that, the Dark Priests do not sound as scary anymore… How about I help you with gathering their information, Karl?”

  Let’s not be too hasty,” Alnea said, warning Ralph, before casting a grateful look towards Vestia. No matter what sort of situation they were in, he could always count on her to help him manage the team. Should he count her in the ‘compensation’ that he had planned for Yuri and Cecilia? But that would mean wasting another day of training. No, it was not wasting. It was fulfilling his responsibilities…

  “We still do not know anything about these Dark Priests. Who knows what abilities they might have? I can rest assured with Karl tailing behind them, because I know he has excellent reconnaissance and life saving abilities. Even if he gets into trouble, he can save himself in time. As for everyone else… Let’s take things slowly, and allow Karl to do his job. You can help once he asks you to.”

  “…That’s a shame. But I guess you are right.”

  “I really want to fight them though…”

  “You will get your chance later…”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Alright, that’s enough about the Dark Priests. Let’s wait for Karl to complete his investigation first, and then we can discuss how to deal with them,” Alnea said, before turning towards Norren. “If I remember correctly, you took the mission to investigate the rumours of the new species. How is it? Did you find anything?”

  “…Those rumours were falsely spread by the Unia clan to help them hold off a beast tide, as they harvested a Blood Lotus. As for the quicksand in the east, it was…”

  “…Lia…”

  “…For the ‘Talent Gathering’ in the Southern District, I asked a few acquaintances in my clan to help me gather the related information. Apparently, it was Bassin clan’s plan to gather some talented Wanderers in one place, and ambush them to cut down on their competitors. Unfortunately, the city guards found out about their plan in advance, and punished the mastermind behind the plan. Though most probably, the ‘mastermind’ was just a scapegoat from their branch. As for the…”

  “…Zain…”

  “…The team in the Fifteenth Blood Hall is just full of rookies. The only reason they became famous is because the people of the Fifteenth Blood Hall were not happy seeing teams from other Blood Halls getting famous. So they…”

  One by one, everyone reported their missions, going into details for only the important ones. The ones that could affect their team’s chances of entering the inner city. There were only a few such missions though. Like Karl’s mission about the Dark Priests, or Cecilia’s mission about the Bassin clan. Such vicious means…

  Even before they could begin their final march, there were already some formidable enemies popping up all around the city. And these were just the ones they had found in their most recent missions. There were quite a few enemies they had found earlier, who were no less formidable than the two. And he was sure that they would find even more such enemies in the coming weeks. Not to mention that there might be a few enemies who would not reveal their fangs until the very last moment.

  To be honest, if he had not been in limelight earlier, Alnea might have chosen to hide his edges too. And he might even have succeeded, if not for the Lotus clan, and their relentless pursuit. After all, who would believe that an Intermediate—Advanced Stage Wanderer could crush Peak Stage Wanderer? Unfortunately for him, the Lotus clan had no intention of letting him enjoy his days in peace.

  “…That sums up everyone’s missions for the past week,” Alnea said, as he reported the findings of his own missions, before putting on a solemn look. “Next, it is time to talk about why I asked everyone to gather earlier than usual.”

  “Finally.”

  “I almost forgot about that part…”

  “…What I am about to say next may sound a little disconcerting, and you may feel that I am worrying too much, especially considering how I—

  “Just get to the point,” Cecilia said, waving her hand impatiently. “No is going to doubt what you say.”

  “…While I was completing my mission yesterday, I ran into a couple of Lotus clan’s Wanderers.”

  “The Lotus clan…” Vestia said, mirroring his solemn look.

  “…How can you come across the Wanderers of the Lotus clan so coincidently?” Yuri said, with her brows squinched together in a frown. “You did not do anything stupid, did you?”

  “Of course, not. What do you take me to for?”

  “Alnea Reckless,” Cecilia said almost instantly, with Vestia nodding along with her in a rare moment of tacit understanding between the two. A moment that came only when he was about to be embarrassed.

  “You may indeed be a good Captain, but when it comes to the Lotus clan, you tend to behave a bit more irrationally…”

  “…I did not do anything to those Wanderers, except following behind them, and eavesdropping on their conversation.”

  “…Let me guess. They were discussing their plans about how to deal with us?”

  “…Yes, but we were only a part of their plans. Their scheme… it is much more expansive this time, and much more vicious too. If they succeed…”

  “…Have you not thought that this might just be their plan to lure you—us into their trap?”

  “I did. And that’s why I called everyone to discuss this issue. Maybe their plans are true, maybe they are not. But it never hurts to be cautious.”

  “Now, that’s more like the man I recognised as my Captain,” Zain said with a laugh. “Your wisdom has reached almost half of my level.”

  “…So, what is their plan?”

  “…From what I heard, they have already reached an agreement with seven other clans, and are trying to pull the Bluesoul and the Raythorn clans into their alliance. This part must be true, as it is easy to confirm this news with just some simple investigations. The next part though… Apparently, they are trying to monopolise the resources inner city, with the ultimate goal of conquering the entire city. Once the city is under their control, they can slowly search for its legacy.”

  “Are they trying to declare war to the entire Lightning Region?” Norren mumbled, only for Ralph to roll his eyes at him. Even Zain showed disdain at Norren’s exclamation.

  “This part is obviously a lie,” Vestia said with a solemn face. “The interests of the Lost City are too high for just a dozen Orthodoxies to monopolise. Even if they have capability to conquer the city, the price they would have to pay is not something that they can bear. Their true motive must be something else… What else did those Wanderers say?”

  “Most of its was gibberish. They were probably venting their frustration. The only useful information that I could hear was that they should be receiving new reinforcements from Ann in the next couple of weeks. And once their reinforcements have arrived, they will team up with the other clans to send over a hundred Wanderers to ambush us in the desert. An agreement they reached after giving up part of the benefits they would earn from the city.”

  “…So, is their purpose to scare us, and force us to not leave the city?”

  “Probably. I am not sure. With the Lotus clan, anything is possible.”

  “…What should we do then?”

  “Be cautious. Try not to leave the city on your own. Even when you travel in the city, it would be best if you would do it pairs, maybe even trios. At the same time, investigate the clans that have been in contact with the Lotus clan recently. If possible, we can even try to form an alliance of our own. And if not, let’s try to sabotage the Lotus clan’s alliance. Most importantly, get stronger. Do not think about saving resources. We might have a tough battle ahead.”