Child of Destiny

...…

S.Tigris didn't raise a fuss about the betrayal of the guild executives since he was very aware of why they did that.

They were also not aware that he currently possessed a special item that would be able to change the tide of the game. And D.Romeo was only able to discover about that item because he was betrayed by his subordinates.

The Alliance Leader might have a good impression on him and Black Hand. But since the leader promised not to meddle with the conflicts between the two factions, he would not be able to give S.Tigris any kind of assistance.

Moreover, he was currently looking for a good successor for his position, so he wanted to see who would be the victor in this internal war.

The involvement of the HeadHunter Guild might affect the internal war between the two factions but the Alliance Leader was also thinking that this was a good opportunity to see who would be the better faction between the two.

Currently, the side where S.Tigris belonged was at a slight disadvantage. But even if it was only a small one, their side was repeatedly being pushed back which was also why no one could lend him a helping hand.

After all, he was currently an ordinary guild member in the eyes of those executives. And they didn't have time to waste their time on someone with that rank when they were currently being pressured by the opposing side.

S.Tigris also couldn't mention that particular item to the executives on their side since he knew that they would also try to ask for that item in exchange for the help that they were going to provide.

Even if they tried to hide it in the pretext of protecting the item, S.Tigris knew that they were only going to take it for themselves.

S.Tigris and his main team spent quite a lot of time and effort just to get this item. They also exhausted most of their fortune in buying the special scrolls and potions that they used during the mission, so it was impossible for him to hand it over to anyone.

On top of that, this item might also help them break through the barrier between their current strengths and top-rank experts of the game. So, they couldn't afford to waste this change just for a little bit of help from the sly foxes on their side.

The Alluring Goddess Amanda might be trustable in this case, but they also had a problem with that. She was currently leading an expedition team somewhere in the unexplored lands within the Saint Heaven Kingdom, so she would not be able to provide any kind of help either.

Left with no other choice, S.Tigris could only endure all of these sufferings for as long as he could. And fortunately, there were still some people that remained on his side after everything that happened.

Hu!

"We finally shake off those annoying guys from chasing after us!" said Raven as he fell on his butt and leaned his back on the tree behind him.

"I've never imagined that there would be a time where we are going to fight all of the experts that Captain has personally nurtured in a real battle," added Ara as she also collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

On the other hand, Black Hand and Ringo simultaneously turned their heads to their captain who was currently looking at the sky with a lonely expression on his face.

At the same time, Rave suddenly slammed his fist on the ground when he heard her words. "Those ungrateful bastards! I will make sure to give each of them an unforgettable lesson when I get a chance!"

"I will hunt them one by one and make sure to assassinate them repeatedly until they give up playing this game!" he added as he clenched his hand and gritted his teeth.

Black Hand didn't say anything to add since he knew that he was only going to waste his breath at cursing those traitors. What was currently running in his mind was how they were going to escape their current predicament.

They might have escaped D.Romeo and the others at the current moment but that didn't mean that those people were going to stop. They would surely try to find them and hunt them down until they get what they wanted.

"What are we going to do now, Captain? We can't just continue running away like this," said Ringo to voice out the thoughts of the others.

Hearing that, S.Tigris finally came back to his senses before turning his head to Black Hand. At this current moment, this person was the only guy that they could rely on.

"Are you sure that you are going to trust me in this?" asked Black Hand with a serious tone.

S.Tigris suddenly started laughing with a bitter tone before replying. "If even you are someone that I can't trust, then there is no one in this world who is worthy of my trust."

Black Hand was slightly for a moment before saying. "Then we should give up on that item."

The moment he said those words, the other three quickly turned to him with panicked looks on their faces.

"Are you crazy? Have you gone mad? Did you already forget how much trouble we went through just to get this thing!" said Raven in one breath while looking at the priest with wide-open eyes.

Seeing their reactions, Black Hand couldn't help but laugh a little before continuing. "At least let me finish what I am saying first before voicing out your own thoughts."

"Of course, I still remember everything. But that doesn't mean that we can overlook the fact that D.Romeo created a commotion out of that thing."

"Naturally, the higher-ups will take notice of that incident and investigate what really happened. And once they become aware of the existence of the item that we currently possess, I am pretty sure that all of the executives will come after us regardless of which faction they belong to."

Hearing those words, the faces of the other three immediately turned solemn as they knew that they were now going to be hunted down by both sides just to take the item from their captain.

Out of the members of the team, S.Tigris was the only one who was able to keep his calm. In fact, he was even expecting this to happen.

"So, what do you mean by giving up this item?" he asked as he took a particular token from his inventory.

It was a crystalline token that seemed to be carved from ice. The symbol engraved on it also looked a little peculiar. It was a pair of dragons chasing one other while a blue gem with a deep hue was resting on its center.

"We are still not sure its uses. But from the basic information that is written on it, we know that it is a special item that can open a particular region or a very high-leveled dungeon," said Black Hand after seeing the token. "What I am suggesting is we should give up the monopoly of this particular thing."

"We can't immediately go to those places since we are still in the middle of our preparation. But if we ask for some cooperation from other groups, we can immediately start the expedition," he added after a brief moment of pause.

"Logically, we can just ask some help from our guild, but all of us are aware of how the rules within the guild work, so all know that we are going to be at a disadvantage during the deal. Especially with the current state of our guild." he continued while wearing a bitter smile.

"Then an adventurer guild and the trading firms are our best choice in this. After all, it is going to either be cooperation or a plain business deal if we ask some help from them," said Ara while nodding her head.

"The problem is there are only a very few organizations that can guarantee our success in this matter. After all, we can't afford any failure in this matter since we are practically going to waste our time if we do this half-heartedly," commented Ringo.

"And the list is going to be even shorter when they learn that we are currently being hunted down by our own guild," added Raven with a dejected tone.

S.Tigris turned to Black Hand once again before asking. "So, who are your choices in this?"

Hearing that, the priest quickly raised three of his fingers before answering. "We only have three choices."

"First is the Hand of Midas Trading Firm. With the power and their influence, our guild will definitely think twice before provoking them. But the problem that we have with this is the deal itself."

"Striking a deal with them is definitely going to be troublesome. Especially if it is handled personally by their guild master. They may even try to offer us to buy the token straight away or exchange it with something with the same value."

Hearing his analysis, the other members of the group started nodding their heads in agreement.

Then Black Hand continued. "The next one is the team that the 'God Slayer' and 'Death God' have. With their team's strength, our success rate will definitely increase with a great margin. We also don't have to worry with our pursuers since their team is strong enough to not get intimidated by anyone."

"I also heard that those two are almost regaining their former forms. And that is a long time ago, so they are most likely back on their former selves at this point in time."

"If we also consider that the 'Winter Demon' and 'Flame Witch' are also reaching a higher level in their respective strengths, I am pretty sure that their team can take back their former glory."

"Personally, I suggest asking for cooperation with them since we are already familiar with them. Moreover, we also worked with their team before," he added while looking at the others.

The other members of their group also agreed with them since it was better to work with a team that they were familiar with when it came to these kinds of situations.

They were about to agree unanimously to choose this option when S.Tigris suddenly remembered that there were supposedly three choices for them to choose.

He looked at Black Hand and asked out of curiosity. "How about the third one?"

Hearing that, the priest smiled bitterly for a couple of moments before answering. "The third choice is actually the best one that we have. We are guaranteed to become successful in this particular expedition while also not worrying about the forces of our guild."

"The only problem is how are we going to convince them," he added with a bitter tone.

The others couldn't help but knit their brows when they heard those words before waiting for him to continue. They were looking forward to who was the third choice for Black Hand to give them much credit.

And when the latter saw the looks on their faces, he was also unable to help himself but flash a bitter smile before continuing.

"Obviously, it is that team who created a lot of sensations recently."

...