Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Blake's words were not only for Wyot but for everyone here. The resistors were made up of adventurers who shared the same goal and that was to save their family and loved ones who had been taken away as captives by the enemy.

They wanted to bring down the criminal organisations ruling the tower town from the shadows and free all people and adventurers currently being suppressed by them. It can be essentially said that what brought them together was the cause and the goal that each of them shared.

As such, when they heard those words from Blake, it was as if a fire that was burning silently within them, erupting like a volcano.

That's right, if they die here, their loved ones will never be saved. For this reason alone, they must fight and get out of here alive. The spark that was lit by Blake, spread through the every resisting adventurer as they fought fiercely against the criminals ambushing them.

Magic and skills were fired in every direction, weapons collided and war cries rang out everywhere.

For a moment, the adventurers even though heavily outnumbered started overwhelming the criminals.

"Look at that, even after a few years, you are still the same, leading everyone. The guild leader of the Burning Arrows Guild is still alive somewhere within your heart" Frida commented looking at the adventurers rallying at just a few words from Blake.

"I told you not to call me that. I have thrown away that title" He grumbled while his hands moved continuously to clear the rubble blocking their way.

"Isn't it time you stop blaming yourself for what happened back then? The situation was beyond anyone's control. There was nothing you could have done back then. In fact, you played your role splendidly by leading us all this time"..

"No, I could have done more. Even now I led the both of us to a dead end" The hands clearing the rubble suddenly stopped. The plethora of guilt and remorse he had buried in his heart all these years finally burst out.

HUFF… HUFF… Blake's breathing became unsteady, he was just about to lose his sense of self, when a warm pair of hands gently wrapped around him.

"You can't break down here, these people need you. If you don't lead them, none of them will be able to save their loved ones. Their death will have no meaning like this. Only you can do it Blake, only you can lead them"

Perhaps it was Frida's words that got through him or maybe it was just his nature, Blake finally decided to step up and take the reins.

Although they were lost in a moment of their own for a while, everything that was happening around the battlefield, did not go unnoticed by them. This also included the shocking betrayal of Thilde and his group.

It turned out that this whole information was a trap to lure them out. The hostages being held captive here was misinformation spread by Thilde and the Dark Warrior Guild who sold them out.

This whole surprise attack thing was a trap set by the criminal organisation to sieve out the resistors. Even now, from the corner of their eyes, they could him pathetically grovelling on the ground, as he begged for their mercy and acceptance.

"Esteemed people of the Blades of Ascension, I did just like I was told to. I completed the task you guys gave me, so please don't kill me and my people".

At this moment, one of the five people from the Blades of Ascension came down from the rock and slowly approached the grovelling man.

"Ah, man it sucks. Even though it was my idea, why did I have to lose.. tch"

Jordan clicked his tongue and slowly stretched his arms. He was just about to join the battle, when his attention fell on the man speaking some nonsense on the ground.

"Ah, aren't you the informer who came to us and begged us to spare your life in exchange for the information on your side? Haha, you are quite the backstabber aren't you, you really did what you told us" Jordan gave a hearty laugh.

Seeing that one of the Five from the Blades of Ascension was happy with his conduct, Thilde lifted his face and glanced at Jordan.

"Then in that case am I…"

However, before he could say anything further, a round axe came slamming at his back, bypassing his defences and killing him on the spot.

"There is no way, I would allow a two faced snitch like you to join us" Jordan sneered. He swung his axe around a few more times, quickly dealing with the adventurers that came retaliating at him.

The speed and the strength of his swings were so fast that to a normal person, it would all seem like a blur. Even these adventurers who were all above level 400, could only see a vague shadow before their body was smashed apart and split into many pieces.

From this, it was not hard to imagine how powerful this person from the Blade of Ascension was. Even with the weight of the round axe, Jordan was swinging it as if it was weightless. The ordinary adventurers weren't his match at all as they quickly fell under his attacks.

Bestowed with the powerful strength that his Berserker class bestowed him, only a handful of people could stop him.

Seeing this, the morale of the resisting adventurers was almost on the verge of collapsing when someone stood up to take in the reins.

Jordan's attack which was brutal and seemingly unstoppable, was stopped by a man with frizzy red hair that flowed down till his shoulders just like the mane of a tiger. He wielded a huge great sword and was donned in an impressive looking armour.

The man was none other than Blake Gunvald, former guild master of the once renowned guild of the city of Mountmend.

"Hoh, you stopped my attack huh? Not bad, it looks like it won't be as boring as I thought"

Jordan smiled, his attacks started becoming increasingly fierce. However, unlike before when no one was able to stop him. This time his attacks were perfectly being contained and stopped by Blake causing the resistors to sigh in relief.

Not only that, as they fought the gangs of criminals coming at them, their attention sporadically went towards the area where Blake was having a showdown with a member of the Blades of Ascension.

Given the achievement of this guild and their high levelled members, they were quite feared in this region. No other guilds or adventurers even came close.

However, seeing Blake go toe to toe with one of the members of such a guild, not only raised their morale, it also inspired them to do their best.

"Hehe… Blake, so you finally decided to stand out huh"

Wyot who was assisting the resistors in clearing a path to exit, glanced at Blake and grinned. Ever since the tower town had been taken over by the criminal organisational and their loved ones taken hostages, all of them had been left at a loss.

Fearing for the lives of their dear ones, they could only do as they were told and be oppressed. All their resistance amounted to nothing until they met others who were in the exact same situation and shared the same cause as them.

They didn't meet through a stroke of fate or because they were actively resisting the criminal organisation. They came together and became the resistance they were now, thanks to a single man.

Even though the man himself refused to step up and lead them all, in the hearts of these adventurers he was their leader.

"Everyone follow Blake, let's show these criminals the strength of the adventurers"

Leaving a few to clear the path, Wyot steered the others in the battle. For the first time in a while, the resisting adventurers or the resistors who had been nothing but annoying, pesky little flies to the criminal organisations were starting to push them back. Blake's actions alone were enough to encourage the others.

"Hoh! Look at them go, it seems like their morale increased because of a single person"…

"Hmm… that guy is not bad. In terms of strength, he is already on par with most early level 500 warriors. However, too bad Jordan is far more higher levelled than him"…

"That said, Jordan likes tormenting and playing with his prey. It doesn't seem like it would end soon. If this goes on, the adventurers might defeat the guys on our side".

Up atop the rock formation, the other members of the Blades of Ascension discussed. They looked at Jordan who was having fun and the members of their organisation who were being pushed back by the adventurers.

These fellows were at the end just footmen who worked for their organisations. Their strength lay in their numbers; however, right now even that strength was failing them.

"Even though they are just disposables, it would look bad on us if we let all these people die with us present. Plus, it might even upset some of the higher ups. I guess we have no choice but to take action ourselves" Dieter remarked analysing the situation.

"That fool Jordan, he always has to make things difficult for us. If only he took it seriously, we wouldn't have to step in"

A woman in crimson robes spoke. She wore a strange type of Bauta mask to cover her face and held a rune staff with a bizarre design. She had long wavy hair that reached till her waist and carried several artifacts on her.