Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

By now, many of the cellars were destroyed and families freed, leaving only a few locations that were now strictly being guarded by the criminal organisations. The security was so tight that even with these many adventurers, it was like facing an army.

The other side completely overshadowed them in terms of numbers, the difference was so vast that it was not even a proper comparison.

The side of the criminal organisation had the numerical advantage. On the other side, the adventurers had the aid from the insanely powerful demi human group led by Annette.

Their power which managed to surprise the adventurers at every turn, was enough to turn the tides of any battle. With them, the adventurers had complete faith that they wouldn't lose.

However, this battle was to save the families of the adventurers who were being suppressed and used as pawns by the criminal organisations. Their tyranny could only be broken by freeing the hostages which in essence was a stealthy mission.

The key here was speed and strategy, catching the enemy by surprise and raiding them before they could do anything. The whole mission would fail if the enemy killed the hostages.

As such, even though they could absolutely crush the other side, they could not move hastily, lest they lose the hostages they wanted to save.

All that said, it was not like the side of the resisting adventurers was at a complete disadvantage. The many raids they did on the criminal organisations to save the hostages, not only brought their names to the hit list, but it also made them stand out.

By now almost all of the adventurers in the tower town were aware of them. They now knew that there was a force that was directly opposing the criminal organisations with the motive to save them.

Sometimes, having even the tiniest bit of hope in the darkest of hours can become the brightest beacon of light. The adventurers of the tower town who had almost given up all hope and became complacent in despair, had a change of heart after hearing the news.

What they were waiting for wasn't something as extravagant as a saviour who come and free them all but a tiny hope in the form of a chance. This was their moment, many of them broke out of their gloomy shell and carried the spark of revolt.

This tiny revolution that started as a small spark, became a huge raging fire in the tower town now. The criminal organisations were already having a tough time but now they also had to divert their efforts to suppress the adventurers under them.

It was like fighting a war on two fronts, the criminal organisations were taking heavy losses. That was not all, knowing that there was a force fighting for them, many adventurers started making their own resistance groups while some joined Blake and the others.

The fight with the criminal organisations was full on.

"Them tightly guarding the locations is not totally a disadvantage for us. See it like this, if they are tightly guarding a place, it must mean that they are keeping the hostages there. This move of theirs could instead backfire on them since they are revealing the location of the cells to us"

Blake commented while looking at a chart on the table. The chart depicted the map of the town, the forest, the criminal organisations' strength and various other things on top.

"It's as Blake said we can use this to our advantage instead. Now we know the other locations where they are keeping the hostages. The problem is… these locations are all inside the town. If we want to raid these places we will need to enter the town; however, doing so we would not be able to avoid detection" Wyot agreed.

The other adventurers present fell silent. The tower town was completely under the control of the criminal organisations, from passing merchant to bars and all important establishments and locations were all under their surveillance.

Carrying out the mission to save the hostages under such a condition was extremely disadvantageous for them.

"If only we could divert their manpower and attention to somewhere else. Then we can just sneak in, rescue the survivors and safely escort them outside"…

"You are asking too much, besides even if we somehow can divert their attention how will we escape their eyes? All the people in the town are under their control. We will be discovered even before we step inside the town"…

"Dammit, is there nothing we can do?"… Meanwhile when the adventurers were trying to find a solution, Annette stepped towards Cynthia and spoke something in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"What? Can something like… No, if it's him then it's no surprise. Alright, please do so, I will convince the others".

Saying so, Annette stepped forward in front of the adventurers and decidedly declared.

"There is still a way, everyone do not lose sight of our objective. While rescuing the hostages is our primary goal, nothing will change if we do not defeat the criminal organisations plaguing the tower town"

"Even if we save the hostages now, if we leave the criminal organisations at large, things will only repeat themselves. To make sure that nothing like this happens again, where your friends and families are not taken hostages again we need to defeat them thoroughly. This is a perfect chance, since the other party is only expecting us to raid the cellars, we can take them by surprise if we attack their base. This is the chance to take the Tower Town back".

SILENCE~…

A serious atmosphere engulfed the tent, the various adventurers inside, all had a solemn expression. What Cynthia said was something they had all thought about at least once. However, they had been avoiding addressing it.

They all knew in their head that just saving the hostages would solve nothing, as long as the organisations known as The Vipers and Chaos Order stood, the same events as now would occur once again.

To stop that, they need to push the criminal organisations out of the tower town and take the place for themselves. What the Tower Town has become now, was nothing like the place the adventurers desired.

The place that they once used to call home, the place that was filled with adventurers, excitement, stories, riches and of course dangers… to turn into something like this.

What Cynthia said was also going through their mind, they needed to take the tower town back. After all, it was a place built by adventurers for the adventurers.

"Is there a chance to win? I mean the opponent is a First Grade country after all?" one of the adventurers who had newly joined them asked.

After interrogating the members of the Blades of Ascension and other high ranking members of the criminal organisations, they were fully aware of who their opponent was.

The mastermind behind all this was not the Vipers or the Chaos Order, they were just the front, the true enemy was the First Grade nation, the kingdom of Eldoria. It was no wonder that many adventurers here thought that they had no chance in a full frontal battle.

"Are you doubting her highness? If she is saying to fight, then it must mean that we have a chance. Haven't you witnessed her strength already? Besides, it's time we directly attacked those criminals. Those people who took your loved ones hostage and oppressed you like a slave, don't tell me that you don't want to take revenge on them?".

Wyot got up from his seat and heatedly glared at the adventurers. After finding his wife from one of the recent rescues, he became a devoted follower of Cynthia to the point where he would not tolerate even the slightest slender directed at her.

The intimidation of a level 400+ assassin could be imagined, it quickly forced the whining adventurers to shut their mouths and swallow whatever they were about to say.

After the place became quiet once again, Cynthia continued—

"I know what you guys are concerned about, so let me clear some of your doubts. We will not be fighting a full frontal war, you can be relieved of it. When we attack the criminal organisations, their attention and manpower will be divided. Using this chance we will attack their base and get rid off them in one fell swoop. Don't be mistaken our first priority is still the rescue of the hostages. As such, as soon as we free your families we will commence our battle".

The adventurers looked at each other, one of them stood up and asked "Your Highness, what is your reason for believing that their forces would be divided when we attack them? Is there some kind of intervention happening in the tower town that we don't know about?".

What this young adventurer asked was also in the mind of the others.

"A reasonable question; however, please forgive me for not being able to answer it. For now, I can only ask you all to believe in me and give it your all. I know I'm asking you all to put your lives in line without telling you the reason but please me when I say that we will definitely prevail over them" Cynthia bowed her head and requested.

Even if there were many adventurers here who came from other nations, who here did not know about the princess of Ellesmere.

She wasn't renowned across the lands just for her beauty but also for her tactical and intellectual acumen that allowed her to create a huge merchant chain that operated in multiple kingdoms like the Serene Palace Merchant Guild.