Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 205

Kaga-gang!

Eile, parrying the sword, was pushed back.

A battle broke out with the two rankers in front of the bridge, and he couldn’t even step onto it as he had to take care of the unconscious Princess Seia behind him.

The Apollion rankers who rushed from the other side were skilled individuals in the 800s and 900s respectively.

‘Damn it, I don’t have time for this…’

Eile was anxious amidst the fierce battle.

Considering that Alisa hadn’t even entered the rankings yet and was a healer vulnerable to small-scale PVP [Player versus Player combat], she was holding up better than expected.

But now was not the time to deal with them like this.

He had to shake them off as quickly as possible and cross the bridge, but they weren’t going to let him go easily.

‘They’re not giving me any openings, no matter how I try to shake them off.’

As the princess’s life was at stake, they could have launched an aggressive offensive, but they focused solely on defense and restraint, mainly trying to stall for time.

They were cutting off any possibility and not even allowing a gamble.

They were diligently carrying out the guild’s orders without showing any unnecessary pride.

However, just because they were on the defensive didn’t mean they were being entirely passive.

They were always ready to switch to offense, so he couldn’t let his guard down.

If he recklessly turned his back to shake them off, his neck would be pierced immediately.

The fact that the unconscious princess was behind him also meant that he couldn’t move or maneuver as freely as he wanted.

In terms of his mission, the princess’s safety was the top priority, and that was what the opponents were aiming for as well.

‘Should I use this…’

Eile’s gaze flickered to the skill window.

A newly acquired legendary active skill.

He didn’t know what kind of variable it was yet, and he couldn’t use it carelessly as he had to wait six hours once it was used.

But in a situation like this, he had no choice but to consider using his last resort.

“This way!”

In the meantime, a shout came from behind them.

No less than four Apollion rankers were approaching from behind.

“Damn it…”

Eile and Alisa’s faces darkened at the sight of the rankers approaching from both sides, trapping them.

A desperate situation with no way out.

“First, the princess… Keheok!”

Kwang!

Lambic, who had approached in an instant, sent one of the rankers flying into the wall.

The Apollion rankers immediately went on alert at the appearance of Nightmare’s executive and powerful high ranker.

“It’s Nightmare!”

“Four melee and one summoner! Respond!”

Almost simultaneously with their shouts, Nightmare’s rankers, clad in black armor, appeared all at once.

It wasn’t just the Apollion rankers who were searching the maze forest; the allied rankers had followed suit as the ceiling collapsed.

Kaang!

“Protect the princess first!”

Lambic shouted, wielding his weapon with all his might.

Amidst the chaotic melee, he pulled back, protecting not only the princess leaning against the wall but also Eile and Alisa.

Kwagwagwang!

“There are many Apollion bastards in the forest, so it’s impossible to go above ground! Have you found an escape route!”

Lambic shouted amidst the battlefield where explosions were ringing out one after another.

The tremendous noise created by more than ten rankers colliding made it barely audible even when shouting at the top of his lungs, causing him to frown.

“Yes, I have a place in mind!”

“Understood! The guild leaders are here too! I’ll cover you, so go as fast as you can!”

Karin and Solos, the guild leaders of Nightmare and Dawn, had come to this maze forest themselves.

This clearly showed the importance of this mission, and it was no exaggeration to say that the guilds had put their lives on the line.

“Ron, hurry up!”

“Understood!”

Kiiiik!

Ron, a summoner ranker in the 600s.

His unique summon, a wyvern, glided from below the valley and landed in front of them, carrying them on its back as if throwing them.

“Go quickly! If you get the princess, this battle is as good as won!”

Eile nodded from the back of the wyvern as he felt himself floating up.

Whoong!

The wyvern, spreading its wings in an instant, turned to leave this place.

The Apollion ranker naturally drew his bow to stop him, but Lambic, who had quickly closed the distance, blocked him.

“Let’s go that way.”

Eile, holding Seia tightly, pointed the direction to the wyvern.

According to the original plan, they would have crossed the bridge, but going around the valley would allow them to go up through a shortcut.

He wanted to take this guy and escape all the way if he could. But the summons of users who moved with magic had a limited duration and could not deviate beyond a certain distance from the caster.

“We got over a hurdle thanks to them.”

“Yes, but the problem is that there’s still a lot left.”

Eile wiped the sweat from his forehead as he replied.

Even at this moment, the sound of the rankers’ battle, which was getting louder and louder, reached his ears.

* * *

Paat!

Sunlight poured down on Eile and Alisa as they emerged from the underground dungeon.

Thanks to the summon’s help, which greatly reduced the route, they were able to safely ascend to the forest on the ground.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

There were pursuers they encountered in the middle, but thanks to the quick addition of Dawn’s rankers, including Arie, a high ranker in the top 20, they were barely able to escape.

If it weren’t for the rankers’ help, they would have been caught without a doubt, such was the tenacity of the pursuit.

“It was right around here, wasn’t it?”

“This way.”

Alisa, lowering her posture, took the lead.

They had barely escaped the underground dungeon, but the Apollion guild members were lurking in the forest on the ground as well.

But there was a reason why they chose this exit, even though it was somewhat roundabout.

Paat!

As they cautiously entered behind the bushes intertwined with giant trees and rocks, a hidden entrance appeared.

“Hoo, we managed to get this far somehow.”

Eile sighed in relief.

This place was a huge underground passage called the ‘Path of Roots’.

Due to the terrain divided by passages that stretched far and wide and complex paths, it was a very useful means of escape for those who knew the terrain.

‘Of course, it’s too early to rest assured…’

Their opponents now were numerous rankers.

Even if they entered a little-known passage, they didn’t have time to erase their traces one by one, so the Apollion guild members who had been chasing them would soon find this place and follow them.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Yes.”

They had stopped for a while to do some simple work, but they started moving their legs diligently again.

As they entered the entrance, the long passage was intertwined with large and small stems.

As the name suggested, the interior of the passage had a complex structure like the inside of a giant tree.

But they wouldn’t get completely lost.

‘It’s a bit different from looking at the map, but this is nothing.’

Both of them shared some information about the structure of this place, so they were able to navigate the complex terrain without getting too lost.

Of course, they hoped that the pursuers chasing them would get lost in this complex path.

But they would also be pouring out top-notch tracking skills and items, so there was no telling what would happen.

Kuwoong!

At that moment, a faint explosion and a great tremor were transmitted from afar.

“Damn it…”

“It looks like they’ve already caught up.”

Eile and Alisa reacted simultaneously.

The explosion and tremor just now were the sound of a simple explosive trap installed at the entrance using a magic scroll being activated.

It was a device designed to be activated when pursuers entered the entrance, so it meant that the rankers had already entered the passage to chase them.

As expected, once they were discovered, they knew that they would be relentlessly followed and not let go, unless they hadn’t been discovered from the beginning.

But the reason they chose this place as their escape route wasn’t just because the entrance was hidden or the terrain was complex.

It was precarious in many ways, but if things went according to plan, they could shake them off enough.

And then Alisa, who was walking in front, slowly opened her mouth.

“Eile, this may be the last chance, so I should talk about Alcyone and Apollion here.”

“…Please speak.”

Eile reacted to her words.

Originally, she was supposed to tell him slowly while escaping the underground dungeon, but the situation was so hectic that he hadn’t bothered to ask.

But considering that they were hostile to the Apollion Guild after all, information about its predecessor, Alcyone, was essential.

And above all, everything she said now was completely unexpected.

“You may know this, but the early Alcyone was a guild created by seven members.”

“Of course, I know that.”

Eile replied as if it were obvious.

Among gamers, there was virtually no one who didn’t know the anecdote that Alcyone was created by seven people, let alone the nicknames of those seven users.

They were the ones who swept the rankings of Isthorn, which had a ripple effect comparable to Warlord at the time, from 1st to 7th place with overwhelming numbers.

After the game’s opening, they were the ones who raised Alcyone, which was formed late, to an overwhelming position.

Even after growing into the largest force, such as guild master or vice-master, there was no change in the fact that the founding members occupied all the top executive positions.

“The members at that time are all active in Wardore, showing their faces. Yuron, the guild leader of Cerberus, is one of them.”

“No, wait a minute… what is that?”

Eile couldn’t hide his embarrassment at her sudden words.

Cerberus, a prestigious guild that had been around since the 2nd generation game, Armenia Online.

To think that Yuron, the representative of such Cerberus and one of the six great guild leaders of Warlord who enjoyed absolute fame, was from Alcyone.

But assuming that her words were entirely correct, one thought flashed through Eile’s mind.

“Wait, then Cerberus suddenly declared war on the Iron Cross because of that…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Alisa nodded and replied.

It was no coincidence that Cerberus chose to go to war with the Iron Cross in the north without checking Apollion, which was growing rapidly right next to it.

It wasn’t just that they were planning to join hands with Apollion from the beginning, but that an executive from Alcyone was sitting in the position of guild leader of one of the six great guilds.

‘It was definitely an incomprehensible action, but what is this…’

Eile’s expression, filled with embarrassment, did not easily fade.

To think that one of the six great guild leaders was just one of Alcyone’s executives, he couldn’t easily shake off the shock.

But compared to what she would say next, this was nothing.

“And when I was active in Isthorn, I was also an executive of Alcyone. More precisely, I was one of the founding members.”