Chapter 273: Hunting Down Lance

Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Hunting Down Lance

The Underground City also helpfully informed everyone that the targets of the deathmatch were Lance and four others who had also been chosen by the pillars of light.

However, it didn’t mention the reward from the pillar of light, nor the fact that a Heroic Spirit was watching.

When this regional notification appeared, everyone around settled in to watch the show.

They hadn’t expected someone to be targeted by the Underground City before the second half of the Summer Crown had even officially begun.

It was at this moment that Julius stepped forward from the ranks of the Silver Hand without hesitation.

"Everyone, please, calm down."

He used the Effect of Holy Word, and his voice boomed, drowning out the surrounding din.

"I don’t know what tempting conditions the Underground City just offered through those pillars of light to entice you to act."

"However, if you are willing to give up this chance to attack Lance..."

"I, Julius, on behalf of the Silver Hand Guild, will personally pay each of you a handsome compensation after the Summer Crown is over."

"Whether it’s Gold Coins, High-Level Potions, or Rare Materials, you can come and negotiate with me."

Julius’s offer was incredibly sincere.

Just as Julius finished speaking, the scraping of armor echoed from the Golden Lion Cross Faction’s area.

A tall young man, carrying a Dark Gold Tower Shield that was half his height, emerged from the crowd step by step.

"My apologies, Captain of the Silver Hand."

The young man’s gaze was locked on Lance in the distance.

"The pillar of light contained the coordinates for the Iron Guard Lord. The Underground City has already locked it in."

"This is an opportunity I cannot pass up."

With that, he hefted his great Shield and, ignoring the ugly look on Julius’s face, began to advance step by step toward Lance in the center of the arena.

His reasoning was pragmatic.

If the person who had secured this locked spot was Julius or some other famous captain from a Grand Guild, he might have reconsidered his own strength and hesitated to be the first to step forward.

But this guy, Lance, had no Guild insignia and wasn’t even wearing a decent set of Enchanted Armor.

It seemed he had simply used the Silver Hand’s connections, plus some unknown achievement, to climb to the top.

He had heard that some achievements offered great advantages but also risked angering the Underground City.

It looked like that’s exactly what this guy had done.

’A guy like this... what right does he have to make me give up a spot that’s within my grasp?’

He was already in the top ten of the individual rankings. How could he be willing to fall behind the others for no good reason?

Besides, this was a four-on-one fight. He couldn’t think of any reason they would lose.

They could wear him down with sheer numbers.

Many people recognized the young man who had stepped forward.

Leonel!

A rising genius within the Golden Lion Cross Guild, who at only twenty-four was already a bona fide Level 4 Wall Knight!

He had even been part of a Golden Lion Cross team that successfully defeated a Lord Level Demon.

Leonel’s move seemed to break some unspoken agreement.

From two other directions across the square, two more figures with powerful auras emerged simultaneously.

One was a man in a green camouflage cloak, holding a White Bone Longbow.

Aquina, a Level 4 Forest Ranger.

The other was a burly man in Heavy Armor, wearing Fist Armor on both hands.

Albert, a Level 4 Judgement Warrior.

Both were veteran Lone Wolf Adventurers renowned in the Rusted Stone Echo Dungeon, and both had ranked in the top ten of the individual leaderboards for this Summer Crown.

The crowd instinctively backed away, clearing a large circular space in the center of the square.

Julius’s expression instantly sank.

He turned to the Silver Hand members behind him and gave an order. "The coming battle does not concern the Guild’s interests. I am entering this fight on my own."

With that, he drew the Knight’s Longsword from his hip, preparing to shield Lance.

In truth, Julius had transferred a large portion of his guilt over Nieve onto Lance.

He believed that since Lance was his brother-in-law, he had a responsibility to protect the young man, just as he had a responsibility to protect his sister. ℯ

Last time, at the conference table, he had been forced to sacrifice Nieve for the greater good.

This time, however, he was determined to intervene.

However, just as Julius took his first step...

A figure in a Silver Mage Robe blocked his path.

It was Cecil, the Deputy Captain of the Golden Lion Cross.

"My apologies, Julius."

Cecil’s fingers gently traced the edge of his tome, a faint smile on his lips.

"If you insist on interfering, then this ceases to be a personal matter."

"As the Deputy Captain of the Golden Lion Cross, I will not stand by and watch you bully one of our own."

Cecil’s intervention instantly ratcheted up the tension.

"Julius."

Nieve, having arrived at some point with the Minstrel Bazzer, was now among the Silver Hand ranks.

"It’s all right. Lance can handle this on his own."

She reached out a small hand and gently tugged on Julius’s Arm Armor, her tone still placid.

She wasn’t worried.

After spending so much time with Lance, she and he had developed a deep, unspoken understanding.

She could sense that Lance, standing in the center of the square, was in the relaxed state of a predator on the hunt.

This was the state he was usually in when clearing out Demons.

It was completely different from the tension she’d felt when they encountered that Steam Mechanician in the mines of the First Area.

She didn’t know where his confidence came from.

But Nieve trusted Lance unconditionally!

Hearing Nieve’s words, Julius fell silent for a good ten seconds before finally loosening his grip on his sword and pulling back his right foot.

He retreated back into the ranks without a word.

Seeing this, Cecil chuckled softly and also turned back to rejoin the Golden Lion Cross’s formation.

As he passed by his captain, Felix...

...the Lion King Knight, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"You shouldn’t have provoked Julius."

Cecil shrugged nonchalantly. "Leonel’s family and mine have significant spice trade dealings in the Royal Capital."

"His family elders specifically asked me to look after him here. I can’t just stand by and let him get the short end of the stick, can I?"

The Golden Lion Cross was precisely that sort of noble-led organization, woven together from a complex web of interests.

Unlike the Silver Hand, which was driven purely by honor and camaraderie, the Golden Lion Cross was held together by vast financial chains, inter-family marriages, and business transactions.

Felix didn’t look at Cecil. His eyes remained fixed on Lance in the distance, his voice laced with a warning.

"That guy, Lance... he’s not to be underestimated."

"Leonel isn’t guaranteed to win."

He had a special danger-sensing Specialty. When he imagined himself standing in the arena, that sense seemed to scream at him.

’Don’t go. You’ll die!’

Cecil just gave a careless nod, clearly not taking his captain’s warning to heart.

At that moment, all eyes in the square were fixed on the four people facing off in the arena.

"Four-on-one? Then why are there only three of them?" someone in the crowd muttered in confusion.

Just as everyone assumed the fourth person chosen by the Underground City had backed out due to cowardice...

Lance, standing in the center of the arena, felt his right ear twitch almost imperceptibly.

The Talent from the Sound Wing Beast, [Vibrato Resonance], activated!

[Your Perception cap is increased by 2. Within a fifteen-meter radius, you can construct a three-dimensional, dynamic outline of your surroundings and any enemies within it by sensing sonic reflections and air currents.]

Though his eyes saw nothing, the three-dimensional sonar map in Lance’s mind detected a faint tremor in the air—an object approaching his left flank at astonishing speed!

TING!

A sharp ring of metal on metal suddenly shattered the air.

Just as a dagger glowing with green Ether Energy was about to strike Lance...

A mass of metallic red Ether Energy materialized without warning on his left arm, forming a thick, crystalline Ethereal Round Shield.

[Heart Intent Martial Structure] manifested as a Shield!

With the attack blocked, the dagger’s wielder, who had been invisible, was forced to reveal himself.

Everyone present recognized him: Jedel, the Hidden Poison Assassin. He was famous for his stealthy assassinations and his skill in hunting with poison mists, and had been ranked sixteenth on the leaderboards.

He was the fourth man!

Jedel’s strike had been long-planned and was incredibly powerful.

CRACK!

Spiderweb cracks immediately spread across the surface of the crystalline Ethereal Round Shield.

After all, the Shield was constructed purely from crystallized Ether and had a base Hardness of only 3. It was no match for a full-power Armor Piercing Strike from a Level 4 Assassin.

But this revealed the most broken thing about Ether Energy Weapons!

As long as an enemy couldn’t completely annihilate the crystallized Energy structure in a single instant, Lance could use his own Ether Energy to infinitely reconstruct and repair it!