Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~

Chapter 49: Scarlets Research 3 (4)

"So terrifying that I cant help but feel excitement!"

Even as they said, there was curiosity and joy at the prospect of being able to satisfy said curiosity. In a way, their innocent, unabashed joy was perhaps more chilling than the malicious laughter from the Four-headed Dragon. It was said that the best adventurers were broken in some ways as people. The men of Ars Longa definitely had questionable characters. Which turns into a massive problem when leading such people.

Cedric pulled his head away from Ars Longa.

"What do you think, Gerald? Its clearly bait."

Another scream arose from the ruins again. They have no idea if it was a monster attacking the mages inside. But there was one thing they knew.

The enemy was torturing his captives, not killing them, but waiting for them to come to their rescue.

Of course, Gerald could read that much into it. It was a common trick employed by intelligent monsters.

"I understand. But if there's something in the ruins that's attacking people, it's part of our job description to investigate and, if possible, kill it."

"What about saving the mages?"

"Disregard them. We'll search slowly. Keep an eye out for surprise attacks and traps and figure out the identity of the monster."

The answer to the question was a ruthless one. But there was no way around it. In any case, they were taken prisoner because they tried to steal a march on them. While facing an unknown enemy - perhaps even the boss of the Trees of Darkness - they could not afford the luxury of aiding a laggard. The best they could do was to outwit the enemy by prioritising identification of the enemy and escape from the enemy who expects them to rescue their comrades.

Nevertheless, a leader who chose to abandon his allies in a crisis was likely to demoralise those who remained. No one was going to risk their life for the group if they might be abandoned. The silver in the lining was that the Alliance had no need to worry about that. Not because they were all courageous or trusting of one another, but because there was no cooperation from the parties from the beginning.

"We're the only ones that we can rely on, aren't we? I was half-thinking that the whole time."

"Don't say further, Cedric. You think we can enter the ruins, Gotsch?"

"Yeah, eah. I'll see what I can do."

At the leader's confirmation, the expert thief raised his hand.

There were demons and other intelligent monsters that often used castle ruins and other man-made structures as their strongholds. In order to sneak into the area and defeat their targets, adventurers had to be familiar with traps. This was also the case with their adventures in the west.

"Are you sure we are going?"

"Of course we are, goddamn. We can't come all this way and leave empty-handed!"

"We're finally entering the ruins! How exciting!"

"Exploring the ruins or the monsters? Which should we prioritise? It's so hard to choose!"

The Four-headed Dragon tried to drag the last surviving member along. As for the members of Ars Longa, they were fearless and wanted to enter the darkness within the entrance. The Apostles of Dawn were probably already inside. And if there was a humanity threatening monster that existed inside, the Scarlet Shield was ready to meet it head-on.

The alliance of adventurers decided to all enter the ruins.

=================

Uni: Master. What does this sentence, 'In the primitive times, women were the sun' mean?

Tu: It's a phrase that somehow makes it sound like an ancient temple.

N O T H I N G S P E C I A L.

That was what I came up with randomly with what I know.

Uni: Is that so?

Such was the conversation they might have possibly had.