Chapter 262
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 262
Chapter Title: That's Not a Good Idea.
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* * *
Kaboom!
The Green Dragon Clan had deployed the Great Blood Heaven Poison Formation.
The assault against them began with an explosion.
It was the explosives that Gula had previously buried around the fortress using her skills.
A massive, simultaneous blast with no warning lit up the night sky in an instant, shattering their formation.
Thanks to that, the Green Dragon Clan's experts, who suffered a backlash of psyonic energy, took significant internal injuries right from the start.
That much was still manageable.
After all, they were the Green Dragon Clan's elites, boasting the sturdiest bodies and recovery abilities even among the Seven Dragon Society.
The real problem came with the follow-up ambush.
Werewolf-like human-beasts covered head to toe in fur.
Spider-humans spewing webs.
Snake-humans with serpents sprouting from their heads.
Centaur-like beings with the lower bodies of horses, and more.
Hundreds of high-level players, most resembling half-human, half-beast monsters, swarmed them.
This was the true elite force of Forest Guild—not mere gang thugs, but players whose very bodies had mutated into monstrous forms.
If their formation hadn't collapsed.
If their opponents had been any other top-ten guild.
Even caught off-guard, they could have held out using the jungle terrain.
But an ambush by Forest Guild—the one force in the jungle that could match them—was more than enough to push them back.
"Don't waver!"
Of course, they didn't go down without a fight.
Even with their internal injuries, they reformed into martial squads and resisted.
"Hold your positions! Remember that Her Highness is out there fighting right now!"
They knew it.
They were already cornered, and this battle could only end in defeat.
Their only remaining hope was for Maya to return as quickly as possible and turn the tide.
But the psyonic surge from the now-quiet fortress—sharp enough to tingle the skin even from afar—dashed those hopes.
Clearly, Maya was locked in her own fierce battle.
No matter how it ended, she wouldn't be coming to help anytime soon.
Still, no one fled.
To protect their revered princess, they channeled their psyonic energy with resolve to fight to the last man against Forest Guild.
"Kahaha, revenge for our headquarters... Gahk?!"
"Who the hell are y—urk!"
"Aaaagh!"
Forest Guild pressed the Green Dragon Clan relentlessly.
Then, at that moment, a black-haired young man dropped from the sky into the heart of their formation.
Forest Guild members reflexively attacked the mysterious intruder who appeared out of nowhere.
The result was disastrous.
One front kick.
One roundhouse kick.
One heel drop.
Those who attacked the young man were knocked unconscious with a single blow, sent flying in all directions or smashed into the ground.
He had punched a hole in Forest Guild's lines without even using his hands—just by stepping forward.
The culprit, Rimon, shouted immediately.
"All Green Dragon Clan members, withdraw from here now!"
"W-what are you talking about?"
"This is an order from your mistress."
"Nonsense! There's no way Her Highness issued such a command...!"
"You really think so?"
"..."
Barbara fell silent.
Immature as she was, she was still Maya's close aide.
She wasn't foolish enough to miss the reason behind such an order.
"If you understand, then move quickly. The longer you dawdle here, the greater the danger to your mistress holding the rear."
She bit her lip until it bled, hesitating.
Finally, Barbara spoke with lingering doubt.
"...Even if we wanted to retreat, breaking the encirclement in this situation is impossible."
"No need to worry about that."
Rimon stated flatly.
He extended one hand straight like a blade and coldly scanned the Forest Guild members surrounding the Green Dragon Clan.
"I'll clear the path for you."
And he did exactly that.
Swinging his fists.
Delivering kicks.
Charging ahead alone.
With those simple actions, Rimon tore through Forest Guild's encirclement like tissue paper.
Even without drawing his sword, he was a Sword Master.
The superhuman with the world's most perfect physique.
A casual strike from his limbs felled most high-level players like dominoes.
Thanks to him, Barbara and the Green Dragon Clan escaped the encirclement unscathed.
But they weren't out of danger yet.
As if their smooth advance had been a trap all along.
Forest Guild grabbed at their heels with ambushes hidden everywhere, doggedly pursuing.
Each time, Rimon cleared the way.
He stayed behind to cut off the pursuers.
And unexpected reinforcements struck Forest Guild from the rear, sowing chaos.
Without that, the casualties would have been unimaginable.
In that sense, Barbara deserved credit for leading the retreat with minimal losses.
But when they finally returned to Quetzalcoatl headquarters.
Instead of recognition or praise, Barbara faced thunderous wrath.
"Y-you worthless fool!"
Slap!
The old woman who struck Barbara's cheek.
Elder Giselle bellowed, her face flushed with rage and shock.
"What good is saving a hundred or a thousand of those wretches? You should have protected Her Highness even if it meant every last one of you died!"
Harsh words for a disciple who had barely survived.
But not a single person in the meeting room thought them excessive.
Maya was missing.
That alone made everyone who had fought in the battle guilty of a crime deserving death.
"...It was Her Highness's will."
"Which makes your failure all the greater!"
Giselle glared at Barbara as if she wanted to tear her apart and shouted again.
"If you were truly her close aide, you should have defied that order and brought her back! Even if she executed you for it later!"
Blind obedience was something even a dog could do.
A true aide must offer counsel and protect her, even at the risk of incurring the princess's wrath.
Barbara had no rebuttal to Elder Giselle's fiery tirade.
She knew better than anyone that Giselle was right—and that she, as an aide, had followed an order she shouldn't have.
Seeing her disciple bow her scarred head without a twitch drained Giselle's anger.
She sighed wearily.
"If anything happens to Her Highness... what are we supposed to do?"
Of course, such precedents weren't all that rare.
When the clan faced crisis.
Or when foes of that caliber appeared.
The Seven Dragon Society's seven princesses never hesitated to lead the charge as each clan's strongest warriors.
The issue was the one prerequisite that had to be met for them to risk their lives in battle.
"She hasn't even produced an heir yet...!"
Giselle groaned, pressing her forehead.
If Maya had prepared a successor, Giselle would be furious but not despairing.
As long as the bloodline endured, a new princess could rise even if she died.
But Maya remained a virgin.
If she fell, the dragon's pure blood—passed down for nearly a millennium—would end, and the Seven Dragon Society's long-cherished dream would vanish forever.
The Green Dragon Clan's very reason for existence would cease.
'We should have arranged a consort for Her Highness long ago.'
Making excuses for Maya's delay in marriage after Karra's incident had been a mistake.
Then again, they couldn't have stopped her anyway.
Selecting a consort was the princess's prerogative.
Unless their authority plummeted like the Black Dragon Clan's, even elders couldn't interfere in a princess's marriage.
As Giselle lamented the Seven Dragon Society's laws, other elders' voices snapped her out of it.
"We can't just sit here."
"We need to form a search party for Her Highness immediately."
"Searching the entire Amazon will require numbers. Mobilize not just the martial squads but the healers too."
"Agreed. Let's gather personnel."
"Headquarters will provide the supplies and funds."
They had to find and rescue the missing Maya quickly.
United by that single goal, they discussed future plans.
Under the leadership of elders who had long upheld the clan, a plan to rescue Maya took shape swiftly.
Or it seemed to.
"Well, I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Until a certain voice interjected.
Giselle instinctively stiffened and turned at the calm yet undeniable tone.
"...Your Highness the Black Dragon Princess, didn't you say you'd only observe?"
"I did."
"We only permitted it because you sent reinforcements to aid our clan's retreat."
"Yes, I know."
Li Chingwei nodded.
This was the Green Dragon Clan's highest council, attended only by elders and noble house heads.
Even princesses from other clans weren't normally allowed to observe, let alone speak.
Much less offer unsolicited opinions, which could be seen as meddling in internal affairs.
"You know that, so why interfere in our clan's matters?"
Aware of this, Li Chingwei smiled faintly as she explained her intervention.
"Because following that plan will put Maya in even greater danger."
The elders' faces hardened.
They couldn't ignore a remark about Maya's safety.
"...What do you mean by that?"
Could she take responsibility for those words?
Li Chingwei replied calmly to Giselle's icy question.
"Maya is in the Amazon right now. You all know better than anyone how difficult it is to find someone there."
"That's..."
"And now, Monster Lord and Forest Guild control it."
Whether Maya was captured.
Or hiding in the jungle.
Forest Guild would have an airtight vigilance network unlike before.
What would happen if they suddenly sent in a large-scale search party?
The outcome was predictable.
"No matter how many you send, they'll be picked off one by one. If half survive, you'd be lucky."
Giselle's eyes widened at Li Chingwei's matter-of-fact critique.
"Do you think we don't know that?"
"Of course you do. That's why you're rushing to save her even more urgently."
Even if it cost the entire clan—not just half—to save Maya, it wouldn't matter.
Li Chingwei nodded at their unyielding, quintessentially Seven Dragon Society elder gazes.
Then she flashed a peculiar smile.
"But what about after that?"
"After?"
"Do you think Monster Lord will stay holed up in the jungle forever?"
"..."
The elders fell silent.
They knew what kind of person Gula was.
Even if they rescued Maya...
No, especially if they did, that greedy, vengeful lord wouldn't sit idly by.
"Even if you sacrifice countless lives to save Maya, it would just be handing her over to Monster Lord on a platter."