Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: 61. Party Re-formation (3)
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7.
The Hydra's Heart expedition team was assembled quickly.
There was no reason for it to be slow.
Quite a few survivors remained among the Resistance members who had previously launched an assault.
Above all, the Mystic Gate's location was none other than the Resistance's secret headquarters.
Summoning members, procuring items, handling repairs and supplies—it was inevitable that everything could be done the fastest there.
With all preparations already complete, everyone simply waited.
“They're here.”
For El Pam's party to assemble fully.
That was the extent of it.
“Have you prepared well?”
“Thanks to you, we're fully ready.”
El Pam's party occupied an absolutely dominant position in this expedition.
‘Why are they treating him like that...’
At first, the other Resistance members had no idea.
Those in the know, like Albi, hadn't spread word of El Pam's exploits.
‘Orders from above, so we trust it.’
But there were no doubts.
That was the Resistance.
An organization that threw itself fully into any mission without a shred of question.
‘For freedom.’
After all, they knew better than anyone that it was all for Edelstein's freedom.
So there was no hesitation.
“We'll begin the expedition shortly.”
Even after surviving a brush with death once before, no one hung their head at the order.
“Then, let's enter!”
At Albi's follow-up words, everyone stepped forward exactly as they had during the prior Blue-grade raid.
And so, they all crossed beyond the Mystic Gate's shimmering blue portal.
8.
The moment they passed through the portal, a blizzard-swept world filled their vision.
It was a harsh environment.
Yet the expedition team faced it without a trace of worry.
Far from worrying, everyone was fully prepared.
Because they already knew.
About the blizzard raging here.
“It's real.”
But El Pam's companions, Dibo included, couldn't help marveling at the sight.
“They really know the information inside the Mystic Gate?”
Finding the Mystic Gate wasn't enough—they had transported it, and even knew its contents?
Honestly, when El Pam first explained it, his companions hadn't half-believed him—they flat-out refused to.
Had it been anyone else saying it, they wouldn't have even listened.
It had stayed the same afterward.
Doubts lingered heavily, but now, experiencing it firsthand, they had no choice but to accept the truth.
And it wasn't just that.
From amid the howling blizzard came a sound.
Awoooo!
The howl of werewolves.
Since everyone had known about it in advance, no one was particularly startled.
Of course, that didn't mean they could relax completely.
Something unforeseen—different from their intel—could erupt from anywhere.
And that wasn't all.
‘Say what you will, this is where the Maple Alliance failed. It can't be ordinary.’
Considering whose tomb this place was, they had zero leeway to drop their guard.
That was why.
“Albi.”
“Speak.”
“From now on, our party will operate independently.”
“Yes?”
El Pam sought out Albi with that proposal.
“What do you mean?”
“Our party will secure the route. The Resistance can follow along it.”
Albi's eyes narrowed at the suggestion.
It was hard to grasp.
Splitting their forces wasn't a good call for any number of reasons.
Above all, the Resistance possessed the攻略 guide.
They knew what monsters appeared here, and where the exit to the next floor lay.
True, unknown threats meant scouts were necessary—but what El Pam's party proposed went beyond mere scouting.
They aimed to be pathfinders.
“The route is definite. That's why we need to verify it even more thoroughly.”
That was the reason.
“We have to doubt the攻略 guide.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Albi understand El Pam's point.
“And no party finds paths better than ours.”
Albi nodded at those words.
At this point, there was no reason to refuse.
Just one thing left to do.
“Please, we're counting on you.”
Offer thanks.
El Pam nodded in response before vanishing into the blizzard.
9.
Awoooo!
Werewolf howls reverberated through the raging blizzard.
But for El Pam's party, traversing that spine-chilling scene, the word fear held no meaning.
“Werewolves—it's been so long, it almost feels nostalgic.”
They had hunted countless werewolves in the past.
And unlike back then, everyone was now at the 6th Circle.
Not just any 6th Circle, but one forged through grueling training and practice!
It would be stranger if they lacked confidence.
Of course, tension remained ever-present.
Even as they advanced leisurely, El Pam's party kept vigilant watch on their surroundings.
Whoosh!
They didn't miss even the sound of the wind.
Sss!
Meanwhile, their footsteps were quieter than ever.
Snow tracks were unavoidable, but the noise was so faint it barely seemed like they were walking.
Remarkably, there was only a single set of footprints.
Everyone followed in the exact same trail.
Proof that their teamwork had reached a level indistinguishable from a single entity.
“Boss.”
Naturally, they all knew.
“Pathfinder is just a pretext, right? The real goal is something else.”
That El Pam's true aim right now was entirely different.
“Has to be. Why else tell the commander?”
Commander Sigmund had shared the Maple Alliance's failure only with El Pam's party, keeping it from the Resistance.
He knew their morale would crater the instant it got out.
In other words, Commander Sigmund had acknowledged it.
That El Pam's party wouldn't be cowed by the intel—and would find a way forward.
And El Pam's solution was singular.
“Looks like the goal is to eliminate whatever caused the Maple Alliance to fail. Am I right?”
Eliminate the cause.
In short, El Pam wasn't here to find a path—he was here to carve one, to clean house.
By any common sense, it was madness.
Five people accomplishing what the Maple Alliance couldn't?
“Yeah, that's the boss's style.”
But El Pam's party no longer invoked common sense.
Above all, they trusted themselves.
“So just say the word whenever. I'll wipe them all out.”
Right now, Dibo and the others were brimming with power they could barely contain.
Seeing his companions like that, El Pam nodded.
“You nailed it.”
His companions smiled at the answer.
“Halfway.”
“Huh?”
But his follow-up left them all cocking their heads.
Nailed it is nailed it—what's this halfway business?
“So what's the other half?”
“Eliminate the reason the Maple Alliance failed. And eliminate the boss monster here.”
“Yes?”
El Pam's party couldn't hide their shock at his words.
“Eliminate the boss monster? You mean we conquer this place solo?”
No matter how you sliced it, wasn't this the Mystic Gate where the Maple Alliance had failed?
And it didn't end there.
The difficulty here was undoubtedly far higher now than when they had tried.
Tackling a place like that alone was impossible, no matter how you looked at it.
So they all chimed in.
“I'm against it!”
“Yeah, this is insane. I'm against it too.”
“Even I think it's too much.”
“As expected of the boss! Brilliant plan! I knew I could count on you!”
“What?”
Ralph, of course, was the exception.
“Hey, Ralph, what the hell?”
“Exactly what I said. I trust the boss!”
“So what do you trust?”
“This is where the Maple Alliance failed. That means all the items they left behind are still here! If we go solo, they all become ours!”
Everyone stared at Ralph with utter disbelief at his explanation.
Apparently, reaching the 6th Circle had leveled up his greed for riches too.
“Boss, you're not saying items are the goal, right?”
“Right.”
“Huh?”
Naturally, El Pam had no intention of passing them up.
“Like Ralph said, claiming the Maple Alliance's leftover items is one reason.”
But it wasn't the whole story.
“The real target is the Hydra's Heart. Securing that's my goal. And to do that, we move alone.”
The biggest reason El Pam had chosen this place from the start was none other than the Hydra's Heart.
From his perspective, he had to obtain it no matter what.
“Even so, isn't going alone way too risky?”
“Right now, sticking together is riskier. The Resistance might betray us.”
“Betray us?”
The doubts only deepened.
Anything else aside, picturing the Resistance turning traitor was a stretch.
But in El Pam's eyes, with even their secret headquarters under Black Wing's watch, it would be stranger if there were no traitors.
“It's not confirmed yet.”
He phrased it that way, but El Pam was all but certain.
No one pressed further.
“So we'll make the call after checking the Maple Alliance bodies and assessing the situation. If I'm wrong, we just neutralize the threats and proceed with the Resistance. But if betrayal caused their failure, we conquer solo.”
The moment they heard that, El Pam's companions could feel it.
‘If the boss is saying this...’
‘Then the odds are high.’
El Pam's warnings always came true.
And this time was no different.
Awoooo!
While leaving markers for the Resistance amid the werewolf howls, El Pam's party soon spotted the exit to the 2nd floor.
“We're crossing.”
The instant they entered the 2nd floor, a dense forest sprawled before them. There, El Pam's party made a discovery.
“Bodies.”
Corpses of Maple Alliance adventurers.
“...Not monsters—adventurers did this. No monster wields swords or arrows like that.”
And the unmistakable traces of betrayal left on those bodies.
“Boss was right.”
The sight left El Pam's party's minds in turmoil.
The boss had been correct, so following his choice made sense.
But it was still hard to accept.
No matter what, conquering this grueling stage with just their party seemed impossible.
That was the moment.
Kee!
“Damn!”
A monster slithered toward their position with a snake-like hiss.
“Green Cornians!”
Towering lizards standing on two legs, gripping wicked blades in both hands—a horde of Green Cornians.
Not one, but over a hundred of those Minar Forest terrors.
‘No warning whatsoever.’
What terrified them more was that, despite their constant vigilance, they hadn't detected a thing until now.
That was the Green Cornians' horror.
Unlike Centaurus, who broadcast their presence boldly, Green Cornians moved with assassin-like silence.
Of course, one exception existed.
El Pam—he had sensed their approach moments earlier.
The reason he held back was simple.
“Boss, what do we do?”
El Pam donned Hyperion's helmet.
“Watch.”
“Huh?”
And then he demonstrated.
“Fire Arrow.”
A blazing arrow of blue flame.