Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Sand Shadow Group (2)
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4.
The moment Cheryl, a Cross Hunter, appeared, none of the Sand Shadow Group members were surprised.
“Do not enter carelessly.”
The Sand Shadow Group members issued a warning, and that was it.
They weren’t shocked by the mere fact that a Cross Hunter had arrived.
There was nothing strange about it.
Cross Hunters were those who knew the truth behind the massive conspiracy called the Mystic Gate and sought to stop it.
In other words, they were a force opposing the followers of the Black Mage.
And the Sand Shadow Group was also a force that had rebelled against Queen Areda, one of the Black Mage’s followers.
With a common enemy—a truly enormous one—in front of them, it wasn’t odd to join hands.
“We’re still in the middle of a conversation. Moreover, how to handle this man is the Sand Shadow Group’s prerogative.”
Of course, the regular members of the Sand Shadow Group didn’t know the full details. Only the executives of the Sand Shadow Group and the Cross Hunters were aware.
From the perspective of the regular members, they had simply joined hands because they were told to from above, and their relationship went no further than that.
“This is not a matter for the Cross Hunters to intervene in.”
They also had no intention whatsoever of handing over decision-making authority regarding the key figure named El Pam to the Cross Hunters.
The Cross Hunters knew that as well.
That was why Cheryl had come here.
As an executive of the Cross Hunters, she could make it possible.
“I’ve brought the arrow.”
“Arrow?”
“It’s Sejan’s arrow.”
She was speaking with Sejan, one of the Sand Shadow Group’s executives and an outstanding archer.
As proof of that conversation, she showed them Sejan’s arrow, and at that moment, the Sand Shadow Group members could no longer exclude Cheryl from the discussion.
However, they didn’t accept it immediately.
“We still don’t trust this man called El Pam. Until our suspicions are cleared, we won’t yield to anyone.”
“The Cross Hunters will vouch for his identity.”
“Words alone won’t earn any trust.”
Cheryl’s expression darkened coldly at the ensuing conversation.
From her perspective, it was a headache-inducing situation in many ways. Of course, it was a headache for the Sand Shadow Group as well.
There was only one exception.
‘Hm.’
El Pam. He wasn’t particularly troubled.
There was no reason for him to be.
‘Nothing bad about this.’
For starters, from his position, Cheryl’s appearance alone boosted the trust in him.
‘If even Cheryl has come, it means something came up where they need me.’
Moreover, the background behind Cheryl’s arrival wasn’t bad for El Pam either.
No matter what, the fact that the Cross Hunters had come this far meant they wanted something from El Pam.
That would naturally lead to a deal.
“I agree.”
Of course, what needed to be done right now was to wrap up the talk with the Sand Shadow Group.
“We don’t believe trust can be bought with mere words.”
So El Pam spoke.
“I’m not confident in human hunting like Hassan. But when it comes to conquering Mystic Gates, no one is more confident than I am.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I propose a deal.”
“A deal?”
“We’ll stake our party’s lives. In exchange, we’ll conquer the corresponding Mystic Gate for you.”
The Sand Shadow Group fell silent at this pure offer of a deal—paying with their lives.
This was the picture El Pam had prepared.
He had never intended to beg for his life from the start.
In his life as an adventurer, he had never once left his fate to the mercy of others.
The same went for the other side.
‘It’s far easier to calculate than to show mercy.’
A party of adventurers who had survived encountering Hassan in the prince’s tomb—they could be used.
This opportunity would surely feel enticing.
And it played out exactly as he expected.
“Those words.”
A reaction came.
“Can you take responsibility for them?”
Three Sand Shadow Group members—one in the center—spoke toward El Pam.
“If we can’t earn your trust here, we die anyway.”
And El Pam readily revealed his resolve.
“There’s one place.”
The Sand Shadow Group readily responded to that resolve.
“What level were the dead adventurers?”
El Pam naturally asked about the difficulty, and the Sand Shadow Group answered.
“The dead ones weren’t adventurers.”
“Then who were they?”
“Cygnus Knights.”
Cygnus Knights. The moment that name was mentioned, the first to stiffen was none other than Cheryl.
‘Cygnus Knights, of all things.’
For one, the value carried by the name of the Cygnus Knights was immeasurable.
‘If it’s Yellow grade.’
Moreover, for them to make such a proposal to El Pam, a 4th Circle adventurer, meant those Cygnus Knights had also reached the 4th Circle realm.
‘Formal knights.’
It meant the dead Cygnus Knights weren’t trainees or apprentices, but proper knights.
The weight of that was indescribable.
‘The skill of a 4th Circle Cygnus Knight approaches 5th Circle.’
Their prowess alone was extraordinary.
The Cygnus Knights didn’t protect and uphold the value of the Maple Alliance for nothing.
At the same circle level, they could display even greater power!
If even such Cygnus Knights had died there, it meant the Mystic Gate’s difficulty was beyond common sense.
‘The problem is the reason they died.’
But even more crucially, there was hardly any scenario in which Cygnus Knights would die.
In other words, the Mystic Gate proposed by the Sand Shadow Group had such an extraordinary reason.
‘It’s Queen Areda’s scheme.’
And what that extraordinary reason was, was obvious.
That made it all the more dangerous.
‘The moment we conquer it and come out, Queen Areda will mobilize every means to kill El Pam.’
The time after conquest would be even riskier.
What if El Pam brought back traces or clues from inside that Queen Areda had killed the Cygnus Knights?
Then the Maple Alliance would step in.
From Queen Areda’s perspective, that would be utterly fatal.
In other words, from the Sand Shadow Group’s view, it was the most reliable place to secure trust.
‘El Pam can’t not know this.’
If Cheryl knew El Pam as she did, he was an adventurer capable of inferring all these circumstances.
And it was just as she expected.
When Cheryl turned her head to look at El Pam, his expression was even more hardened than hers.
“I understand what that means.”
It meant he comprehended.
“It’s too grave a matter to answer immediately. Please allow me to discuss it with my companions.”
“We’ve already heard from your companions. They’ll follow their leader’s words unconditionally.”
El Pam’s expression hardened further at those words.
No one questioned that expression.
Not Cheryl, nor the Sand Shadow Group—they all knew.
‘If he understands the implications of this proposal, he can’t decide easily.’
‘To deliberate means it’s weighable. That’s no ordinary thing.’
‘The fact that Cross Hunters came means there’s something to him, for sure.’
In fact, from their perspective, El Pam even deliberating was astonishing enough.
Normally, upon grasping this meaning, one would despair rather than deliberate, or seek another way out.
That was when it happened.
“It won’t do.”
The words “it won’t do” came from El Pam’s mouth.
No one was surprised by that.
On the contrary, it felt like the natural response.
“This deal is far too disadvantageous for my side.”
“What?”
But the Sand Shadow Group’s reaction changed at his follow-up words.
Less surprise, more doubt.
“What nonsense is that? Are you refusing the proposal?”
“I didn’t say I refuse.”
“Then?”
“I can do it.”
“You can?”
They thought they had misheard.
“Yes, but the risk is high.”
El Pam stated clearly to them.
“So, if you offer merits equal to that risk, I’ll accept the proposal.”
5.
“I’ll accept the proposal.”
Everyone felt bewilderment at El Pam’s words.
It was that absurd.
“Are you trying to negotiate now?”
“I said from the start: a proposal. The one you offered carries risks exceeding the value of our lives, by my standards.”
“You madman!”
At those words, one of the Sand Shadow Group members finally shouted in disbelief.
“Do you think this is a joke? Huh? We could kill you right here and face no issues?”
His anger exploded.
In a way, it was natural.
In a tension-filled, life-on-the-line situation, El Pam’s actions were hard to comprehend.
And they shouldn’t be comprehended.
Meanwhile, El Pam spoke with a serious expression.
“I know the value of my life better than anyone.”
There was no wavering in his words.
In truth, it wasn’t acting.
His desire for survival was, without doubt, fiercer than anyone else’s in the world.
Becoming the Last Adventurer was proof of that.
And it was no different now.
El Pam had prepared a method in a corner of his mind.
‘If negotiations break down, I’ll kill them all and escape if I have to.’
Even for the worst case, a way to survive.
It was the same now.
‘Conquering the Mystic Gate isn’t impossible.’
In fact, from El Pam’s perspective, accepting the proposal wasn’t that difficult.
Cygnus Knights? He acknowledged their strength.
‘But my companions surpass the knights.’
However, his party’s power was no longer something to debate among 4th Circle adventurers.
Even so, El Pam put on an act.
Maintaining a hardened expression, feigning maximum difficulty.
Ultimately, he made a counter-proposal.
‘Still, I need to extract as much as possible.’
For greater gains.
That was El Pam’s way of survival.
Finding the optimal outcome even in the worst situations.
Of course, he wasn’t making this proposal recklessly. El Pam had ample confidence.
‘Queen Areda overreached and showed a gap, which the Sand Shadow Group is targeting. But for them, this is no small risk either.’
The basis of that confidence was none other than the Sand Shadow Group’s position.
‘If my memory serves, the Sand Shadow Group is split into two factions internally.’
The Sand Shadow Group, formed to stop King Abdullah VIII’s tyranny in Ariant, had yet to achieve any notable results.
King Abdullah VIII’s unchecked extravagance was proof.
‘And the biggest headache among them is the radicals.’
Naturally, within the Sand Shadow Group, a faction pushing to form a hit squad and assassinate Abdullah VIII had formed.
The so-called radicals.
But that was far from ideal. If Abdullah VIII were assassinated, what would become of Ariant’s political landscape?
Wasn’t the Sand Shadow Group formed for the suffering people of Ariant?
If that very group brought even greater chaos to Ariant, how could that be justified?
‘In the history I know, the radicals took over the Sand Shadow Group, attempted the assassination, and failed.’
In any case, before El Pam returned to the past, the Sand Shadow Group faced utter disaster in many ways.
Of course, what the Sand Shadow Group worried about afterward never came to pass.
‘It was meaningless anyway.’
Once the Mystic Gate opened and monsters poured out, Ariant’s future ceased to exist.
‘In any case, the ones in front of me are the moderates.’
At any rate, right now, facing El Pam were not the radicals, but their opposing faction: the moderates.
The moderates, who sought to curb Abdullah VIII’s tyranny through proper channels and bring peace to Ariant.
‘From the moderates’ perspective, they’d want to involve the Cygnus Knights here to pressure Ariant.’
For the moderates, to suppress the radicals’ momentum, they desperately needed solid achievements in various ways—and this was exactly that achievement.
That was why.
El Pam could push hard.
‘The desperate ones aren’t me.’
At this moment, at the negotiation table, no one held the advantage more than El Pam.
‘Especially now that Cheryl has appeared.’
Moreover, El Pam’s presence had grown even larger with the Cross Hunters’ arrival!
“What do you want as compensation?”
At El Pam’s proposal, one of the Sand Shadow Group members—the one appearing to be the leader of the three—finally spoke, and El Pam answered.
“Give us a Legendary item.”
“You madman!”
The atmosphere turned hostile once more at that demand.
A Legendary-grade item could change an adventurer’s worth.
For the Sand Shadow Group, already short-handed due to war with Ariant, it was no item to give to an unknown figure.
From El Pam’s side, anything less wouldn’t be worth taking.
Of course, El Pam knew.
The conversation would drag on again.
“That Legendary item.”
Breaking El Pam’s expectation was none other than Cheryl.
“The Cross Hunters will provide it instead, so please accept El Pam’s proposal on his behalf.”