Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

Chapter 236

The City of the Estranged Wolves (4)

“Brother, what is this situation?”

Do Seung-min, who clung tightly to the seat next to me, asked me.

Do Seung-min is an assassin in Team B of the assault team.

I deliberately assigned him to the same team as me.

[Silver Moonshadow] The Holder with the rune has the potential to play a big role in this dungeon raid if he is polished a little.

That’s why I put him next to me to teach him directly.

Anyway, for now, Do Seung-min is the weakest assassin Holder in our assault team.

I’m just a sophomore Holder myself, so how can I take a disciple?

It’s just that I added one special management target to the assassin members who have to go in two per team.

“Call me Captain, Holder Do Seung-min.”

That’s that, and this is this.

I don’t know why this kid keeps calling me brother whenever he gets a chance.

It’s only been three days since we actually met.

“Ah. I’m sorry, Captain. But you can comfortably call me…”

“…I’ll do that myself.”

“Ah, yes!”

Ah, Seung-min…

I can’t help but sigh at the words of my inexperienced little brother.

It feels like I’ve gained a real little brother since we even have the same last name.

I looked up again and looked ahead.

—–!!

Grrrr…!!

The rough roars of the werewolves and the silent momentum of some lycans can be felt.

At a glance, the number of werewolves is about 30?

20 of them were on the other side of the hill, and behind them were three lycans.

The lycans boasted much larger bodies, soft fur, and rippling magic than the werewolves… And even one of the lycans in the middle had dark blue fur.

‘That one must be the leader.’

It is commonly said that ‘lycanthropes have silver fur’, but in reality, the fur colors of lycans vary greatly.

To be precise, lycans of a certain strength or higher, S-grade lycans, have different fur colors even among their own kind.

In other words, among the five lycans over there, the four with silver fur are probably A-grade, and the middle one is likely the leader, an S-grade.

In terms of dungeon monsters, it would be a mid-boss level.

‘And on our side…’

On the other hand, the lycans near us…

There were only two lycans near the hill.

Their colors were all silver too, A-grade lycans, and the werewolves with them numbered only 10.

Vastly outnumbered compared to the other werewolf/lycans.

Naturally, they were at a disadvantage in the ongoing battle.

“Captain, what are you thinking of doing?”

Lim Hyun, the team leader of Team C nearby, asked me.

Clearly, as a veteran Holder with a lot of assault team experience, the level of his question was qualitatively different.

What to do.

Right.

What they were and what the situation was didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that a certain situation had arisen in the middle of the dungeon raid, and our assault team had to decide how to deal with that situation.

That was the key.

“We’ll help them.”

“Help… Them?”

At that word, help, which is highly inappropriate when dealing with monsters, not only Lim Hyun but most of the assault team members looked at me with puzzled expressions.

I fixed my gaze toward the hill and gave them the answer.

“Do you all remember the phrase that popped up in the information window when you first entered the dungeon?”

The information window upon entry.

Along with the phrase [You have entered the dungeon.], there was the peculiar phrase [You set foot in the ‘Baraten’ camp.’]

That unusual information window, which did not exist in existing dungeons.

At the time, the assault team members simply regarded it as one of the pieces of information to unravel for the dungeon raid, but in fact, the key to the raid was in that phrase from the beginning.

“Setting foot in the Baraten camp. That could literally mean the name of this dungeon, but if we take it literally… It could also mean that we’ve come into a specific camp within the dungeon.”

I gestured with my chin toward the hill.

“And their battle could be a fight between that camp and another camp. After all, there has been no information in the Holder community so far about monsters fighting each other.”

“…Wow!”

“Ah…!”

Some of the squad members exclaimed in admiration after I finished explaining that far.

The power struggle between those lycanthropes who seemed to be from different factions.

We would get involved in the midst of it and take the side of one faction.

They finally understood the meaning of my earlier declaration that we would ‘help’ them.

Of course, for squad members who had no prior information about this dungeon, my speculation and decision may have seemed like a reckless mistake.

After all, it would appear extremely unusual from the common sense of Holders to fight while helping monsters.

However, I am not the one who decides the answer.

The squad leader presents the direction the squad will proceed in, and is the person responsible for the outcome.

I simply chose what I thought was the best path based on the clues given from when we entered the dungeon.

Perhaps that’s why…

While some squad members still looked at me with uncomprehending faces, those who understood this overall process were looking at me with sparkling eyes.

In particular, Lim Hyun’s eyes were shining so brightly it was burdensome.

…Did I score some points as the squad leader?

“I understood the squad leader’s words to some extent. So which side are we going to help?”

Another squad member from one side asked.

Angela Gremville.

She was a key squad member who performed great feats as a mage in Team A.

I turned my gaze back up at her sharp question.

“The side with fewer numbers.”

“…Is there a reason we have to help that side?”

“It has to be dramatic.”

I answered her follow-up question right away.

In fact, I already knew that the side with fewer numbers was the Baraten faction, but I added some more rational reasons to help the squad members understand.

“Even if we help the side with greater numbers, we won’t be able to contribute much to their victory in battle. It’s a fight they would win even without us. Not being able to influence those who may be at the core of the new information and dungeon, and its exploration strategy – that certainly wouldn’t be good news for us.”

I paused for a moment to catch my breath before continuing.

“So we will help the numerically disadvantaged lycanthropes. So that our influence can reach them.”

“But what if the disadvantaged lycanthropes aren’t the Baraten faction?”

Angela fired off another sharp question in succession.

I was inwardly surprised.

This woman is quite perceptive about the core of the exploration strategy.

Based only on the clues given so far and my speculation, she had figured out that we had to side with a particular faction.

She wasn’t Team A’s ace for nothing.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…It doesn’t matter?”

“Yes. Although the place we’ve come to is the camp of those called the Baratens, that doesn’t mean we have to absolutely side with them. It’s fine to help another camp. And all of this is just speculation anyways, there’s nothing certain about it. We may have to fight against the disadvantaged Lycanthropes right after helping them.”

Of course, it’s all nonsense.

To explore the dungeon, we absolutely have to side with the Baraten camp.

The Clark tribe is an aggressive tribe that can’t be negotiated with in the first place.

I know that fact well, and I also know that the disadvantaged lycanthropes are Baratens.

But I couldn’t tell the squad members the truth, so I just added sophistry to package it as a plausible reason.

“……”

Angela looked like she had more to say, but soon she nodded in acceptance of my opinion.

—–!!

Grrrroooaarr…!!

Bang! Kwagagaga-!!

The momentum on the battlefield began to shift rapidly.

The Clark lycanthropes relentlessly pushed back the Baraten lycanthropes using their numerical advantage and superior abilities, and it seemed the battle would soon end in a Clark victory.

“All offensive warrior-type and assassin-type members, follow me.”

At that, I immediately gave instructions to the squad members.

It was the formation of a separate task force, without dividing into teams.

In such a sudden attack situation, the efficiency of defensive warrior-types isn’t very high, so they were assigned to guard the rear while the offensive warriors and assassins formed the task force.

They had rune settings specialized for offense, mostly possessing ‘Movement Runes.’

Moreover, with the aid of recovery properties and items, they could maximize their speed to the extreme.

And moving at that utmost speed…

They aimed for the ‘side’ of the ongoing lycanthrope battle.

‘Call of the Contract.’

Amidst the swiftly moving squad members, I immediately used the [Summon] rune.

The contract monster summoned was Tyrbon.

The one who had fought alongside me the most battles.

His huge size would immediately give away our presence, but in such chaotic battle there was no better charging mount than him.

Kyaoooo–!!

Amidst the howls of the wolves, the rough roar of the wyvern rang out.

I leapt up to board the Tyrbon that had appeared in midair, and simultaneously drew out [Wyvern Spear] as well.

Tyrbon’s unstoppable charge was due to [Greatest Racehorse Under Heaven].

And the [Accel Piercing] used in sync with it.

There was no more effective attack when it came to ambush and striking first.

‘Tyrbon, faster.’

-This is the maximum, master.

The target was the navy-colored lycanthrope standing in the center.

Seemingly the leader of the Clark camp lycanthropes.

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