Regarding the recent events occurring within the Senbiao Sea, the Adventurers Guild has urgently summoned the representatives of the ten great guilds to convene and deliberate.
The location they chose for this meeting was Camp No. 20.
This was a massive pioneer base, significantly larger than any of the other numbered camps, matching the scale of a first-tier city of the Human Race.
Because it sat at the very center of all pioneer bases, it coordinated all pioneering efforts. Surrounded by fourteen major guilds, it was the core heartland for human adventurers.
The General Headquarters of the Adventurers Guild was located within Camp No. 20.
Why was it called the General Headquarters?
It was because the personnel inside this branch of the Adventurers Guild were all civilian staff who handled information from across the entire continent. There was not a single powerful expert among them.
However, everyone knew that the Adventurers Guild definitely had hidden powerhouses backing it. They might even be ancient, undying monsters who would never take action unless absolutely necessary.
Normally, the martial order of the Adventurers Guild was maintained by the top-ranked guilds.
This allowed adventurers to participate in guild affairs, handling matters both great and small together, ensuring that no single voice could dominate the others.
As an ancient organization that had existed for 1,000 years, just like the Cathedral, the Adventurers Guild naturally had its own unique and traditional systems. In some respects, it was even more advanced than the Cathedral, and it lacked the complex, layered, and multi-power operational model of the Church.
However, in terms of longevity and balance, the Adventurers Guild was far inferior to the Church.
The more the Cathedral’s scale expanded, the more it tended toward balance. It was filled with entangled interests, which conversely turned the interior of the Cathedral into a solid block.
Setting aside whether they were good or bad people, the clergy were united. Even when being united meant bullying others, they stood together.
In contrast, the Adventurers Guild throughout history had experienced many bloody coups and internal disasters, with its internal power being reshuffled numerous times.
Yet, the organization of the Adventurers Guild had always managed to survive.
The reason was that most of the internal turmoil originated from the guilds. Whether it was irreconcilable conflicts between guilds, personal grudges, or spies and traitors jumping ship, these issues eventually escalated into full-blown guild wars.
But while the guilds fought to the death, it had nothing to do with the civilian staff at the General Headquarters. If trouble started, they would all just hide.
This was a special technique similar to the “transfer of contradiction.” The guilds were like leeches attached to the Adventurers Guild.
Whether you liked to fight or kill each other, it didn’t matter—only the strongest guilds would be passed down through time.
The ten great guilds of this era were the strongest in terms of overall strength over the last 1,000 years, an era hailed as the Golden Tree Sea Era.
Due to the rise of the Deep Flood and the proliferation of demons, the adventurers of this era were indeed excellent in both strength and quality.
Moreover, they were exceptionally united. It could only be said that the environment of the Deep Flood version was too cruel; everyone had to huddle together to survive.
The relationships between the major guilds were also quite harmonious. Everyone maintained contact, had little issue with the rankings, and frequently cooperated on hunts. It was truly a rare sight.
In the past, when such joint guild meetings were held, the place would turn into a shouting match like a vegetable market within a minute. If a fight didn’t break out within ten minutes, it was considered a success.
“Yaheng brothers, long time no see.”
“Master Yongke, my apologies for the lack of respect.”
“Brother, is Old Man Xu here too? Please take care of me.”
Unlike in the past, the ten guild representatives sat calmly in the conference room, engaging in idle small talk.
Rows of chairs were also placed against the walls of the conference room, and they were also filled with people.
They were partners brought along by the guild representatives. Most were young adventurers being heavily cultivated by the guilds. Some were gifted, and some were humble; they had taken the opportunity to come along to see the world.
However, the Adventurers Guild was a place that placed great importance on seniority. No matter how strong their talent or how great their power, they still had to respect the hierarchy.
There was no room for young people to speak here. They could only watch and listen, but never speak.
Looking closely, the Shield Axe Hero Selina was also sitting off to the side. After all, she was the rising star of the second-ranked Yaoguang Guild.
And her older brother, Duke Yongke of the Divine Sword, as the recognized successor of the Yaoguang Guild and its Vice President, was qualified to sit at the main table. However, he sat there restlessly, feeling out of place among the big group of old foxes around him. He was currently unable to fully embrace his identity.
The bottom five guilds had sent their Presidents to attend.
The top five guilds had not sent their Presidents but instead designated their Vice Presidents to attend. Some guilds had even sent their own Guild Champion to preside.
The so-called Guild Champion was the strongest individual promoted by the guild. They served as the symbol and facade of the guild’s martial might, and they were also the guild’s king of duels—unbeatable in a one-on-one fight.
Because when conflicts arose between guilds, if they didn’t want to start an all-out war, both sides would send someone to settle it in a duel. Over time, the position of Guild Champion became the highest honor.
The Heroes raised by the large guilds were almost all Guild Champions.
Even the Shield Axe Hero Selina was being raised according to this standard, but she was still too young and her strength was a bit lacking, so she couldn’t yet carry the title.
Thus, the Guild Champion sitting at the main table was also one of the five Heroes.
She was the Champion Hero from the third-ranked guild. Her style was something of a fusion between the Saint of the Sword and a Demon-Hunting Nun. She looked as cold as Ophika, and her clothing style was as bold as a Demon-Hunting Nun.
What was even more terrifying was that this mysterious female Hero also wore a ribbon over her chest, and just like certain people, she had her eyes covered. She was simply a large-sized Miworm, looking exactly like how Miworm imagined herself when she grew up in her mind.
This kind of style didn’t even require further introduction. Combined with the bold, stubborn style of the third-ranked guild, her strength was unimaginably powerful, and her personality was likely the most hot-headed of them all.
Precisely because this person sat at the head of the meeting, silent and wearing a faint smile, the big shots of the entire meeting didn’t dare to speak loudly and maintained order.
‘Damn it…’ Duke Yongke of the Divine Sword sat right across from this Champion Hero. The pressure was immense; he felt as if a surging sword intent was about to drown him.
Adding to that his pathetic performance in the Crystal Labyrinth—even failing to protect the Pastoralist lady—what right did he have to be the Vice President? He fell into a deep state of self-doubt.
“Welcome, everyone.”
While he was lost in thought, the representative of the Guild Headquarters arrived, and the meeting officially began.
The receptionists first distributed documents and information to everyone, allowing them to browse through them first.
The representative of the Guild Headquarters said directly, “Everyone’s time is valuable, so I’ll keep this brief. Recently, several strange incidents have occurred around the camps. Several demon nests were completely cleared out during the night.”
“The cleaning was thorough, but no one has come to our guild to turn in the tasks; it was all done privately. This behavior violates our regulations and will cause great trouble for everyone. Does anyone have any information? Who exactly did this?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately broke into a flurry of discussion. Finally, they could speak loudly.
However, after discussing for a long time, there was no answer. Everyone claimed they didn’t know, it wasn’t clear, and it wasn’t anyone from their own guild.
“Our guild is not necessarily trying to blame them. After investigation, this group consists of about two people. One is a Magic User, and one is a Nun. There is not much information on the Magic User, but we know that the Nun can single-handedly slaughter over 1,000 demon earthworms. This is definitely not the work of ordinary adventurers; it must be the handiwork of certain experts,” analyzed the Guild Headquarters representative.
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped their discussion. Hearing the specific description of their strength, they stopped their casual chatter, and their expressions turned solemn.
Just two people destroying a demon nest in a single night? Was that something a human could even do?
The key point here was not the two people, but that it was at night. Even a Hero wouldn’t dare to enter the tree sea at night.
However, everyone indeed had no information. They could only promise the Guild that they would strengthen the management of their subordinates, though they wished they actually had such a powerful general under them.
But there were still people present who had some inkling of these two people’s identities, and that was the Shield Axe Hero Selina.
‘Those two…’
‘It’s highly likely that arrogant blonde Pastoralist and her silent Nun. Their faces certainly don’t look like the type to follow guild rules; they must be spies sent by the Church.’
Selina had gone to investigate the mission of the Crystal Labyrinth. The Crystal Labyrinth had already been cleared and the mission was completed, but no one had come to claim the reward and honor.
She could have revealed the identities of those two right here, but in the end, Selina chose to remain silent, saying nothing to the Guild or her other peers.
That was her own secret. If she said it out loud, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.
‘That wild cow’ was the star of ill omen in her heart; she could only be defeated by Selina herself, and she couldn’t let others target her.
Of course, Duke Yongke of the Divine Sword also realized something was wrong after listening.
This was because his strategist, Miss Meihua, had told him all the information afterward, saying that the two Church youngsters were very unusual.
In the end, he also chose to remain silent about the matter and was not prepared to tell the Guild or his peers.
Because the Pastoralist lady was the white moonlight in his heart. That gentle and charming smile had remained in his heart, becoming a lighthouse that supported him in this dark place. How could he allow his white moonlight to be defiled?
‘Next time we meet, I will definitely make the Pastoralist lady look at me with new eyes. I must be worthy of the divine name in my title.’
“Well then, the next item is the second major matter…”
The Guild representative saw that everyone was harboring their own hidden agendas. It seemed this matter couldn’t be resolved for the time being, so they could only tell everyone to strengthen their defenses.
“That is, we have observed the birth of a powerful and eerie humanoid Abyss core. It is surrounded by an unprecedented army of Magic Phoenixes. We hope the ten great guilds can weather this difficulty together and subjugate it. Also, for some reason, it has obtained our Guild’s long-lost [Hero’s Mark]. I hope you all can bring it back.”
“After deliberation, this mission has been rated as [SS-rank]. The mission code name is [Subjugate Demon Lord Reid].”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent, though everyone was shocked to their core.
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