Chapter 33: The Offer from the Adventurers’ Guild

Chris continued attacking the monsters from the sky, but he had to be careful not to hit the soldiers fighting below. Although the beasts were weak enough for him to kill effortlessly, the same could not be said for the humans caught in the middle of the battlefield.

If he and Azreon unleashed their full power without considering their surroundings, they could easily kill the soldiers by accident.

After another sweep across the battlefield, he turned his attention toward the City Lord of Wingbell, who was fighting against the monsters below. Having met the man earlier, Chris recognized him immediately.

"Hey! You there!"

His voice carried across the battlefield, causing the City Lord to look up in surprise.

"Order your soldiers to retreat and guard the walls!"

The man hesitated, clearly uncertain why the masked stranger was making such a request in the middle of a battle. However, after seeing what the mysterious rider and his enormous black beast had done to the horde, he decided to trust his judgment.

"Everyone, retreat to the walls! Move!"

The soldiers were initially confused by the sudden order, but they quickly began withdrawing from the battlefield, making their way toward the safety of the city walls while the remaining monsters pursued them.

Some soldiers stayed behind to cover the retreat, using their weapons and skills to keep the monsters at a distance while their wounded comrades struggled to reach safety.

Once the soldiers had retreated far enough, Chris finally stopped holding back.

"Azreon, let’s finish this."

The black dragon roared in response, spreading his wings as flames gathered inside his mouth. A moment later, a massive stream of fire swept across the battlefield, engulfing the monsters caught in its path and turning their bodies into ashes.

At the same time, Chris raised his hand and sent fireballs raining down upon the horde, each explosion wiping out another group of beasts.

The battlefield was quickly transformed into a sea of flames.

With the soldiers no longer in danger of being caught in their attacks, the two could finally unleash their full power, and the number of monsters began decreasing at an astonishing rate.

The sudden increase in firepower caught both the monsters and the soldiers off guard. Even from behind the city walls, the soldiers could feel the heat washing over them, forcing some to shield their faces with their arms.

Others stared at the destruction in disbelief, barely able to comprehend how quickly the horde was being wiped out. Only moments earlier, they had been struggling to hold back the monsters, and now the same creatures were being reduced to ashes by a single masked rider and his enormous black beast.

"What’s going on?"

"How can someone be that powerful?"

"Forget the rider! What kind of beast is that?!"

The questions spread among the soldiers, but nobody had an answer. They could only watch as another wave of flames swept across the battlefield, leaving dozens of monsters dead in its wake.

Some of the beasts were stronger than the others, with larger bodies and more intimidating appearances, but even they were far too weak to pose a threat to Chris. Their attempts to resist were futile, as Azreon’s flames swallowed them whole, leaving nothing behind but scattered ashes.

The battle continued for a little longer, with Chris and Azreon circling above the battlefield and attacking any monsters that remained.

Eventually, the surviving beasts began to panic.

Having lost a large portion of their numbers in such a short time, the horde started to scatter, with monsters abandoning their attacks on the city and fleeing toward the forest.

Chris watched them retreat without making any attempt to pursue them.

’That should be enough.’

He could have chased after the remaining monsters and wiped them out completely, but there was little point in doing so. Their levels were so low that he hadn’t gained a single point of experience despite killing so many of them.

It was rather disappointing. He had hoped that a monster horde of this size would contain at least a few beasts worth fighting, but it seemed that he had expected too much.

’What a waste of time.’

With the battle essentially over, he guided Azreon toward the city walls. As they approached, he jumped from the dragon’s back and landed on the stone wall, drawing the attention of the nearby soldiers.

"Return to the forest," he told Azreon.

The dragon let out a low roar, turned around, and flew away, his enormous black wings carrying him toward the distant trees.

Several soldiers watched him disappear into the distance, still struggling to understand what they had just witnessed. However, before they could discuss it any further, the City Lord’s voice brought them back to their senses.

"The monsters are retreating! Send a squad after them, but don’t pursue them too far. The rest of you, check the walls and treat the wounded!"

The soldiers immediately followed his orders. Many of them joined the pursuit, hoping to eliminate as many fleeing monsters as possible, while the others remained behind to help the injured and repair the damaged defenses.

After giving a few more instructions, the City Lord turned toward the masked man standing nearby.

Approaching him, he bowed deeply, bending forward at nearly ninety degrees.

"Thank you for saving Wingbell. Without your help, I fear we would have suffered far greater losses today."

Chris merely shrugged.

"Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do it for you."

Before the City Lord could respond, Chris stepped onto the edge of the wall and jumped down, landing on the street below. He then continued toward the City Lord’s mansion without looking back.

The man remained bent forward for a moment before slowly straightening his back, watching the masked figure disappear into the distance.

"What a strange person..."

Shaking his head with a faint smile, he turned around and returned to his duties. There was still plenty to take care of before the city could finally settle down.

...

By the time Chris returned to the mansion, everyone had already gathered in the same room where they had been sitting before the alarm sounded.

They had watched the entire battle from the balcony, and even now, Erica and Theodoric were still struggling to process what they had seen.

The young man they had been talking to only moments earlier had flown into the middle of a monster horde and slaughtered hundreds of beasts as if he were clearing away a few troublesome insects.

Even though Theodoric had heard about Chris’s achievements from Aldric, witnessing such strength with his own eyes was an entirely different experience.

As for Erica, she was practically speechless.

She had known that Chris was strong after seeing him deal with Noran and his companions, but she had never imagined he could be this powerful. The difference between what she had expected and what she had witnessed was simply too great.

When Chris entered the room, she immediately stood up and hurried toward him.

"Thank you!"

Her voice trembled, and tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes as she bowed deeply.

"Thank you for saving the city! I know you said you didn’t care, but if you hadn’t helped us, so many people could have died..."

Chris looked at her for a moment before casually waving his hand.

"Like I said, I didn’t do it for you, so there’s no need to thank me."

With that, he removed his black mask and walked toward the sofa, sitting down as though nothing particularly interesting had happened. He picked up a glass of wine from the table and took a sip, seemingly far more interested in his drink than in the commotion outside.

Erica raised her head, still looking at him with gratitude, but she understood that there was little point in arguing with someone who clearly didn’t want to be thanked.

Serena, who had been watching quietly from the side, moved over and sat beside him.

"Thank you, Chris," she said softly.

He glanced at her before giving a small nod, accepting her gratitude without making a big deal out of it.

Theodoric finally recovered enough to approach them, a look of amazement still visible on his face.

"I’ve seen many powerful warriors throughout my life, but I’ve never witnessed someone your age defeat so many monsters in such a short time. Even some of the strongest adventurers in the country would struggle to accomplish what you did today."

Chris shrugged and took another sip of wine.

"It wasn’t anything special. Those monsters were weak, and I’m still far too weak myself."

Theodoric stared at him for a moment before exchanging a glance with Aldric.

Neither of them seemed particularly surprised by the answer. After all, they had already learned that Chris had little interest in comparing himself to ordinary people, and his standards for strength were clearly much higher than those of most people.

Still, hearing him describe the destruction of an entire monster horde as nothing special was rather amusing.

While the others continued talking, Chris finally noticed that another man was sitting beside Aldric.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the room when he entered, but now that he looked more closely, he could tell that the newcomer was no ordinary person.

The man appeared to be around Aldric’s age, with a calm expression and a powerful presence that seemed no weaker than the old general’s. Although he wasn’t doing anything to draw attention to himself, there was an unmistakable sense of authority surrounding him.

As their eyes met, the man smiled and gave him a friendly nod.

Aldric noticed Chris’s attention and decided to make the introduction.

"Chris, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is my old friend, Sebastian."

Chris nodded politely.

However, before he could say anything else, Sebastian began speaking with an amused smile.

"Young friend, you might have heard of me. My name is Sebastian Shroud, and I’m the vice-guild leader of the Adventurers’ Guild."

Chris’s eyes widened slightly.

He naturally knew about the Adventurers’ Guild. It was one of the most influential organizations in the world, operating independently of the various countries and maintaining branches in almost every major city.

Unlike ordinary factions, the guild remained politically neutral, offering its services to different countries without swearing allegiance to any of them.

The vice-guild leader was undoubtedly an important figure.

Chris straightened slightly, showing a little more interest than before.

"I’ve naturally heard of your name. Since you’re here, I assume you have some business with me?"

As he spoke, he glanced toward Aldric with a knowing look.

The old general merely chuckled but didn’t say anything.

"Indeed," Sebastian replied. "Aldric and I have been friends for many years, and he contacted me recently to tell me about you. Fortunately, I happened to be in the country, so I decided to come and meet you in person."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"I have a proposal for you."

Chris leaned back against the sofa, already having a fairly good idea of what the man wanted. He wasn’t particularly interested in joining another organization, but considering that someone as important as Sebastian had come personally, he was willing to hear him out.

"Continue."

Sebastian nodded.

"I’m aware that you’re a Mythic-rank Beast Tamer and that you’ve successfully tamed a Mythic-rank dragon. I must admit, the news came as quite a shock. At first, I wasn’t sure whether to believe it, but after witnessing your strength earlier, I can no longer doubt its authenticity."

"WHAT—MPHHH!"

Erica’s eyes widened as she nearly shouted in disbelief. She had already been overwhelmed by what she’d seen outside, and now she had just learned that Chris was a Mythic-rank Beast Tamer who had tamed a Mythic-rank dragon.

A thousand questions immediately sprang into her mind, but before she could voice any of them, Serena quickly covered her mouth.

"Not now, Erica," she whispered.

Erica struggled for a moment before finally settling down, although the curiosity in her eyes hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

Chris, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised that Sebastian knew about Azreon. Given the man’s position within the Adventurers’ Guild, it was only natural that he possessed considerable knowledge, including information about ancient creatures that most people knew nothing about.

Sebastian continued as though the interruption had never happened.

"As you might expect, I’m here to officially invite you to join the Adventurers’ Guild and—"

"I refuse."

Chris answered so quickly that Sebastian momentarily fell silent.

The older man blinked before letting out a short laugh.

"You’re certainly quick to make a decision. Aren’t you even interested in hearing what I have to offer?"

"Not really."

Chris shrugged before turning toward Aldric.

"More importantly, why did you recommend this instead of inviting me to join the army?"

Aldric raised an eyebrow.

"Because I know you would never join the army, so why would I bother offering you a position? The Adventurers’ Guild is different. Joining it would give you several benefits while allowing you to keep your freedom. You should at least hear him out before making a final decision."