Chapter 236: Nieve Will Work Hard

Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Nieve Will Work Hard

Lance nodded, committing Rein’s words to memory.

He now had a very clear understanding of the entire competition’s structure.

As a Lone Wolf, he had no direct conflict of interest with the large teams that were fighting fiercely for the team rankings.

As long as he didn’t go out of his way to provoke those teams.

’Lay low and get stronger.’

In the remaining time...

...killing his way into the top 50 of the individual rankings to claim the title’s blessing...

...would be practically a sure thing.

Moreover, Lance felt that this event’s parameters were extremely favorable for a Lone Wolf like him, who possessed a sustainability cheat.

Especially the second parameter.

He remembered that you could farm Professional Experience in the Underground City.

As long as he stacked the floors high enough, Demons would come looking for him in a continuous stream.

Then his leveling speed would be incredibly fast.

"Uncle Rein, how many people do you estimate are participating in the Rusted Stone Echo Dungeon’s Summer Crown?"

Lance casually asked about a figure he was curious about.

Hearing this question, Rein’s expression suddenly turned a bit strange.

"According to the intel I gathered at the Veterans’ Guild this afternoon,"

Rein held up his fingers to gesture.

"The number of people gathered in the camps around Rusted Stone Echo has probably exceeded ten thousand."

"Over ten thousand?!"

Lance’s eyes widened.

"How is that possible?!"

To put it in perspective, a border town as sizable as Gray Rock Town normally only had about a hundred resident Professionals combined.

For over ten thousand people to suddenly flood in... that terrifying number was almost the size of a small Kingdom’s standing army!

"You’re overthinking it."

Rein smiled and shook his head.

"How could there be over ten thousand Professionals all rushing here?"

"Among those ten thousand-plus people, the majority are Ordinary Adventurers who haven’t formally acquired a Profession."

Seeing the confusion in Lance’s eyes, the old veteran began to explain.

"The ecosystem of an Underground City is very complex."

"Besides the Professionals at the very front, who are genuinely trying to conquer the Underground City for glory and rewards,"

"this massive chain of profit also supports countless ordinary people hoping to get rich overnight."

"There are also resource teams, porters, corpse collectors, cartographers, decoys, crows, and so on..."

The old veteran’s tone grew a little heavy.

"The ecosystem there is too intricate for me to explain fully with just a few words here."

"The information I compiled for you, including the unique resources the Underground City can produce and the special rewards for the Summer Crown, is all recorded in detail. You should take a good look at it tonight."

"When you go there yourself tomorrow, you’ll understand what kind of place it really is."

"Thank you, Uncle Rein."

Lance thanked him sincerely.

After hearing these descriptions, his anticipation didn’t diminish; on the contrary, it burned even brighter.

First, he could finally go all out and power-level.

Second, he would get to see an even more exciting side of this world.

...

The camp inn outside the Underground City stood tall in the night.

The building was enormous, even featuring a spacious conference room on the second floor.

This property was built and fully funded by the "Silver Hand," a major Underground City delving team under the Pandragon Royal Family.

「At this moment.」

Members of the Silver Hand subdivision participating in the Burning Fire Level Summer Crown were gathered in the conference room.

The Magic Crystal Lamp overhead cast a bright glow, illuminating seven figures seated around a circular table.

Two of them were pressed closely together.

One was a woman with long, ice-blue hair. Her features were cold and beautiful; she was a Snow Lady, one of the Sub-human Species.

She wore a white shirt paired with a high-waisted long skirt, the tasteful fabric perfectly outlining her fine figure.

A young girl with cat ears was shamelessly hugging the woman’s arm.

The cat-girl pressed her cheek against the Snow Lady’s shoulder, a look of delight on her face.

"Nieve is so cool in the summer, meow~"

The cat-girl narrowed her eyes in comfort.

The young captain sitting in the main seat looked at the pair of jesters and sighed helplessly.

"All tactical arrangements have just been assigned."

The young man put away his tactics board and tapped on the table.

"At dawn tomorrow, we will officially enter the Underground City."

Everyone’s expression instantly turned serious.

"The Vanguard Team has already scouted out all the intel on this Summer Crown, and I trust you’ve all read the information on this Underground City."

The young man’s gaze swept across the room.

"As for why our subdivision came all this way to this remote border town to participate in the Summer Crown, I’m sure you all know the reason."

The room fell silent. Even the cat-girl stopped smiling and sat up straight.

"The Underground City in the Northern Territory that has begun to go berserk is being handled by our Silver Hand’s front-line team."

The young man clenched his fists.

"The situation over there is extremely tense right now."

"The front-line team urgently needs us, the second-line teams, to compete for the ’Campfire Teleportation Waypoint’ from the team rewards in this Summer Crown."

Here, his voice rose slightly.

This waypoint item can be used to directly establish a stable Teleportation Array deep within an Underground City.

Once they have it, the front-line team can receive a continuous stream of supplies, completely avoiding the losses caused by a long supply line.

"So," the young man said, looking around at everyone, "our team must break into the top three of the rankings this time and bring that waypoint back!"

"Only by getting the waypoint reward will we have enough training resources allocated from headquarters next quarter for everyone to advance to the Excellence Level."

After this motivational speech, the young man turned his head, his gaze falling on the two girls huddled together.

"Nieve."

Hearing the captain call her name, the ice-blue-haired Snow Lady turned her head, her crystalline eyes quietly watching him.

"I’m sorry."

The young man lowered his gaze.

"This time, to secure points for the team rankings, the team won’t have the spare energy to help you."

"You’ll have to fight for a spot on the individual rankings all by yourself."

In past Summer Crown events, teams would often use a "feeding" tactic to help a core member obtain an individual title.

This meant the entire team would work together to bring a High Tier Demon to the brink of death, then let the person who needed the points deliver the final blow.

But now, time was tight. They had to reserve all high-point Demons for the team.

"But you don’t have to worry about logistical support," the young man quickly added.

"I’ll allocate the subdivision’s highest-grade Recovery Potions to you. Your supplies will be far superior to those of the Lone Wolves out there."

Obvious guilt appeared on the young man’s face.

He knew very well what obtaining the individual title from this Summer Crown meant to Nieve.

As a squad directly sponsored by the Royal Family, the Silver Hand has a unique internal promotion track.

As long as your record is outstanding enough, you can be transferred to the Royal Capital.

To join the "Crimson Crown Knight Order," which belongs to Princess Elvira.

And the hard requirement for this internal selection was that the candidate must possess a Crown title.

Before they left, the old leader of the White River City subdivision had even specifically instructed him in private to do his utmost to help Nieve get that title in the Underground City.

But plans can’t keep up with changes.

No one expected the intelligence brought back by the Vanguard Team to point to such an awkward situation.

On one hand was a mission that concerned the life and death of the front-line team; on the other was a dear friend he had trained with since childhood.

For the good of the group, he could only grit his teeth and sacrifice Nieve’s personal aspirations.

Fortunately, Nieve’s Profession was a Rare Profession with formidable combat power. Even fighting alone, it wasn’t impossible for her to carve out a bloody path for herself in this Summer Crown.

It was just that compared to having the whole team protecting her, the difficulty of fighting solo would undoubtedly skyrocket.

"I will do my best."

After hearing the captain’s arrangements, Nieve’s face remained expressionless as she responded in a flat tone.

’Sigh.’

The young man let out a long sigh in his heart.

’There are benefits to being naturally dense.’

’At least this girl won’t feel betrayed, nor will she complain to my face about the resource allocation.’

The other team members in the conference room looked at each other in dismay.

They all tacitly lowered their heads, no one daring to look Nieve in the eye.

Because they all knew Nieve’s past.

Ten years ago, the Sub-human Village where Nieve lived was attacked by terrible Demons.

A passing Royal Knight Order had been the one to rescue the orphan with Sub-human blood.

Since joining the Silver Hand’s youth training camp ten years ago, Nieve had undergone harsh physical training every single day.

She had been painstakingly waiting for this year, when the Princess would take her Profession and begin recruiting personal guards.

Now, with the opportunity right in front of her, the support she needed was being brutally snatched away because of a team mission.

Nieve seemed to notice the dejected mood of her companions.

She stood up and looked around at everyone seriously.

"Don’t be sad, everyone."

Nieve comforted them with that same flat tone, her face expressionless.

"Nieve will do her best."

These words, meant to be comforting, echoed in the quiet room.

The team members buried their heads even lower, a strong feeling of sorrow welling up in their hearts instead.