Hero of Darkness

In the evening of the same day. 

On the opposite side of the Alfheim was another guild headquarters mostly filled with red and green colored buildings while thousands of mercenaries and normal people who were customers, roamed the perimeter of this 5 kilometer wide settlement. 

LNP 

That was the name of this Mercenary Guild which was also currently the 2nd strongest guild in Alfheim because of its rich history and the large number of 25 thousand mercenaries in the guild. 

From low-level commissions for local merchants to high-end customers such as business corporations of different sectors… This guild had its claws stuck in all places. 

This guild was the 2nd biggest and strongest guild in Alfheim for one big reason. And that was the number of their saints. 

7 Saints. 

LNP guild had seven powerful saints as their main leaders in management. Before the debut of the Misthios guild, they had the 2nd highest number of saints in a guild. 

Even so, the current Misthios guild was nowhere close to their level despite the lineup of saints. 

As the two suns set in the sky, a massive building with 5 floors was revealed. And at the end of it, was the President's main office. 

"So it didn't go as we planned, huh? 

Looks like their guild leader is a very cautious individual." spoke an Elf adorning red and blue attire and his aura revealed his rank of a 4th stage saint. 

"We can keep trying with other methods, President." responded a human with a scholar-like appearance who himself was a 3rd stage summoner class saint. 

"Our people contacted the new guild members of the Misthios guild even before it was approved. 

If not for our connection in the Mercenary Association suddenly getting abdicated from his position and the C.O.O., we would've stalled their debut for months before getting rid of the group entirely. 

I had our members tell the guild members of the Misthios guild about how many top-notch guilds offered extra money for bringing new mercenaries as part of the incentive. 

But I guess their leader didn't fall for that." revealed this human summoner. 

With an indignant expression, the president responded in a hoarse tone. 

"Vice-president Ranobes… 

That Legolas Ragnarsson seems like a smart person. 

He saw this thing coming from a mile away when his own guild members demanded this rule to be added to their contacts. 

I don't think we are dealing with someone new in the business. 

Rather… that Iroborn seems very experienced in this trade." he iterated with a dissatisfied expression. 

The duo inside this office were the main culprit behind the incident caused during the opening ceremony of the Misthios Guild. 

They had goaded most of the members of the newly formed guild into presenting the incentive to the main management. 

On paper, this seemed like a good opportunity for guild members to gain extra cash and also help a newly found mercenary guild quickly acquire more members and gain more firepower in the meantime. 

But the experts in this profession knew the real truth. 

Carelessly adding too many people to the guild in the long run… it'd reduce the quality of members as the guild grew in size. 

This would make the entire guild's foundation hollow from the inside right from the beginning. 

Many starting guilds and envoys used this 'Incentive' method to increase their numbers and gain fame but they had no idea of the aftereffects that would show up a lot later. 

This had affected many guilds in the past and then… Most of them had no way to deal with it unless they cleared the majority of the guild members from within or disbanded the guild itself. 

The already-established guilds also used this method to get rid of the competition and newcomers quite often. 

It was like leaving a Trojan horse to destroy Troy. 

----------------

Inside the main headquarters of the Misthios guild, Kahn was facing Omega and Ronin, his right-hand man and left-hand man respectively. 

Although it looked like Ronin found out the real truth about who was targeting them… but it was Kahn who laid down the trap himself. 

On the night of the celebration, Kahn as Legolas let out an outburst of anger to subdue the voice of new members who proposed the incentive idea to be added in their contracts. 

During that time, he also exuded his dense black and red aura that filled the entire assembly hall. 

But unbeknownst to all the guild members who felt like they'd die any moment under this insurmountable saint pressure… 

Kahn used the blanket of darkness to send his Assassins from the Legion force who directly worked under Ronin inside the shadows of every member present during the celebration. 

They were ordered to report who contacted their members if they met again. 

Soon, the people of the Misthios guild met other people who talked about the incentive and how great their own guilds were, trying to persuade them again to propose this idea to top management. 

Through these meetings, the assassins then hid in the shadows of those people and found it was the members of the LNP guild who orchestrated these encounters and told them the setting. 

Misthios guild members were innocent of this and had no idea. This setting also didn't breach their contract because they weren't harming the guild with malicious intent knowingly. 

The LNP guild was just trying to poison the roots of Misthios guild since the very beginning. 

"Alright… it's time." said Kahn and all 3 of them disappeared from the spot. 

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The Next Morning. 

The Elf President of the LNP guild suddenly received an Emergency Transmission. 

"No!" he exclaimed in disbelief and quickly left the building, appearing at the front gates of the guild headquarters. 

A crowd of thousands of mercenaries and customers alike was gathered at the front gate, mostly baffled and murmuring among themselves. 

Because at this moment, there was a pike stabbed in the ground. And above this pike, was a detached head. 

"Ranobes!" 

The president shouted in grief as he looked at the terrified expression of their Vice-president whose head was hung like a beacon and declaration. 

Below this head was a stone slate and a warning written in blood that even made the 4th stage saint feel a chill in his spine. 

"Next time… it will be your head, Mr. President."