All the leaders nodded in agreement with Alaya's words.

"True, the most urgent task is to sever our ties with those from the North. We're not yet ready to turn the continent upside down."

Shortly after, one of the leaders spoke up.

"But Alaya, we can't just rush in and eliminate them, can we?"

Following this, other leaders quickly shared their opinions.

"Right. The Magic City is currently the center of attention."

"If even a tenth of our forces were to move, people would start to suspect something."

"A tenth? Even if a single team moves, it'll raise suspicions. The Order has already dispatched defensive forces to the Magic City."

Alaya let the other leaders talk without interrupting.

As Alaya remained silent, the voices of the other leaders gradually quieted down.

Alaya then spoke.

"Yes, it's difficult to move large forces since the Magic City is drawing all the attention."

She continued.

"That's why I'm planning to dispatch just one team. The mission is to penetrate the interior of the Great Demon's Shrine, so it needs to be handled with utmost secrecy."

The leaders remained silent. Speaking up now could mean receiving a horribly dangerous mission.

While these leaders were among the top warriors, even they feared the Great Demon.

The Great Demon wasn't just a force to be reckoned with, but destroying its Shrine could bring about a curse.

Then, a female leader raised her hand. She had long silver hair and wore a black eye patch over her left eye.

She said indifferently.

"I'll go."

Alaya responded.

"I was planning to ask you first, Fyat. Are your injuries okay now?"

Fyat nodded calmly.

The other leaders sighed in relief internally.

'Fyat should be more than capable... Besides, she prefers fighting for the sake of it rather than boasting about her achievements.'

In [Leading Mind], if the ranking were based purely on physical strength, Fyat would be second.

Fyat is not human.

Her race is Dark Elf, a warrior from a species that's exceedingly rare across the continent.

Unlike other human warriors, she has no interest in forming factions.

She's a battle enthusiast who enjoys fighting strong opponents.

Alaya told Fyat.

"I trust you'll handle it, but please make sure it's done discreetly. Let me know if you need anything. The mission's difficulty is top-notch, so we'll support you in any way we can."

Fyat raised two fingers.

"I have two questions."

"Go ahead, ask."

"Do we have to kill all the witnesses?"

"Yes. Secrecy is crucial for this mission. We can't have any witnesses."

"Right. Then, my second question: Can you assign new team members to me?"

"There's no reason why not, but why? Your team members are among the smartest in the guild."

"Not long ago, during my leave, I visited the Great Forest, and all of them lost their courage. We can't proceed with the mission in this state."

"Looks like they're not fully recovered yet. They seemed fine on the outside."

Fyat's team had visited the Great Forest during her leave because she wanted to duel the Sword Demon of the forest.

However, Fyat returned having lost her left eye and openly admitted to being defeated by the Sword Demon.

Her team members have been in a state of mental anguish ever since witnessing the duel between her and the Sword Demon.

Alaya spoke again.

"Understood. I'll give you a list, so pick whoever you want. Anything else you need?"

"I need the guild's [divine artifact]."

At Fyat's words, Alaya and all the other leaders were taken aback.

Alaya asked.

"There's no reason it can't be done, but Fyat, that item isn't just something you can have because you want it, right?"

The Guild's [divine artifact] is exactly that, a divine artifact.

It's a myth-grade artifact that chooses its own master. Except for the first guild master, no one has been chosen by the artifact.

As such, the artifact has been stuck in the center of the guild's building site for many years.

In [Leading Mind], there's a long-standing tradition that 'the one who pulls out the artifact claims it.'

The Guild Masters haven't changed this rule. They figured nobody could claim it anyway, so it might as well be used for promotional purposes.

Fyat casually placed her palm over her left eye patch and said.

"I think it might work now."

"Alright. Anything else you need?"

"Nothing."

"Then, good luck, Fyat. The mission is urgent, so I hope you can depart soon. Would three days of preparation be alright?"

Fyat shook her head.

"I'll leave tomorrow."

"Isn't that too soon? You might need time to sync up with your new team members."

"No need. They just have to deal with the Order's dogs."

Fyat then stood up and left the banquet hall.

Two days later, Theo and his companions set off for the Magic City.

Inside the clattering carriage, they chatted noisily, having grown much closer over the past few days.

Siena said to Britney.

"I saw [The Rothschild Chronicles] on the bookshelf and wondered if you had read it. Haha, there was a reason I was drawn to you. I've read it over a hundred times, over decades."

"Oh my, such an elegant elf princess you are, Siena. The shock I received from reading [The Rothschild Chronicles] for the first time made me search for similar novels, but I always came up short. So, I've re-read it dozens of times."

"The author only published up to the fifth volume then disappeared without a word... I wonder if I'll get to see the sixth volume before I die."

"Abandoning a series is a crime. I've searched far and wide to find that criminal, but always came up short. Sob sob, where could that author have gone..."

Billy and Mike were cheering for Jang Woohee.

"Woohoo!"

Jang Woohee stood inside the rocking carriage, eyes closed, balancing on one foot.

Billy and Mike exchanged impressed comments.

"How do you do that? It doesn't even look like you're using magic."

"Has it been over 30 minutes already? I couldn't last 5 minutes."

Jang Woohee slightly opened her eyes and replied.

"It's easy if you relax your whole body, including your legs and back."

Billy and Mike exclaimed in unison.

"We tried relaxing!"

"That's not relaxing. You need to completely let go of your strength."

Still, Jang Woohee was not good at teaching others.

Theo, regardless of the noisy surroundings, sat cross-legged, deeply focused on practicing his qi.

"Hmm, it's going well now."

Initially, even a small noise from the surroundings would disrupt his concentration.

Not anymore. Now, he could manage his qi with ease, even in the intermittently shaking carriage.

The chatter of those around him now seemed trivial.

At this moment, Theo could feel the qi scattered lightly throughout his body.

A sense of elation at having grown stronger filled him.

'Sh*t, nobody can stop me now.'

The corners of Theo's mouth lifted slightly.

Seeing this, one of Piel's eyebrows raised.

"Ugh, scary... He's been closing his eyes and chuckling to himself the whole time."

There was no response.

"Hey, what are you doing closing your eyes all of a sudden?"

Piel asked Sara, who was sitting next to her.

Sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, Sara answered.

"Imitating Theo."

"My god. I knew you weren't normal, but this is truly abnormal."

"That's rich coming from you. Who knows? If I imitate Theo, maybe I'll be able to emit silver energy too."

Sara said this as she hugged the uniform jacket draped over her, a gift from Theo.

Piel looked dumbfounded, glancing back and forth between Sara and Theo.

"Umm."

After a while, Piel attempted to imitate the two by closing her eyes and sitting cross-legged.

Of course, she felt so restless that she gave up in less than 10 minutes.

Two days later, late at night, Theo and his companions, along with the Practitioners, finally arrived near the Magic City.

Billy cheerfully said.

"Hey, Adrienne. You said we could stay in the carriage, right?"

"Yeah. The Order has already sent two companies of troops to protect the city. They'll just let us in when they see the carriage's emblem."

"Okay~ I've always wanted to do this. Being saluted by people while staying in the carriage."

Soon after, the carriage arrived at the Magic City's main gate.

However, there was no one there to greet them.

Billy tilted his head in confusion.

"What's going on? I've come all this way; there should at least be someone to greet me!"

Adrienne narrowed his eyes and leaned out the window to survey the scene.

"There's no sign of anyone around."

Considering the overall strength of the Order, two companies of troops are no small force.

Yet, the city at night was silent.

Everyone got out of the carriage and looked around.

It was quiet. There was no sign of life.

They headed towards the checkpoint. Inside the checkpoint, they found the bodies of two paladins. The paladins' necks had been cleanly cut.

Billy murmured.

"Something definitely happened here."

Without speaking, everyone stepped outside and looked around.

About a minute later.

Theo spoke up, his gaze fixed on the top of the city wall.

"It seems that individual up there might be the cause of the current situation."

Everyone's gaze shifted to the top of the city wall.

There stood a tall woman with brown skin and messy silver hair. Standing with the moon behind her, she exuded a mysterious aura.

She wore an eye patch over one eye, and her ears were pointed.

Mike scratched his head.

"A Dark... Elf?"

At that moment, the Dark Elf jumped down from the city wall.