Compared to the original work, the Loki Familia’s first campaign to conquer Man-Made Dungeon Knossos had actually been quite successful.
It should be noted that at this point in the original story, the Loki Familia lacked knowledge and understanding of Knossos, and their overall strength had also been significantly weaker than it was now.
As a result, their first attempt to conquer Knossos not only failed but also cost them many lives.
Finn and Ais had nearly died, Bete had lost an arm, and Gareth, Tiona, and Tione had chosen to stay behind after Gugalanna appeared, holding off the powerful enemy to protect their companions’ retreat. If not for using a somewhat clever method, the three of them would never have been able to defeat the Power Bull Demi Spirit on their own and might even have died together at its hands.
Under such circumstances, the Loki Familia had still been forced to retreat, unable even to deal with the remnants of Evilus. Due to factors such as the orichalcum doors, adamantite walls, the underground labyrinth environment, and the colorful monsters, they had been completely unable to do anything against the underground forces, leaving the enemy free to remain below and continue advancing their plans, which had been extremely frustrating.
It was not until the second campaign to conquer Knossos began, when the Loki Familia joined forces with many other familias, that they finally managed to turn the tide and drive the remnants of Evilus into a desperate situation.
In the end, however, they had still been forced to withdraw from Knossos, declaring the second campaign a failure.
As for why, it was because at the end of the second campaign, the core of the enemy’s plan had finally surfaced, and the Gate of Heaven on the 10th Floor had only been officially activated at that point, putting Orario’s destruction on a countdown.
And during that second campaign, the Loki Familia had only succeeded in removing the remnants of Evilus from the stage, but had been unable to deal with the forces of Enyo and the Corrupted Spirit.
But this time, under Riezel’s influence, Finn and the others had successively risen to Level 7, their strength greatly improved. Raul and Anakitty had also reached Level 5, and the rest of the members had all grown to varying degrees, making the Loki Familia’s overall strength at this point far greater than it had been in the original story.
Because of that, although the Loki Familia’s first campaign of Knossos had still appeared rather messy, at least there had been no casualties and no sacrifices. Instead, they had defeated a Level 7 Creature and had even triggered the Gate of Heaven ahead of time, causing the remnants of Evilus to exit the stage early.
Needless to say, this was already a remarkable achievement.
Given that, while Riezel did not know what others thought, in his view, achieving such results in the first campaign was already quite a success.
Hence, regardless of others, Riezel himself was fairly satisfied.
’No one died is already a good thing.’
Although even if someone had died, Riezel would have revived them with resurrection magic, it was naturally best if no one died at all.
’If the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia hadn’t stepped in, the results of this battle would’ve definitely been even bigger.’
At this point in the original story, the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia had not been involved in the campaign of Knossos. Even though those two familias had interactions and even conflicts with the Loki Familia in the original story, those interactions and conflicts had all occurred before the first campaign.
’Because of me, the familia avoided a bunch of detours and went straight to the enemy’s hideout, which is why there were way fewer conflicts with the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia.’
Riezel had originally thought this was a good thing, but now it seemed that this might not necessarily be the case.
If the Loki Familia had dealt with the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia beforehand, then during the first campaign, Thanatos would not have approached the goddesses of these two familias and brought them into this conflict.
It was precisely because Riezel had let the matter of those two familias go that they had become involved in this battle. As a result, the resistance of the underground forces had grown stronger, and many more variables had appeared.
Fortunately, the outcome was not entirely unacceptable.
’In the end, the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia still lost to us, and the threats are basically taken care of.’
’Evilus’s remnants got wiped out early, Thanatos got sent back, and Revis got taken down, which ended up triggering the Gate of Heaven ahead of time.’
’As long as Finn and the others plan the second campaign right, they should be able to take out Enyo and all the Demi Spirits this time, and tear down the underground forces for good.’
Even though the current situation appeared unfavorable for Orario, in reality, compared to this point in the original story, things were already much better.
’Next, we need to rescue Tiona and Tione first.’
Naturally, this was not only Riezel’s thought—Finn and the others thought the same.
Yes, the most urgent matter for them now was to redeem the familia’s two key executives, or everything else was meaningless.
Loki clearly understood the priorities as well.
Even though she was displeased, Loki still brought Kali back from the Guild’s side, temporarily keeping her safe.
If it were not for Tiona and Tione, Loki would definitely have taken the opportunity to strike Kali while she was down, joining forces with the Guild to lodge protests against Telskyura, forcing them to make numerous concessions and securing a large amount of benefits.
But for the sake of Tiona and Tione, Loki’s plans naturally fell through, and her displeasure was inevitable.
However, aside from the matter involving Kali, there was something else that made Loki even more unhappy.
"What did you say? Ishtar was released?"
Inside Finn’s office, Riezel, who had been called here, showed a look of surprise.
"I underestimated that bitch."
Loki opened with this line, her displeasure evident in full force.
"Hmph, that bitch worked with the remnants of Evilus, but she didn’t personally do anythin’ that put Orario’s public safety on the line. All she did was provide the funds, and for everythin’ else, she just kept sayin’ she didn’t know a damn thing."
"Even about that Gugalanna, Ishtar straight-up claimed she had nothin’ to do with it, sayin’ she only worked with the remnants of Evilus for business in the Entertainment District."
"As for what went down in the Man-Made Dungeon, that goddess even had the nerve to say she was kept in the dark and had no clue she’d end up goin’ against the Guild and us."
Everyone could see that the more Loki spoke, the angrier she became, until she slammed the table hard.
"Shameless goddess! There’s gotta be a limit to how much you can lie straight to my face!"
As someone who had been present at the time and had listened to all of Ishtar’s nonsense, Loki seemed to grow more irritated the more she recalled Ishtar’s brazen attitude.
Riezel, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth, who were present, immediately frowned.
"Did the Guild really just let that goddess go over some obvious-ass excuse?"
Gareth seemed quite unable to believe it.
"It’s probably because there wasn’t enough evidence, right?"
Finn quickly arrived at the reason.
"Yeah, ain’t enough evidence!"
Loki said angrily with a snort.
"Unlike that obviously illegal foreign shorty goddess, the Ishtar Familia is still a familia in Orario. As long as they clean their mess up, it’s really hard to pin anything on her with just our side of the story."
"As long as she keeps insisting she knew nothin’ and says she got tricked, then without proof, the Guild ain’t gonna drop any heavy punishment on the Ishtar Familia."
"And you all know how the Guild rolls—they ain’t about to casually wipe out a major familia in the city."
"In the end, those bastards just slapped that bitch’s familia with a token fine and let ’em walk! Dammit!"
Hearing this, everyone looked at one another, all showing helpless expressions, while Riezel let out a small chuckle.
He found it understandable.
On closer thought, the Ishtar Familia was indeed difficult to deal with, considering that this familia’s sphere of influence was too large.
One should know that the entire Entertainment District fell under the Ishtar Familia’s control, and since it operated brothels—and was the only legal red-light district in Orario—many factions had entangled interests with the Ishtar Familia.
At the very least, those who frequented the Entertainment District day after day, whether mortals or gods, certainly did not want to see anything happen to a place that allowed them to indulge every night.
Businesses dealing in items such as perfume, mood-setting goods, and special clothing also maintained close cooperation with the Entertainment District, so if anything happened there, they would all lose their livelihoods and suffer heavy financial losses.
Adventurers likewise needed a place to release excess energy and stress, so that they would not break down under the constant strain of dungeon expeditions.
At the same time, as an exploration-type familia, the Ishtar Familia also possessed top-tier strength, not only having many High-Class Adventurers, but also First-Class Adventurers, and its familia rank was as high as A, placing it firmly among the top tiers in Orario, second only to the S-Rank Loki Familia, Freya Familia, and Ganesha Familia.
As the administrator of Orario, the Guild naturally did not want to see such a large familia and so many high-level combatants lost, nor did it want the city’s commercial economy to suffer disruptions due to trouble involving the Ishtar Familia.
All these factors combined made it so that the Guild did not dare to easily convict the Ishtar Familia, instead adopting a stance of observation or tacit approval, turning a blind eye to Ishtar’s actions.
If Loki had sufficient evidence to prove that Ishtar had indeed participated in the underground forces’ activities and threatened Orario’s public safety, then it would be a different matter.
But without sufficient evidence, the Guild would certainly not convict Ishtar casually.
Consequently, Ishtar was released, and aside from paying a fine, the Ishtar Familia suffered no other losses.
How could Loki not be angry?
"Ishtar Familia..." Riveria said with a frown. "They shouldn’t cause us trouble after this, right?"
"Who knows?" Loki said disdainfully. "I mean, that bitch’s always been kinda narrow-minded. After losing to us this time, ain’t no guarantee she won’t try to get her payback."
"If that’s the case, then it could get kinda troublesome..." Gareth sat in his large chair and spoke in a muffled voice. "I’ll be honest, those berberas are a real pain to deal with, at least for our second-strings and the lower-ranked members. And that Androctonus in particular—she’s a First-Class Adventurer too. If she goes wild, even Raul and Aki might end up takin’ a hit."
"Yes..." Finn nodded, licking his thumb as he spoke. "If the Ishtar Familia is still the same as we know, then it’s manageable. Dealing with them wouldn’t be too difficult with our strength, just somewhat troublesome. But now, that might not be the case."
At these words, everyone turned to look at Riezel.
Riezel knew what Finn and the others were referring to.
"Ah, right, that level-boostin’ magic’s definitely a problem," Loki said, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Hmph, that bitch went and came up with some unfair crap behind our backs. If she uses it on us, or helps Enyo with it, even we’re gonna take a pretty nasty hit."
Riezel silently nodded in agreement.
Uchide no Kozuchi was indeed an extremely unfair magic.
If the enemy made good use of it, it would undoubtedly cause great trouble for the Loki Familia.
Fortunately...
"We’ve also obtained that same cheat magic," Finn said, tapping the surface of his desk. "With Riezel here, at least we won’t be at too much of a disadvantage in terms of combat power and conditions."
"Well, yeah, that’s true."
Hearing Finn’s words, Loki’s mood improved again.
Being able to keep a magic even more overpowered than Ais’s Ariel within their own familias was naturally a very good thing.
"Still, we need to be cautious," Riveria reminded everyone. "Ishtar Familia is not a small familia. If they really cooperate with the enemy, it will definitely be bad news for us."
"Riveria is right," Finn said, nodding in agreement. "Let’s do this—send a few people to monitor the Ishtar Familia in the Entertainment District. If they make any moves, we’ll know immediately."
"It’d be best to keep an eye on that female renard," Gareth pointed out. "From what Ais and the others said, the one who used that level-boostin’ magic is a female renard in the Ishtar Familia. Keeping tabs on her should save us a whole lotta trouble."
"A female renard..." Loki clicked her tongue in amazement. "Where the hell did Ishtar even find a rare race like that? I mean, that’s a magical race that only shows up in the Far East—there’s probably only one in all of Orario, right?"
Thinking of that female renard, Loki suddenly smacked her lips, feeling a bit tempted.
A renard...
And a female one...
She must be very beautiful, right?
If they could snatch such a valuable child—one capable of using that cheat magic—wouldn’t that be double the satisfaction?
"Guhihihihihi..."
As her thoughts turned pleasant, Loki’s expression suddenly changed, and she let out a lewd laugh.
*Pa!*
"Gah!"
A hand immediately smacked down onto Loki’s head, making her cry out.
"Can you not laugh like that? Makes it way too easy to tell what you’re thinking."
Riezel was speechless, and the others chuckled.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, the office door was flung open.
"C-Captain!"
Raul rushed in from outside, panting as he shouted.
"S-Something’s happened!"
Such an urgent cry made everyone’s hearts sink at once.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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