As the conversation between the crimson flame knight and the guild master came to an end, the two of them made their way out of the tent together with the rest of the B Ran Adventurers.
Having already decided on their next plan of action and how to catch the branch guild leader while preventing him from escaping, the B Rank Adventurers all nodded in the direction of the guild master and the crimson flame knight before all of them split up and surround the town to the best of their abilities. Intending to block the branch leader to the best of their abilities if he escaped in their direction.
Although none of them were strong enough to face him head on. At the very least they were more than strong enough to hold off against him for a period of time, enough to allow the rest of the people to rush over and help them out. After all, even if he was strong, the branch guild leader was ultimately still a B Rank Adventurer like them.
"Well then, it looks like everyone is ready. Finally time for me to shine!"
Waiting for a few short minutes as the other B Rank Adventurers split off and surrounded the town from all directions, the crimson flame knight’s eyes shone brightly as he unsheathed his sword and stepped towards the still open gate of the town where a few guards had been lazing around.
Fwoosh-!
"Huh? W-what is that guy trying to do...?"
"Does he perhaps want to try and forcibly break the guardian barrier because of the malfunction a few days earlier?"
"Maybe... But breaking the guardian barrier is impossible. Even an A Rank Monster would struggle with it for a long time before causing any real damage."
Only when the sword that had been unseathed by the crimson flame knight was covered by a bright crimson flame did the guards lazing around seem to notice him as they all began to chat among themselves, wondering if he might be trying to forcibly break the guardian barrier.
Considering that it had been some time since the arrival of the investigation group, there had been a few adventurers who had tried their hand at breaking the guardian barrier ahead of time so they could get out of being stuck inside the town.
Of course, given the strength of the guardian barrier, none of these people had been successful.
Even then, the weakest among the people who had tried to break the guardian barrier had at least reached the B Rank. Making this group of normally lazy guards curious about the power that the person with the flame sword in front of them would show off. Even going as far as to call on a few other nearby people to enjoy the show.
FWOOOSH-!
"Wait... Isn’t that flame growing a bit too strong...?"
"Yeah, it even seems like the ground beneath that guy has caught on fire and is about to melt under the heat!"
"M-Maybe we should get away from the gate, just in case..."
"Good idea."
"Yeah. Never bad to be on the safe side in case something unexpected happens."
However, as the flame coiled around the sword of the crimson flame knight continued to increase in strength, the guards who had been ready to observe a failed attempt at breaking the guardian barrier began growing nervous as they retreated from the gate to avoid being in the way of the attack if it somehow managed to break through the guardian barrier.
Even though they knew how unlikely such a thing was, their intuition told them that they should get as far away from the town gate as possible... And considering that there wasn’t really anything to lose by doing something like this, they all soon left the town gate behind and observed the situation from a bit further away together with the different townsfolk and adventurers slowly gathering around the town gate out of curiosity.
"So many people gathered at the gate where those people are camping... What is happening?" Just at this moment, the branch guild leader who had unknowingly turned into the target of the investigation this time, arrived at the scene with a confused expression on his face. Not understanding why so many people had suddenly gathered around the town gate.
"Ah, guild leader, it seems someone is about to try and forcibly break the guardian barrier and that person seems far stronger than others who tried to do so in the past." Hearing what the branch guild leader said, one of the guards who had been about to rush back and inform the captain of the guards of the situation stopped for a brief moment and explained the situation to him before continuing on his way.
"Someone stronger than in the past is trying to break the guardian barrier? I wonder who-"
Hearing what the guard running past him said, the branch guild leader suddenly froze mid-sentence as he saw the person now only a short distance away from the guardian barrier and already having raised his sword about to strike at any moment.
T-t-t-the knight of the crimson flame!? Wh-what is someone like that doing here!? Could it be my secret sale of dungeon monsters was found out!?
No, that wouldn’t be enough for the crimson flame knight to personally show up- Wait... Don’t tell me that thing was revealed!? But how is that possible? I’m certain that there was nothing left behind from that! But... Why else would someone like the crimson flame knight personally appear for something small like a dungeon barrier investigation and possible punishment for a branch guild elder who sold a few dungeon monsters to earn a bit extra on the side...
Almost instantly recognizing the person about to try and break through the guardian barrier, the branch guild leader began panicking as he internally revealed that he had been doing a bit more than just raising and selling a few dungeon monsters off to the highest bidder outside of the dungeon...
FWOOOOSH-!
Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to think as the crimson flame knight made his move, as his sword covered in crimson flames descended towards the guardian barrier with a terrifying power far beyond anything a B Rank Adventurer could handle-
BOOOM!
As a result, a loud explosive sound echoed out across the entire town and surrounding landscape, as the flame covered sword collided violently with the guardian barrier.
However, unexpected to most of the people inside of the town who had gathered to watch someone attempt to break through the guardian barrier to no avail again, the guardian barrier resisted violently with all of its strength for a few seconds before being crushed underneath the crimson flames-
Crack~
BANG!
Soon enough causing the massive barrier to shatter above the shocked people inside of the town...
Of course, different from these people who had not thought that the guardian barrier was going to shatter, the branch guild leader instantly understood that the guardian barrier wouldn’t be able to hold on when faced with a terrifying existence like the knight of the crimson flame. Taking the little time that it bought for him to escape back to the branch guild located at the center of the town.
"Guild leader? What happened outside-"
Whoosh-!
Ignoring the guard captain who had been in the process of deleting the records of the dungeon monster sales inside of the guild, as he rushed into the basement of the branch guild where he quickly found a small hatch hidden beneath one of the old dusty crates at the corner of the room. Opening the hatch and rushing into the small tunnel on the other side of the hatch without a second thought.
From a single glance, it was obvious that this branch guild leader had a bit more to hide, as he even had a secret escape path beneath the branch guild in case things didn’t go according to plan.
Being punished for smuggling out a few dungeon monsters was all fine to him, as he wouldn’t really suffer that much given his current strength and status in the guild, but... If it was something other than the dungeon monster smuggling.... He could only think of one thing and that something would definitely be enough to attract a powerful adventurer like the crimson flame knight to act, while his end would definitely be death if he ended up being captured!
"Where did the branch guild leader go?"
Just a few seconds after the branch guild leader left a very confused guard captain inside the branch guild, the crimson flame knight had already arrived inside of the guild as he directly walked over and asked him.
"Huh? Wai- Y-you are-!"
"Tell me, where did he go."
"H-he rushed into the basement for some reason, I don’t-"
Whoosh-!
Not wasting any words after hearing where the branch guild leader had gone, the crimson flame knight instantly rushed into the basement and soon found the secret tunnel. Wasting no time as he chased after the branch guild leader.
From the fact that there was a secret escape tunnel under the guild and the fact that the branch guild leader had decided to run away the moment the guardian barrier collapsed, he could pretty much confirm what the guild leader had told him about the situation was accurate.
After all, if the branch guild leader had been innocent, there would have been no reason for him to run away so fast the moment the guardian barrier had been destroyed. Doing so was pretty much the same as him admitting that he had done something wrong...