Carrying the fainted adventurer that they had picked up at the base of the stairs leading to the second floor of the dungeon, both of the somewhat older adventurers kept their thoughts to themselves as they began rushing back in the direction of the dungeon entrance where what would now be considered the final line of defense against the monster stampede that had already swept through the third floor of the dungeon.
"Hey? What are those two doing- Hm? Someone fainted?!"
"Not just that, look at those injuries, definitely not from a monster on the first floor…"
"Indeed, none of the monster on the firs floor are poisonous- or at least not to the degree that this guy seems to be suffering from."
"Someone unlucky who got ambushed on the second floor?"
"Maybe…"
But even though none of them said anything as they made their way back, the sight of them carrying the unconscious man still ended up drawing a lot of attention from any adventurer they moved past, as the first floor of the dungeon wasn't exactly considered dangerous and the injuries that the fainted adventurer had was simply not something that could be done by an oversized rat or any of the other monsters found on the first floor of the dungeon. Leading most to guess that the fainted adventurer might be someone who had been ambushed by a group of poisonous monsters on the second floor of the dungeon.
"Wait… Isn't the person they are carrying one of the A Rank Adventurers from the headquarters…?"
However, as most of the adventurers they passed by merely chucked the injuries of the fainted adventurer up to an ambush on the second floor of the dungeon, one of the more discernable younger adventurers who had watched when the adventurers from the headquarters entered the dungeon. Recognized the one who was being carried as one of the A Rank Adventurers from back then.
"Huh? Indeed… That is one of those A Rank Adventurers!"
"But… If that is the case, it shouldn't have been an ambush from a group of poisonous monsters on the second floor of the dungeon. No way an A Rank Adventurer would struggle in the face of monsters on the second floor of the dungeon."
"Havn't all forgotten!? Why is one of the people from the team sent out by the main headquarters here?! Even if injured, he should have been sent to one of the towns or cities on the third floor- Unless…"
"Unless it isn't possible…"
Although difficult to recognize in his beat-up state, it didn't take long for several others to realize who the injured person was… And along with that came the sudden realization that someone like this shouldn't ever have shown up on the first floor of the dungeon in such an injured state.
"Hey, you two, did… Did that person say anything before fainting…?"
And working up some courage, one of the adventurers who had begun to follow behind the two older adventurers after realizing that this situation was far more serious than they had originally thought, stepped forward to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Yes… The third floor has already fallen, and a monster stampede has formed, those below should be in the process of delaying the monster stampede on the second floor. Buying time for everyone else to gather at the first floor." Nodding his head, the oldest of the two answered honestly without any hesitation. Seeing no reason to hide the information. Especially considering that it would be for the best if the information spread, as it would give everyone still wandering around the first floor more time to return to the city at the dungeon entrance.
After all, when the monster stampede reached the first floor of the dungeon. Anyone still outside exploring on their own would be dead, as there was no way for a single adventurer to retreat in the face of something as terrifying as a monster stampede.
The only ones who might stand a chance being S Rank Adventurers, but… None of the people out exploring the first floor of the dungeon were S Rank Adventurers. Instead, they were D Rank Adventurers who felt they were too weak to make any difference in the battle on the third floor and didn't want to risk their lives or E Rank Adventurer who had only recently joined the guild along with some of the weakest F Rank Adventurers, who might struggle in the face of the overwhelming rats, let alone a monster stampede compromised of monster all the way from the fifth floor of the dungeon.
All things considered, the words from the older adventurer instantly caused the faces of everyone around to turn pale white, as they all understood how dangerous their current situation was… And without a word, they began making their way back towards the dungeon entrance along with the two. Not a single person daring to stay behind and continue hunting oversized rats after learning about the monster stampede below.
Only a few, who had friends hunting oversized rats in another location, split off to inform their friends about the situation before similarly rushing back towards the dungeon entrance.
By the time that the two older adventurers at the D Rank returned to the massive city constructed at the entrance to the Howling Caverns Dungeon, news had already spread throughout the city, as countless people were busy moving around in preparation for the inevitable battle. Everyone, understanding that while it might be possible for them to escape if they left now, they would lose everything they had built up inside Howling Cave City, something unbearable to those adventurers who had already settled down and invested most of what they had earned over the years into buying a place for themselves inside the city.
Not to mention, the situation wasn't lost yet and there was still the group from the main headquarters holding the frontline, while the city at the dungeon entrance could be considered the most heavily fortified location inside the entire dungeon outside of the town at the fourth floor of the dungeon, as it had been designed to act as a last line of defense in the face of a dungeon stampede.
Given that many of the people sent over by the main headquarters were still at the capital of the Great Sky Kingdom, there was also a certain feeling of confidence in those people rushing over to help ensure the safety of the Howling Cavern Dungeon, as there was no way that the Adventurers Guild wanted to see a second dungeon breach taking place inside the Great Sky Kingdom.
After all, though one dungeon breach might be difficult to handle, it was more than possible, but the second two dungeon breaches appeared, the situation could quickly spiral out of control.
Even if the one in charge of the group from the Adventurers Guild might be busy dealing with something in the capital city, he would likely still drop everything to rush over the second he learnt about the critical situation that the Howling Caverns Dungeon found itself in.
And… Indeed, shortly after learning about the state of the Howling Caverns Dungeon from the A Rank Adventurer who had been woken up with the help of healing magic from a senior priest, he set off together with most of the people who were busy in the capital city. Leaving behind only a few essential personal to keep an eye on the situation while he was gone. Knowing that this was the only thing he could do. Understanding that leaving any S Rank Adventurer behind might end up making them a target for the Holy Flower Sect that they had been busy trying to root out.
However, even with precautions in place, he still understood that the Holy Flower Sect would take advantage of his absence from the capital city to move their own plans forward.
But… There was nothing he could do about, as leaving the Howling Caverns Dungeon on its own was not an option. After all, he also understood that while he would set off to help ensure the stability of the dungeon in the face of the monster stampede, the Holy Flower Sect would undoubtedly also send someone to cause chaos and try their best to assist the monsters in breaking through the final defensive line at the dungeon entrance.
How and what they planned to do to accomplish this was still unknown, but they would undoubtedly try with all their might to cause another dungeon breach at the Howling Caverns Dungeon, as the remaining dungeons inside the Great Sky Kingdom had already been stabilized by the other adventurers from the main headquarters of the Adventurers Guild. Leaving only the Howling Caverns as a potential breaking point for the Holy Flower Sect to take advantage of to further their own plot of turning the Great Sky Kingdom into another forbidden ground overrun with monsters and no way for the Adventurers Guild to establish itself.