Infinite Realm

It didn't take long for the team led by Azure Dragon to make it to the location revealed by Iron Bear. The cavern wasn't that far off from their location and the surrounding area was clear of any kobolds so they proceeded smoothly.

At the mouth of the cavern were two players from Howling Wolf Battalion that acted as lookouts for the place. When they spotted Azure's team, one of them retreated into the cavern while the other stayed behind to receive them.

"Follow me."

Once the two parties met, they didn't exchange any pleasantries nor greetings as the player led them into the cavern while another player appeared to take his place as a guard.

While he was a bit annoyed by the treatment, Azure Dragon didn't stress it but went on to follow the player with his teammates.

The cavern was quite big, just as Iron Bear had described it, capable of accommodating the 40+ players and their tents. In fact, it could even hold up to 60 players without being cramped up. At one side of the cavern was a bunch of tents set up by the players while at the end of the cavern, a larger tent was set up, serving as the command centre. The tents weren't anything fancy and were just brown coloured canopies set up as a resting area.

"According to the captain, you guys can pitch up your tents over there." The leading payer pointed over to the right. By the left side was where the Howling Wolf Battalion players had pitched their tents and directly in front was the command tent.

"As for your captain, his presence is required at the command tent." The player pointed at the only different coloured tent in the area, the army green command tent that could house at least 9 people inside of it.

"Chesces, organise the players. Kylian, you're with me." Azure Dragon said while staring at the command tent.

Kylian glanced at Chesces and seeing that he was quiet he replied, "Alright."

The duo then departed towards the command tent with the guard player in tow.

"What the hell is he doing? Why didn't he pick you? It's the most obvious decision." Yukino said with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. While she might not be rated as one of the most valuable players in the guild like Chesces and Azure Dragon, she still had a bit of influence so she was aware of the disputes between the two but she never expected it to even affect their decisions this much.

"What do you mean?" Chesces asked with a blank face as he led the team over to their designated area.

"Since Azure Dragon is heading over to negotiate with those guys, he should have selected a partner who is also as smart as he is to aid him in the negotiations. He should know that we're currently in enemy territory so we could get set up at any point in time by them. The meeting there might even be a trap to take him down. Going in into their commander's tent without appropriate security is dumb. 

"You're clearly as smart as he is and even stronger than him, so you're the best possible choice we have. Yet, he didn't choose you." Yukino frowned.

"You worry too much." Chesces smiled.

"No matter how much b*lls Silver Wolf has, he wouldn't dare to attack us, especially at this point."

"Why do you say that?" Yukino asked.

Chesces lifted a finger and replied, "First of all, killing us here would do them more harm than good. That would be the same as announcing an all-out war and at the stage we're all at, that would be disadvantageous to both sides and would enable some fishers to rope in a killing. If we were to go to battle, Battle Wolves wouldn't stand a chance. The game hasn't even been on for a month so not the difference in levels and strength isn't much. In other words, the winning factor would be battle tactics, group cohesion, and individual strength, all of which we trump them at."

"Secondly," Chesces raised another finger, "we all want to take down the Kobold King and no team can do that individually. This is a fact that has been recognized otherwise, we wouldn't be here, waiting. Every battle power counts and this is even more so for top guilds like us. Our battle prowess is valuable and very much needed and eliminating us would cause them more harm than good. Not only will their numbers reduce, but the overall strength and number of participants in the allied army would drop drastically. If the prowess of the raid team sees a drop in number, this would reduce the chances of victory and therefore make the battle a whole lot more difficult."

"Lastly, let's say they do succeed in annihilating our entire team, there is no way the Howling Wolf Battalion would be able to silence the news of our deaths. Both the spies amongst them as well as us will reveal the news of our death."

Seeing that Chesces had stopped speaking, Yukino asked, "Wouldn't that be detrimental to the guild's honour and popularity. Releasing the news that a well-renowned super guild's raid team was wiped out by that of a 1st tier guild without the opponents losing much of their players. Not only will this be seen as a sign of weakness, but it would also turn us into a laughing stock and increase the popularity of our enemy. So why would we do it?"

"Why, you ask?" Chesces smiled. 

"It's because this will reduce the credibility of our enemy. Everyone would want to dig in on the news and once they come about the circumstances we are in, Battle Wolves would become the detested party. Everyone knows that the top guilds are gathering here for the raid. If one of the potential candidates to lead the allied raid team were to eradicate an opposing candidate, no one would want to work with them. They would be excluded from the allied raid team if not wiped out by the other guilds. Even if that doesn't happen, Battle Wolves would be forced to relinquish commanding rights and their team would be sent to the frontlines as cannon-fodders. 

"If we blow the matter up more, Battle Wolves could even lose their credibility in the eyes of the average players. They would be seen as backstabbers and betrayers, and not only would this reduce their standing in the hearts of players but it would also affect their members' morale. This would also affect their sponsors' businesses and no one would want to partner up with them anymore. If we were to strike at them during this period, in the name of revenge, we would even be able to rally a few other players and guilds to our side and defeat them without much loss.

"So no matter what, Battle Wolves wouldn't dare to assault us like this, especially during this period." Chesces smirked.

"...so much plot hidden within a simple action." Yukino sighed. "No wonder you're a commander figure and a sly bastard."

"Hehe." Chesces rubbed his nose awkwardly at the praise.

"But still, that doesn't explain why Azure Dragon didn't call you. You're still pretty smart and strong so you are the best option."

"From my previous explanations, we can be sure that they wouldn't dare to attack us. If there's no harm in there, then strength isn't required." Chesces said. 

"You shouldn't forget that Azure is also a 'false king' like myself, so escaping over to our side shouldn't be much of a problem. Also, it's just some simple negotiations so I'm not needed. If he can't handle that much then he would be a disappointment to the title of guild leader. Kylian is quite smart too so bringing him along wouldn't be bad. Also, he's a [Druid] and the class is pretty good at healing and crowd control; a perfect accomplice to pull of an escape to this side.

"Enough talking about this and go set up camp with the others. We'll be here for some time so it's best to get all the rest you need and prepare yourself for what's to come. The Kobold King isn't a pushover and we will most likely depend on players like you to lead the charge. Your role is crucial o you should be at your peak at all times."

"Alright."