Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

Chapter 683 Enemy stronghold

[OP: ]

[ "It is said that archeologists found this relic in some ruins in the eastern continent and then it was stolen when it was being transported.

It is said that there is a mysterious power residing in this artifact, and, the jewels that are attached to it seem to support these claims." ]

The demonic humans, disguised as normal people in hoods, wearing masks of different kinds, or using skills that hid their real appearance present in all twelve of the rooms had a certain kind of reaction they did not have when their item had come out.

The item was a golden sculpture that seemed to be painted with gold, however, one could tell that it was a clay figure painted with some kind of unique golden substance.

The figure itself was quite weird with many of its features resembling some kind of humanoid beast however, since most of the sculpture was made with bright golden paint, understanding what this thing was, was difficult even for the experts currently looking at it from their booths.

There were attractive jewels that they could tell were far more valuable than they had ever seen though, they could tell that much.

Those jewels, their kind, and the way they were perfectly crafted were not something the humans of the current day could possibly recreate with their hands.

If not the sculpture itself, the public was very interested in the jewels that were attached to the sculpture all around it, that's why a fierce war broke out when the bidding for the piece actually started.

There were some who went crazy over the piece and bet without caring about what kind of amount they were betting and the twelve booths with the demonic humans were at the peak of this war.

They were competing among themselves for some reason, something that was normal for everyone else, however, for Eon and the others who knew what those people were, their actions were a difficult situation to assess.

They watched them and tried outbidding them however that group of people were all crazy. The way they all increased their bids in unison as if a group of predators trying to hunt their prey even scared the four of them.

It was… ruthless. And, money itself had nothing to do with this ferocious attitude.

It had turned into a psychological warfare that scared the other participants and even the announcer who was doing the announcements for the hosts of the auctions.

Eon and the others had no choice but to back off on this item. It was for the best to let them have it.

Those bastards were only interested in this one item anyway, and to not make things too suspicious, they bid on some other things after the sculpture as well, however, they were careful with their movements.

They made it so smooth that it didn't even seem like all of them were a single group, they were professionals through and through.

By the end of the day's auction, there were many items that were purchased by the group of twelve booths, and though they had to face a lot of difficulties, C3 had also managed to get their hands on six items that they were allowed as well…

First of all, the unique white bat that, after a long discussion and debate, went to Eon.

The second item was a unique parchment that was 'described' as something containing a recipe for a unique kind of potion, which turned out to be something unique and went to President Zodiac.

There were two unique artifacts that were special and quite attractive to all of them, however, after some chat, they went to Rein and their vice president.

They also purchased a slave… Eon did specifically. And he fought with many lunatics for it.

He paid one of the highest prices for today's auction for that slave, however, since they were at work right now, they just sent him back to their operation room.

And lastly, since she couldn't get the cute vampire bat, Cradle purchased a rare kind of [Shadow direwolf] and established a summons pact with it before they left the auction site.

They had some people to take care of, so, with Celes still watching them all closely, they all exited the auction site, and, started following the group individually.

They did not know what happened to the items they all had purchased or who had what item after they all outside of the auction house, but, since they had them under surveillance, tailing the group that had scattered all around the capital city was quite easier.

And, since they had confirmed the enemies were more powerful than what they had expected, they called Miss Moon to them as well.

They chased the perpetrators, however, what they found at the end of their journey, was an even bigger and more complicated plot than they had expected.

[[ "This does not make any sense…" ]]

[[ "Should we report this to headmaster?" ]]

[[ "We will have to do it, certainly. However, I believe he won't be able to make it here on time. The meeting they are having isn't something that will be concluded before the end of the annual competition." ]]

[[ "I will talk with headmaster… Eon, see what you can figure out about this stronghold, make a data report, and, let's go back for now.

There's no way we can deal with them with just a few of us without a certain plan." ]]

There was a stronghold, far outside the city and in a forest area.

It had multiple entrances and was located quite deep inside an artificial cave.

Surrounded by top-class security, guard posts, protective areas, and strong barriers, inside this stronghold, there were more than two hundred of these demonic human cultists all at a level that the four of them could barely take care of on their own.

They themselves didn't go into their stronghold however, they were able to get some of Celes' clones in there after contemplating for about an hour.

They at least had information about their numbers now, and, they had confirmed three things through their search that night.

First, the scale of their operation was too big so it definitely wasn't only about summoning some demon in this place. They chose this very place for a reason and perhaps the thing that they purchased might not be as important to their plans as they had thought.

Eon and the others knew the sculpture was a key element or something that would be used in some other thing, however, the way they were so organized, the way they were preparing inside that stronghold, and the scale of their forces clearly indicated much more than summoning of some demon.

They were up to something, they were doing something, however, what they were up to… they did not know just yet.

[[ "I feel like shit…" ]]

They were chasing after some bastards the entire day and they found them far away from the place they were searching at the end. They tracked and chased them covertly but, it was all worthless in the end.

They couldn't even touch their hair even after almost getting them in their claws… they had to return like cowards even though the enemy was right before their face.

[[ "It's worse for him, Rein." ]]

Rein couldn't accept the fact that they were doing this even though the five of them were at least strong enough to destroy more than half of their forces before getting pushed back.

They were strong, certainly, however, this time the enemy wasn't some weak bunch of dumb cultists…

Their President knew it the best. These people were more organized than any of the previous bunch of demonic humans he had faced. They were more proficient with their tasks, and there was unity, certainly, however, the driving force behind their actions was more than just some shallow faith or belief.

He could tell they were following commands from someone higher up, someone that he had never faced in his life until now.

These demonic humans… and their plans. They were after something much greater than the destruction of nature, the death of a few innocents, or the interruption of the happenings inside of the capital city.

He knew they were cooking something bigger… something he could not take on recklessly.

It might have been different if it was the past.

In the past, he worked alone and had no one to look after so he could just run around wildly as he pleased, but after the academy, after learning, after being with companions… he had changed.

He was responsible for the lives of all who were with him. And, even if he believed in their abilities, the combined abilities of their group, against an enemy of that scale with little to no knowledge of their capabilities, he was not going to risk any of their lives.

He felt bitter.

It was as if someone had fed him poison and he was burning from the inside.

He knew what this feeling was, the regret and anger that came with it… however, retreat was the best option at this moment.

They can take care of this bunch when they have prepared even a little more. It wasn't impossible with enough help.

As long as there wasn't an actual demon noble before them, they could do it. They can win against them and obliterate whatever sinister plans they had prepared.

He knew that, so, even though he was burning from the inside, he led them out of that place and to their own safe house in the capital city.

Eon admired his leadership and decision-making skills. It was the right call to retreat at that moment.

They can continue with their mission as long as they are safe and sound, something that would not be possible if even one of us was hurt or caught by those people.

He made the right call this time…

[[ "Be very careful Celes. Consider the possibility of being discovered when making any moves." ]]

[[ Yes master… ]]

However, this was just the start.

Now that they knew the scale of this damn situation, they had to figure out how the hell they were going to deal with it.