Chapter 103 The Shadow Warriors

After discussing with Robert, Nathan decided to delay making a decision and instead spoke with his fellow party members first.

"Robert informed me of the possibility of stronger monsters existing in this pocket dimension, and how it could affect the battle between the various parties within it. Consequently, he proposed an alliance between the top 10 parties on the leaderboard, in order to unite our strength and increase our chances of success, thus avoiding defeat due to a shortage of manpower." he explained.

However, as usual, they left the decision totally up to Nathan, not showing the slightest concern. This occasionally annoyed him a bit, as he wanted to hear their opinion. "You're really too passive, guys," he said.

"That's not the case," Yudan replied. "It's you. Your decision-making and abilities are more than we can consider in this situation. Therefore, we wanted to hear your opinion first, and when you said you would go with this one, then we agreed too."

"Correct," Linda added excitedly. "The path you took always excites me, Oppa; I love it," she said with a smile.

Meriel nodded in agreement with Linda's sentiment.

"Yes..." Muramoto said, wearing a confused smile.

Since Green had returned, Nathan no longer had any difficulty locating the whereabouts of the shadow warrior. As such, he decided to take matters into his own hands and set off with Meriel to meet them in an effort to reiterate the same message that Robert had already conveyed to him.

Meriel nodded and smiled at Nathan, confirming his request.

"Wouldn't this be easy, since they are Meriel-chan's subordinates?" Muramoto said, attempting to express his opinion.

Meriel paused, her brow furrowing as she considered her response. After a moment, she replied quietly, "Well, they are actually my father's subordinates. So they obey him, but I'm sure this won't be too much of a problem."

After several hours had passed and the team's condition had been fully restored, Nathan and Meriel decided it was time to set off, wanting to save time and reduce any delays.

Although Nathan had previously declared that he would never again divide his team in two, this time, he was forced to do so in order to make the journey more efficient and facilitate his mobility.

"Robert has a good reputation, Nathan-san," Muramoto said reassuringly. "I think we can trust him."

The Shadow Warriors were ranked in the top 10 on the leaderboard. Thus their position was displayed on the map every few hours. Nathan noticed them rapidly traveling from one point to another during this time. Despite their relatively small group of only seven members, they held the third rank, indicating that they consist of formidable individuals who should not be underestimated.

As nightfall approached, they reached the location on the map where they had last seen the Shadow Warrior. Nathan activated his magic detection while Geen kept a watchful eye from the sky. The air was crisp and cold, and the trees seemed to stretch out endlessly.

"Mr. Nathan, they are here," Meriel whispered.

Nathan then slid off Fang's back, with Meriel following him.

He remained silent and still, aware that they were watching him. Not intending to fight, he tried to make himself appear as unthreatening as possible.

Nathan took a deep breath and waited for several minutes, but they still hadn't come out. He whispered softly to Meriel, "Could you call them out?"

Meriel was quiet in response. After a while, she said, "We would like to discuss something."

Just then, several shadows emerged from the darkness, and in a brief moment, seven dark elves surrounded them. One of the elves, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and pointed his sword at Nathan's face. "Do you really want to die coming at us alone?" he asked.

"Gydarra," Meriel pleaded, "please listen to what we have to say first."

The elven youth, Gydarra, glared at Meriel. He was about 18 years of age for his look, with white hair and icy blue eyes, which clearly indicated he was an experienced swordsman.

"Quiet!" he snapped.

Gydarra glared at Nathan and then focused his gaze on Nathan's right neck, pressing the tip of his sword against it. "What do you think you're doing?" he spat, rage burning in his eyes.

"Gydarra, you don't have the right to talk to him like that," Meriel interjected, standing behind Nathan and gripping his right arm.

"I said be quiet, Meriel!" Gydarra bellowed.

Gydarra fixed Nathan with an icy stare. "So, what kind of death are you expecting by coming to this place?" His tone was hostile.

Nathan could feel his patience slipping. He slowly clenched his fists, struggling to contain his impatience. If it weren't for Robert's proposal, he probably wouldn't have bothered doing this.

Meriel reached out and gently held Nathan's fist. "Mr. Nathan, let me help to talk," she whispered softly.

A female dark elf then stepped forward, her blue ponytail swaying as she moved. Her clothes identified her as an archer, and Nathan guessed she was around the same age as Meriel and the other dark elves. "Gydarra," she said. "Can't you see he hasn't even raised his sword or attempted to fight back? Give him a chance to talk."

Gydarra's gaze shifted from Nathan to the woman, and he snapped back. "Gaem! I'm in control here." But then he turned his attention back to Nathan.

"Fight me," Gydarra said. "If you win, I'll listen to whatever you have to say."

Nathan remained silent, not wanting to do anything that would make the situation worse. He had never been good at talking to others since Edna was the only person he had ever communicated with for the last decade. He wasn't the type to explain something to someone who didn't seem to want to listen. And Nathan wasn't in the state to be interested in fighting just to prove something, either. If he had to fight, he wanted to let out the anger that was slowly consuming him.

Meriel held Nathan's hand tightly, trying to ease his tension. Then, unexpectedly, she grabbed the tip of Gydarra's sword, gripping it until blood flowed from her palms. She pushed the sword away from Nathan and faced Gydarra.

"Gydarra! If you want to fight, I will serve you. And you have no right to refuse, because you have threatened my party leader!" Meriel said firmly, shocking everyone around her.

Nathan looked at her in surprise. "Is she really her?" he thought, as this was the first time he'd heard Meriel say something as assertive and impudent as that.

"Fight me! If I win, I ask you to be quiet and stop acting as you please in front of me." she added.