Eren stepped back and nodded before adding more.

“This is going to be a long project that we need to start from scratch. I hope you don’t try to weasel your way out of doing the work. Because it will keep you in the grind all the time.”

Ariadne adjusted her hair and replied to Eren’s comment in a confident tone.

“Hmph! Worry about yourself, Eren. Lone wolves like me aren’t strangers to hard work.”

Eren smiled at Ariadne’s statement and added further.

“We’d need a lot of money before we think about creating a merc team. We need capital to buy the resources we require to attract capable members.”

There were various types of mercenaries in Gilaahan. Some worked part-time. Many of them mixed themselves up with multiple open-hiring teams. But the most successful teams were those that had a fixed set of team members.

Eren wanted to have a stellar start for his mercenary band from the get-go. For that, he needed people he could count on for a long time. And such people won’t come to him unless he offers them the benefits they need.

In Gilaahan, only eternal benefits could preserve personal bonds. These bonds flourished under such beneficial circumstances for all the parties involved.

Ariadne thought a bit before coming up with something.

“Eren, there’s this plan I have to rob the Spiders of their resources. It carries substantial risk. But seeing your battle potential and the rewards we can obtain from the plan makes me want to give it a try.”

Eren was about to leave Ariadne to her devices and check up on his team. They had already shared their contact information with I-Rune, allowing them to remain in touch. But he was stopped by Ariadne’s offer. His interest was piqued as he replied.

“Always thinking of making quick gains, aren’t we? Not that I mind. Tell me. I’m all ears.”

Ariadne smirked before continuing.

“We need to do this by tonight if we want to have a shot at this. With Stardust members breathing down their necks, Spiders are stretched thin. Your ambush was a success for the most part.

I don’t know about the rest of the Awakened rankers in the Spiders’ group. But don’t think that Bahlam Dorian would be killed by your sneak attacks. The guy has too many trump cards in his sleeves.”

Eren pursed his lips and scratched his chin. He believed that Raina Regan was perfectly capable of taking care of Behlam Dorian. Yana Shiran was also a capable fighter. But that was his first impression after seeing Bahlam Dorian from a distance.

He could tell that Raina was pretty confident in taking down Bahlam and the rest of the Awakened rankers she had targeted. He had seen the confident aura she gave off before being teleported inside the isolated barrier.

However, Eren didn’t want to discard Ariadne’s prediction. That’s because she had a knack for seeing the bigger picture in any situation.

Ariadne let Eren process what she was trying to say before commenting further.

“Even this raid team that is laid by Behlam Dorian was originally supposed to have five Awakened rankers in its midst. But since other Awakened rankers were assigned to different jobs, Behlam and the two other Awakened rankers with him had to lead a huge number of Spiders for the same mission.

However, Behlam is a capable leader and a superior ranker. He managed to use the manpower given to him well and effectively took care of the enemy boss by himself.

The loot that has been obtained after clearing the cultist hideout is big. And I don’t think Spiders have bothered to report it to the kingdom since they are already at odds with it.”

Eren smiled mirthlessly as he finally realized what Ariadne was cooking in her head.

“The loot from the cultist hideout is with Bahlam. And you are banking on the fact that he gets away from Raina and other Stardust members. All so that we can target him when he would be at his most vulnerable.

I imagine you have a way to find him if and when he separates from the rest of the Spiders.”

Ariadne nodded.

“Yes. Bahlam had already guessed that there was going to be an ambush planned by the Stardust guild members during their return trip to the city of Ludan. Our orders were to scatter in all directions when that happened.

We were supposed to go to Bahlam after things settled down. We had been given a tracker rune so we could find him, which could have allowed the scattered members to gather at a specific point and finish the journey.

We were told to avoid using the I-Rune communication channel because Bahlam feared that they would get intercepted by the special spatial arrays.

I think someone in your team knows Bahlam well and understands how he operates. I believe that’s why the isolation barrier was created and you were told to bring a bunch of Spiders inside it. This strategy prevented the Spiders from sticking to their previous plan.

I still have the tracker rune on me. And I can sense that it is moving away from me as we speak. That can only mean one thing.

I always had plans to rob Spiders of their resources. If not the loot obtained in this mission, then the resources of their main base. In light of how difficult it would be for a lone individual like me, I mostly gave up on that idea.

But since we are together, I’m sure we can do something about it.”

Eren chortled when he heard Ariadne’s deep schemes. It looked to him like she had joined Spiders to take advantage of their conflict with the Stardust guild.

“Looks like he got away, just as you predicted.”

Eren sighed and continued.

“That’s a smart plan indeed, Ariadne. The timing is right as well. But it looks like you think too highly of me. I won’t be able to take care of anyone as strong as Bahlam Dorian.

The guy is in the solid stage of the Awakened rank. Not someone I can handle on my own even when injured by Raina’s attacks.”

Eren was about to discard Ariadne’s plan. But she told him something else that made him reconsider it.

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