The basement was empty. All the staff had rushed to the lounge to deal with the situation. Thanks to that, Arthur and his group were able to conduct their search with ease, but there was one problem.

A sigh of irritation finally burst out of someone’s mouth.

“Oh my god, why is it so wide?”

It was difficult to find their way around the complex, twisting corridors that resembled ant nests. Thanks to Enoch’s guidance, they managed to get down to the lower floors, but that was where the problem started.

The group couldn’t help but feel a little dumbfounded as they looked down the hallway lined with identical doors.

“It seems like they intentionally made the passage strange, so that no one could escape.”

“Wow, I’m getting dizzy just looking at that.”

When Arthur grumbled at his senior’s words, Enoch slumped his shoulders.

“I’m sorry… I haven’t been here before.”

Arthur, who had briefly comforted the boy, quickly began to think.

There was no time to waste here. They had to move as quickly as possible to lessen the burden on those fighting upstairs.

At that moment, Arthur’s keen senses picked up a presence. The other knights seemed to feel the same thing and quickly raised their heads.

“Wait a minute. Who’s coming?”

“Let’s just open a door anywhere and hide there.”

Arthur stopped the knights who were about to put their words into action as they became impatient.

“Just a moment, seniors.”

“Uh?”

When the two stopped moving, Arthur looked at the group with a slightly different look in his eyes than before. The prisoners were dressed in nice clothes but still had pale complexions, and the knights were dressed like mercenaries belonging to the gambling house.

After thinking about it, Arthur made a decision.

“Just stay here for a moment.”

“What?”

There was no time for him to explain in detail.

Before they knew it, the other party members could hear the sound of urgent footsteps. It was already too late to break down the door and go in, so they had no choice but to wait quietly as Arthur had said.

A group of mercenaries came running out from inside. It seemed like they had been guarding the inside and were rushing out after hearing about the situation outside.

The mercenary in the lead crumpled his face.

“What? Why are you guys here?”

“Idiot! Why else would we be here? The rascals came in here!”

At that moment, Arthur shouted back irritably. The knights looked at him with dumbfounded faces, but Arthur remained firm.

“What? Are you guys stupid?”

The mercenaries who had been asking questions curiously looked at those standing behind Arthur and made a sour expression. They were dressed as guests and clearly should not have been here.

Arthur rebuked them.

“The thief came all the way here, you idiots! He went further inside, and you didn’t run into him?”

“What? I didn’t see him? What the hell, did we miss each other?”

“There must be someone left at the safe, right?”

“The safe? You mean Mr. Merlin’s office? There’s no one there…”

“You idiots. Why did you leave that place without a guard?”

The mercenaries flinched at the realistic shout.

Arthur put his hand on his forehead with an exaggerated gesture as if he had a headache.

“Damn, it’s true that it’s a mess outside… just leave one person here. It looks like he’s a total idiot who doesn’t even know how to fight properly, so we’ll be enough. The rest of you go outside and do something about that silver-haired brat!”

“Oh, I see. Please leave this to me.”

The mercenaries nodded hurriedly and ran outside again, leaving only one person behind.

As they disappeared down the curved corridor, the remaining one turned his back towards the corridor again.

“Why did they make the road so unnecessarily complicated! Which way did he go?”

“There is no need to look for the intruder.”

Pat…

Smack.

A strong hand grabbed the shoulder of the mercenary who was about to start walking again.

“Because he’s right in front of you.”

Sling.

The sword that had been drawn out before he knew it dug right up to his neck. The face of the mercenary who had been standing there blankly, unable to grasp the situation, belatedly turned pale.

“Take me to the office of Mr. Merlin that you mentioned earlier, if you don’t want your neck and body to be separated forever.”

Arthur spoke ominously, his sword drawn close to the mercenary’s neck. Cold sweat began to pour down the mercenary’s face as he took in the full force of the knight’s murderous intent.

“If you don’t like this, just tell me. I can kill you and catch someone else to show us around.”

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the exit. Judging from the situation, it seemed that Richt had run into trouble and made his move.

The corners of Arendt’s mouth curved slightly.

“This is so rewarding.”

Compared to the days when they were obsessed with principles, it was truly a huge step forward.

The same went for the two other people who were right next to him, overturning tables and beating people up.

At first, they seemed reluctant, but now that they understood the true purpose of this mess, Rider and Glenn were turning their surroundings upside down with increasing efficiency.

Arendt, who confirmed that Arthur and his party had safely entered the other entrance, immediately threw a chair.

People were shocked and scattered in all directions.

“Catch him! Leave the others alone! Catch that silver-haired brat first!!”

The commotion at the exit seemed invisible.

Arendt stood up on one of the few remaining intact tables and picked his ear.

It was an obvious mockery.

“I told you to try if you can. You old man, I’ve been getting irritated by the way you’ve been underestimating people. You must have been excited because you thought you’d caught a fool, but things won’t go as planned.”

“This fucker…!”

Merlin’s face turned bright red at the insults.

From his mouth, which seemed as if he could grab the back of his neck and fall over at any moment, came the scream that Arendt had been waiting for.

“I’ll offer a reward to the person who catches that guy and makes him kneel before me! Catch him now!!”

“Yes!”

The mercenaries’ eyes lit up at the mention of a reward. Their morale was recharged once more, and they began to rush towards Arendt with their weapons ready.

Those who were running to support the exit where a new fight had broken out also changed direction abruptly.

Glenn screamed.

“Hey, you crazy idiot! I’m already so busy, what am I going to do if you drag me in even more!”

“What can you do? You’ll have to move diligently.”

He didn’t even have time to react to the annoying reply from that damn junior.

The two men rushed towards Arendt and began to busily parry away at the weapons flying from all directions.

“Wow, how reassuring. I don’t think I’ll get hit by a sword.”

“I’ll deal with you later. I’ll have to give you a smack.”

Glenn growled fiercely at Arendt’s teasing remark.

Rider exploded with irritation.

“Let’s fight later and focus!”

It was something that was unimaginable until just recently, fighting against the enemy with that guy, protecting each other’s backs.

Anyway, his ability to manipulate people was top-notch.

But this hardship wasn’t completely without reward. Richt and his group, who were visible from afar, had begun to take action.

“Come back, come back, you lunatics!”

The mercenaries who were struggling to block the entrance were swearing. However, those who were blinded by the word “reward” could not hear their voices properly.

The mercenaries, who were about to grit their teeth and curse, discovered their comrades approaching from a different direction.

“You’re too late! Don’t just stand there and watch. Come on, give me some help… Kekekekeke!”

Before the venting could even finish, the ‘comrade”s fist flew into the mercenary’s face.

The situation was similar on the other side.

Another mercenary who had his hair grabbed by the drunken gamblers also fell to the ground without even having time to scream after being hit in the head. Another mercenary who realized the situation later shouted in shock.

“Wait a minute, who are you guys?”

“You don’t need to know.”

But the next moment, he heard Richt’s cold words, and he too had no choice but to collapse with a thud.

In an instant, all the mercenaries were subdued, and those who had been struggling to get through the exit were left blankly staring at the knights.

Those bewildered looks weren’t particularly strange, since it seemed like the mercenaries from the casino had suddenly taken down their side.

If Arendt were here, he would have told a plausible lie, and if Arthur were here, he would have calmly bluffed, but Richt chose to consistently ignore it.

“There’s no time. They’ll come again!”

“I know.”

As Saif urged him anxiously, Richt unsheathed the sword on his waist. It was the one he had taken when he escaped from prison earlier.

Saif and the other knights, realizing what he was going to do, shouted and pushed the people back.

“If you don’t want to get into trouble, step back!”

“Get out of the way, get out of the way!”

Richt, who had grabbed the sword in its scabbard without even drawing it, suddenly raised his sword aura and struck the locked door diagonally.

Kwaaang!

The door was instantly shattered into pieces with a noise like if a bomb exploded.

Saif licked his lips as he stared blankly at the fragments of the door falling with a thud.

“No… Isn’t this a bit too much?”

“There’s no time. Run.”

But this time, Richt only said what he wanted to say. He put his sword back into his waistband, carried the old man and the girl in his arms, and started running outside.

“Let’s go together, senior!”

“Just a moment!”

As the knights rushed out carrying two people at a time, Saif followed quickly behind them, carrying the two remaining people under his arm.

Other people who were staring blankly at the shattered door suddenly started to run outside in panic when a chair flew towards them.

Arendt, the one who threw the chair, smiled happily.

“For now, one side has been resolved.”

“Ah, damn it! They’re running away! Catch those bastards too! Catch them! Don’t let a single one of them go!”

Merlin, who realized too late that the exit was open, started to panic and clutch his head.

A few mercenaries tried to chase after them, but Rider and Glenn blocked their path.

“Where are you going?”

“You’re not done talking with us yet?”

The mercenaries paused as the two men murmured ominously.

They couldn’t bring themselves to attack them because their comrades, who had been beaten up so badly by them, were rolling around on the floor.

Those who watched the scene had no choice but to admit it.

The splendid gambling hall that had ruled the city for years, a different world to some and a hellhole to others, was completely taken over by a few crazy guys.