kscans

Chapter 127 - The Bandit Clan's Base

After mass producing the Super Eclairs as a countermeasure for the Illusion Dragon, Hayato's group came to the facility in the Royal Capital Anhemudal where you could apply for a clan.

Their purpose was to find the location of the "Bandit" clan's base.

Basic information about clans could be checked at this facility. Bandit was a famous clan, but Hayato didn't know where their base was. He came here, escorted by Ash and Ren, to check.

The countermeasures for the Illusion Dragon were complete. That being said, they didn't know when the Stampede would happen. Therefore, his idea was to proceed with the preparations for Agres Berion, which was planned for after that.

There was also a proposal to defeat Agres Berion first, but if a Stampede occurred in the Spirit Country during that battle, it would be a problem, so for now, fighting him first was not an option.

And the countermeasure for Agres Berion could be solved simply by increasing their numbers.

In this game, Another Frontier Online, there were monsters you couldn't defeat without a battle on the scale of a hundred people.

Agres Berion was one of them, and Hayato had heard a story that they had defeated it with about a hundred people before. That's because Ney's group had participated in it and subjugated it.

Even now, subjugation parties were formed periodically, and it had become something of a festival, but recently, the subjugation parties had become fixed, and it was difficult for new members to participate.

Since it was a normal battle, party attack priority and such existed. Because of that, you couldn't even fight properly without using the system where parties formed parties.

So, Hayato decided to gather people through his own connections. One of them was the clan "Bandit."

(They might not lend their strength to a clan that defeated them, but that leader seemed like a reasonable person to talk to. I don't think they'll help out of pure goodwill, but I think it could work out if the conditions are right.)

His thinking was influenced by his experience with the Demon Summoning Research Association. When Hayato met Adrian at the Herb Shop, they had both requested permission to chat.

And when he asked for their cooperation in the battle against Agres Berion, he had received a reply that they would help if there were no problems with the date and time. However, it came with the condition that he would also cooperate if there was something they wanted help with. Hayato thought that was a matter of course and had agreed.

Since he had been able to secure their cooperation so easily, he thought he might be able to do the same with Bandit.

(Well, it's a long shot. I've already asked the maids from the Maid Guild, the butlers from the Butler Guild, and Maris to ask the people from the Tamer Guild, so I don't think we'll have a problem with numbers. I've also had Esha contact Ivan. With a Demon Lord and a Hero, we should be able to manage.)

In addition to that, he had also asked the collector Cecil and the prima donna Noat. It could be said to be a fairly powerful lineup.

Still, it was always better to have strong players. And there might be a possibility that they could cooperate in the future as they continued to play the game.

With such thoughts, Hayato checked the location of Bandit's base and headed there.

Bandit's base was located far from the Royal Capital.

(It's further away than I thought. A clan of that caliber could have a base near the Royal Capital without any problem.)

You could say that a clan's base was a reflection of the clan's status. Establishing a base in a place with many players could be rephrased as that clan being excellent.

The reason the clan Hayato had belonged to, "Kokuryu," had been able to build a base right next to the Royal Capital was because they had gotten a good start at the beginning of the game.

In the early days of the game, when everything was trial and error, it was no exaggeration to say that Hayato and Ney were pioneers in their respective fields.

At the time, Hayato didn't have a base and was doing something like a street vendor in the Royal Capital.

He earned money while doing quests that could be done in the city, raised his production skills, and sold the items he made at a stall. That was how Hayato, who couldn't fight, played this game.

Ney came to buy an item there, they hit it off, and he ended up joining her clan. After that, the clan grew by adding like-minded companions.

The leader, Ney, always wanted to do new things.

She liked to go to places no one had ever been, defeat monsters no one had ever defeated, and obtain items no one had ever obtained.

Hayato would then process the things they obtained in that way with his production skills. Sometimes they would use them themselves, and sometimes they would sell them. Rare items were traded at high prices, so it could be said that at one time, Kokuryu was the clan with the most money.

At the time, there were few players who had enough money to buy land to build a base. Hayato thought that if they were going to build a base, they might as well build it in the best location, so after abandoning the base they were using at first, he built a base at its current location next to the Royal Capital.

He had thought that Bandit had built a base near the Royal Capital in a similar way, but that was not the case at all. Their base was in a location that was a little inconvenient for getting to the Royal Capital.

(From the feel of that clan, I thought they were members who had been here since the game started, but could they have started playing during the Clan War? If so, that's amazing in itself.)

There were quite a few people who started this game after the Clan War event began. Although raising skills was tough, if you had high physical abilities, there was a possibility you could win your way through PvP. Hayato began to think that Bandit was also that type.

However, when he saw Bandit's base, he understood that he was mistaken.

There were multiple castle-like bases. Besides Bandit's base, there were nine others around it. In other words, ten bases were clustered together.

(Could it be that they're in an alliance?)

System-wise, there was no such thing as an alliance where clans joined hands. However, there were such things as friendly clans. A clan could only register ten people, but since that was not enough, it was a common sight for multiple clans to build bases near each other and act like the same clan.

However, this was the first time Hayato had seen something on such a large scale.

(I see. At this rate, it's impossible to build a base near the Royal Capital. There's just not enough land.)

The area around the Royal and Imperial Capitals was a fierce battleground. The price of land had also skyrocketed. However, if you moved a little further away, you could purchase a fairly large plot of land for a reasonable price. To build ten bases, you would need a corresponding amount of land, but around here there was no problem.

"Is this Bandit's base? It's kind of amazing."

Ash said something like that, and Ren was looking at the bases with her mouth slightly open.

"The clan itself has ten people, but maybe Bandit is a clan of a hundred people."

Hanzo's group approached Bandit's base and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, the door opened and a man came out.

"Who are you—"

The man stopped for a moment and stared at Hayato.

"Could you be Hayato from Daedalus?"

"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm sorry, but I'd like to meet the leader of Bandit. Is he here now?"

It was a weekday. And it was morning. If he was in the normal working class, he would be at work at this time. Still, he had come thinking that the clan leader of a clan at Bandit's level would be here even at this time.

"He's here, but... what do you want?"

"Actually, I came to ask for your cooperation and negotiate."

"Cooperation from us? ...That sounds a little interesting. Then wait a minute, I'll go ask him."

The man said that and closed the door. But the door opened again immediately.

"He says he'd love to meet you. I'll show you the way, so follow me."

"Then we'll be in your care."

Hanzo's group walked behind the man.

This base seemed to be modeled after a castle on the outside, but the inside was the same. Just inside the entrance was an entrance hall, and there was also a large staircase in the center.

The leader seemed to be on the second floor. They went up the stairs and then walked down a long corridor to the door at the end.

The man knocked and then pushed open the double doors.

There was a luxurious-looking table, and sitting at the head of it was the leader of Bandit.

"Well now, it's been a while. I haven't seen you in nearly half a year. Have you been well?"

"Yes, thanks to you. I'm sorry to bother you so suddenly today."

"No, no, don't worry about it. Besides, it looks like I'm about to hear something interesting. Even if I had plans, I'd prioritize this."

"Thank you very much for that."

(Well, a good first impression, but how will this go?)

As Hayato sat down in the chair he was offered, he smiled at the man dressed as a barbarian.