Guilds existed all over the three continents, and they were divided in ranks.

The White Iron guild was C-rank, while the Red Wolf guild was E-rank.

Ignoring the obvious gap in rank, the fact that White Iron had more than one guild house deterred Red Wolf, and subsequently, Davin. His guild had only been formed two years ago, and his one and only base was in the missionary outpost.

"Unbelievable!"

But none of that mattered as an exclamation drew all attention.

All eyes fell on a girl that was covering her mouth like she had made a mistake. It looked very suspicious, especially because she was backing the large gap that Ilyon had made in the mountain.

With a look, both Davin and Sunny, along with a few others, reasoned that something was up, and as they narrowed their eyes a bit, they noticed a blue glimmer from within the mountain.

Without another word, Davin forgot about Sunny and approached the crack with fast steps, intent on finding out what the fuss was about.

But before he could…

"What are you doing?"

The short woman clad in silver stood in front of the girl, causing Davin to raise an eye, before speaking…

"Anything and everything contained within the mountains is owned by the Empire. And since the admiral is dead, I, Loreta, stand in as the head of the missionary and the representative of the Empire. No one is allowed to enter this mountain. Any who do will be trespassing and shall be branded as a traitor to the Empire"

Davin stood unmoving as his mind whirred…

In the first place, he was certainly not taking orders from someone weaker than him, but the fact that she had gone to such lengths affirmed his suspicions.

\'There\'s something very precious in there\'

Davin looked the girl in the eyes and spoke with a cold but fierce tone…

"Move out of the way"

And he quickly got his response.

*Shing*

Loreta unsheathed her sword in one go and took a battle stance.

"Not while I still draw breath"

Davin stared for a few seconds while those behind him watched.

"Is that so? Then you leave me no choice"

Davin didn\'t even take his sword, rather opting to clench his fists and take a stance of his own, before emanating an invisible pressure on Loreta.

"Here I go!"

In one smooth motion, too fast to the eyes of most onlookers, Davin suddenly accelerated and punched forward.

*Bam!*

The impact resounded as most did not even see what exactly he had done.

Only after did they see Davin…with his fists on the mountain.

Both Loreta and the woman behind her opened their eyes at this moment, Loreta\'s hand quivering.

"Nice bluffing. If it was someone else, they might have been caught in your trap. Unfortunately, I also know that the one who discovers a valuable resource has a right to a quarter of said resource. Now, let\'s see what you were trying to hide so badly"

At this moment…

*Crack*

Cracks came to life from the point where Davin had punched the mountain, large pieces breaking off and exposing it for the treasure trove that it was.

Those knowledgeable quickly figured out what it was, but they had their minds blown because of it.

"I-Is that what I think it is?"

"Oh my goodness!"

"It\'s a manite vein!"

"No it\'s not. I\'ve seen a manite vein, and this is not one of them"

"Huh? What is it then?"

"Who cares?! Those are mana crystals! A few of those and I\'m set for life!"

It was this statement that caused a light of greed to shine in everyone\'s eyes as they quickly distanced themselves from others and looked at those beside them warily.

The remaining members of White Iron, Red Wolf and the Missionaries quickly grouped up, leaving the scattered mercenaries baffled, before those smart amongst them did the same.

Davin hadn\'t moved an inch during all of this and stood still in front of the gap, before rubbing his head.

\'This was a bad idea\' he thought, before turning around to see the four groups adjacent to each other.

It was exactly as he predicted. Well, not exactly, but almost.

If the situation wasn\'t handled carefully and thoughtfully, a bloodbath would ensue.

Needless to say, no one would walk out unscathed.

So before they could begin, Davin coughed loudly to attract their attention and spoke…

"I have a proposal"

Even as the only Intermediate Knight around - meaning that he was the biggest threat - the others didn\'t seem to give a damn, because another voice replied right after.

"And why do we have to listen to you?"

It turned out to be neither a missionaire nor a White Iron member, but a mercenary that spoke.

Davin furrowed his brows as looked at the speaker, like he had just seen a monkey.

Without a word, he stretched his hands backwards and broke off a piece of rock from the mountain. Then in the next moment…h(huán)e threw it!

*Zim*

The object cut through the air at a speed few could follow. Luckily, the one who talked could.

But being able to follow an object\'s trajectory and being able to react to it were two completely different things.

The man proved his skill by accurately reading the incoming object\'s trajectory in a few seconds.

Quickly realizing that he wouldn\'t be able to dodge in time, a decision was made!

*Cha!*

The object hit its target without fail.

"AH! Mmm"

We see the man holding up his left arm as blood gushes out. He bit his lips trying to muffle the sounds of pain.

Then we see the piece of rock lodged into the man\'s left arm, literally. It struck a bit below his wrist and stuck there like a key stuck in the wrong door.

"I don\'t remember asking you to open that bowl of filth you call a mouth. Do it again and...well, you\'ll see"

Davin nodded inwardly at the sight of the mercenaries, whose morale had been knocked down a notch.

After all, it was paramount that people knew their place.

Then he turned his gaze to Loreta.

"Now, as I was saying, I have a proposal"