Chapter 717 Underground Dungeon (Part 3): Brothers?

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Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Black Hammer could already hear the sound of battle as he continued to walk towards the Open Dungeon alongside Tinker. Not long after, he saw Arthur and the others battling a large group of guards by themselves.

Boom!

A few distances away from them was another group of players who were also battling with another batch of guards. The size of their team was a little larger than Arthur's party and each member of their team was also quite skilled. Though, they were slightly lacking compared to Arthur and the others.

That group was the experts that the Hand of Midas had sent. Based on the features of the guild badges that they had, Black Hammer could easily tell that they were from different branches of the guild. But despite that being the case, their teamwork was no less than the top veteran adventurer teams within the game.

Black Hammer nodded his head in approval when he saw that, feeling proud of the combat force of their guild. After that, he turned his head towards Arthur and the others.

After observing them for a couple of moments, Black Hammer nodded his head once again and commented. "As expected of Young Master, their team is really good. To think that they already have this level of understanding with each other despite creating their team just recently? They sure are skilled."

A few moments later, he suddenly noticed that the team was actually working with another party. And after a close inspection, he managed to identify a couple of them. "Eh! Isn't that the 'Saber Demon' from the Wing's Alliance? Why is he here?"

Tinker, who was standing beside him, quickly answered. "Oh! That? I heard from Young Master Siegfried that they are currently working together. It seems to be related to their quest."

"Don't worry too much about it. The Young Master already asked them to sign a confidentiality contract, so the information about this dungeon will not leak yet," he added as he understood what his colleague was concerned about.

Hearing that, Black Hammer slightly nodded his head. He then turned his head and swept his gaze at the other members of the group, trying to get a rough estimate of their skills.

But as he was checking their respective skill levels, his gaze suddenly landed on a particular person which also made his eyes turn wide. "That person-…!"

After being stunned for a moment, the blacksmith suddenly kicked the ground underneath him and launched himself towards that person.

...

In the meantime, Black Hand was currently occupied with leading the team to make sure that their formation was not going to crumble in front of the pressure that the guards were giving them.

It might be a little unnecessary since Arthur and Leonard were good enough to cover the possible gaps that might become the opening for the dungeon guards.

Moreover, there was also the trio of Archimedes, Daulla, and Alucard. They were properly providing enough firepower to support the frontlines. And despite the high damage output that they had, they never exceeded the threshold that could mess the aggro of the guards.

"Such a high level of control over their firepower. As expected to the team that the Dragon God and War God have created," commented Black Hand after seeing the combat prowess of the Empyrean Talons up-close.

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Ara was about to nod her head when she suddenly sensed something charging at them with incredible speed. And when she turned her head towards that direction, she suddenly saw someone carrying a huge hammer lunging towards Black Hand.

"Old Black, watch out!" she shouted while preparing to provide some cover to their team's priest.

Hearing her call, Black Hand quickly waved his hand and instantly cast Blink without any hesitation.

Boom!

Then a loud explosion could be heard as a hammer landed on his previous location.

"Huh? What's that?  Are we being ambushed right now?"  asked Arthur in confusion before looking at Leonard and signaling him to take a look at it. He was currently occupied with the dungeon guards in front of him, so he couldn't leave his post right now.

Seeing that, Leonard immediately nodded his head and quickly headed over to their backlines. But when he arrived, he suddenly became confused about the current situation, especially when he saw who was the one who attacked them. "Huh? Isn't that Black Hammer, Chief Blacksmith of Hand of Midas Trading Firm? Why is he doing this?"

Then there was an awkward silence that surrounded the group.

Ara and Raven who were planning to provide support to Black Hand suddenly halted their actions the moment when they saw Black Hammer. They knew that they suddenly got attacked but they were not sure what was going on since the man who ambushed them was the Chief Blacksmith of their Trading Firm.

It was also the same for the other members of Empyrean Talons. They were practically confused at the current situation. But at the same time, they also didn't stop continuing their current task in hand and helped Arthur to clear the wave of guards in front of them.

The silence continued for quite some time until Arthur and the others managed to clear all of the dungeon guards.

Arthur didn't know what really happened, so he walked towards Leonard and quickly asked. "What is going?"

Leonard looked at him and shrugged his shoulders. "I also don't know."

Arthur slightly knitted his eyebrows when he heard that he turned his head towards Black Hammer. He was about to say something but he was immediately stopped by Tinker who suddenly appeared beside him.

"Let them be. It is a problem that they need to deal with on their own," said the Chief Engineer.

Arthur was still confused but he chose to follow what Tinker had said, observing the situation for the time being.

In the meantime, Black Hammer continued to glare at Black Hand while the latter stared back at him with calm eyes.

And after a long time of silence, the Chief Blacksmith of the Hand of Midas Trading Firm finally opened his mouth. "You, brat! Do you know how much trouble we have gone through just to look for you?"

– "Brat? Did he just call Old Black a brat?" – this was the thought that was running inside the heads of Black Hand's teammates when they heard those words. S.Tigris even frowned his eyebrows.

But that was only the beginning.

It was because they couldn't believe the words that came out from Black Hand's mouth immediately after. "I'm sorry, Big Brother. I just really want to do what I really want during that time."

– "Big Brother!?" – the members of the S.Tigris' group almost had a heart attack after hearing that. Even their captain who was the closest to Black Hand seemed to be also shocked with what he heard.

On the other hand, Arthur was starting to enjoy the sudden development. "Oh~! This is interesting! It is like a scene in a soap opera that my mom liked to watch when I was still a toddler."

"Even though I am not a fan, I don't mind witnessing the real deal," he added before turning to Tinker and asked. "Are they long-lost brothers or something?"

The corner of Tinker's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard that before nodding his head. "Yeah. It is something like that."

Going back with the so-called long-lost brothers, Black Hammer suddenly clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the huge hammer that he was holding before saying. "Following what you want? Hey! Our family supported you on everything that you wanted, yet you suddenly ran away from home while leaving a letter that said you want to become independent?"

"Then I suddenly discovered that you just joined a Gaming Workshop composed of you friends! Do you know how much you worry our mother?!" he shouted before launching himself at Black Hand once again.

Unfortunately, the priest was quite fast to react and managed to dodge in time.

In the meantime, Black Hand's teammates couldn't help but cover their faces with their hands, ashamed of what they heard.

"Hey, Boss. I thought Old Black didn't have any family members when he joined us," whispered Raven to their Team Captain.

Hearing that, the corner of S.Tigris' mouth suddenly twitched before answering. "That is also what I thought."

"I did not inquire about his family background that much since he is always dodging the subject whenever I try to bring it up. I think it is a very sensitive topic so I don't try to pry much about it."

He then paused for a moment and tried to look at his friend before continuing. "Now, I understand his awkward expression whenever I mention some family matters to him."

"Are we not going to help him? If this continues, he will surely get beaten up by Black Hammer sooner or later," asked Raven.

Ara rolled her eyes when she heard that and quickly said. "It is a sibling fight. It is not for us to get involved in their family problems."

"So, are we going to continue watching?" asked Raver again.

This time, Ringo couldn't help but laugh at him while Ara continued to criticize him. "Do you know? I'm really starting to wonder if the reason you pick your IGN is because of that bird brain of yours."

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