"Yes… From what I heard, it does seem like the branch here can't continue to keep the monsters from forming a monster stampede for much longer and thus decided to send a request for help directly to the headquarters. Bypassing the local capital branch." Using a corner of his shirt to dry off his now wet face, the man who had ended up covered in ale for no reason responded with a deadpan expression. Not caring about what had just happened as he answered the question with practiced ease, like he was used to what had just happened.

"That… How bad is the state for them to directly bypass the capital branch? Don't they know what kind of response this will get and isn't the local branch guild leader afraid of what will happen later?" Calming down a bit after seeing his companion swipe the ale away, the lanky looking man couldn't help continuing to question the state of the Howling Caverns Dungeon Guild Branch. Not understanding how bad the state of the branch had to be for the branch guild leader to directly bypass the capital branch and request help from the headquarters.

Even if the situation in the Great Sky Kingdom had become unstable following the dungeon breach at the Hollow Rat's Nest Dungeon, it had hardly reached the point where the rest of the dungeons would be in dire enough situations to require more help from the capital branch.

In the situation that they did need more help; they should at least be able to hold on long enough for the situation at the Hollow Rat's Nest Dungeon to be stabilized enough for some of the higher level adventures dispatched there to leave for a bit to help stabilize the situation at the other dungeons in the kingdom. Far from reaching the point where they would be in a state where they would be forced to request the headquarters for help.

"The thing is… The situation in the Howling Caverns Dungeon is far worse than originally anticipated, as although they do have a town at the fourth floor of the dungeon to rely on and slow down the formation of a monster stampede, the overall level of adventures present in the dungeon is far lower than expected.

Not a single S Rank Adventurer and only a single A Rank Adventurer, with most of the adventurers being on the younger side with less experience. Mostly ranging between the F and D Rank. From what I could gather, the few higher level adventurers present were mostly seniors in charge of helping train the younger and weaker adventurers…"

"So… The Howling Caverns Dungeon was being used as a training ground and didn't have much activity from higher level adventures…?" Realizing the crux of the issue, the lanky man could not help frowning as he turned towards his companion and asked for confirmation.

"Yes… Given my estimates of the current state inside the dungeon, they would at most be able to prevent a monster stampede from forming for another seven or eight days and for the monster stampede to reach the first floor and break through the final barrier would take another two or three days. In total, the longest that the Howling Caverns Dungeon can endure would be 12 days with the lowest estimate being a mere 9 days…"

"This… No wonder the branch leader bypassed the capital branch and went straight to the headquarters, they really won't be able to hold on for much longer without any assistance and from the looks of it, the capital branch hasn't realized the seriousness of the situation or decided to ignore it to focus on the dungeon breach instead.

Although… In that case, why didn't the capital branch send a request for assistance themselves? After all, this situation is clearly far beyond what they can handle, and I doubt the headquarters will blame them for asking for help in this kind of situation." Frowning to himself as he thought this out loud, the lanky man looked towards the center of the Howling Cave City where the entrance to the Howling Caverns Dungeon was located, a somewhat confused glint flashing through his eyes as he failed to understand why a capital branch would avoid requesting the headquarters for help in this kind of situation.

"I don't know why, but from what I heard after inquiring with one of my old friends working at the local branch, it seems like the Holy Flower Sect was involved in the dungeon breach that took place and the unrest that has spread throughout the rest of the dungeons inside the Great Sky Kingdom…"

"Hm? The Holy Flower Sect? Hm… Now that I think about it, the capital branch guild leader is about to reach the end of his life, him getting involved with the Holy Flower Sect wouldn't be that odd. On the other hand, I would find this situation far more understandable if the Holy Flower Sect was secretly controlling the actions of the local capital branch to some extent." Nodding his head after hearing his companion mentioning the Holy Flower Sect, a look of understanding appeared on the face of the lanky man as he finally seemed to understand what had happened.

"So… What should we do? Go to capital branch and help the guild clean up their mess or…"

"We will help dealing with the situation in this dungeon first and leave the clean up at the capital branch to those dispatched from the headquarters. After all, I doubt those people will show up for another week and by the time they show up, they will be busy handling the situation at the capital branch and won't have the time to help this dungeon branch for another few days.

Considering that this entire situation is orchestrated by the Holy Flower Sect, it won't be that hard to imagine them interfering with this dungeon the second that the people from the headquarters show up and start dealing with the situation at the capital branch, causing a second dungeon breach… Strong as those fellows from the headquarters might be, I doubt they will have an easy time dealing with two dungeon breaches, the uncertain state of the capital branch and the Holy Flower Sect at the same time. Especially considering those fellows from the Holy Flower Sect might decide to target the remaining dungeons to turn the entire situation even more chaotic." Sighing slightly to himself as he said this, the lanky man rose from his seat and threw the now half filled cup of ale to the side before making his way towards the entrance of the tavern, his companion obediently following behind as the two began making their way in the direction of the Howling Caverns Dungeon located at the very heart of the city.

…

"The situation inside the dungeon should remain stable until reinforcements show up from the headquarters and the overall state of the towns on the third floor remains intact with monsters being dealt with before they have a chance to reach the towns and start attacking the barriers guarding them.

Although this situation can change with the increasing number of monsters, the news of reinforcements from the headquarters has caused far more adventures to leave the safety of the towns and begin hunting down the monsters. Lowering their numbers significantly.

Outside of that, there is also news that a team of B Rank Adventures who recently arrived at the city dove into the dungeon and is currently helping stabilize the southern section of the third floor on their own."

"Good… Looks like we should be able to endure until the reinforcements show up…" Listening to the report from one of his subordinates, the guild leader in charge of the Howling Caverns Branch could not help letting out a sigh of relief as he heard about the current developments inside the dungeon. Feeling especially happy upon learning about the arrival of a team of B Rank Adventurers, he understood that they might even be able to buy another day or half a day for them by cleaning up the stronger monsters gathering on the third floor of the dungeon.

Of course, everything was predetermined on the reinforcements from the headquarters showing up, as without that, the Howling Caverns Dungeon wouldn't be able to last for long.

Even if the situation looked positive and adventurers were working hard to kill off monsters, it was a fact that the numbers and strength of monsters on the third floor continued to grow rapidly. Only having slowed down a bit because of the increased effort from adventurers.

But the branch guild leader wasn't too worried, as he knew that the reinforcements from the headquarters were on the way and should show up before the situation inside the Howling Caverns Dungeon could reach the breaking point.

What he hoped for was just that the towns and infrastructure built up inside the dungeon would be able to hold on for long enough…

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