The situation in the Gradia Continent, preparations for invasion, the independence of Marsodelsierto County, preparations for developing Fraydlancia Baronetcy and Lapis Lazuli Heavenly Baronetcy, details of Count Fallheight Territory and Viscount Perleshtein’s territory, investigations and development preparations for the Retisencia region, and the bandit problem plaguing Valentia—today’s agenda items are being smoothly processed.
Ah, the bandit problem in Valentia concerns fallen nobles from the eastern part of Valentia.
In Valentia, noble landholders, aside from the Dragon King Family, had their own Dragon Knight Orders, and the maintenance of public order within their territories was entrusted to these Dragon Knight Orders.
However, a Dragon Knight Order is, in essence, a noble’s private army.
Therefore, there were significant differences in the training and morale of Dragon Knight Orders depending on the noble house they belonged to.
Because of this, while the western side had Dragon Knight Orders comparable to the Royal Dragon Knight Order and the Order’s Guild, most of the eastern ones were as corrupt as their lords.
Regarding those Dragon Knight Orders, I heard that when they were reorganized into the Dragoner’s Guild, strict audits, individual interviews, and competency tests were conducted.
While almost all western dragon knights transferred, it seems some eastern Dragon Knight Orders saw less than half, and some even less than 30%, of their members transfer.
Those dragon knights who couldn’t transfer to the Dragoner’s Guild would lose their jobs, and their past wrongdoings, which were masked as maintaining public order, would naturally be judged.
In fact, quite a few of them, including those in leadership positions, were reduced to criminal slaves.
The majority were fined and banished from their territories, but many of them, feeling their punishment was unjust, harbor grudges against the Valentian Dragon King Family and the Dragoner’s Guild.
The same applies to the eastern nobles who were punished for various reasons, and they were sharpening their fangs, waiting for an opportunity for revenge.
The most prominent example was the plan to attack Dragon King Folias’s wedding ceremony, but that was thwarted in advance. As a result, the nobles involved all fell into ruin, and the former dragon knights were lucky to become criminal slaves, or worse, killed during the suppression.
The issue is that even with all this, it was impossible to apprehend or eliminate all the former dragon knights. Moreover, there was a certain number who were not involved in the plan at all.
The former dragon knights who escaped formed their own groups and scattered throughout Valentia as bandits.
Some of them are High Class, so the damage caused by bandits in Valentia is said to be at an all-time high.
Naturally, the Dragon King Family and the Dragoner’s Guild could not ignore this. They also requested assistance from the Hunter’s Guild, and large-scale subjugation battles were carried out, but it is said that about a hundred former dragon knights are still unaccounted for, and vigilance continues.
Regarding those former dragon knight bandits, the possibility of them fleeing Valentia by some means cannot be ruled out. Therefore, not only the Order’s Guild but also the Beastar’s Guild, which is responsible for maintaining public order in the Balyente region, the area most likely to be targeted, are reportedly sending reinforcements. This is also said to be on the agenda for the next Knights’ Conference.
After receiving that report, it was finally time for the last agenda item.
“Then, for our final agenda item today, we will discuss un-conquered labyrinths. Rex, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
The reasons why un-conquered labyrinths were brought up at an international conference include the emergence of high-difficulty labyrinths like the Krater Labyrinth, the simultaneous labyrinth floods of the Gagun Labyrinth and the Laofen Labyrinth, the suspicion that the Retisencia labyrinth experienced a labyrinth flood during the Kobaldia incident, and the possibility that new labyrinths are being created due to the Divine Emperor’s landing on the Philia Continent.
Particularly concerning is the creation of new labyrinths influenced by the Divine Emperor’s magic power, but this will only be relevant after new, undiscovered labyrinths are found, as many currently discovered labyrinths are excluded from this concern.
What was brought up for discussion today is what to do about labyrinths provisionally ranked G or higher.
Dungeon rank is a standard set by the Hunter’s Guild to indicate the difficulty of a labyrinth. The rank is finalized once the labyrinth is conquered or its guardian is confirmed.
Un-conquered labyrinths are also assigned ranks, but these are provisional, based on known information, so they could potentially be raised, or in some cases, lowered.
However, because their internal conditions are unknown, they are given provisional ranks. Therefore, it is better to conquer them as soon as possible if possible, and there are specific reasons and information for labyrinths that are considered high-ranked.
With that in mind, the Order’s Guild has decided that the five following labyrinths should be conquered early: the Gallia Labyrinth in southern Amister, the Enigma Labyrinth in Alegria, the Temerarilo Labyrinth in the Grand Rêve Bridge Grand Duchy, the Maldosso Labyrinth in eastern Valentia, and the Gagun Labyrinth in the Valt Beast Duchy.
The Gagun Labyrinth experienced a labyrinth flood two years ago, which resulted in a large number of A-rank monsters overflowing. Therefore, although it is one of the five labyrinths on the agenda, its priority is lower, but it has been judged that it should be conquered early.
“I understand that those five labyrinths should be conquered early. However, they are A-rank labyrinths, even if provisionally, which requires Ancient Class hunters. Will you be requesting this from the Hunter’s Guild?”
“No, we will not be making a request. While early conquest is desirable, the reason for bringing these up today is not conquest. The Gagun Labyrinth, in particular, has only been about two years since its labyrinth flood, despite its high dungeon rank. The reason for bringing these up is that we have decided to share this information with everyone.”
“And what might that be?”
He says it’s not about conquest, but what does that mean?
Indeed, the five labyrinths Rex listed are all designated as A-N rank, albeit provisionally.
Even if they are successfully conquered, unless the guardian is of the Demise Species, they are unlikely to be designated as O-rank dungeons. Nevertheless, they will undoubtedly be classified as A-rank labyrinths, or at least M-rank labyrinths.
That is why early conquest is desired, but are there other reasons?
“The current number of hunters has significantly decreased. Although we haven’t conducted precise statistics, the Hunter’s Guild estimates the number to be about half of what it was a few years ago. However, in terms of combat effectiveness, it has increased several fold due to the rise in Ancient Class hunters.”
Yes, that’s true.
The fact that the number of hunters has decreased to about half of what it was a few years ago is indeed a critical piece of information that cannot be overlooked.
A few years ago, only Grand Hunter’s Master Gathers and the Holy Mother Dragon Gaia were of the Ancient Class, and Gaia was largely unknown, so in effect, only Gathers existed.
However, currently, the number of Ancient Hunters exceeds thirty, and the number of High Hunters has also increased.
Therefore, while the quality of hunters has undoubtedly improved, the absolute decrease in numbers is truly surprising.
Well, we knew they were decreasing, but to think they had decreased to that extent—we hadn’t anticipated that either.
“I hadn’t realized the decrease was so significant…”
“While the increase in Ancient Hunters and High Hunters is certainly a factor, the average level of Normal Hunters has also risen, so this issue had been overlooked.”
“I have nothing to apologize for regarding that matter.”
“If that’s the case, then our country is no different. It’s been an issue for several years, but that wicked law continues to hinder us.”
The Kings were aware that the number of hunters had decreased, but with the overall increase in their average level, a higher quest completion rate, and conversely, a lower mortality rate, they hadn’t expected the total number to have fallen so drastically.
Dragon King Folias and Beast Duke Tigre are offering apologies, but the other Beast Dukes and Bridge Dukes are also nodding in agreement.
However, this might be unavoidable in a sense.
“No, the Dragon Kings and Beast Dukes are not to blame. While that wicked law is certainly a hindrance, the fault lies with those who continue to exploit it.”
The wicked law Brother Rai is referring to is a law that unduly favors High Class individuals.
This law was enforced primarily in the Valiente United Kingdom and the Libertarian Federation before the founding of the Amister-Philias Federation Heavenly Empire. In simple terms, it was an absurd law that allowed High Class individuals to get away with minor offenses with only a small fine, or in some cases, not be prosecuted at all.
The Valentian Dragon Kingdom had a slightly different system, where the treatment of hunters was left to the discretion of each noble territory. Therefore, while a serious crime in one noble territory might lead to a heavy penalty, escaping to another noble territory could result in absolution.
Naturally, such wicked laws were abolished upon the founding of the Federation Heavenly Empire. Now, not only High Class individuals but even those of Ancient Class are subject to punishment commensurate with their crimes.
However, for those who exploited that wicked law, the fact that they were High Class did not change. Many of them, believing they would not actually be punished, continued their lawless acts.
This is the root of the bandit problem plaguing Valentia and one of the reasons for the decrease in the total number of hunters. The reason such a wicked law was enacted was to secure forces against Solemne and Retisencia.
Hunters are free individuals, and if regulations become too strict, they will relocate.
Moreover, there is no guarantee that their new base will be within the country; in the worst-case scenario, they might even go to an enemy nation.
Therefore, Valiente and Libertà, intending to keep their hunters within their borders, enforced this law despite knowing it was wicked.
“Your Majesty, is the reason you are not requesting labyrinth conquests from hunters due to the decrease in their numbers?”
“That is one reason, but the lawlessness of High Class individuals in the past few months has already far exceeded acceptable limits. The most prominent examples are the attack plan on Dragon King Folias’s wedding ceremony and the illegal occupation of the old bridge city. Furthermore, as summer approaches, an expedition into the Gradia Continent will commence. Those participating in the expedition as Knights will be of High Class or higher, which will reduce the military strength on the Philia Continent accordingly. Therefore, we wish to resolve any potential future worries beforehand.”
Ah, that’s why un-conquered labyrinths are on the agenda.
The invasion of the Gradia Continent will be a full-scale expedition, with not only Brother Rai but also several other Kings participating.
Moreover, long-distance teleportation magic, Traveling, cannot be used in the Gradia Continent, so movement will be done using the airship Wing of Order, which has been deployed by the Order’s Guild.
Brother Rai and the others will wait on the Philia Continent until the last possible moment when Traveling can be used, but even so, they will not be able to return until the Divine Emperor is defeated, and it is unknown how long that will take.
The biggest concern in this regard is the phenomenon of monster mass appearances known as labyrinth floods.
After all, the Gagun Labyrinth’s labyrinth flood resulted in a large number of A-rank monsters appearing.
Therefore, it is not possible to deploy all Ancient Class hunters for the expedition; in fact, we may need to have more people remain behind, considering any potential worst-case scenarios.
While un-conquered labyrinths should ideally be conquered, as Brother Rai mentioned, leaving lawbreakers unchecked is also a problem. Furthermore, the current damage caused by them is more significant, so the priority for labyrinth conquest has been lowered.
It has been determined from past trends that labyrinth floods, or rather, monster expulsions from labyrinths, do not occur if a certain number of people enter the labyrinth. Therefore, the Hunter’s Guild is also recommending that people enter labyrinths.
However, we would like to gain a little more strength before the invasion operation begins.
Lydia and Ludia are close to evolving into Element Dragonewts, and if we conquer a labyrinth, perhaps everyone else can evolve as well.
Mina cannot move, but she is in her final month of pregnancy, so that’s unavoidable.
Separately, I would really like to conquer at least one labyrinth, preferably the Gagun Labyrinth.
Perhaps I should discuss it with Yamato and Brother Rai after the international conference concludes.
