For the adventurers hired by the Dolan Workshop, this request was quite unusual.
First and foremost, the pay was high. The fact that it came from the Dolan Workshop, currently the top workshop in Egginis, probably had something to do with it, but the compensation was higher than what one would normally earn escorting merchants or nobles.
Moreover, it wasn't just that. Anything stolen from the Jalis Workshop related to golem technology would be bought back by the Dolan Workshop, and even if they didn't buy it, the person who took it retained ownership—meaning anything of value alone would be enough to line their pockets.
Naturally, attacking the Jalis Workshop meant the guards would interfere. While the Jalis Workshop had been stripped of its top position by the Dolan Workshop, it was still an undeniable fact that it possessed some of the finest technology in Egginis. Precisely because it was the Jalis Workshop, they employed reasonably skilled adventurers as security.
Killing the opposition in that battle would mean the Dolan Workshop took full responsibility—or so the arrangement stated. Even so, the opponents were fellow adventurers. Normally, fighting such people seriously... with the intent to kill, was not something easily done.
Still, there were adventurers who would engage in mortal combat if it profited them.
The battle currently taking place in front of the Jalis Workshop was a clash between such adventurers.
Of course, there were also those who had no desire to fight fellow adventurers. Most of those individuals had not accepted this request, or if they had, they planned to infiltrate the Jalis Workshop without fighting as adventurers.
"Uwooooh! Take this!"
With a battle cry, a longsword was swung. However, the guard protecting the Jalis Workshop evaded the strike and unleashed a counterattack.
"Hah!"
The blow, released with a sharp exhale, pierced through a gap in the attacking man's leather armor. Whether it caused more pain than expected, the man reflexively stepped back. Naturally, the Jalis Workshop guard had no intention of letting that go and moved to pursue and bring him down, but...
"You think I'll let you?!"
"Tch!"
The opening created by the pursuit was exploited, and a spear strike came from another opponent.
Such scenes were unfolding everywhere.
In terms of individual skill, the guards protecting the Jalis Workshop were likely superior. This was only natural given that the Jalis Workshop was one of the top-ranked workshops in Egginis. The adventurers hired by the Dolan Workshop were merely temporary hires for this occasion, and in terms of quality, they were inferior to the Jalis Workshop guards.
But when it came to quantity rather than quality, the adventurers hired by the Dolan Workshop clearly had the upper hand.
If they had been overwhelmingly superior in quality as well, they might have managed somehow. However, while they were better in quality, it was not a decisive advantage. On top of that, the attacking side had the edge in numbers—so there was no mistaking that the guards were at a severe disadvantage at the Jalis Workshop right now.
But... the Jalis Workshop would also deploy forces other than guards in such a situation.
"U-uwah! A golem! A golem's coming out!"
What emerged from the Jalis Workshop grounds was a golem roughly three meters tall, classified as relatively small for a golem. However, since it was facing adventurers rather than monsters, that level of combat power was more than sufficient. Moreover, even though it had been overtaken by the Dolan Workshop, the Jalis Workshop still possessed some of the finest technology in Egginis. Facing a golem built with such technology, the adventurers quickly fell back to the rear.
"Hey, the Jalis Workshop is even bringing out golems! Are the guards still not coming?!"
One of the people watching the situation at the Jalis Workshop and the attacking adventurers from a distance muttered this.
At a distance from the Jalis Workshop, casual onlookers were present. Naturally, they kept quite far away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, but even so, a fair number of people were there. Normally, if such a disturbance occurred, guards would rush to the scene immediately, but unfortunately, there was no sign of that whatsoever.
The onlookers probably sensed something was off, but... they still judged that as long as they themselves were unaffected, there was no problem.
However, if the situation had escalated to the point where even golems were being deployed, that changed things. Several people judged it dangerous to remain and left the area, but the majority still stayed put. Ordinarily, fleeing would be the correct course of action in such a case. But in the current situation, partly because they had suffered no harm, they somehow believed they were safe.
"As expected, the Jalis Workshop's golems really do have high performance. Look at that, the adventurers are getting knocked down at an incredible rate."
If the golems had been killing adventurers, the onlookers would probably have screamed. But the golems' weapons were metal rods. They had no blade at the tip, nor did they have a metal block like a hammer. Truly just metal rods. Even so, being struck by a golem's strength meant broken bones... and depending on where it hit, death wouldn't be surprising. But unlike bladed weapons, it wasn't immediately obvious at a glance whether someone was dead, so the spectators simply assumed they were only unconscious.
"The golems are strong, as expected."
"Ah, but hey. Look."
One of those watching the battle suddenly pointed in a certain direction and spoke. The man who looked in the direction he pointed noticed an adventurer bisecting a golem with a single stroke of his greatsword.
"Whoa, amazing. He can take down a Jalis Workshop golem that easily? That's a pretty strong adventurer. Could he be a B-Rank adventurer?"
"Maybe. With that much attack power... ah, no, never mind."
"Huh? Ah... yeah. I guess so."
The adventurer who had bisected the golem had his movement completely stopped by that attack, and in the next instant, he couldn't evade the strike from another golem. He managed to use his greatsword as a shield to avoid a direct hit from the horizontally swept metal rod, but was still sent flying forcefully, and whether from the shock or not, he collapsed to the ground and showed no sign of getting up.
"He's probably a specialist focused purely on attack power. With that type of adventurer, there'd normally be someone assigned to defense."
At those words, the onlookers checked their surroundings, but there was no one who looked to have high defensive capability—no one carrying a shield anywhere.
"There's no one like that around."
When one person said that, the man who had mentioned there should be someone assigned to defense opened his mouth, looking displeased.
"How am I supposed to know that? They might be operating separately for some reason, or fighting somewhere else."
The listeners nodded in understanding at the man's words. The people here were those who had coincidentally come to see the disturbance taking place. There was no reason for them to be that knowledgeable about the people fighting.
As they continued talking, the battle progressed, and the Jalis Workshop side gained the upper hand. Perhaps if the Dolan Workshop side had also sent golems as reinforcements, the tide of battle would have shifted. Between the Jalis Workshop's golems and the Dolan Workshop's golems, the Dolan Workshop's were inevitably superior in performance.
But for the Dolan Workshop, this was aimed at luring Rei out... or even if they couldn't lure him out, at capturing Rei's associate Roger, or in the worst case, killing him. Ultimately, the adventurers currently fighting were nothing more than expendable pawns. Given that, the Dolan Workshop had no intention of deploying golems.
In fact, the adventurers directly hired by the Dolan Workshop were not here. Since this battle was one of expendable pawns, they must have judged there was no need to send the skilled adventurers directly hired by the Dolan Workshop.
Amidst all this, one of the onlookers happened to look up. There was no particular reason for doing so; it was truly just on a whim. But... in this case, that proved to be the right move.
"Hey, wait, look! Over there! Over there!"
At the man's shout while looking up at the sky, the people around also turned their gazes in that direction. And there, something was flying through the sky. Then, as one of those who realized exactly what that something was, he shouted.
"Is that... could that be Crimson Rei?"
"Huh? Ah! Come to think of it, they said he has a gryphon as a tamed monster. My friend said they saw a gryphon walking around Egginis."
As that exchange continued, everyone seemed convinced that the one flying through the sky was Rei.
But the real question was what Rei had come to do in this situation. Frankly, with someone as powerful as Rei, joining either side would settle the battle then and there. If he sided with the Dolan Workshop, no matter how many golems the Jalis Workshop had ready, dealing with Rei would be difficult. If he sided with the Jalis Workshop, the Jalis Workshop side was already at an advantage thanks to the golems, so it wouldn't be strange for the Dolan Workshop side to be instantly annihilated.
In other words, Rei's presence alone could determine this battle however it went.
"When a powerful individual like Rei shows up, the battle from here on isn't likely to be very interesting."
One of the spectators said with dissatisfaction. It was precisely because the two sides were evenly matched that they could enjoy watching a back-and-forth battle. And yet, having an overwhelming combat force suddenly show up like this was not something they could find entertaining by any stretch.
The other onlookers nodded in agreement with the man's words. But among them, a small minority—those who wished to see one side crushed by an overwhelming powerhouse—found Rei's arrival by no means a bad thing.
"I'm actually looking forward to seeing how Rei acts from here."
"Ehh... a battle where the outcome is already decided, what's interesting about that?"
While they argued like that, Seto continued to approach. If they had been far away it might have been different, but this close to the Jalis Workshop, it wasn't just the onlookers watching from a distance—the adventurers actually fighting also noticed Rei and Seto's presence.
And... it was the Jalis Workshop side who wore expressions of joy. In contrast, a portion of those hired by the Dolan Workshop wore expressions of despair, while the other half wore bewildered expressions.
At the Jalis Workshop, the story of Rei's visit last night had probably spread. Or even those who hadn't known at first, with the arrival of adventurers hired by the Dolan Workshop, might have heard about the incident through rumors or something. Or knowing that Rei had commissioned golem production from Roger, or had given him materials from a new species of monster—it wouldn't be strange for them to know of their friendly relationship.
And on the Dolan Workshop side, those who were at least somewhat well-informed might know who the other adventurers were searching for in the Slum District. Those who didn't understand that information at all were probably the ones wearing bewildered expressions, wondering why Rei was here.
"All right, there's no need to press the attack! Focus on defense for now! Once Rei arrives, we win!"
The person commanding the Jalis Workshop guards shouted. That shout made it clear that if they simply bided their time, victory would be theirs. They already knew this, but having it stated explicitly like this boosted morale. Knowing that victory was assured, it was only natural for the fighting men's morale to rise.
"Uwoooooh! Hurry up and take them down! We have to finish this before Rei gets here, no matter what!"
In stark contrast to the Jalis Workshop side, the Dolan Workshop side had no desire to fight Rei head-on. In other words, they needed to defeat the Jalis Workshop guards and golems before Rei arrived, but...
Given Seto's flight speed, that was a reckless proposition.
Rei landed in front of the man who had shouted, having jumped off from the flying Seto, and... with a smile, opened his mouth.
"You said you'd finish before I got here, but I'm already here. What are you going to do?"
Carrying Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, Rei spoke those words.