Escape in Disgrace? Hah, Who Do You Think We Are?!

When the "treasure hunters," who had found the ratmen tunnels near the place where Vilance had buried Majewa's treasure and raced all the way back to Blackflame Pass, returned to their position, they found nothing but a heap of ruins.

The good news was that they'd guessed right.

The tunnels the ratmen had dug really had become the key to turning the tide of the war at Blackflame Pass.

The bad news was that they'd guessed right.

How had they just gone out to look for treasure, only to come back and find the high ground demolished, with the crystal in imminent danger?

The earthquake spell cast by the Rendingclaw gnolls had collapsed the first few lines of defenses, turning the ridge into a shattered wasteland. As a result, the treasure hunters led by the Big Bird Squad and the Silvermoon Squad could see the night sky through gaps in the ratmen tunnels as soon as they approached Blackflame Pass.

"Holy crap! This place is a disaster!"

Meow Brother, carrying a dwarf battle axe, stared at the devastated battlefield, littered with ratmen and kobolds. The corpses buried beneath the rubble especially left him stunned. The veteran players stood gaping, wondering if they'd somehow gone to the wrong place, and the newbies' reactions went without saying.

They hadn't been in the game long enough to witness even the destruction of Cadman City when it was torn apart by the Astral Realm. Faced with this apocalyptic chaos, they were utterly at a loss.

"Half the defenses up ahead are gone!

The gnolls are still attacking. The defenders at Blackflame Pass may have retreated to the rear. We could go help them, but we'd have to cross this monster-infested ruin first. I think that might be a little 'difficult' in our current state."