Golden Axe entered the defense dungeon carrying less timber than it had on the previous attempt.
Hizon noticed immediately.
The guild's first serious plan had relied on three increasingly smaller fortifications. That approach carried them past thirty-one hours. Their next attempt improved the record to thirty-four hours and fifty-six minutes, but the final position became a trap. Once the attackers opened a path to the merchant wagons, every adventurer inside the shrinking circle had to respond to the same breach.
Seventeen of the twenty-five participants were still alive when the merchants died.
Golden Axe did not need more survivors. It needed more space.
Matthew stood on the starting field while the guild unloaded short beams, canvas screens, rope, water, and boxes of metal fittings. Six merchant wagons formed the center of the position. The merchants climbed down and watched the adventurers work without offering to help.
