Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 60

Dungeon Chronicle – 60

# 60

Dungeon Chronicle

61. Dungeon Expedition Log

[The Gluttony King Uther’s Gluttony Army has begun battling the Army of the Dead.]

It seems it has begun.

“Dominic.”

‘Yes, Master.’

“What is the situation in the other labyrinths?”

‘There are no special movements. Everyone seems to be waiting for this war to pass them by.’

At Dominic’s answer, Kim Jin-woo called for Rickshasha this time.

“My Lord.”

“Lead the long-range scouts and set out! Do not let anything I do not know exist on the battlefield!”

“As you wish.”

Rickshasha, who bowed her head, soon melted into the darkness and disappeared.

“Then Dominic, please take good care of the labyrinth while I am away.”

‘I will do my best. Please take care of yourself.’

Kim Jin-woo glanced at the group of Nagas and Dominic left as defense forces, then immediately turned his body.

“Set out!”

Quantus echoed loudly, and the Nagas began to move all at once.

“Ortega, take the lead with the Naga Dragon Knights! Clear the path for the army to advance!”

“As you wish!”

Ortega answered briefly and rushed into the darkness with 30 Naga Dragon Knights.

“Quantus, lead the Nagas and support Ortega!”

“Everything will be as the King wills!”

Quantus again led the warrior ranks and thirty soldiers, increasing the marching speed. Angela spoke to Kim Jin-woo, who was watching Quantus and his troops gradually moving away.

“Aren’t you rushing too much? The Gluttony King might be able to keep Valishus in check properly.”

“Do you think the Nagas behind me look insignificant?”

Even excluding Ortega and Quantus’s forces, which had already left the group, nearly a hundred Nagas were behind him.

“Perhaps it might seem so to you, who has only seen the armies of the deep. But do not forget that this is the 9th floor.”

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes, saying so, were already convinced of victory.

Indeed, Kim Jin-woo had achieved victory against the 교룡 [Gyo Ryong – a mythical dragon-like creature] King’s army, which was several times larger, even when his current forces were not even a tenth of what they are now. His confidence was not without basis.

However, Angela still expressed concern.

She seemed worried that Kim Jin-woo might be overly anxious about meeting Anatolius and rushing the war unnecessarily.

Kim Jin-woo, understanding her inner thoughts, said with a cold, hardened face.

“I hate it when someone manipulates my life from behind without my permission.”

He had already wasted more than half of his life as a toiler, like a slave, and spent half of the remaining half to rise from the underground to the surface.

It was freedom and life that he had gained with such difficulty. But he could not accept someone interfering in that life without his permission.

“So I do not like the current situation.”

Kim Jin-woo, who now clearly recognized his position, was no longer Dungeon Baby Kim Jin-woo. He was the master of one hundred and fifty Naga warriors, the commander of the Naga Fortress, and the king of eighteen thousand two hundred and thirty snakes.

“I will change the game that Anatolius has created.”

A declaration-like statement. At this moment, Angela felt as if she had heard a powerful prophecy.

Although her master was still too weak to be compared to the iron-blooded Anatolius, he seemed no less than any noble of the deep at this moment.

“And when this war is over.”

Kim Jin-woo’s voice continued quietly. Angela involuntarily pricked up her ears.

“Anatolius will no longer look down on me. At least on this 9th floor.”

***

“He is more intelligent than I thought.”

The iron-blooded Anatolius was literally a giant made of iron.

As if expressing nobility with his whole body, he wore armor with beautiful patterns engraved on it like skin.

Although its texture was that of metal, his pale face was beautiful and had elegant lines, disproportionate to his large body.

A strong yet beautiful being, that was the feeling Kim Jin-woo had when he first saw the iron-blooded Anatolius.

“I, I am sorry, Count Anatolius.”

“It is not your fault. He was just more clever than I thought.”

The black marketeer had been fidgeting and stomping his feet for a while, his face full of fear.

Seeing him act like that even with the Black Merchant organization behind him, it seemed that the Count of the deep was indeed fearsome.

Indeed, Kim Jin-woo himself was feeling a sense of intimidation that made his entire skin tingle, to the point where he wanted to step back immediately. But whether it was because the parasite’s secretions had taken away his fear, he somehow felt a sense of defiance.

“What brings the noble Count of the deep all the way here?”

“I have simply come to check whether I have made a proper investment as an investor. Originally, I had no intention of revealing my identity like this.”

The penalty of weakening when leaving the floor, despite skipping two floors, Anatolius’s momentum was terrifying.

“So, how did the investor feel?”

Kim Jin-woo, tilting his head challengingly, swaggered towards Anatolius.

“Excessively arrogant and impolite. Like a beast born and raised in the underground. That is why I do not like it.”

As soon as Anatolius finished speaking, Kim Jin-woo’s body suddenly stiffened.

[The dignity of a high-ranking noble has been activated.]

[An irresistible force is placed on the words of the esteemed Count. Your body is stiffened by the incomparable dignity, even though you are a noble as well.]

The dignity of a noble, which he had used to suppress other creatures, had turned around and was now directed at him.

It was like a prey that had stiffened in front of a predator. His whole body was warning him of the crisis. But at that moment, miraculously, his body regained its vitality.

[The parasite secretes secretions even more intensely.]

[Kim Jin-woo’s special ability ‘Indomitable,’ which did not yield to any adversity during the arduous journey from the deep to the surface, has been activated.]

[You have miraculously succeeded in resisting the dignity of a high-ranking noble.]

[The stiffness effect has been lifted. But you cannot avoid a slight decrease in all physical abilities.]

As Kim Jin-woo barely regained his composure, Anatolius’s jewel-like eyes shone.

“Not bad. Barbaric, but powerful. It is truly amazing that a mere master of the 9th floor is holding his head up in front of me.”

“Judging people as you please.”

Despite the unexpected praise, Kim Jin-woo was not happy at all. From the beginning, it was a meeting that excluded his intentions, and he could not be happy with the attitude of judging people as he pleased.

“Originally, I was not going to create a place until you were qualified. But now you seem qualified enough to stand before me.”

But whether he thought so or not, Anatolius seemed quite satisfied.

“Did you ask me for my impressions?”

A smile appeared on Anatolius’s face made of metal.

“Better than expected. Angela has met a pretty good master.”

But that smile was not a gentle or warm smile, but the cold smile of a king. Anatolius was thoroughly looking down on Kim Jin-woo.

“You are a ‘horse’ worth using.”

***

Waking up from his reminiscence, Kim Jin-woo muttered with a cold, hardened face.

“I will play along for the time being.”

His eyes, saying so, were emitting a terribly eerie light.

***

The Naga army led by Kim Jin-woo was advancing rapidly towards the land of the dead.

Since Quantus and Ortega had already cleared the way, there were no creatures blocking the path or sudden attacks.

It was truly a rapid advance. At this rate, they would surely be able to reach the Grave Yard earlier than expected.

“My Lord, there are more than a few eyes of spies. If you give the order, I will eliminate them all at once.”

At the report of Rickshasha, who was constantly dedicated to scouting, going back and forth between the main force and the front, Kim Jin-woo said with a deeply sunken gaze.

“Leave them alone.”

“But among them, there may be those who inform the King of the Dead, Valishus, of our advance.”

He had long known that there were many eyes hiding in the crevices of the winding passages and watching.

The species were truly diverse, from dwarves to those with the appearance of beasts. But he did not care.

“Leave them be. There is no need to worry about those who are foolish enough to do such things even though they have eyes and ears.”

Perhaps because he had truly made up his mind this time, Kim Jin-woo’s unwavering appearance seemed like a solid rock.

“And if there are such foolish guys, it would be good to show them our strength through this opportunity.”

“Everything will be as the Master wills.”

Rickshasha bowed her head at the confident attitude and disappeared back into the darkness.

Kim Jin-woo, looking at the darkness beyond where she had disappeared, estimated the distance while looking at the map that floated like an illusion before his eyes. There were now only three days left until they arrived at the land of the dead.

By now, Valishus would have noticed the signs and started preparing for battle in a hurry. He might even recall the troops he sent to Uther.

As he expected. Not even a day had passed before Kim Jin-woo could confirm the message that the battle had ended.

[The battle between the army led by Gluttony Uther and the army of the dead has ended.]

[The army of the dead has retreated.]

[But until the last moment, the army of gluttony and the army of the dead failed to inflict fatal damage on each other. Although the army of the dead has turned back, there is no winner or loser in this battle.]

And from the day the message appeared, the dead began to interfere with the Naga’s advance in earnest.

Perhaps they were trying to buy time for the main force that had gone to battle with Uther to return.

“Keep going straight!”

Ortega and the Dragon Knights, who had completed their role at the vanguard and joined the main force, trampled the hideous dead, who seemed to have patched up their rags.

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes shone as he watched the end of the dead, who had failed to slow down the Naga’s steps by even one step.

“They must be anxious.”

“Because they probably did not expect you to start the war so quickly.”

He nodded at Angela’s words.

The oath of fealty, which was a secret contract between the lord and vassal, now acted as a boon [a benefit or advantage].

Valishus would have simply tried to gain the power to check the Naga’s labyrinth by crushing Uther, who was like a thorn in his side.

But realizing that it was all a trick to draw out his own army, he would probably now realize the relationship between Uther and the Nagas.

But it was already too late.

The dead who had set out to attack Uther and the Gluttony masses were a week away, and the Nagas were now advancing to the very front of the land of the dead, Grave Yard.

“Kieeeek!”

Another dead man who attacked the Nagas was trampled by the Naga Dragon Knights and crushed to pieces.

It was now at a level where it was hard to even call it an attack, and it was rather laughable.

Kim Jin-woo was convinced by the desperate small-scale attacks.

Valishus had boldly dispatched most of his forces.

Whether it was a move to take care of Uther at once or because he trusted the characteristics of the land of the dead, Grave Yard, it was certainly a bold decision.

But that boldness was now strangling Valishus himself.

“Hurry, if you do not want to wrestle with smelly dead men!”

At Kim Jin-woo’s command, the Nagas began to hasten their steps even more.