Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 72

Dungeon Chronicle – Episode 73

#31. The Fight for Dominance

“He took quite a hit, didn’t he?”

Anatolius, seated on a throne made of iron—a massive chair with sharp, jagged edges like a rugged mountain peak—seemed amused.

“I wonder if we gave him too much power. He’s already so arrogant; perhaps we should restrain him once in a while….”

One of the iron knights lined up on either side expressed concern. However, Anatolius looked pleased. Though his face was an expressionless iron mask, he couldn’t hide the smile playing on his lips.

“I still don’t understand why we have to take such risks. We have more than enough obedient cards. A newly risen baron with no roots, and what do you expect from a being on the 9th floor? I cannot comprehend it.”

“Hestia.”

Anatolius spoke again, looking at Hestia, the iron knight of the Iron Wall, who kept voicing her concerns.

“If not the 9th floor, where else is there an alternative? Tell me. The barons and viscounts of the 10th floor are completely ruined. They are corrupted by luxury and pleasure due to the machinations of the Black Merchant. Do you think they can turn their blades towards the 11th floor?”

“What about Boreas of the Freezing Gale…?”

“No. Boreas is not enough. Boreas is one of the few who maintained his valor on the 10th floor, but he has already tasted defeat against the counts. He would choose to submit rather than face a losing battle. I guarantee Boreas will not leave the 10th floor.”

As he said that, Anatolius recalled the subterranean man who stood tall before him, never backing down from a single word.

“Only he is capable. Only he, who is free from the constraints of the floors and untainted by the current system, can do it.”

“But didn’t that reckless fellow jeopardize the grand plan? The power of Parthenon and the other counts is not to be underestimated to step out already.”

“Hestia.”

Hestia fell silent at Anatolius’s low voice.

Advice is good, and so is candid criticism. Anatolius was not a petty ruler who would retaliate against his subordinates for their words. But when he spoke in such an emotionless voice, one had to be careful.

No matter what anyone said, he was the Iron-Blooded Monarch, Anatolius.

“You worry too much. That’s why I keep you by my side, but sometimes that caution can hinder decisions. You need to be bolder.”

“I will try.”

Anatolius continued, watching Hestia lower her head.

“To overturn the completely stagnant state of the 11th floor, a new wind is needed. I am confident that my choice is not wrong.”

Anatolius rose from his throne and spoke, looking at the knights lined up on either side.

“Monitor Parthenon’s movements! If any of Parthenon’s rabble leave the territory, immediately engage in a show of force!”

“Parthenon is an arrogant one. He might become enraged and rise up even with a minor provocation.”

“That’s not bad either! If Parthenon accepts the provocation, deploy the prepared forces all at once! But as long as the other counts remain dormant, Parthenon will not want a mutual conflict with me! So don’t worry and pressure him properly!”

Anatolius’s gaze, after shouting that, was directed past the 11th floor, towards the 9th floor.

“I hope your decision is not just a shallow trick to get out of the situation. If it is not….”

Anatolius’s iron mask grew even colder.

“You will realize the value of the name Iron Blood.”

***

“Why? Did I ask for too much as ransom?”

The dark merchant looked distressed at Kim Jin-woo’s words.

“It’s not the ransom that’s the problem. It’s the fact that the Baron openly used Lord Anatolius’s name. Wasn’t the deal between you and Lord Anatolius supposed to be a secret?”

The rumor that the Iron-Blooded Anatolius was backing the Nagas spread throughout the 9th floor.

The other labyrinth owners reacted by saying they had finally found the secret to the Naga’s achievements and rapid growth.

With a powerful count from the 11th floor backing them, who on the 9th floor could compete with the Naga’s fortress? Of course, the reality was completely different, but Kim Jin-woo didn’t bother to stop such rumors.

He intended to leverage Anatolius’s name as much as possible.

“That’s funny. Are you questioning me now?”

“That’s not it….”

“Shut your mouth. The summoning stone you told me was useful actually contained a troublesome entity filled with the grudges of deep-seated nobles. You say you didn’t know the contents, but you’re not free from responsibility.”

The dark merchant shut his mouth. There was no way the rumors of the Underworld could have bypassed the Black Merchant, so he couldn’t just pretend not to know about the events caused by the summoning stone he had provided.

In fact, in exchange for obtaining Morrigan, Kim Jin-woo had become enemies with numerous nobles, led by Parthenon of Despair, a count of the 11th floor. In hindsight, it was as if the Black Merchant had pushed him into it.

“I am sorry about that. Our Black Merchant is preparing separate compensation for that matter….”

“I’ll look forward to it. And apart from that compensation, I have a favor to ask.”

The dark merchant, now resigned to his fate due to Kim Jin-woo’s attitude of never letting things go easily, nodded and waited for the next words.

“I want to receive the reward Anatolius promised in six months, now.”

However, even this proposal seemed to exceed the dark merchant’s imagination.

“I don’t know if Lord Anatolius would go that far….”

“You would know, wouldn’t you?”

At Kim Jin-woo’s question, the dark merchant blinked his large eyes and pretended not to know. Kim Jin-woo frowned at his brazen expression and said.

“Some of the nobles on the 10th floor are gathering forces. Probably one of the dogs Parthenon raised.”

“How did you….”

“It doesn’t matter how I knew. What’s important now is where their spearheads are pointing.”

At Kim Jin-woo’s words, the dark merchant finally threw up his hands and sighed.

“I don’t want to die either, so I don’t have the confidence to tell Lord Anatolius that. Just because he is generous to you doesn’t mean he will be generous to me. I’ll talk to my superiors.”

It seemed they were thinking of having the Black Merchant provide the funds instead of Anatolius to advance the payment.

As long as he could secure the military funds, Kim Jin-woo didn’t press the dark merchant any further.

“But how did you really know?”

“Know what?”

Kim Jin-woo pretended not to understand the dark merchant’s question.

“About the 10th floor. How did you know about their situation….”

“I just heard rumors.”

At the insincere answer, the dark merchant looked like he was dying of curiosity, seeing that he had no intention of telling him.

But since he had already gotten what he wanted, he had no intention of talking to the dark merchant any further.

“Okay. Then I’ll visit you again soon.”

The dark merchant, who had sent probing eyes until the last moment without giving up, eventually left the Naga’s fortress without finding out anything.

After the dark merchant left, Kim Jin-woo opened a portal. A gap in space opened in the air, beyond which Uther and the Land of Gluttony could be seen.

“Have you arrived?”

Uther’s body was much clearer in form than before. That was because the Labyrinth of Gluttony, which had received some of the military funds Kim Jin-woo had received from Anatolius, had risen in rank and finally reached level 5.

In the process, it was only natural that the power of Uther, the rightful ruler and owner of the labyrinth, was greatly enhanced.

And as he grew stronger, he treated Kim Jin-woo even more politely and respectfully.

He had completely calculated who he needed to stick with to benefit.

“Yes, is there anything unusual?”

“Ah, some nobles have dispatched troops, but they were smashed by bandits during their march and are now scattered and fleeing. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like something the noble people of the deep layers would do, so I’m quite perplexed.”

Behind Uther, who clicked his tongue and answered, large and small masses of slime were spread out widely.

And the transparent slime that stuck to the wall constantly reflected something faintly.

***

Uther was busy grasping the situation on the 10th floor, connecting thin strands of slime to the blurry image.

And that was why Kim Jin-woo could know the situation on the 10th floor even while sitting on the 9th floor.

“Okay. Still, it’s a bit disappointing that I didn’t spread it over a wider area, as I would have known more.”

“It can’t be helped. After all, I just tagged along with the Black Merchant’s trade.”

It seemed that the masses of gluttony had crawled down to the 10th floor when Kim Jin-woo accompanied the Black Merchant’s trade and spread them then.

Well, he had plenty of time to drop the masses of gluttony without them knowing, as he had roamed around various places on the 10th floor following the dark merchant.

“But is this really okay? Some nobles showed a disgraceful appearance, but not all nobles are like that.”

“You can assume that’s almost the case. I haven’t been to all of the 10th floor, but there was only one labyrinth I saw that was decent.”

The frozen land ruled by Boreas of the Freezing Gale was the only labyrinth on the 10th floor that needed to be wary of.

“Anyway, for the time being, focus on grasping the situation on the 10th floor rather than anything else.”

As he was about to turn around after leaving his instructions, Uther called him.

“Why?”

“That’s… the masses of gluttony are absorbing too much energy….”

Kim Jin-woo chuckled, instantly understanding what Uther was asking for, seeing Uther’s humble appearance, and took out a mid-grade Down Jam [a type of energy source] from his pocket and threw it to him.

“Oh my! This Uther will be watching the 10th floor until my body becomes mushy.”

He waved his hand at Uther, who answered with bubbles bubbling, and soon crossed the portal again.

***

The rumor that the nobles of the 10th floor were marching towards the 9th floor spread quickly. It was a rumor intentionally spread by the Naga long-range patrols under Kim Jin-woo’s instructions.

And the rumor that spread in that way was appropriately manipulated and fabricated into information favorable to the Nagas.

In the process, it was thoroughly concealed who the spearheads of the 10th floor nobles were accurately aimed at, and what the situation on the 10th floor was like.

To the owners of the 9th floor, it was a situation where another floor was aiming for the 9th floor and invading it.

Kim Jin-woo, who had brought a storm to the 9th floor in that way, was not actually on the 9th floor.

[The upgrade of the Party Hall in the Land of Festivities has been completed. The labyrinth’s rank has been upgraded from rank 4 to rank 5. The locked facilities have been newly activated.]

The core of the Party Hall, which had begun to change with a bright light, and Yunhee’s body began to shine in accordance with it.