Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 124

Dungeon Journal – Episode 125

#49. Retaliation

The first to notice the change was Marcus, who was charging ahead with ferocious speed. He instinctively slowed down when he saw black feathers suddenly scattering in the air.

*Flap!*

The moment he heard the sharp flapping of wings near his ear, Marcus expanded the muscles in his legs, bracing himself as if they would burst, and kicked off the ground.

Despite his massive size, Marcus’s body soared, nearly touching the ceiling.

“Kuaaaaak!”

The instant Marcus launched himself upward, the black feathers scattered, shooting out in all directions.

Then, the Blood Lions’ screams followed. In an instant, three Blood Lions were riddled with feathers and collapsed.

“Kuhheoeong!”

Marcus landed heavily on the floor with a thud and roared ferociously. The Under Elves at the front, terrified by the savage roar, slumped down.

Before them, the black feathers swirled and gathered, forming the shape of a giant crow.

“What is the Crow of the Battlefield doing here?” Marcus shouted in astonishment, instantly recognizing Morrigan.

“Keek, why would a crow come?” Morrigan flicked her beak as she looked at Marcus.

“To eat corpses, of course. Freshly made, warm corpses are my favorite.”

“How dare you harm my subordinates…!” Marcus roared, enraged by Morrigan’s mocking tone, and rushed forward.

But as soon as he reached where Morrigan had been, he heard the sound of wings flapping again. Morrigan’s figure vanished without a trace.

She reappeared behind the Under Elves.

“How dare you try to antagonize the Blood Lions!” Marcus’s roar, already fueled by the sight of his subordinates’ blood, was fiercer than ever. But Morrigan didn’t even blink.

“How dare I?”

She mocked Marcus, as if he were pathetic.

“I guess you don’t know which labyrinth the Crow of the Battlefield belongs to?”

Only then did the Blood Lion remember the Crow of the Battlefield’s affiliation, and his face darkened.

“I heard there’s a strong but stupid guy on the 8th floor, and that’s you!” Even with Morrigan’s mocking attitude and beak-clicking, Marcus couldn’t easily respond.

This huge and ferocious Blood Lion, devoid of his initial momentum, simply looked around.

“Could it be that the Commander of Conquest is after the Under Elves?” Marcus asked in a heavy voice, realizing that no additional troops had followed Morrigan.

“You idiot. That’s not it,” Morrigan replied, flapping her wings and landing behind the Under Elves.

“From the beginning, this side belonged to our master.”

With that, she spread her huge wings and embraced Lisha, who was in the rear.

“Right?” Lisha nodded at Morrigan’s familiarity and asked, “What about the King?”

“The scouts returned a while ago. How could he have arrived already? My master was so impatient that I came first, you little Under Elf.” Although her tone was teasing, Lisha smiled brightly, unfazed.

“So, you’re alone now.” Marcus, having sorted out his thoughts, suddenly interrupted their conversation.

“Oh my, so what are you going to do? Do I look easy because I’m alone? Are you going to kill everyone and get away with it?” In reality, the Blood Lions were blatantly revealing their murderous intent and approaching, but Morrigan remained calm.

She ignored the Blood Lions to the point of being nonchalant, turning her back on them as they glared and approached.

Then, she randomly shot feathers at the striped ground bees that were already close.

“Kueoeoeong!”

The moment Morrigan turned her back, Marcus and the Blood Lions roared and lunged. They seemed intent on clearing the situation and escaping before the crow’s master arrived.

“I can’t block both sides! There are fewer on that side, and they’re slower, so either dodge or fight!” The annoying buzzing of hundreds of ground bees filled the air.

Amidst that, the Blood Lions’ roars erupted. Lisha, standing in the middle, looked back and forth between the two sides, then grabbed her curved sword and rushed out.

“That bitch is the leader! Don’t capture her, kill her!” Marcus had been keeping an eye on Lisha from the start.

It annoyed him to see her presumptuously acting as the commander, even though she was just an Under Elf.

At Marcus’s command, several Blood Lions broke from the front lines and charged straight at Lisha.

The Under Elves in front of her were caught in the fierce charge, unable to fight or avoid it, and were trampled to death.

Lisha gritted her teeth and swung her curved sword at the sight of her tribe, still helpless despite being driven so hard. The shadow blade, aiming for the nape of the neck in one swift motion, cut through the Blood Lion’s skin.

But the Blood Lions, ignoring the pain of having their arms cut, rushed at her, baring their teeth and slashing with their claws.

The Blood Lions’ movements were savage and strong, but too slow to catch an Under Elf Runner.

Lisha easily avoided their attacks and continued to shower them with blades.

“So, you were the leader after all.” But even her desperate fight was useless without her tribe’s help. Marcus approached, having arrived unnoticed, and grabbed her hair.

“Once I catch you, the Under Elves will return to their original docile behavior…” Marcus, grinning savagely, abruptly inhaled and pulled his head back.

A black blade brushed past the spot where his huge head had been just moments before.

*Trickle.*

Red blood flowed down his thick nose bridge. Marcus stared at his hands, confirmed that a clump of hair had been cut off, and gritted his teeth.

The moment she thought she was caught, this tenacious Under Elf had cut off her own hair without hesitation and counterattacked.

But her quick response only fueled the Blood Lion’s anger.

The Blood Lion, enraged that he had been struck by a lowly Under Elf, bristled his red mane and charged.

Lisha frowned. She was faster, but this experienced Blood Lion was guiding her in one direction.

The narrow passage forced her back against the cold wall, leaving her nowhere to retreat.

Morrigan, flitting about among the ground bees in the distance, was visible. But her cold eyes showed no intention of helping.

Clearly, she had the *余裕 [yoyu: leeway, room to spare]*, but she didn’t look back at the Under Elves.

Occasionally, a hint of contempt flashed in her red eyes towards her tribe. The moment Lisha saw that look, she was certain.

That Crow of the Battlefield definitely had the power to help everyone. Nevertheless, Morrigan would not help them.

Just as she had forced her tribe to prove their worth by driving them to their deaths, Morrigan was also testing the qualifications of the Under Elves.

She seemed like she wouldn’t even change her expression if all the Under Elves were annihilated here.

She didn’t feel resentful. She felt the same way. Even at this moment, the sight of her tribe kneeling on the floor, begging for their lives from the Blood Lions, and dying in vain was so pathetic and worthless that even she wanted to turn away.

“Don’t get too excited, just keep them alive and go back!” Marcus acted as if the situation was over. And it seemed that everything would soon be finished as he and the Blood Lions intended.

But at that moment, Lisha smiled. A bright smile that revealed her white teeth. Marcus frowned at her sudden smile.

“How annoying. How dare an Under Elf try to act as a leader…” Apparently, Marcus knew something about the curse the Under Elves had received.

Otherwise, there was no way that disgust and a hint of fear would be mixed in the eyes looking at Lisha.

Lisha, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly prostrated herself on the floor.

“It’s no use begging for your life now…” Marcus sneered at her actions, then stopped talking. He finally noticed that her actions were somehow strange.

But he realized it too late. Marcus groaned at the sudden sharp pain he felt in the back of his neck.

At the same time, he felt his body soaring up, and then a suffocating pain.

“Kuaaaaak!”

The screams of his subordinates were heard a beat late.

Blood splattered everywhere. The four Blood Lions who had been guarding his side were cut in half and collapsed to the floor.

Then Marcus realized that someone had grabbed his mane, thrown him away, and slaughtered his subordinates.

“Time’s up, you moron!” A terribly cold voice dug into Marcus’s ear.

***

Looking at the huge lion-man sprawled on the floor, staring up at him with blank eyes, Kim Jin-woo spat out a cold word.

“Time’s up, you moron.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the rear of the Blood Lions’ ranks erupted in noise, and a series of high-pitched, sharp roars were heard.

Flames and explosions followed. The Blood Lions screamed and were driven back and forth.

Amidst them, a group of lizards with flames hanging from their chins rushed in savagely.

[The battle has begun.]

[The Commander’s unique ability ‘Domination of the Battlefield’ has been activated.]

[The Naga Dragon Knights consider it an honor to fight alongside the brave Commander.]

[The collective combat ability of the allies has increased. They will listen to your every little murmur and try to follow it.]

[The allies’ formation becomes even more solid and resilient.]

[The combat ability of the allies has been amplified by the Domination of the Battlefield effect.]

[The Conqueror’s unique ability has been activated. One unit has been freed from the inter-floor penalty.]

[The Dragon Knights are free from the inter-floor penalty and have regained their original abilities.]

Kim Jin-woo, shaking his head to clear the messages, quietly looked at Lisha.

Her face was haggard, probably from the hardships she had endured, but her eyes were shining like stars.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“I have caused concern to my master. Please punish this lowly servant.” Instead of greeting him with joy, Lisha, as always, volunteered for punishment. Kim Jin-woo, now used to such an attitude, smiled.

“But are these the tribe you spoke of?”

“They are.” Lisha’s voice was subdued, lacking confidence. It was only natural.

She had left the labyrinth, confidently promising to gather her tribe, but in the end, she was rescued by her master’s hand.

Moreover, the Under Elf tribe she had brought were all kneeling on the floor, begging for their lives, so it was no wonder she couldn’t lift her head.

“I hoped they would resemble even half of you, but it seems that was too greedy.” As expected, Kim Jin-woo’s eyes turned cold as he looked at the Under Elves, and Lisha trembled as if she had committed a crime.

“The long years have stolen even the tribe’s pride and fighting spirit.”

“Well, you weren’t much different from them at first.” He smiled, recalling his first meeting with Lisha. Her figure, prostrating herself for just one low-grade Down Jam, was vivid in his mind.

“But you have never run away in the face of the enemy, so you and your tribe are clearly different. The value of your tribe will be judged after this battle is over.” Kim Jin-woo hardened his face again and declared firmly.

“As my master wills.” Lisha, as if she had given up on everything, bowed her head with a face that said she didn’t care anymore.

“But!” He growled, looking at her. His gaze was directed at her beautiful hair, which had been cut off so unsightly.

“There is something we must take care of first.” Kim Jin-woo turned his body, spitting out a word.

“Hmm…” Until then, Marcus, who had been watching the Dragon Knights attacking his subordinates and trying to read the situation, felt his gaze and was startled, stepping back.

Since when, a blue ghostly fire had been dripping from the corners of his eyes.