Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 129

Dungeon Chronicle – Episode 130

# 130

Dungeon Chronicle

51. The Enemy’s Invasion

The crowing of the dawn rooster sounded like a scream. It was a terrible cry, like the death throes of the dying underground, finally signaling its end.

Upon hearing that ominous prelude to war, Kim Jin-woo immediately sensed that the event he had so feared had come to pass.

“Reinforce the Labyrinth’s defenses and send out patrols to assess the situation!”

The Conqueror’s Labyrinth was a fortress built with the blood of countless Nagas and enemies.

Naturally, it didn’t take long for the Nagas to fully prepare for battle. In an instant, the Labyrinth’s defenses were fully fortified, and numerous Naga and Under Elf patrols scoured the vicinity, preparing for any possible enemy invasion.

At the same time, warnings were sent to the other Labyrinth Lords to prepare for any eventuality.

However, compared to the Naga’s fortress, the response from the other 9th-floor Labyrinths was too slow.

Despite hearing Kim Jin-woo’s warning, they failed to recognize the severity of the situation, and the price they paid was devastating.

[Golothus, King of the White-Footed Giants, has fallen, and his Labyrinth has been destroyed.]

[Parnarius, King of the One-Eyed Lizards, has been slain. The vassal contract is broken, and all influence over the Labyrinth ruled by Parnarius has been lost.]

[Aptos, King of the Green Dwarves, and his Labyrinth have been completely annihilated.]

In an instant, three Labyrinths were destroyed. Their demise was so sudden and swift that Kim Jin-woo and the Nagas couldn’t even react in time.

“Those damn bastards!”

Kim Jin-woo cursed, rage surging at those who hadn’t heeded his words. But those who could have received his anger were no longer in this world.

“What’s the information on the enemies? What the hell are the patrols doing!”

“News will arrive shortly. We’re pushing the patrols to their limits right now,” Dominique reported, causing him to furrow his brow.

“Patrols aren’t enough. Deploy the Dragon Knights. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Even though the destroyed Labyrinths were among the lower echelons of the 9th floor, they weren’t so weak as to be destroyed in less than half a day.

No matter what anyone said, they were the proud owners of 9th-floor Labyrinths, located in the deepest parts of the lower levels.

The fact that they were destroyed before they could even send a request for help meant that the invaders’ attacks were merciless.

“Damn it, if only we had a little more time.”

He was already trying to assess the situation in the lower levels and prepare for war. If he had been given a little more time, he could have established a perfect defense.

But time, as always, was not on his side, and even at this moment, countless Labyrinths were under attack.

“Master! A patrol has returned!”

“Bring them here!”

Kim Jin-woo’s face lit up at the news of the returning patrol.

“They’re too injured to come here! The Naga priests are trying to buy as much time as possible, but their condition isn’t good.”

At Dominique’s response, he rose from his throne without hesitation.

“O, King.”

The returning patrol was an Under Elf who had joined the fortress under Rickshasha’s guidance. They were surrounded by Naga priests, receiving healing magic, but their condition didn’t look good at all.

Their entire body was covered in blood, and one arm was missing, as if it had been torn off by something. The Under Elf was clearly on the verge of death, and the Naga priests shook their heads as they looked at them.

The Under Elf patrol, sensing their end, didn’t even bother to look at their own wounds and quickly conveyed what they had seen and heard.

“Smashed faces, twisted limbs… The enemies didn’t appear to be in a normal state at first glance. But despite that, they were savage and violent.”

The Under Elf said that they looked like they had a terrible disease, like leprosy [a chronic infectious disease that causes disfigurement].

They also easily detected the patrols’ stealth, and the exposed patrols were surrounded and eaten alive before they could even escape.

“I can assure you, they are definitely not from this underground.”

The trembling of the patrol, caused by terrible bleeding and injuries, subsided. The Under Elf’s uniquely flexible body stiffened and cooled, and the voice continuing the report was strained, as if squeezing out the last of their strength.

“O King, if you do not consider the small service of a humble servant to be insignificant, I beg you to show some mercy to my clan.”

Kim Jin-woo nodded slightly at the Under Elf patrol’s words.

“Your sacrifice will bring peace to your clan.”

“Thank you for your mercy, O King…”

In the end, the Under Elf dropped their head. He stared at the coldly frozen corpse with gloomy eyes.

“Ensure that the body is not further damaged and deliver it to their clan.”

Although the Under Elves were once enslaved and tried to obtain their freedom through others, their sacrifice for their clan was by no means cheap.

After his brief mourning, the Naga mages approached and froze the Under Elf’s body as it was.

The Under Elves, who had gathered at some point, watched the death of their kin with gloomy eyes, accepted the body of their clan, and disappeared somewhere.

Kim Jin-woo, who had been following the Under Elf group with a gaze full of complex emotions, gave instructions with a resolute expression.

“Now that the patrols’ stealth abilities are useless, we can’t rely on them. Limit their mission range and replace them with Dragon Knights.”

Although he couldn’t forget the Under Elves who had gone to the 11th floor, he intended to prevent the sacrifice of patrols performing missions in the vicinity.

“Their identity must be related to those who shook the 11th floor.”

He had prayed that it wasn’t so, but in the end, his ominous premonition came true. The enemies attacking the 9th floor now were clearly the monsters from another underground that had turned the 11th floor into a living hell.

“Then now the 9th floor too…”

Dominique, who had already been pale, turned even paler and spoke in a horrified voice. Kim Jin-woo looked grim at the ominous feeling given by the unspoken words she couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“Now this place will become hell too.”

As if to prove his words, enemies appeared near the fortress.

[The Dragon Knights patrolling the outskirts of the fortress have begun to fight.]

After confirming the message, he led the waiting Dragon Knights out. As soon as they left the fortress, a sticky malice clung to his entire body.

“Stay sharp!”

He felt his body grow heavy from the dense malice and urged the Dragon Knights.

The somewhat stiff Dragon Knights then straightened their shoulders and strode forward. In an instant, they were able to leave the center of the fortress and reach the outskirts.

But even though they had hurried so much, the battle was already over when he and the Dragon Knights arrived at the battlefield.

What awaited them were not Dragon Knights, but unidentified monsters.

Crunch. Crunch.

With festering skin, twisted limbs, and half-rotted bodies, the monsters’ appearance was even more grotesque than the Under Elf’s report.

Compared to them, the undead created by Valishus were rather neat.

A monster that looked like a half-rotted giant was squatting on the floor, oblivious to its huge size, busy crunching on something.

“Are we too late?”

He frowned as he confirmed the Nagas’ blood smeared all over the passage.

Perhaps they had managed to hear his quiet murmur, as some of the enemies, who were moving their mouths like demons, turned their heads slightly.

As a result, something blue that they had been chewing haphazardly fell to the floor with a thud.

Although it had been chewed and damaged here and there, it wasn’t difficult to recognize that the owner of the forearm with tough scales was a Dragon Knight.

“You sons of bitches!”

And when he realized that fact, Kim Jin-woo was enraged and rushed towards the enemies.

His aura, dripping with blue light, was so fierce that no ordinary enemy would dare to resist.

But the enemies, seeing him like that, bared their fangs even more ferociously. The canines that pierced through their lips were gruesome.

“Sweep them away!”

In response to his angry shout, the Dragon Knights who followed behind him let out sharp wind sounds. They were truly enraged at the enemies who were feasting on the corpses of their comrades.

“Kuaaaa!”

The enraged Dragon Knights’ charge was brutal. They didn’t slow down even when they saw the huge enemies rushing towards them.

The first to collide with the enemies was Kim Jin-woo.

Just before the collision, he jumped off the back of the Dharma Dragon and charged towards the monsters. Then, he drew the sword he had slung around his waist and swung it.

With that simple, crude attack, the enemy’s forearm was cut off, and their waist was cut in two.

In an instant, the monsters’ vanguard collapsed, and the Dragon Knights who followed behind trampled over the fallen enemies.

“Hmm…”

Although he had completely destroyed the enemy’s vanguard, Kim Jin-woo’s expression was not good. It was because the enemies had collapsed too helplessly.

At this level, the Dragon Knights who had gone on patrol couldn’t have been defeated. Something felt off.

And as if to confirm his concerns, the monsters trampled by the Dragon Knights rose to their feet.

As if they couldn’t feel the pain of their cut-off and crushed bodies, they let out unpleasant roars and charged.

By the time he realized that fact, the rear ranks of the Dragon Knights were about to have their napes grabbed by the monsters.

“Ignore the rear and keep running! Increase speed!”

Kim Jin-woo didn’t hesitate even though he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Instead, he encouraged the Dragon Knights to increase their charging speed.

The sword in his hand shook wildly, and the monsters blocking the front were quickly sliced away.

Thanks to his efforts, the Dragon Knights were finally able to break through the enemy.

But even though the enemies they had trampled and crushed got up without a scratch and stuck to them again, the battle was still not over.

***

In the end, the battle was barely over after trampling the enemies beyond recognition. Even Kim Jin-woo, who wouldn’t have flinched under normal circumstances, looked disgusted.

It was because facing the enemies he thought he had already defeated was such a terrible experience.

“They don’t feel pain, just like the undead, but the enemies are more blindly and persistently aggressive. Even the Naga warriors, who lack attack power, can’t handle them outside the Labyrinth.”

Although his face was still flushed with the excitement of battle, Kim Jin-woo’s assessment was cold.

“The Dragon Knights are also in danger. If they’re not careful, they’ll be surrounded by enemies while charging.”

If he hadn’t crushed the enemies at the front, it would have been difficult for the Dragon Knights alone to annihilate these terribly persistent enemies.

“If the Dragon Knights’ charge doesn’t work properly, then the others…”

“They probably won’t be able to stop them.”

It was only one battle, but Kim Jin-woo felt deeply how terrible and persistent the enemies were.

And the moment he realized that fact, he instinctively knew that there weren’t many among the Labyrinths on the 9th floor who could face them.

“If we don’t find a solution, the 9th floor will be destroyed.”

An ominous prophecy, a word that felt more urgent than ever, hardened Dominique’s face.

As always, ominous premonitions never fail. And as with everything else in the underground, such expectations always manifest in the worst possible way.

The war situation was getting worse.

The Lords of the 9th floor could only lock their Labyrinths and hold out, and even though they were so focused on defense, Labyrinths were collapsing one after another. A whopping seven Labyrinths had collapsed in two days.

And tragically, countless Labyrinths were being attacked even at this moment.

“I think I know why the Counts of the 11th floor struggled so much.”

If they could move the Labyrinths of the 9th floor to block the enemy’s movement paths and create a defensive line, the situation would be much better, but the enemies didn’t even allow that.

The Labyrinth Lords were tied down by sporadic attacks without direction or consistency, and the network between the Labyrinths was completely severed.

“At this rate, we’ll just be isolated and slowly die.”

These were enemies that even the powerful Counts of the 11th floor couldn’t stop. There was no way they could fight against such monsters separately.

Dominique repeatedly emphasized that the power of the 9th floor must be united, even if it meant many sacrifices.

“It’s a bit dangerous, but it’s not like there’s no way at all.”

Dominique, who had been narrowing her eyes and groaning to figure out his intentions, suddenly turned pale.

“Don’t tell me…”

“We’ll use the portals.”