Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 237

Dungeon Chronicle – Episode 238

# 238

Dungeon Chronicle

Kim Jin-woo sat in the owner’s room, his eyes closed, sensing the oppressive energy that had infiltrated the Great Labyrinth.

“The enemy is relentlessly pushing through the central passage!”

Rickshasha reported urgently, but he kept his eyes shut.

“At this rate, the enemy will penetrate too deeply. Please make a decision quickly!”

The situation was so dire that even the usually calm Rickshasha was urging him repeatedly. The enemy’s numbers were greater than expected, and their advance was alarming. If this continued, the Great Labyrinth might fall into enemy hands.

However, Kim Jin-woo opened his eyes only after a considerable time had passed, when nearly half of the satyrs had entered the Great Labyrinth.

“It’s time to wake up, Great Labyrinth.”

As soon as he spoke, the Great Labyrinth roared and awakened.

“Devour them.”

The terrifying hunger that had once consumed thousands of rioters returned.

Gooooooo.

The chilling roar of the Great Labyrinth swallowed even the death cries of the satyrs, and thousands of the creatures vanished without a trace.

[The satyrs were more delicious and nutritious than any summon the Great Labyrinth has ever tasted. As a result, it couldn’t even finish devouring half of the forces that entered the Great Labyrinth before becoming full.]

[The Great Labyrinth, filled with satiety, can no longer continue its meal. The Great Labyrinth is very disappointed to have missed the long-awaited feast.]

[The Great Labyrinth, having absorbed immense life force, needs some time to digest the energy. After digestion, all life force will be converted into dungeon energy.]

[The converted dungeon energy will be used to reactivate deactivated facilities and summon summons.]

Kim Jin-woo’s wish for the Great Labyrinth to handle as many satyrs as possible was not entirely fulfilled.

In an instant, thousands of satyrs became a meal for the Great Labyrinth, but several times that number still remained both outside and inside the labyrinth.

But now was not the time for disappointment. It was time to fight.

“Close the entrance.”

With a deafening roar, the gate of the Great Labyrinth slammed shut.

“Activate all traps.”

The masterpieces of the labyrinth designer, who had risen to the rank of master, which had been dormant to lure the satyrs as far as possible, finally awakened from their long slumber and sprung to life.

Hell began for the satyrs who had been rampaging through the Great Labyrinth.

***

“Damn it! What the hell is going on here!”

Lü Yang was furious. The labyrinth of a mere count, which he had expected to conquer easily, was constantly causing him trouble.

Thousands of troops seemed to vanish in an instant, and suddenly the entrance to the labyrinth disappeared, causing heavy casualties among his subordinates who had entered. Compared to the initial troop losses, the current damage was insignificant, but the continuous accumulation of losses was not a good sign.

“You! You didn’t tell me everything!”

Lü Yang’s anger was directed at Ariane, who was arguably the cause of all this. If it weren’t for her, his precious subordinates would not have vanished so helplessly.

“Tell me! What am I missing? Don’t forget that depending on your answer, I might tear you apart right now.”

Ariane trembled at Lü Yang’s fierce voice, which sounded like a growl.

“I… I’ve already told you everything I know.”

Her acting, concealing her dark intentions, was perfect. Lü Yang pressed her for more information, but he merely vented his anger, thinking that she was just a baroness, so what could she possibly know?

“Damn it, to be troubled by a mere count-level labyrinth.”

Worrying was pointless now; the troops that had already disappeared wouldn’t return. But from his position, having risen to the rank of duke, he couldn’t understand what was happening.

The troops that had entered the labyrinth represented half of the satyrs he had brought. Half of them had vanished in the blink of an eye, and even now, contact with many summons was being severed.

Even if he had pushed troops into a duke-level labyrinth, the damage wouldn’t have been so severe in such a short time.

He had suffered unexpected troop losses on what he thought would be a simple outing. He had to consider whether to advance or retreat his troops at this point.

But the situation wasn’t good enough to simply retreat. A considerable number of troops were still fighting fiercely inside, and it wasn’t easy to abandon so many of them.

If it were any other time, he would have, but given the massive damage he had suffered from the recent earthquake, he had to save them.

Kuaaaa!

Lü Yang, lost in thought, raised his head at the sudden roar of his subordinates.

“The entrance has been breached!”

Lü Yang gritted his teeth as he looked at the passage created by dozens of satyrs who had sacrificed their lives for it.

“Widen the passage and go inside!”

***

Beyond the painstakingly breached passage was hell itself. The corpses of enemies and allies were everywhere, and the soles of their feet stuck to the ground due to the spilled blood.

Lü Yang’s eyes turned completely cold as he took in the unbearable sight. The anxious look he had shown just moments ago was gone.

It seemed that he himself felt a sense of crisis now that the situation had come to this.

The satyrs weren’t fools who would be so easily defeated for failing to occupy a mere count’s labyrinth. Even if they fell into a trap, they had enough power to break and trample it with brute force, and ultimately tear their opponent’s body apart.

The fact that so much damage had occurred despite this meant that the enemy possessed something significant.

Whether it was the inherent ability of this unique labyrinth or something else, he no longer looked down on the enemy.

“Assume that you have entered at least a duke-level labyrinth.”

At his words, the satyrs, who seemed ready to rush out, excited by the smell of blood, forcibly calmed their breathing.

“Kyak!”

There were several ambushes. Vampires hiding in the darkness rushed in, but no significant damage was done. Lü Yang, having made up his mind, anticipated and blocked all the ambushes in advance.

However, even though the damage was reduced, the situation didn’t improve at all.

He didn’t know what had happened, but the subordinates who had entered the labyrinth earlier were scattered, and despite sensing the aura of their master, they showed no signs of regrouping.

In the end, Lü Yang decided to postpone regrouping his troops and conquer this unidentified labyrinth first.

But even that wasn’t easy.

The glittering walls of the passage were so dizzying that they disoriented them, and the various traps that popped up everywhere only slowed them down. The only consolation was that the enemy’s summons were unremarkable.

Nevertheless, Lü Yang and the satyrs were slowly but steadily moving towards the center of the labyrinth.

“It wasn’t just a count.”

The scale was too vast, and the depth of the traps was too sinister to belong to a count’s labyrinth.

Lü Yang, who realized this belatedly, glared at Ariane. The Queen of the Distorted Dream, already tattered from his harsh venting of anger, flinched and trembled at his angry gaze.

“I swear on the mysteries of the underworld, the owner of this labyrinth has not reached the rank of duke.”

In her own way, she was right. Kim Jin-woo had relinquished his noble title of the underworld when he ascended to High Lord, so he hadn’t reached the rank of duke. Lü Yang, who had no way of knowing such hidden circumstances, withdrew his suspicious gaze.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. After all, this labyrinth will kneel at my feet today.”

His eyes flashed with madness.

“I don’t know who the owner of this labyrinth is, but I’m going to make him beg for death instead of asking to be spared.”

With a chilling vow, Lü Yang increased his speed even more.

***

At the same time that Lü Yang entered the labyrinth, Kim Jin-woo was going berserk. His already powerful force was amplified by various amplification effects and the home-field advantage, making him a force to be reckoned with.

None of the satyrs could withstand his attack.

But there were still satyrs everywhere. He couldn’t even tell if this was his labyrinth or the enemy’s base.

Kim Jin-woo, who had been surrounded by enemies and wielding his spear in a trance, suddenly stopped. He focused all his attention on the other side, as if staring at something invisible.

“Keu.”

The satyrs, seeing him defenselessly lowering his spear, didn’t dare to rush at him and only let out suppressed groans, wondering how terribly he had been tormented.

“He’s got a heavy ass, a damn heavy ass [referring to Lü Yang’s powerful presence].”

He shook his head at the powerful energy that was still far away but felt quite distinct.

Fearing that Lü Yang might turn back, he hadn’t been using the full power of the High Lord until now. That alone was a disaster for the satyrs, but from his point of view, he hadn’t been able to exert his full power because he was fighting purely with the strength of his body.

“Master!”

As he was chasing Lü Yang’s energy, Angela appeared as a mist suddenly rose from the darkness.

“I don’t think I can hold on any longer. Please allow the familiars to retreat.”

Since the leader had stepped forward, there was nothing the vampires could do. The power of a duke who had even driven away the antlions would certainly render the vampires’ ambushes ineffective. So, he readily granted her request.

Angela disappeared into the mist without any sign of joy at his words. It seemed she didn’t have the luxury to move as leisurely as usual because of the situation.

“Well, then, shall we go meet your master?”

The eerie sounds of flesh tearing and screams erupted again on the unusually silent battlefield.

***

The initial sense of crisis was fleeting, and Lü Yang soon wore a delighted expression. The labyrinth, which he had initially regarded as insignificant, had been constantly tormenting him, and he seemed to covet it all the more.

After all, it was no wonder that he would be tempted by something that could trouble a duke.

He now seemed to think that he was fortunate to have discovered this place before other dukes found out about it.

Although his subordinates had suffered heavy losses, he no longer regretted it.

The only thing on his face was the anticipation of claiming the labyrinth’s core, which would soon be in his hands.

Perhaps that was why he wasn’t surprised to see Kim Jin-woo standing alone against a large army, looking like a madman.

“Oh! You’ve come to die, not knowing your place!”

Lü Yang immediately recognized that he was the owner of this unidentified labyrinth and cheered.

“What are you saying? You’re awfully whiny.”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at Lü Yang. Even though they didn’t speak the same language, he could tell what the other person was thinking at a glance.

He wasn’t generous enough to give his things to others. Naturally, he wasn’t in a good mood.

But he narrowed his eyes as he spotted the woman he had been looking for beside the loudly chattering Lü Yang.

“Ariane.”

Although she was a mess, it wasn’t difficult to recognize the runaway. She was somewhat pale, but she didn’t avoid his gaze.

Click.

Perhaps because she thought her identity had been exposed, Kim Jin-woo laughed instead, feeling both dumbfounded and angry at her provocative nod even as she faced him.

But only for a moment, he moved his lips with a face that had lost all its laughter.

‘Wait, I’m going there.’

Before the last word could fade from his lips, Kim Jin-woo plunged into the army of satyrs.