Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 257

Dungeon Expedition Log – 257

# 257

Dungeon Expedition Log

Chapter 258

Dugun. Dugun.

The ancient legacy, which even the Usurper couldn’t find, began to beat again after a long time.

[The core that dominates the Red Castle, the source of blood, resonates.]

[The imprinting process has begun.]

An unintended stroke of luck. Just when it seemed like he was about to be in trouble, falling into the trap prepared by Ursus, such a windfall was waiting.

Kim Jin-woo controlled the wildly wriggling Authority of Greed and slowly resonated his mind with the core.

“Ah….”

But the wildly beating heart soon stopped. He groaned involuntarily at the terrible sense of loss, as if all the energy had drained from his body.

[The imprinting process has failed.]

[You do not have the qualifications.]

[The only rightful ruler who can control the Red Castle is a descendant of true blood. Unfortunately, you have a True Blood Vampire as a subordinate, but you do not possess True Blood yourself.]

Just when things seemed to be going too well, a problem arose. He frowned, his face pale as the surging energy drained away like the tide.

“Aaaah….”

If he wanted, he could have devoured the energy contained in the Vampire Lord’s legacy. It wouldn’t have been difficult.

He could have obtained what he wanted just by unleashing the Authority of Greed, which was raging as if it had been teased with delicacies right in front of it.

“Keueung.”

But he barely managed to restrain the impulse. The existence of the Red Castle, located in the Reverse Side [a hidden or alternate dimension], was too attractive to simply absorb the energy.

The fortress, where no one could set foot without the Lord’s permission, had infinite value in itself.

It would be foolish to just take the energy and discard such a treasure.

[The imprinting process cannot be performed. The source of blood has rejected you.]

Just in case, he tried to imprint again, but the source of blood remained haughty.

Kim Jin-woo pondered. He wanted to swallow this delicious food whole if possible. He didn’t want to miss out on the taste, aroma, or flavor.

But the situation was not favorable. The core rejected him several times, and to make matters worse, the message warned.

[Having reached the Reverse Side, you are currently neither out of the battlefield nor not out of it. However, if you continue to stay in the Reverse Side, you will completely leave the battlefield.]

[If you leave the battlefield, the title of Successor will disappear.]

[There are 29 minutes and 48 seconds left until the title disappears.]

“This is going to suck.”

Unexpectedly, a time limit appeared. He hurriedly asked Angela.

“Is there a way to enter the Reverse Side again?”

“Um, I don’t think so. I just happened to come into contact with it in the midst of chaos, and I don’t know how to get here.”

Just in case, he asked, but as expected. It was luck that he wouldn’t have come again unless his life was in danger in the middle of a terrible explosion.

“It would be impossible to come back later.”

If he couldn’t take the ancient legacy today, he didn’t know when such an opportunity would come again. He pondered repeatedly, but no answer came.

[You must return to the battlefield quickly. If you make a mistake, the disgrace of ‘retreat’ may be recorded among the glorious records of succession.]

[There are 18 minutes and 22 seconds left until the title disappears.]

Watching the time constantly decreasing, he concentrated even more on thinking.

***

The Ursus’ labyrinth, swept away by the terrible explosion, was completely ruined. But even that tremendous fire and shock couldn’t end the war.

“Geuwoaaaaaa!”

In the ruins where the flames had not yet subsided, wounded Tarus [a race of bull-like humanoids] fought the Ursus Highs [elite Ursus warriors] with their battered bodies. Even though their horns were broken and their bodies were devastated by the flames and explosions, they did not back down.

But unfortunately, the situation was not good enough to overcome with just fighting spirit.

Although they avoided annihilation, they lost nearly half of their forces in a single explosion.

The damage to the Tarus Ogres, who had bravely penetrated deeply into the center, was severe, and they lacked the strength to face the wrath of the Ursus, who had been crouching and hoarding their strength all along.

To make matters worse, the Duke himself unexpectedly consumed his strength. It was frustrating, but there was no other way. If he hadn’t stepped in, the Tarus would have been swept away by the explosion and annihilated.

“Those guys! A large number of troops were swept away by the explosion!”

The chief of the guard, with one horn melted away, shouted.

The chief of the guard repeatedly stated that they were still in an advantageous position, and that the other side, which had sacrificed 10,000 Ursus Highs, was not in a much better situation.

Indeed, it was a statement and fighting spirit worthy of the best warrior among the brave Tarus Ogres. The Duke also sided with the chief of the guard.

“We will not retreat. We will finish off the white bears here today.”

“Uwoooooooo!”

The Tarus, encouraged by their master’s continued desire for conquest, roared in unison.

“Hmm.”

The balance of the battlefield, which had temporarily tilted due to the increased morale, returned to its place. But the Duke’s expression, watching this, was not good at all.

The Commander of the Succession was no longer visible, whether he had been swept away by the explosion. Because of the name of Succession, he was able to fight a disadvantageous battle even inside the enemy’s base.

But the Commander of the Succession had disappeared without a trace, and the amplification effect of the enemy, which he had not felt until now, weighed heavily on his allies.

They were putting on a show of fighting similarly because they were angry, but as time went on, the enemies would recover their strength and the allies would become exhausted.

It was truly a crisis. Moreover, that wasn’t the only problem. The biggest problem was that he didn’t know what had happened to the forces of the Eastern Labyrinth, which he had brought in as allies.

It’s not that he was worried about the alliance. Rather, he hoped that the alliance had suffered even greater damage than they had.

An alliance where the balance of power had completely tilted was likely to become a more dangerous relationship than the enemy, depending on the situation.

If possible, it would be ideal if they had suffered a similar level of damage, but that was not a very likely story.

Unless the Ursus were crazy, they wouldn’t have thought of blowing up their entire base, so the range of the explosion would have been limited to the vicinity of the Tarus’ entry route.

In the end, only he and the Tarus were battered.

“But we can’t retreat.”

The situation was unfavorable, but he had no intention of retreating at all.

Fierce beasts do not leave bloodied animals alone. And unfortunately, this time he and the Tarus were on the side of the wounded beast.

If he couldn’t defeat his arch-enemy and steal the Ursus’ core, there would be no tomorrow. He strengthened his resolve.

But the situation was getting worse and worse, regardless of the Duke’s will. The exhausted Tarus were now showing their limits, and the Ursus were recovering from the labyrinth’s amplification effect as time went on.

The gap in power was widening, and finally, as if driving a wedge, the culprit of all this appeared.

“You’re a mess. King of the Fierce Bulls.”

The giant white bear, who had appeared on the battlefield, spoke in a mocking voice.

“It doesn’t sound like something you should say, having lost the Ursus Highs legion that you cherished so much.”

The Duke retorted without backing down.

“Their sacrifice has been used to offer the blood of our arch-enemy on the altar, so the death of 10,000 Ursus Highs has not been in vain.”

Unlike his leisurely tone, the King of the Ursus was approaching with a thud. The carefully selected white bear guards trampled on the exhausted Tarus and cleared the way.

The King of the White Bears seemed to be trying not to give the Duke, who had exhausted his strength, time to recover.

“Longtime arch-enemy, today is your last day.”

The King of the Ursus pushed aside the guards and stomped his feet. Unlike his high-minded behavior until now, he charged violently, and the Tarus were helplessly pushed back, leaving the front wide open.

“Geuwoaaaaaaaaaaaa.”

The energy of lightning formed between the Duke’s huge horns. The destructive lightning, so destructive that it pushed back even that terrible explosion, was condensed and condensed before being fired forward.

The King of the Ursus did not back down either. White light gathered between his thick snout, and then stretched out straight.

Lightning and cold, the purest energy that could not be found again in the underground, rushed towards each other.

“Evacuate! We’ll get caught up!”

The Tarus scattered in all directions in preparation for the collision of powerful energies. Right now, even the white bears in front of them were not a problem.

The opponent also had no choice but to avoid the energy that the Dukes had unleashed.

“Hmm….”

He braced himself by lying flat on the floor in preparation for the explosion, putting strength into his whole body. But even as time passed, the surroundings were quiet.

“Huh?”

Instead of the expected explosion and roar, all they heard was someone’s dumbfounded voice that they couldn’t understand.

***

Kim Jin-woo, who was on a time limit, had to leave the Reverse Side and return to reality. The first thing that caught his eye was the fiercely roaring lightning and the silently approaching cold.

“Huh?”

Before he could even grasp the situation, he unleashed his power. The suppressed mighty energy of the High Lord quickly spread in all directions, and in the meantime, the Authority of Predation, which had raised its body, greedily opened its maw.

The two streams of energy that had been raging fiercely were instantly swept into the Authority of Greed and disappeared without a trace.

“Hoo.”

Feeling that the energy he had consumed in the Reverse Side was instantly restored, as if it contained considerable energy, he sighed.

Then, he saw the two Dukes with dumbfounded faces. They seemed to be stunned by the energy that had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

“You guys were having a lot of fun.”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head, looking at the ruined labyrinth and the blood splattered everywhere.

“H, how could you!”

A giant Ursus, who was running behind the white light, belatedly discovered him and was shocked.

“You’re the leader of the white bears.”

A giant white bear so large that even the considerably large Ursus Highs looked up to him, his eyes flashed at the powerful energy he could see at a glance.

“I guess trusting anyone in the underground is a stupid thing to do. Looking at the situation, it seems that the explosion wasn’t only targeting the Tarus.”

A giant white bear with fierce yellow eyes; the gentle and trustworthy being that Mimir had spoken of was nowhere to be seen.

“Anyway, it’s a relief. I was wondering what would happen if you didn’t speak our language, unlike the messenger you sent. There was something I really wanted to tell you.”

Kim Jin-woo smiled with a very happy face.

“Nice to meet you, you son of a bitch.”