Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 139

#55. Chaos

“Muhahaha, follow me!”

Woo Seo shouted heroically, glancing at the Naga Dragon Knights who had stepped forward to escort him.

After lugging around those ever-churning Masses of Gluttony, he was now commanding imposing Dragon Knights. It seemed his nonexistent nose had risen endlessly high.

Well, even if it weren’t the case anywhere else, the Naga Dragon Knights’ power on the 9th floor was greater than that of any other labyrinth’s masters, so it wasn’t strange that he was so elated.

Perhaps that’s why Woo Seo was so excited when he arrived at the Land of Emptiness, one of the foremost labyrinths, acting as if he were a conqueror.

“If I hadn’t drawn out the army of the dead, the King wouldn’t have been able to occupy the Graveyard so easily!”

“Indeed! Amazing!”

Trindal, who had been waiting in front of the portal connected to the fortress, constantly exclaimed in admiration at Woo Seo’s heroic tales.

“I am the King’s first knight!”

Woo Seo seemed very pleased with Trindal’s reaction, as he excitedly continued to boast.

Since the last battle, Trindal had been completely captivated by Kim Jin-woo and the Nagas’ power, truly believing that Woo Seo was Kim Jin-woo’s most trusted confidant, and wholeheartedly accepted his words.

“There is no time. The King wants to know the situation beyond the passage as soon as possible.”

If Rickshasha hadn’t intervened, Woo Seo’s heroic tales wouldn’t have ended all day.

“How dare a lowly slave!”

Trindal thought this was an opportunity to gain favor with Woo Seo, the King’s first knight, and angrily retorted at the presumptuous Under Elf’s interruption.

However, the lowly Under Elf woman didn’t seem intimidated by his words, but instead urged Woo Seo again with a nonchalant expression. Trindal was about to say another word, but Woo Seo, horrified, stopped him.

“Sh, she is right. It is not the first knight’s place to make the King wait.”

Woo Seo stepped forward to defend her, making Trindal look foolish. But Woo Seo didn’t console the embarrassed Trindal, instead hurrying to prepare to leave the Labyrinth of Emptiness.

“A wise decision.”

“I am the King’s brain!”

Woo Seo boasted again at Rickshasha’s indifferent words.

Trindal tilted his head, watching this. For some reason, the great conqueror’s first knight repeatedly showed mercy to the lowly Under Elf.

“I want to help too.”

But the question was short-lived. The expedition, having rested just enough for the Guardian Dragons and Dragon Knights to quench their thirst, seemed ready to leave the Empty Territory immediately. Trindal hurriedly stepped forward and pleaded with Woo Seo.

Unlike the last battle, where he had hoped to stand by the King but was a burden due to his lack of ability, he thought he could be helpful enough with a task like reconnaissance.

So Trindal repeatedly pleaded with Woo Seo, even saying things that didn’t suit his constitution, despite Woo Seo’s reluctance.

“Well, since you are also a proud knight of the King, you won’t be a burden. Alright, I allow you to join.”

This time, Rickshasha didn’t bother to object to Woo Seo’s decision. Judging by her indifferent expression, it seemed she didn’t care about Trindal at all.

Seeing Rickshasha taking care of the expedition without a word, Woo Seo let out a sigh of relief without Trindal noticing.

No matter how much the King favored him (?), he couldn’t help but be mindful of her, who had been serving the King from the beginning.

“I need to restrain myself a little, I’m too excited.”

“What did you say?”

“Ah, I meant we should be careful because we don’t know what’s beyond there.”

Woo Seo, who had vaguely mumbled to Trindal, who had quickly asked if he had heard his mutterings, quietly followed behind the expedition.

“This is the source of the war.”

He had seen the passage several times through the Masses of Gluttony, but seeing it right in front of him felt different.

At first glance, it looked similar to the passages connected to other floors, but the darkness lurking beyond was even darker and more ominous.

“Let’s go.”

The anxiety and fear that had been pushed back by the power of the Dragon Knights following him crept back up again. So, unlike before, Woo Seo carefully examined the other side of the passage with a cautious expression.

It was just that his timid and suspicious nature had returned, but Trindal, seeing Woo Seo’s serious expression, once again admired him, wondering what he was thinking.

“Indeed! They say the King has the divine power to see a thousand miles away even while sitting, and Woo Seo is the source of that divine power!”

Trindal exclaimed, seeing the gelatinous masses that had fallen from Woo Seo wriggling and being sucked into the darkness beyond the passage.

“Well, if you think about it, that’s right.”

Even in the midst of all this, Woo Seo didn’t fail to accept the praise for himself. But his boastful expression was only temporary.

“How is it?”

Woo Seo replied with a stiff face to Rickshasha’s silent question.

“It’s strange. I can’t see anything. This has never happened before.”

It seemed that communication with the gelatinous masses sent beyond the passage was not going well.

“Even the ones I sent to the lower levels weren’t like this.”

“I guess we have no choice but to go over there ourselves.”

Rickshasha, glancing at Woo Seo with a serious face, said nonchalantly. She had anticipated this, so she had included Under Elves skilled in scouting and reconnaissance in the expedition.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Woo Seo was timid and suspicious, but his innate survival instincts were second to none.

Even Kim Jin-woo, who rarely praised anyone, had separately called Rickshasha before the expedition left and mentioned Woo Seo’s intuition.

So Rickshasha didn’t take Woo Seo’s words lightly.

“You and you.”

At her call, two Under Elves who had been waiting stepped forward.

“Go check it out.”

It was never going to be easy to scan the darkness beyond, the source that had plunged the entire underground into chaos. But the designated Under Elf scouts threw themselves into the darkness without a moment’s hesitation.

“Th, that!”

Woo Seo was startled and clicked his tongue, looking at the darkness that had swallowed the Under Elves.

“They are smart children, so if there is anything wrong, they will buy us enough time to prepare.”

Rickshasha’s voice was too calm for someone who had pushed her own people into a deadly situation. Well, for the past year, the path the Under Elves had taken to be recognized by Kim Jin-woo had been truly desperate.

They had taken on the task of scouting the chaotic lower levels, and the Under Elves had literally passed through a path of blood to report the difficult war situation.

The number of their clan sacrificed in the process was nearly 200, so all the surviving Under Elves had become heroes worth a hundred men.

It was no wonder that Rickshasha had no doubt that her people who had left for the deadly mission would complete their task.

“Hmm…….”

The Under Elves, who had successfully completed dozens, hundreds of intelligence operations, did not return.

“It seems something has gone wrong. No matter what’s over there, one of them should have returned to report the situation, but since there’s no news, I think they’ve both been taken down.”

“Ugh.”

Woo Seo groaned at Rickshasha’s words.

He had been watching how desperately the Under Elves had been completing their missions for the past year, so he knew that the current situation was by no means ordinary.

“Rather than trusting weak Under Elves, give me a chance.”

Trindal stepped forward, having watched the situation.

“Ar, are you sure it’s okay?”

Trindal was once again questioning Woo Seo’s attitude of subtly passing the decision-making power to Rickshasha, but he held back and once again appealed his opinion.

“There’s no need to endure unnecessary sacrifices, but if you want to.”

As soon as Rickshasha’s permission was given, Woo Seo nodded.

“Then please wait a moment.”

With those words, Trindal called out a few Knights of Emptiness who had followed him and sent them beyond the passage. The hollow Knights of Emptiness were swallowed into the darkness that had opened its mouth like a ghost.

But even the Knights of Emptiness, in whom Trindal had placed his confidence, showed no signs of returning.

“Looks like it’s wrong again, right?”

“I guess there’s no other way but to face it directly.”

Trindal was about to flare up at Rickshasha’s words, but he closed his mouth. He was already anxious because communication with his subordinates who had crossed the passage had been completely cut off.

It seemed better to go over there himself and see what had happened.

“Then shall we go?”

At Woo Seo’s words, the expedition slowly began to approach the passage.

“Krrrk.”

“Shhh! Shhh!”

The Guardian Dragons, with their scales standing on end, were already whimpering and spitting out flames.

The brave and unparalleled Guardian Dragons, who had never retreated even in the face of numerous enemies, kept hesitating and circling around the passage.

The Naga Dragon Knights constantly made wind noises, urging the Guardian Dragons.

The Under Elves, with stiff faces, moved behind the Dragon Knights, gripping the hilts of their curved swords, ready to draw them from their waists at any moment.

“It’s strange. No matter how I look at it, it’s strange.”

“That’s why the King gave us this mission, right?”

Woo Seo, who was in the center of the formation, kept slowing down and was now at the very rear. Rickshasha subtly pushed Woo Seo’s back with her curved sword, urging him to move forward.

“It’s not that, it’s strange that I can’t communicate with my lovely masses [referring to the Masses of Gluttony], and it’s strange that your poisonous subordinates haven’t returned. And those Knights of Emptiness are more than ordinary in my opinion.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

Rickshasha poked Woo Seo’s back with the hilt of her sword. Woo Seo, who had been pushed forward somewhat by the force, raised his hand with an unusually stiff face.

“Stop.”

At the sudden command, the Dragon Knights barely managed to stop the Guardian Dragons, who were panting heavily. At that moment, something burst out of the passage with a scream.

“Kaaaa!”

At the terrible scream, the Dragon Knights at the forefront unconsciously thrust their spears. Four or five spear blades tore through the air and directly pierced something that had burst out of the passage.

“Keuk!”

No blood splattered. Instead, there was only a short death cry and a clanging sound.

“This!”

Woo Seo, who recognized the identity of the object caught on the Dragon Knights’ spears, shouted with a troubled face.

“Fall back!”

The Dragon Knights were swift. The moment they recognized that the object pierced by the spears was Trindal’s subordinate, the Knights of Emptiness, they were already retracting their spears.

The tattered Knights of Emptiness were torn apart again, and pieces of metal flew into the air.

And at that moment, something burst through the darkness of the passage and pounced on the Dragon Knights.