Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 144

Dungeon Journal-144 (144/319)

# 144

Dungeon Journal

Chapter 145

“You’re the leader, I presume.”

But his show of bravado backfired. He caught Bartholomew’s eye.

“Aaaagh!”

The ferocious bronze giant tossed Ariane aside like a rag doll and charged towards the dwarves. Giants of heat followed in his wake.

They outnumbered them, but this was a noble’s army, amplified by the labyrinth’s effects. The dwarves and nightmares, crushed by authority, were no match for such power.

“S-stop them!”

Still, a few of the stronger dwarves stepped forward to block Bartholomew’s path, but they were crushed into pulp without even buying a moment.

“I-it’s… over.”

Tossed aside, Ariane coughed up blood, uttering a groan-like word.

“Hecarim is also in their hands…”

Come to think of it, the massive spear in Bartholomew’s hand looked familiar. If his guess was right, Hecarim, who had boldly stepped out to lure the enemy’s main force, mixed among the other labyrinth lords, must have already fallen to that terribly brutal bronze giant.

“Guess it was my time to die. Should have known better than to get greedy.”

Malaxus lamented, watching the giant approach.

Malaxus had tasted victory against the 10th floor noble alliance that had infiltrated the 9th floor with the allied forces. On that day, thousands of the 10th floor’s army had lost their souls, and their leaders had fled in terror. An unprecedented victory, and so he was mistaken.

The main players in that victory were not himself and the dwarves. They were merely extras, and the protagonist who led them to that unbelievable victory was the power of the Commander of Conquest, not his own strength.

When he realized that fact, reality finally began to dawn on him.

This was not their home turf, the 9th floor. Contrary to before, the enemies were receiving amplification effects, and they were penalized for leaving their floor.

It was like fighting a formidable enemy with their hands and feet tied.

Now, he couldn’t understand how they had so easily thought of war with the 10th floor.

“No, maybe we were just blinded by the spoils.”

But regret was always too late, no matter how quickly it came. There was no way out of this crisis. The labyrinth survivors, freed from the spell of slumber, began to block their retreat and swarm in.

“Ughaaaaa!”

Whether they were mourning the death of their comrades or simply bursting with ferocity, the giants roared savagely.

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Malaxus resigned himself to death.

“Just a few Down Jams [currency or resource] for your ferry fare to the afterlife?”

Bartholomew said, looking at the bundle of Down Jams in Malaxus’s hand with an absurd expression.

Even in the face of such blatant contempt and ridicule, Malaxus couldn’t even retort. He had lost the will to fight, not just for a moment, but because he was ashamed of himself.

The moment the dwarves realized that their king had lost his will, they too completely surrendered.

“Kneel. Beg for mercy from my benevolence.”

Bartholomew spoke arrogantly, like a predator toying with its captured prey.

The dwarves’ king, already half-subdued by the nobles’ majesty and having lost his will to fight, couldn’t dare to resist and slowly lowered his body.

But his bending body suddenly stopped moving. Moreover, even his slightly trembling body no longer shook.

“Stop.”

A sudden situation, but instead of forcing the dwarf to kneel, a worthless act, Bartholomew’s eyes flashed as he sought out the powerful murderous intent suddenly directed at him.

“You are…”

When had they arrived? Men holding crescent-shaped scimitars, faintly glowing in the distance, were approaching.

Bartholomew belatedly grasped the situation when he saw Ariane’s face, smiling through her blood. He was furious when he realized that the cunning sorcerer had clouded his vision.

“Boreas! Why are you here!”

But the opponent was not good. The one who suddenly appeared with warriors was Boreas of the North Wind, the same Underworld Baron as him and known as one of the strongest on the 10th floor.

“Why else? The benevolent king was worried about his ugly subordinates and sent me.”

Boreas grinned, revealing his white teeth.

***

[The Conqueror’s army is free from inter-floor penalties. However, there are too many armies that have left their floors, and there are places where the Conqueror’s majesty does not reach.]

[Only designated armies are exempt from inter-floor penalties.]

[The name of the Commander of Conquest echoes throughout the 10th floor. Allies will be encouraged by the participation of a reliable commander and will exert even greater power.]

[The army that encounters his army will be paralyzed and demoralized. They are prone to panic or fear.]

After a year of bloody battles, the name of the Conqueror and the effect of the Commander of Conquest had grown even stronger, and now they could see the effect just by him appearing on the battlefield.

As soon as he set foot on the 10th floor, the numerous armies under his command were freed from the inter-floor penalty and received the amplification effect of the Commander of Conquest.

“The damage seems significant.”

“Of course. Even a rotten crucian carp is still a crucian carp [even something weak can still be formidable], and they are nobles after all. Who can win in their own territory without bloodshed?”

Kim Jin-woo replied nonchalantly to Dominique’s report. Even though they were free from the inter-floor penalty and received the amplification effect, the enemies would be seeing several times the benefit from the defense effect of their own labyrinth.

If he went to the battlefield himself, the situation would be different, but he only had one body, and the battlefields were scattered everywhere.

“Still, it’s fortunate that the Under Elf patrols are doing their part. Thanks to them, we avoided unnecessary squabbles with the Moai [stone statues].”

Having gone through various events, Dominique no longer treated Rickshasha as a lowly Under Elf, but she still seemed to have a hard time accepting praise for her.

She made a sulky face, out of place for the situation, and then changed the subject.

“Aren’t we moving too late?”

“No, now is the perfect time. If we had moved too early, it would have become complicated with everyone trying to claim credit. By now, they will feel the fact that they received help even more than the credit they earned.”

Kim Jin-woo had used the cores of the labyrinths ruled by the nobles as spoils to move the 9th floor army, but he had no intention of generously distributing those precious labyrinth cores from the beginning.

Of course, if he used them for free, even those who had sworn allegiance through the Underworld system would inevitably feel dissatisfied. So he was planning to adjust the merits and rewards appropriately.

It was an inevitable decision given the situation on the 9th floor, which had been expanding quantitatively.

“Let’s go.”

Life was flickering and death was rampant everywhere, but Kim Jin-woo was as relaxed as if he had come out for a walk.

But this was only what it seemed. His eyes were analyzing the messages floating in the air, replenishing the insufficient forces, and adjusting the balance of the battlefield.

“Tell Morrigan to head west when she’s done.”

“Heimdall to the northwest. It seems Balzac and Quantus alone are not enough.”

“Rickshasha and the Under Elves are to help the retreating allies and delay the enemy’s pursuit. Avoid direct combat and focus on disruption.”

As expected, there were not enough forces to directly confront the nobles. Heimdall, Morrigan, and Boreas were all busy moving, but none of the labyrinth lords of the 9th floor were able to defeat the nobles.

The leaders of the fortress, including Balzac, were also helping out, but even they, who had grown through the summoning stones, found the battle against the nobles to be overwhelming.

Nevertheless, the overall situation was not significantly unfavorable.

That was because there were as many as 100 labyrinths from the 9th floor deployed on the 10th floor. No matter how powerful the nobles were, their defenses were only barely holding up with their forces weakened by the Moai.

But as always, he had a time limit.

“Hurry. The Moai have smelled blood.”

The Moai, who had been lured out by the Under Elves, had smelled blood and began to move in swarms.

“Damn bastards. They’ve practically given up the entire 10th floor.”

Kim Jin-woo cursed, gauging the twisted vitality and malice of the Moai felt from all directions. There were far more Moai on the 10th floor than he had imagined.

“Gather the retreating armies and prepare for battle with the Moai.”

He wanted to avoid fighting the Moai, which would gain nothing, but things in life don’t always go as planned. Kim Jin-woo began to prepare for the worst, receiving reports from messengers pouring in from all directions.

“Now I should take care of the things I’ve been putting off.”

As the Moai’s movements became more urgent, Kim Jin-woo knew it was time for him to move.

“I’ll take care of the main force.”

Even though she heard the movements of the Moai swarming in from all directions, Dominique’s expression didn’t change. And he didn’t worry about her and the main force either.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“L-Lord!”

Dominique’s face, calling out to Kim Jin-woo on the back of the Guardian Dragon, was somewhat flushed, unlike before.

“Please be careful.”

“You too, Dominique.”

He grinned at Dominique’s loyalty, who was still worried about him whether sitting or standing, and kicked the Guardian Dragon’s flank.

“Let’s go!”

Kim Jin-woo and fifty dragon knights burst out of the main force at once.

They were heading towards Ustus, the fragment of the old monarch and the king of all cyclops, and the labyrinth he ruled, as if they didn’t care about the Moai.

“No need to waste energy! Just clear the ones blocking the way and keep moving!”

Kim Jin-woo and the dragon knights were speeding along at a rapid pace. There were occasionally Moai blocking their path, but Kim Jin-woo cut them in half in an instant and continued on.

After running for a while, he was finally able to reach his destination.

“Stop.”

Kim Jin-woo slowed down the dragon knights as he saw the cyclops filling the outside of the labyrinth.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Ustus, standing in the center of the cyclops, greeted him as if he had been waiting.

“Did you know I was coming?”

Despite Kim Jin-woo’s sudden visit, with the dragon knights fiercely raising their momentum, Ustus, with whom he had formed a fairly friendly relationship, remained calm throughout.

“Do you also know why I came?”

Again, Ustus only nodded silently.

Kim Jin-woo, who had been unstoppable until just now, seemed a little bothered by his calm attitude. For some reason, he couldn’t easily speak. Instead of him, Ustus stepped forward and said.

“The five hundred subordinates have now dwindled to less than a hundred. At this rate, I will meet a miserable end that does not befit the name. I am very happy to choose the end myself.”

So said Ustus, looking straight up at Kim Jin-woo, adding a word.

“So please, take what you wanted.”