Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 253

Dungeon Journal-Episode 254

# 254

Dungeon Journal

“Is it finally my turn?”

The one who threw back his hood and revealed himself was the golden Drakon, Ortega.

When he met the Dragon Emperor to gauge the usurper’s movements, this Drakon, who had acted as a go-between and been forgiven for his past mistakes, went a step further and openly declared that he would seek glorious honor.

Kim Jin-woo wouldn’t miss the chance to tease Ortega.

He brought this troublemaker to the battlefield without hesitation and had been waiting for an opportunity to use him ever since.

However, once he arrived at the battlefield, the ferocity of the Tarus and Ursus was more than expected, so he couldn’t easily deploy the Drakon, who, while naive, had the Dragon Emperor as his patron.

If something were to happen to him, it would turn the powerful ally, the Dragon Emperor, into an enemy.

Thanks to that, Ortega’s presence was not exposed to the Tarus.

If Ortega, who had been holed up among the vampires, were to leave the ranks now, no one would suspect him.

“Just tell me what to do. I will definitely show you an honorable figure.”

Kim Jin-woo spoke indifferently, looking at Ortega, who was more excited than necessary, perhaps to overcompensate for his past mistakes.

“You don’t have to go to such lengths. Just do me a favor.”

“I was clearly given a chance to restore my honor……”

Ortega’s face fell in disappointment, and his shoulders drooped.

“Whatever you were thinking, this is a more important mission, so there’s no need to be disappointed yet.”

Ortega, who recovered from disappointment as quickly as he fell into it, quickly put on an expectant expression again.

“I have something to tell the Dragon Emperor.”

However, the words that flowed from his mouth were far from what the motivated Drakon expected.

“Angela, make sure the story doesn’t leak out.”

At Kim Jin-woo’s gesture, Angela spread a dark curtain, blocking the conversation from being overheard.

“Tell him not to hesitate in starting the great undertaking, as the usurper is tied up and unable to move.”

Ortega couldn’t understand his words because they were cut off without any context, as if he had already spoken with the Dragon Emperor, but he didn’t bother to ask.

He seemed to think that it would be enough if he could regain his honor through this insignificant errand.

“Also, do not forget to tell him to hurry as much as possible, as time is not on our side.”

“I will convey it without missing a single word.”

Ortega’s boastful attitude didn’t seem much different from before he had a hard time. It seemed that the Dragon Emperor’s wish for that half-baked Drakon to come to his senses would not be fulfilled after all.

“I’ll trust you, even if it’s just a gamble.”

After giving a few more instructions, Kim Jin-woo quietly saw Ortega off.

Thanks to Angela’s efforts, a few vampires were subtly assigned to Ortega’s side, so unless they were observed very carefully, no one would notice the Drakon’s departure.

After sending the message to the Dragon Emperor, he looked at the place where the king of the Tarus was with a somewhat relaxed face.

“If you want a dogfight, I’ll gladly accept it.”

He decided to become a mudfish [a fish that stirs up mud at the bottom of a pond], deliberately stirring up the water.

***

At some point, the Tarus increased their marching speed. As if to make up for the time they had been dawdling, they rushed forward headlong.

And on the contrary, the march of the large army advancing from the east became noticeably slower.

“This guy is just as cunning.”

The sight of the third duke, who joined late, weighing the Great Labyrinth and the Ursus’s labyrinth was vivid in his mind.

Both of them want to have the 9th floor under their feet through this war. Kim Jin-woo shook his head at the power struggle of the cunning monsters.

It seems that it was impossible from the beginning for allies to share the spoils amicably. None of those who participated in the war wanted to share the victory.

Well, since he himself is checking the other dukes who will grow rapidly through the spoils, there was no way they wouldn’t have the same thoughts.

“Now all the cards have been dealt, and all that’s left is to check the opponent’s hand?”

Everyone has drawn the card they think is the best and is confident of victory. But who the real winner will be will only be known after comparing each other’s cards.

“You must have a headache too.”

Kim Jin-woo chuckled as he watched the giant Tarus in the distance snorting with an uneasy face.

But it was only for a moment, and he soon looked serious.

Unintentionally, the entire labyrinth on the 9th floor was caught up in the war. Thanks to this, the stakes became the hegemony of the entire 9th floor.

If he loses this war, there is no next time. It was virtually impossible to get a chance to recover in front of the winner who absorbed at least two or more duke-level labyrinths.

All or nothing.

The law of the underground, which had always tightened his breath, was closely following him, greedily licking its lips.

This terrible monster hides in the shadow of the winner, salivating, and when the time comes, it will reveal its teeth and tear apart everything of the loser.

And only when it devours even the last scream, even a drop of hot blood, will the monster finally retreat with a satisfied face.

That was the underground, the world he lived in.

“Master?”

Angela, who had a look as if she was being strangled in the pre-storm atmosphere, looked at him with a puzzled face.

“No, isn’t it a little funny?”

Kim Jin-woo continued in an ambiguous voice, not knowing who he was talking to.

“If you don’t kill, you die. But it’s funny that no one thinks they’re going to be the ones to suffer.”

He even chuckled as if he was truly enjoying it.

“But the funny thing is, it’s the same with me.”

After laughing for a while, he looked at the giant Tarus in the distance and said in a low voice.

“I don’t think I can possibly lose this war.”

He had already taken out the treasured card called Ortega, but he had not revealed all of his resources. And that small difference will ultimately be the decisive factor in determining the outcome.

“I don’t think you’ll lose either, Master. They will eventually kneel before you and beg for their lives.”

Angela seemed as confident as her master.

“Why do you think so?”

He looked amused at her unfounded confidence, and she replied as if it were obvious.

“I’ve never seen you do your best yet.”

***

“Damn it, the master is struggling in the battlefield, but you guys are just lazing around!”

Morigan, who arrived at the Great Labyrinth, immediately summoned the other races and found fault with them.

She didn’t like the sight of the other races trembling at her momentum, even though she was just a summoned beast.

But even those other races had their uses. Even if they alone could not protect the Great Labyrinth, they could buy time until the master returned. No, she was determined to do so, even if it was impossible.

That was the pride and dignity of a crow driven from the battlefield.

“It doesn’t matter how many die, as long as we buy time for the master to come.”

That was a natural thought for her and the ancient hero-class summoned beasts.

They didn’t care how many of the other races who were parasitic on the master’s mercy died, and if they could hold the enemy’s feet even for a moment with their deaths, wouldn’t that be a rewarding thing?

“Hmm?”

Morigan, who had been busy driving the other races here and there, suddenly felt a chill and frowned.

Since she was not blessed by the frost, the coolness of the Great Labyrinth that she occasionally felt seemed particularly severe today.

“The crow of the battlefield is all grown up. The crow that used to run wild on the battlefield has become a small lark.”

“I wonder if they’ll shed tears of blood after experiencing how fierce a lark can be.”

Balzac, the Death Knight, who only knew how to use his body, sneered, perhaps because he was bored. She glared fiercely and spoke as if growling.

“I refuse. Neither you nor I could stand on the battlefield with the master, so there’s no need for us to bicker with each other.”

Balzac, who was simple and had no pride in the first place, quickly backed down and slipped away.

“Even if the Great Labyrinth is cool, I don’t think it’s ever been this chilly as it is today.”

“Isn’t that because your heart is empty since the master is not here?”

“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, shouldn’t we talk with our bodies rather than our mouths? That would be better for you, who doesn’t have good speaking skills.”

“Ugh, you’re a guy who doesn’t understand jokes.”

With a ferocious attitude as if she would pull out her black wings and rush at him at any moment, Balzac failed to get anything out of it this time as well.

“Morigan is right. Something is wrong.”

Daybreak Chicken, who had been watching the trivial argument from the side, suddenly intervened between them.

“The chill now is not normal.”

As the chill grew stronger over time, some summoned beasts were now trembling. At this point, even Balzac, who only knew how to use his head for headbutting, felt something was wrong and looked around.

“I think we should let the master know.”

“The mission the master entrusted to us is to defend the labyrinth. Leaving this place is something the master would not want.”

At Heimdall’s reply, Balzac shrugged and stepped back.

When the Death Knight, who was of no help, shut his mouth, Morigan and Heimdall tried to assess the situation while looking around.

“The chill gets worse as you go to the center.”

Morigan froze at Heimdall’s words as he stretched out his white wings and tested the air.

“Could it be?”

“Do you have something you can guess?”

Daybreak Chicken tilted his head and asked, and Morigan suddenly shouted and ran towards the center of the labyrinth.

“Nagas!”

Only then did the summoned beasts, who remembered the real residents remaining in the Great Labyrinth, start running towards the center of the labyrinth after her.

“Why at a time like this!”

Morigan knew very well how much her master cherished the Nagas. That’s why she was so uneasy about the current change.

How nice would it be if the Nagas who had fallen asleep were just waking up again. But the current chill was by no means the kind that could be caused by the awakening of mere summoned beasts.

“Damn dwarf, if anything happens to the Nagas, I’ll tear your limbs apart.”

Morigan gritted her teeth as she thought of the big-headed dwarf who had been researching the Sea Dragon’s heart.

“This is……”

Morigan, who finally arrived at the Owner Room where many Nagas were sleeping, let out a groan without realizing it.

The Naga’s eggs, which had no visible seams and were perfectly flawless, were cracking open. The sight of them was so precarious, as if someone’s rough hands had touched them, that Morigan was horrified.

“No!”

Without realizing it, she was looking for the egg that the master had been looking at with particularly affectionate eyes.

She repeated countless times that the current change was not an ominous sign, and she was finally able to remember the place where the Naga woman’s egg, which the master favored, had been.

“Ah……”

But the appearance of the egg she found was a mess.

Half of the egg, which was split in half, was embedded in the floor, and fragments of the broken shell were scattered around grotesquely.

The sight was like an eggshell that a vile hunter had taken only the contents out of and left behind, and Morigan turned pale.