Chapter 80
『No, no, this is bad… What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?』
While watching the scene before my eyes, I was shaken to an embarrassing degree.
After all, the one appearing on the screen before me was an enemy I could call the worst, who once destroyed my dungeon.
Wald, and what was her name… Beldi, right?
An S-Rank adventurer who fought against Ann, wielding the sacred weapon “Gungnir.”
She has a large bust by the way.
Oh, you ask how I know this? After that incident, I had Una collect information at the guild.
The ranks of Una and Dos have increased, and they’ve been getting more and more information.
Why are two S-Rank adventurers, diving into my dungeon as a pair?
I don’t need such a set.
It’s like buy one, free one. Stop, I don’t want that!
Sigh, why do they have to be here?
I thought my dungeon was developing smoothly.
I mean, this guy is still alive, huh?
At that time, an old demon suddenly appeared before me, who was about to deliver the final blow, and took him away.
Looking at him now, it seems like his injuries from that time have completely healed.
Perhaps, he recovered using the Dragon Soul Consumption skill.
Arghh, this is the worst.
I quickly initiated thought transmission.
To all of my subordinates in the dungeon, of course.
『Did something happened, Lord Earth?』
Oh, the reply came quickly… Looking at the corridor, I can see Ann.
She has returned, hasn’t she?
The four chiefs of the forest are also behind her.
Oh, what perfect timing!
『Ann! It’s terrible! Actually―――』
I explain the situation to Ann.
『What!? Is that true, Lord Earth!? The Dragon Slayer… and even that woman has come!?』
Ann must have felt the power of Beldi firsthand, having fought her directly.
Yeah, humans are scary.
『It’s true! I’ve told everyone already. They should all be here soon.』
『I understand. Though I may not be much help, I will do what I can. Let’s hurry and plan our strategy!』
『I’m counting on you.』
『Yes!』
In times like these, Ann is really reliable.
What a lifesaver.
I want her to do her best in place of the cowardly me.
I… don’t want to fight.
Ann and I headed to the grand hall in the deepest floor, the “Abyss Room.”
This is an emergency meeting.
Several minutes later, the important figures of the dungeon, including Elibel and Una, had all gathered in the “Abyss Room” after passing through the teleportation gate.
The four chiefs of the Yuguru Great Forest, and the leader of various areas such as the desert and volcano area are here.
Una and Dos have been steadily increasing the number of their subordinate monsters.
We’ve become quite a large group.
I wonder if we have enough magic stones and fruits for refreshments?
Looking around, the spider chief Taran was heartily eating magic stones and fruits.
She was saying things like “delicious, delicious.”
She is unflappable…
『――――So, first we need to discuss how we’re going to kill them. We’re different from before. The function of our dungeon and our own strength have increased. Let’s show them our power!』
Ann began to speak.
Next, Una chimed in.
「Yes, I agree. First of all, we should have Gijie, our ‘Pseudo Dungeon Core’, produce a large number of golems and thoroughly weaken them. And when they move to the middle floor, we block the teleportation gate, and trap them in a corner of the dungeon. If we continue the attack for about a week, I think we can deal a significant damage to them.」
「Hold on. That would take too much time. If we want to weaken them, poison would be better. We have plenty of materials such as poisonous plants and insects from the forest in the depths. We should use these to weaken them.」
『We should attack them with powerful lizard-type golems. Let’s also throw in all kinds of traps――――』
「Pupuupuu!」
「She says, ‘I’ll divide myself and fill up the room with a large number of clones!’ Her slime can easily dissolve bones!」
Tres translated what Pururu was saying.
That’s a bit gruesome…..
「Oh, that’s very reliable, I’d love to have that.」
『It’s important to consider where to guide them… Humans are weak to heat, I hear. How about we force teleport them into a volcanic environment?』
「But, wouldn’t Pururu’s slime evaporate quickly in that place? I think it might be better to―――」
『Why don’t we place the “mobile compound mines” that Elibel devised in this area? We can lure them there with drawing mannequin――――』
「…I say we turn the air inside this area into a vacuum. That will definitely kill them.」
「Puupupuu」
「Erm, she’s suggesting to connect a part of the middle layer with the outside and flood the area.」
「Yes, we also had a trap that would explode if a male and female pair passed through―――」
『This area had an effect that induced hallucinations. We could use this―――』
Everyone started discussing various strategies to kill Wald and his team.
Hmm, that’s pretty reliable, but somewhat terrifying.
They kept repeating ‘kill’, ‘kill’.
I mean, it’s fine to kill, but I’d appreciate it if they could tone down the bloodlust in their expressions.
It’s scary.
I’ve also made various modifications and traps in the dungeon, and it’s amazing to see them being utilized fully.
When I listen again, my dungeon is brimming with ruthless mechanisms.
The four forest chiefs and leaders from other areas are just gaping.
Only the spider is nonchalantly eating magic stones.
「Ah, may I interrupt?」
There, Elibel, who had been silent until now, raised her hand.
「Shall we confirm the current situation first?」
『What do you mean?』
「I’m talking about their purpose in coming here. I think it’s very unlikely that they came here targeting you or Ann. I have a feeling they might have another purpose.」
…That’s true.
This dungeon differs from the previous ones, its entrance and interior are totally different from those in the Eld Desert.
Well, you can enter from the Eld Desert, but hardly anyone would choose to do so.
And we have no information suggesting that information about Ann has leaked out since that battle.
As a precaution, Una and Dos gathered information about bounty requests, and the Imperial Ant and Earth Dragon from the adventurer’s guild, but no pertinent information was found.
Since that battle, the ruins of the Eld Desert dungeon have been quiet.
「―――Let’s watch the video. All the footage from when these guys entered the dungeon.」
Saying this, Elibel snapped her fingers.
A brilliantly colored sphere appeared in the center of the table.
I guess a simple teleportation gate is set up there.
That’s convenient.
The sphere projected images.
It showed three adventurers with their hoods deeply covering their faces, entering from the entrance.
It was Wald and his team.
The sound was turned up to its maximum, allowing us to hear their conversation.
「’Dragon Slayer’ Wald Nored, and here we have ‘World Piercer’ Beldi Raven. Her’s are quite large. And the other one is――――」
As we watched the video, Elibel alone seemed to turn solemn.
Well, she’s a skeleton so she doesn’t have an expression, but lately I’ve been able to tell her mood by the flickering of the flames in her eye sockets.
Pururu also has bubbles inside her body that allow us to guess her emotions to some extent.
「No way…. He’s here too?」
She said, in a voice tinged with astonishment.
Her gaze was on the person with Wald and Beldi.
That guy… wasn’t he the elderly demon who helped Wald during that battle?
Because he was wearing a hood, I couldn’t say for sure, but his voice and way of speaking were similar to the old man from that time.
『Do you know him, Elibel?』
Elibel nods.
「——The ‘Silver Demon’ Linwu. You could say he’s a hell of a guy…」
『Elibel, information should be shared. Can you tell us what you know about him?』
Ann said, looking at Elibel.
「Of course.」
She nods again.
「Linwu Sousei the ‘Silver Demon’. A living legend of the demon tribe. Once, he single-handedly overthrew an entire country.」
『A country―――you say?』
Ann raised a voice of disbelief.
I couldn’t believe it either.
「It’s true. In fact, I saw it with my own eyes.」
『Eh? Actually… when was that?』
「Two hundred years ago. At that time, he looked a little younger. The demon tribe has a small population, but every one of them has a long lifespan. And that lifespan grows longer in proportion to their power. There are even powerful demons who live for a thousand years.」
『I see…』
Demons, huh… What a formidable existence.
I have Elibel’s knowledge, but seeing the real thing makes me realize it’s true.
Why would such a strong creature come to this dungeon…?
I was looking at the video. The elderly demon, “Silver Demon” Linwu.
Even through the video, I could sense his overwhelming magic――――――wait, what?
『What’s wrong, Lord Earth? is there something bothering you―――eh?』
Because of my reaction, Ann also became fixated on the video.
Others were also looking at the newly appearing images.
The elderly demon, Linwu, had parted from the rest and remained on the first floor.
But then…
『Hey, Elibel? That’s… the ‘Silver Demon’ Linwu, right?』
「…There’s no mistake.」
I pointed to the image being projected.
There was an image of an old man with horns, completely naked, getting involved with a man with a Mohawk.
At the central plaza of the first floor of the surface dungeon――――
『―――You youngin, I said again! This time for sure! I will win this time!』
『Gramps, you better quit while you’re ahead… You’ve got nothing left to bet, right? Here, I’ll give you back your money and clothes, just go home. Hehehe.』
『That’s right… If you need a horse for the ride home, we’ll provide one for you. Kukuku!』
『It’s chilly in the morning… Here, have some soup.』
The old man obediently finished the soup he was given.
He’s drinking it!?
『Puhaa! I won’t allow such a cowardly escape! If I lose again, you can feel up Beldi’s chest or wherever you like, as much as you want! Now, let the game begin!』
『Eh… Gramps… I’ve got kids waiting at home. How about we call it quits? And even if she’s just an apprentice, I can’t agree to betting on a woman…』
『That’s right! Besides, we’ve all got our own women! There’s no way we’d lay a hand on someone else’s woman! Hyahahaha!』
『What!? Sunglasses, when did you get a woman!?』
『It’s not over yet! It’s not over! Hey, get ready quickly!』
Ignoring the confused men, the elderly demon―――Linwu, began to deal the cards.
『…………Elibel, as far as I can see, isn’t that old man just an obstinate gambler who lost everything and is now throwing a fit?』
「…What a coincidence, that’s exactly what I was thinking.」
He even gambled his apprentice (bust).
By the way, aren’t those guys he’s dealing with, the ‘Black Fang Hyena’?
What the hell are they doing setting up a gambling den in the dungeon!
They were giving back the money, so it’s probably a relatively healthy gambling den.
『However, this old man is not to be underestimated. I can certainly tell he’s an extremely experienced player.』
Says Ann calmly.
Definitely. There’s no gap, or rather, no clothes.
Maybe we can get Linwu to leave this way….
That’s kind of thing I was thinking.
「Well, I guess we can leave ‘Silver Demon’ alone for a while. Let’s focus on defending the dungeon.」
Elibel says nonchalantly.
Yeah… it was a demotivating sight.
Oh, he’s losing again. This guy really sucks at gambling…
Anyway, we return to the meeting.
I still don’t know what their goal is from their conversation, but first, we have to defend.
Whether we’re killing or driving away, we need to sort out the details.
And then, we decide on a general direction.
Then suddenly, something crossed my mind.
『――――But who’s going to take command? Elibel?』
I look towards Elibel.
「No, there’s someone more suitable than me.」
Eh, who?
Elibel calmly points to that person.
「―――Ann, I’ll come up with the strategy, can you take command of the golems?」
『Me?』
Ann looks surprised.
「Yes, I think you’re probably better at on-site command than I do. Also――」
I feel a surge of magical energy.
Elibel probably just sent some kind of signal to Ann through thought transmission.
But somehow, I can’t hear it.
It’s like a private channel.
While sending the signal, Ann seems quite flustered.
What are they talking about?
「―――――So?」
Then, after a while, Elibel asks Ann directly.
『Okay, I understand! Let’s do it! I’ll show you how it’s done! Please watch me, Lord Earth!』
『O-Okay. Good luck…』
Ann seems extremely enthusiastic.
What did she say?
Anyway, the first defensive battle of the new dungeon has begun.
Prepare yourself, Dragon Slayer.
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