Some time had passed since the lamias invaded the dungeon.
And at last, the notification window I had been waiting for appeared.
- Acquired unique monster Stia (★★★).
- Acquired monster Lamia (★★).
……
…
- Acquired monster Lamia (★★).
An alert saying I had acquired a unique monster named Stia and twenty lamias.
They were all ones who had headed to Area 1, only to be killed by the Death Knight and reborn as ghouls.
It was certainly a good thing that the number of monsters in the dungeon had increased.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was lacking.
“Tsk, they’re way weaker than I expected.”
I clicked my tongue and muttered.
Since they’d declared war on me so confidently, I thought they had something up their sleeves.
But the reality?
They couldn’t even put up a fight before they were all turned into ghouls.
In truth, even if the Death Knight hadn’t stepped in personally, the existing undead legion would have been more than enough to suppress them.
It was simply that the Death Knight had stepped forward and made the lamias into ghouls.
“Doesn’t this make measuring our forces meaningless?”
“Clack.”
Maru, who was writing something at length in a notebook beside me, answered.
Maru was also watching the situation in the dungeon with me, staring beyond the smartphone screen.
It was an order I had given because I thought seeing things through a monster’s eyes might provide a slightly different perspective.
But since the lamias were being beaten so helplessly, there wasn’t even anything to analyze.
“If I put it nicely, it means we don’t have to worry about Area 1.”
In other words, I didn’t need to concern myself with Area 1 for the time being.
Area 1 was centered around undead monsters to begin with, and with the Death Knight as its mid-boss, the synergy was good.
Watching the Death Knight on the screen hand pickaxes to the lamias who had become ghouls, I turned my attention away from Area 1.
“What happened in Area 2?”
I touched the smartphone and switched the screen.
Area 2 was where the Goblin Lord served as the mid-boss.
Under the Goblin Lord were ordinary goblins, goblin shamans, and hobgoblins.
They, too, were not much different from the undead legion in Area 1.
They only had greater numbers; as individual entities, they were weak.
But they had the Goblin Lord.
Just as the Death Knight provided synergy to the undead legion, the goblins moved in perfect order under the Goblin Lord’s commands.
“Oh, what the heck? Where did they learn that?”
When the lamia at the front cast magic, all the goblins put on masks shaped like bird beaks.
The goblins’ response was only beginning.
When the magical attack proved completely useless, the lamia swiftly cast another spell.
“What’s that now?”
The goblins climbed onto the corpses of their own kind to avoid the spikes rising from the ground.
And the Goblin Lord watched the scene with a pleased smile.
“Wow. In a different sense, these guys really are incredible.”
How much training had they done to react like that immediately?
I couldn’t help but admire them.
If the undead legion simply overwhelmed the enemy with numbers, the goblins were no different from an army refined by strategy and tactics on top of numbers.
Of course, the next scene shocked even me, who had been admiring them.
“They’re using their own kin as shields?”
In response to the lamia’s continued magical attacks, the goblins changed their strategy as well.
They lifted up nearby goblin comrades and used them as shields.
“Huh…”
The sight of goblins advancing while using other goblins as shields was shocking.
Was this what it meant to grind soldiers down with human-wave tactics?
Thanks to that, only one died instead of two, so it was fine, right?
Maru seemed to have been impressed by the sight and nodded. Then he began diligently writing something in his notebook.
The Goblin Lord certainly seemed to be commanding the goblins well.
“But why isn’t he using that gun?”
A familiar-looking firearm lay beside the Goblin Lord.
It was none other than a weapon used by hunters.
Its usage was simple; as long as mana was infused into it, the gun could be fired.
If there was a problem, it was the fact that the damage varied wildly depending on the magic power grade of the being who infused the mana.
“With the Goblin Lord’s level, it should be powerful enough. That’s strange.”
Even if goblins were a race ill-suited to mana, a lord should be capable of producing meaningful results.
However, the Goblin Lord did not use the firearm.
He merely watched the goblins under his command.
“Clack clack.”
Maru also found it strange, but then, as if something had occurred to him, he spoke to me.
“Right? It looks that way to you too?”
Maru had the same thought I did.
The goblins’ actions in this battle didn’t seem aimed at killing the lamias.
“Are they trying to capture them alive?”
Even now, the goblins were gradually advancing while using their comrades as shields. If their goal had been to kill them, the Goblin Lord would have stepped in long ago.
“But is there any use in capturing lamias alive?”
No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.
Could they be planning to persuade them to join our side?
Certainly, lamias were a race that did not currently exist in my dungeon.
However, even if we persuaded the lamias, there wasn’t enough space to place them in my dungeon.
More than anything, it wasn’t as though my dungeon was so short on forces that I urgently needed to secure more monsters.
Then were they trying to extract information?
That, at least, made a little sense.
I had to find out why they had invaded my dungeon so that I could respond appropriately.
After thinking for a moment, I soon shook my head.
“This must be the field commander’s judgment too.”
I’d thought this before, but I had no intention of controlling every single action of the monsters.
I was only a third party watching the situation through my smartphone, and the commander on-site was the Goblin Lord.
Considering the situation on the ground, the Goblin Lord must have given that order.
A short while later, just as expected, the goblins began capturing the lamias alive.
It was strange to see them carefully capture them without leaving a single wound, but it wasn’t something for me to interfere with.
“Good. Then there’s nothing in particular to worry about in Area 2 either.”
If they had been killing the enemies instead of capturing them, it would have ended far more easily than this.
In that sense, there was nothing that could be called a problem in Area 2 either.
“If there’s a problem, it’s definitely Area 3.”
Area 3 had a major difference from the other areas.
First, there was no mid-boss.
If the Death Knight and the Goblin Lord were providing synergy to their respective areas, then Area 3 had no mid-boss to play that role.
“And the monsters’ grades are only 2-star and 3-star at best.”
There were two types of monsters supporting Area 3.
The 3-star man-eating tentacle plants and the 2-star bloodsucking butterflies.
I excluded the giant poisonous spiders since they lived by moving back and forth between the dungeon and the outside, but they weren’t a strong force.
If the intruders’ grade hadn’t been high or their numbers had been small, it might have been different, but before the current intruders, they were helpless.
“Even with the elf, are plants still just plants?”
The leader of the lamias who had invaded the dungeon, Arkanea.
She certainly seemed to be skilled, because she swept through Area 3.
Even though the elf had strengthened the plant monsters, they collapsed under the overwhelming difference in power.
The bloodsucking butterflies swarmed at her, but they couldn’t pierce a single scale.
In the end, green smoke flowed from the lamia’s mouth, and every living creature in Area 3 died off.
“I’ll have to take care of them first and then strengthen Area 3.”
“Clack!”
Maru busily moved his hand and wrote something in his notebook.
I continued staring at the screen.
* * *
Arkanea led her subordinates with a confident expression.
“Hmph, it’s less impressive than I expected.”
The place she had reached was covered in earth and grass. On top of it, all kinds of plant-type monsters and bloodsucking butterflies teemed.
It was a dungeon hard to believe was ruled by an Arch Lich.
Though there were many enemies, they inflicted no real damage.
No matter how many bloodsucking butterflies rushed in, they were far too weak to pierce lamia scales.
On top of that, Arkanea possessed a deadly poison.
“Fall back!”
A pitch-black mist burst from her mouth.
The mist covered the earth in an instant.
It was a lethal poison.
“Kiiiik!”
The plant monsters that came into contact with the poison screamed.
Their stems and leaves withered as they collapsed to the ground.
The bloodsucking butterflies flying through the air were no exception. None of them could avoid the poisonous mist, and they died in droves.
They had been annihilated in just a few seconds.
Thanks to Arkanea’s overwhelming might, all the subordinates following her were unharmed.
“Let us go.”
Arkanea proudly took the lead.
Leaving behind the earth covered in her poison, she headed for the next location.
Before long, a vast lake revealed itself before them.
Arkanea’s golden eyes reflected the lake.
“Ho, what a magnificent sight.”
A grand underground lake.
It was so vast it was hard to believe it existed inside a dungeon.
The humid air clung tightly to her skin.
A moderate level of humidity was the ideal condition for a lamia.
‘This alone makes the invasion worthwhile.’
At first, she had simply wanted to strike a blow against the Arch Lich.
That was why she had invaded with the help of the trading company.
But as she explored the dungeon herself, her thoughts changed.
Especially after seeing this lake, she felt that this dungeon suited her.
‘And it is close to the Demon Realm as well. How delightful.’
For an undead Arch Lich to manage such a fine dungeon.
It was far too generous a treatment.
Rather, it seemed far more fitting for her to take it.
Thinking so, Arkanea decided to wait here for Stia and Picha.
But at that moment.
“Kyaaaak!”
The lamias resting by the lakeshore screamed as they were dragged into the water.
“……!”
It was an enemy ambush.
The naga tribe that had been hiding at the bottom of the lake had lain in wait, then leapt out of the water.
“Get away from the vicinity at once!”
Arkanea quickly gave the order, but it was already too late.
In the blink of an eye, the subordinates seized in the naga tribe’s grasp were dragged into the water.
For a moment, she had been captivated by the vast lake and let her guard down.
The price of that carelessness was not small.
Unable to prepare for the naga tribe’s attack, she lost some of her subordinates in vain.
Even if she tried to retaliate, the naga tribe had already disappeared back to the bottom of the lake.
“Damn it…”
Arkanea ground her teeth, filled with rage.
Rather than the thought of having lost subordinates, what angered her more was that she had fallen victim to an unexpected ambush.
“To think you dare toy with me like this. I will never forgive you!”
Her golden eyes flashed.
If she followed her heart, she would have released poison throughout the entire lake, but this dungeon would soon fall into her hands.
For the sake of later, releasing poison would instead be a poor move.
And so Arkanea clenched her teeth and suppressed her emotions.
For now, subduing the Arch Lich and taking the dungeon came first.
“You there, remain here. If Stia and Picha arrive, tell them to join us immediately.”
Leaving one subordinate at the lakeshore, Arkanea advanced with the remaining subordinates.
They carefully passed near the lakeshore and headed to the next area.
Once they left the lake, a damp and eerie passage greeted them.
Moss grew sparsely on the rock walls lining both sides, and mud squelched underfoot.
Every time they took a step, the wet sound echoed through the space.
At the end of the passage appeared a deep, dark staircase.
“…It truly is vast.”
Arkanea muttered as she looked at the staircase leading downward.
Only pitch-black darkness hung below the stairs.
“Do not let down your guard, any of you!”
After warning her subordinates, Arkanea took the lead and stepped forward.
Relying only on a single flame hanging on the wall, she carefully descended the stairs.
“…….”
The air was stale, and for some reason, the scent of blood stabbed at her nose.
Enduring the smell and continuing downward, she reached the end of the stairs before she knew it.
The sight that unfolded before her eyes was magnificent.
“How impressive.”
A giant cavern spread out before them.
The ceiling was so high it could not be seen, and all around them was wrapped in pitch-black darkness.
Just how large was this dungeon?
The more she saw, the more she coveted it.
For an Arch Lich to manage a dungeon like this—the world was far too unfair.
But it no longer mattered.
Because Arkanea believed that this dungeon would soon be in her hands.
Staying alert, she carefully looked around.
Then she discovered something crimson rippling in the middle of the cavern.
It was a pool glowing the color of blood.
“Blood?”
Come to think of it, the smell of blood had been thick in the air for some time.
The smell of human blood.
And not just one person’s.
“It is as if someone was tortured here.”
It was then.
From far away came a whispering voice.
“No! This body wishes to enter there as well!”
A being with a familiar aura.
It was someone she could not possibly fail to recognize.
“Baalcherit… Why are you here, wench?”
Baalcherit should surely have been captured by the Demon Realm Trading Company, so why was she here?
Arkanea growled lowly.