Chapter 54: The Squire
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 54: The Squire
The source of the presence wasn't close. The problem, however, was that if we could sense them, they could also sense us. If an archer like Mev was headed this way, there was a high chance they would detect our presence.
I quietly raised my hand, and a hush fell over the area. We had to conceal our presence as much as possible. I had brought warriors who specialized in stealth, so I trusted they could all hide their own presence. The problem was Black Spear. I glanced at him with a bit of concern, and he too began to quietly hold his breath.
We had never trained together, but it seemed he knew the basics of stealth. The dungeon was incredibly quiet, so we began to hear voices echoing from the distance. Two sets of footsteps. I couldn't guess who they were, but from the sound of rattling armor, I could tell it wasn't an archer, thankfully.
A warrior, probably...
"Hehehe..."
The sound of a man's foolish laughter echoed through the dungeon. Mev had said they were quite far away, so it was likely they had split from their group to scout the area.
Normally, a task like this would fall to an archer. I began to wonder why a warrior had come instead. But my curiosity soon faded.
At first, there was nothing, but after a moment, the continuous screams of a woman began to fill the vast dungeon. I couldn't tell if it was fortunate or unfortunate for us, but it seemed all their attention was focused on the woman. The person with the warrior was clearly his squire.
Fucking lunatic.
"Aah... Mmph... Ack... Ack!"
"Hoo... Will you shut up?"
All we could hear were screams. The woman was obviously not enjoying this. I had expected it, but seeing her receive such subhuman treatment left a bitter taste in my mouth. It reminded me of my past with Choi Seulgi.
The voices continued as we held our breath. But after a little while, the screaming began to fade.
Tch...
Even if this was the entrance of the dungeon and a one-way path, to split from his group to do something like this, he had to be either incredibly bold or had thoroughly cleared the area behind them and judged it safe. Or perhaps he was just that confident in his own skills. In any case, his appearance gave us a few more pieces of information.
I didn't know how far they had progressed, but they had likely finished a battle and were now resting. They were probably eating or replenishing their mana. And in the meantime, this warrior couldn't contain his surging lust and had dragged his squire away.
There were always guys like that back when I was human. The kind who lose their reason after a battle. The thrilling fear of death and the excitement of combat seemed to amplify their libido. As they moved farther away from us, we began to slowly back away as well.
There was a chance the warrior, now on edge after finishing his business, might check our location. But thankfully, that didn't happen.
Mev looked at me and gave a silent nod, signaling that she could no longer sense him. Only after I slowly lowered my hand did the tension in our party begin to ease.
After waiting in the dungeon for a while longer, Mev spoke to me.
"That mating session ended fast. Humans are really quick, huh?"
"Hmm..."
I wasn't sure what kind of reaction she was expecting, but I couldn't think of a good comeback. It was certainly short, but it hadn't felt that short to me. However, judging by the slumped shoulders of a few goblins around us after Mev's comment, it seemed some of them were on par with certain humans.
Fortunately, her words didn't apply to me, which was a relief. But apart from that, I decided it would be best to rest here for the night.
"We'll rest here tonight."
"Understood. Kkireuk."
"As you wish, Blood Dagger."
We didn't bother setting up simple tents. If they decided to double back and check the area again, we needed to be able to retreat quickly. We ate a quiet meal and passed the time. A deep silence settled over the dungeon. Of course, we also set up a night watch.
Just like on our trip to the North, I saw Jung Hayeon shivering, so I gave her a slight gesture. "Thank you," she whispered, and I felt her press up against me.
The way she kept wrapping her thigh around mine felt like a provocation, as if she wanted to have a go right here, but that was impossible. She knew it too, but it seemed she was having a hard time holding back. In the end, I resolved the situation by putting Mev and Jung Hayeon together.
Mev wore a sullen expression, while Jung Hayeon looked flustered. I knew they didn't particularly like each other, but seeing their faces was still amusing.
If it hadn't been an order from their captain, they would have surely refused.
"Hmph. Consider it an honor. I'm only doing this because of the Captain."
"Yes... Please take care of me."
As time passed, I saw them huddled closely together, and a smile crept onto my face for some reason. And so, our first night in the dungeon passed.
*
"Hey, anything unusual?"
"Of course not. We swept the whole way here just in case."
Kang Hana slowly turned her head toward the voices. She had been preparing the clan's meal when she saw Baek Ahyeon suddenly leave with the warrior, and she had been worried. As expected, she could see Baek Ahyeon hurrying back toward them, trailing hesitantly behind the warrior.
Kang Hana was a warrior. Baek Ahyeon was a summoner aspiring to be a mage. Without Baek Ahyeon, who could only perform simple magic to summon water and light a fire, preparing dinner was much harder. But for Kang Hana, Baek Ahyeon's safety was far more important.
Thankfully, it seemed nothing else had happened to her. She clutched her chest in relief. She knew Ahyeon would be tormented once the tents were all set up anyway, but the fact that he still insisted on dragging her out like that made her wonder if the thing between his legs was his actual brain. She spoke to Baek Ahyeon, who had quietly come over to help her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, Unni. Nothing happened. Hehe..."
As if to say she was fine, as if to say it was a relief.
Seeing Baek Ahyeon speak so casually, as if she had become numb to this kind of treatment, Kang Hana couldn't help but grit her teeth. She hated to admit how thoroughly they had been broken in by this group.
Thinking of the hell that would come after dinner and setting up the tents, Kang Hana forced her mind elsewhere. Soon, the meal began. Every day, she wished someone would appear, wipe all these bastards out, and save them. But she knew it would never happen.
Once all the food was ready, they had to remain on edge even while eating. That was the law of their ecosystem.
They never knew when the wind mage, Kim Mina's, expression would sour, so they were constantly anxious. Even now, her face was scrunched up as if she was about to say something. Just as Kang Hana predicted, Kim Mina spat the food in her mouth onto the ground and spoke.
"Ptooey. Fuck... it's so salty. How do you expect to get married like this? Well... not that you're in any position to get married anyway... Hoho."
"Oh, Unni... you're right, but it's so pitiful, isn't it? Pfft."
"So pathetic, right? If I had to live like them, I'd have killed myself by now."
Those fucking bitches...
It was only natural that a curse for Kim Mina's bullshit erupted in her mind. As expected, they never just let things slide. Of course she was scared, but she knew that since there was "work" to be done tonight, even Kim Mina wouldn't dare lay a hand on them. She couldn't tell if she should be happy or sad about that.
The female members of the clan, who should have understood their plight as fellow women, were the worst. If they would just shut up and look the other way, things would be so much easier, but instead, they treated them like thorns in their side and tormented them.
They're not even human...
Laughter echoed around them. In this party, Kang Hana and Baek Ahyeon were completely isolated.
The meal was slowly coming to an end. It was then that it happened.
"Prepare for battle! It's the undead!"
At the party archer's shout, everyone dropped what they were doing and scrambled to their feet. Hearing that a battle had broken out, Kang Hana quickly grabbed Baek Ahyeon's hand and began pulling her toward the back.
When a fight broke out, they wouldn't protect them. They called them clan property, but they were ultimately expendable. They had to protect themselves. They had to get inside the defensive formation the warriors were creating.
"Unni!"
"What are you spacing out for? Run. Faster!"
"Ye-Yes!"
As she ran with Baek Ahyeon, Kang Hana glanced back. It was a creature even larger than the undead they had first encountered. An undead warrior holding an axe stood at the center of a large group of other undead warriors. The only good thing was that there were no ranged attackers. Their numbers weren't huge, but the previous battle had already taught them that this was no easy dungeon. The one at the very front, who looked like a Named Monster, was especially menacing. As expected, the warriors drew their weapons and charged toward it, trying to keep the undead away from the party's mages.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
A scream rang out. The battle was already raging, with no regard for them.
Just then—
Baek Ahyeon, who had been running while holding her hand, suddenly fell. It was no doubt a backlash from the ordeal she had just been put through.
"A-Ahyeon!"
"Aack... Unni!"
Dammit... dammit...
They had just made it inside the formation, but screams were coming from the front line. As a warrior, Kang Hana knew what this pattern meant.
They're going to break through.
The party's priest was pouring out holy power, but there was no guarantee how long the line would hold. There was no time. Kang Hana started running again, shouting. They had to get as far back as possible.
"Unni..."
"Are you not getting up? Do you want to die here?"
Her words seemed to snap Baek Ahyeon out of it, and she staggered to her feet.
But then, a huge undead broke through the formation and came into view. Naturally, her heart began to race.
"Crack!"
With a sickening crunch, the undead smashed a warrior's head and entered the formation. It then raised its axe toward Baek Ahyeon, who was the slowest to flee.
"Ahyeon!"
"Unni!"
Now that the line was breached, the warriors would surely help. With that thing in here, it wasn't just Baek Ahyeon in danger; the mages and the priest were at risk too. Her heart pounded, but for a brief moment, Kang Hana waited for the warriors to come to their aid.
However—
What arrived instead of the warriors—
Was the magic of the wind mage, Kim Mina. A storm instantly erupted, and Kim Mina's signature Wind Blades began to rain down. Unfortunately, the area of effect was wide. They would definitely be caught in it. A spell of that magnitude would surely sweep them up.
"No!!!"
Following her tremendous shout, a deafening explosion ripped through the air.