Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 55: The Squire

“Chieftain. Looks like a few of them died.”

“Grrrk.”

As soon as I woke up, I began to slowly track them, and it wasn’t long before I found traces of them once more. Signs of battle and a campsite.

Just as Mev had said, I could see a corpse discarded behind a fallen undead. It was the body of a woman, so completely dismembered and torn apart that her form was unrecognizable. She had a very small frame, and her eyes were still open, a testament to the injustice of her death.

My rough guess was that they were attacked suddenly by undead while they were eating, preventing them from forming a proper defensive line.

Of course, being veterans, they managed to get into position despite the surprise attack, but it seemed the two squires hadn't been able to escape in time. One was lucky enough to survive, but the other ended up like this. I glanced at Mev, who flew over gracefully and began to explain.

“This woman was killed by magic. The wind mage killed her.”

“As I thought…”

“It looks like she was caught in the area of effect of a spell he used on the undead they were fighting. Definitely. Along with that large undead lying over there. And the warrior next to it seems to have been taken down by that same large undead.”

Looking to the side, I saw a warrior lying there with his head smashed in. There was a casualty, but only one. They clearly didn't care much about the death of a squire, so they must have considered the loss of one warrior an unavoidable sacrifice.

I knew that in the end, only five of them would survive, but this party would conquer this dungeon.

From my perspective, it was advantageous for them to suffer as many casualties as possible before the end, but the death of one squire was a painful loss to my plan. If the other squire didn't survive until the final confrontation, it would create a rather awkward situation for me.

“Grrrrrrrk.”

I stared at their corpses for a long time. Looking to my side, I saw Mev flying around the battle site, explaining what had happened.

It wasn't just the fighting itself; even just hearing about it seemed to excite my warriors, who raised their hands in the air.

“It looks like this human died here. His head seems to be smashed in.”

That must have been where their defensive line broke. I looked at Mev and spoke again.

“Do you see any other traces?”

“Umm… it looks like they were mating in this spot… after the battle. A lot, too.”

“Is that so.”

The place Mev pointed to was where a tent had likely been pitched. It seemed that even after a battle and a death in their party, they were preoccupied with satisfying their own desires. Whether it was because of the human scent, Mev turned her head away with a look of disgust, and I began to think again.

I had seen plenty of scum in my ten years on this continent, but these bastards were truly human trash.

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue inwardly. Black Spear nodded at Mev’s words and spoke up.

“If humans have such a high reproductive rate, that’s welcome news for us.”

“Grrrrrrrk.”

I didn’t bother to reply to Black Spear’s absurd idea of enriching his settlement with human offspring. His clan would probably be wiped out long before that could happen. With that useless thought, our party started moving again.

It was a shame that the items of the warrior who died with his head smashed in were nowhere to be seen—they had clearly been thorough in looting him. But I decided not to obsess over it. If this plan succeeded, all the items they possessed would become ours anyway.

As we proceeded more cautiously, we saw more signs of battle.

The Ancient Warrior's Grave, true to its name, had no traps. However, I had heard that the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠undead here were much stronger than in other dungeons, and seeing the wounds and blood splattered everywhere, I could tell how fierce their fights had been.

Thankfully, I didn’t see the squire’s body this time. I looked at Mev and spoke quietly.

“Mev.”

“Yes, Chieftain.”

“Do you see that woman’s tracks?”

Seeing Mev’s confused expression, I clarified.

“The other one. The survivor of the two women who were carrying the large bags. The weakest woman among them.”

“Ahh. You mean her? Just a moment…”

With so many tracks, it didn't seem like it would be easy to single out hers, but since Mev asked me to wait, I had no choice but to nod.

I figured that since she was so much weaker than the others, she would have left behind far more traces. Soon, Mev looked around and slowly began to speak.

“I see them.”

Mev slowly moved to a spot where the battle had taken place.

“Hmm… she seems a little hurt… not any external wounds, it looks like she was just unwell. It’s from mating too much. Just like last time, as soon as the battle started, she ran to the back… looks like she was a bit slow.”

Mev ran over and positioned herself behind a pillar, then continued.

“And she hid behind this pillar. Until the battle was over. She hid right here.”

“And after that?”

“Even after the battle ended, she seems to have lingered around here. Until the others finished cleaning up. There’s something written here. Or should I call it a scratch? I’m not sure. What does it mean?”

At Mev’s words, I slowly walked over. Hearing that something was written there, Jung Hayeon followed behind me. Soon, I could see a small mark on the pillar, as if scratched with a dagger.

[ I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them. ]

What I saw was Hangeul—Korean.

It was definitely written in Korean. It seemed impossible, but just in case I was mistaken, I glanced at Jung Hayeon, and she nodded as well.

Perhaps things would work out even better than I thought. This squire was not in her right mind after her companion’s death. Since her fellow squire was killed by the magic of their own party’s mage, her grief must be immense. The fact that she went to such lengths to hide showed a strong attachment to life, so I didn't think I needed to worry about her giving up. But I did start to worry that she might do something reckless before we could get to her.

I started running through the possibilities.

Even as I thought, our clan and their party continued to move deeper into the dungeon, maintaining a constant distance. Naturally, we found more and more traces.

“Chieftain. This time, over here.”

“Hmm…”

“She was hiding here. It looks like she kept scratching the wall with a dagger.”

She’s gone mad.

I thought as I looked at the wall. It was a tiny scratch in a very small area, but it was enough to understand the woman’s current mental state. And the fact that Mev kept finding traces of mating even in these situations suggested that it wasn't just this woman; the entire clan seemed to be insane.

It was the same in the mid-boss room. The ‘Fallen Archer,’ one of the named monsters in the Ancient Warrior's Grave, was famous for carrying a pretty decent bow, though I remembered it being too large for Mev to use. As expected, the creature was dead, looking pathetic. But it seemed to have lived up to its name, as there were a few more casualties in this room.

One person had an arrow embedded in their chest, having pierced right through their shield. Another, a female mage—though not the wind mage—also had an arrow in her body.

“Three in total?”

“Yes. He fired an arrow as soon as they entered through this entrance. So the warrior died first, and then this mage. It’s strange. Can undead think?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ve heard it’s a possibility.”

“Hmm… anyway, the last one to die was their archer.”

It seemed the named monster, the ‘Fallen Archer,’ had fired as soon as they came into view, gifting an arrow to the warrior, then the mage, and finally their archer. What was impressive here was the ability of the man presumed to be the clan master. Before his companions could be targeted again, he seemed to have rushed forward with incredible speed and successfully tied the monster down.

The surviving squire was the same. Even though it was a ranged monster, she had assessed the situation and quickly hidden herself. I couldn't be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠certain, but it looked like she had pressed herself against the wall to avoid becoming a target.

“Her will is incredible.”

“Huh?”

“The will to survive.”

At Mev’s words, I naturally glanced at Jung Hayeon. Jung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hayeon lowered her head as if embarrassed, but this woman’s case was a little different from hers. If Jung Hayeon’s case was simply a blind desire to ‘live,’ this squire’s case was filled with an unidentifiable resentment. If I had to make a comparison, she was similar to Choi Seulgi. The reason this woman wanted to survive was undoubtedly because she wanted to pay them back.

A good amount of time had passed, and it seemed we were about halfway through the dungeon. No, actually, we were probably a little more than halfway. The fact that the ‘Fallen Archer’ was found here meant this party was well on its way.

With each new ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sign of battle we found, Black Spear and our Blood Dagger Clan grew more and more excited. They were probably frustrated that they were the only ones who hadn't been able to fight for days.

The members of the Blood Dagger Clan, who were used to this kind of work, were able to wait patiently, but Black Spear’s trolls, who were not, looked truly restless.

I called over Gark, the eldest of the loyal Five Goblin Siblings, who was holding his position with unexpected composure. It was time to subtly inform him of the plan I had been formulating. But before that, of course, I needed to verify his ability. To be precise, it was an experiment.

“Gark.”

“For… For Blood Dagger.”

“I have a job for you.”

I slowly began to explain the situation to Gark. He wasn't naive, but he was by no means stupid. As I continued my story, Gark nodded as if he understood everything, and finally, he spoke.

“I will repay Blood Dagger’s trust. Grrrrrrrk.”

“I’m counting on you, Gark. Everything rests on your shoulders.”

“U-Uwooooooah.”

It looked like he wanted to scream, but given the situation, he expressed his joy timidly. The goblin sisters watched him with envy. I knew they were upset that I trusted Gark more than them. Finding their expressions cute, I patted the goblins’ heads, and they chirped with joy, clenching their fists.

Gark, the eldest, watched me and the goblin sisters. It was only natural that he would then stick his head out toward me. I wasn't thrilled about it, but for the success of the mission, I patted his head. With a happy expression, he began to vanish from sight.

First, we had to test if he could evade our eyes.

His presence began to fade in an instant. As he moved away using the stealthy steps he learned from the Green Goblins, even I found it incredibly difficult to locate him. I looked at Black Spear, whose senses were on par with or even better than mine, and he too shook his head from side to side.

“I can’t sense him properly. I can tell he’s close now, but if he gets any farther, it will be hard to track him. You have a fine warrior in your clan, Blood Dagger.”

“Grrrrrrrk. Thank you, Black Spear.”

The experiment was a great success.

Since Gark needed to conserve his magic more efficiently, I held out the longsword I had stolen from Lee Youngdon. It was the longsword that had helped Lee Youngdon, who was short on magic, maintain his unique ability for a long time. It would surely be helpful to Gark on his mission. As if understanding my intent, Gark popped out from where there had been nothing and accepted my longsword.

“For Blood Dagger.”

He clutched the longsword tightly in his hand as if it were a great honor. It was understandable that I hadn't been able to detect him, but the fact that even Black Spear couldn't properly sense him was truly astonishing. Of course, the ability would break the moment he attacked, but if he had no intention of attacking the enemy, Gark’s ability could only be described as exceptional.

When I nodded, Gark concealed himself once more and finally began to depart from us completely.

First, bring that problematic squire here. No, make her come here on her own. That’s the first step.