The Penguin Princess and the Art of Shoveling
A short while later, I descended back to the first basement level where Ryun was standing guard. Thanks to her ability to hear the enemy’s conversations echoing off the cave walls, I’d been able to get some rest, and now it was time to swap shifts.
"Ryun, go find Luna and get some rest. I’ll take over the watch now."
"I don't think resting next to you is really 'resting'... you smell like her, Master."
"Well, obviously. I was sleeping on top of Luna."
"The scent of chocolate is so strong. Master, you did it, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"I'm next."
"Sure. I'll give you a one-on-one session."
Ryun had caught me immediately, and just as quickly, she had forgiven me. 'I can't blame her for being pissed.' She’d been keeping an eye on the enemy’s movements for an hour without a break, while I—having promised to come down in ten minutes—had spent that whole hour screwing Luna. How would Ryun feel?
'Maybe I should let her do it like Luna.' It would be fun to have both Ryun and Shaitan appear in my dreams together. Swallowing all the hopes and dreams I had for after the battle with Halpas's legion, I asked Ryun about the situation on the front lines.
"How's the enemy looking?"
"No major movements yet. The Flare Panteras are running around diligently keeping the fires stoked, but they don't seem to be dying, even if it looks like they should be."
Ryun pointed to the ground beneath the second interception chamber. The pit, still filled with intense heat, had become a literal hellscape that only the Flare Panteras could enter, and those fire pits branched out like roots into the basement of the entire dungeon.
"Digging holes from below to shoot fire into them... that'll be difficult. They know we're underground, so the scythes will get stuck. It's too dangerous."
Because the Flare Panteras moved so fast, and because the ondol holes the slimes had dug were deeper than expected, the Pale Riders' scythes couldn't pierce the Flare Panteras even when they penetrated the ground.
"Even if we can't attack, we should be able to poke a few small holes."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Just making some diagonal holes for reconnaissance. I can see through them, after all."
I tapped on the System window. Since my vision was linked with my subordinates, the sight of the Flare Panteras roaming the floor became my own. Most of the angles were from the bottom looking up, but that was enough to grasp the enemy's status.
Vision Link established: Flare Pantera Unit 04
"Is that bastard Furcas resting at the base camp? Damn him. Invading someone else's dungeon and even setting up a tent. He's absolute trash."
"Wouldn't it burn if we started a fire from a distance?"
"They'll notice if we get within a certain range. They aren't complete idiots. Tsk."
Furcas was exuding a menacing killing intent from atop his Corpse Steed, guarding the perimeter. His subordinates seemed to be resting inside the tents, and if we burned those tents, the Pale Riders inside wouldn't come out unscathed.
"But they're just sitting there... Shaitan, what did you say we should do in this kind of pattern?"
"Right. We build our strength while they're off guard."
It wasn't the time for an offensive yet. Therefore, I had to focus on defense for the time being. Buying time. That was the only way for our legion to survive.
"Then let's start the construction. Ryun, if there's any movement from the enemy, tell me immediately. Even if we have to stop construction, we'll need to respond differently."
Kkeureureuk. The slimes scattered again. I issued commands to each of them, expanding the floor of the first basement level and creating a few 'gimmicks' on the fly.
"It won't be easy to break through."
If they do break through... should I reward them by smashing an axe into their heads? I wiped the ridiculous thought from my mind and pushed forward with the construction.
...And then, the time came.
* * *
<In front of the portal, Halpas Legion temporary base.>
Morning had arrived. Inside the dungeon, it was impossible to tell if it was truly morning, but Furcas could tell by the light shining from the portal. 6:06:06 AM. Since it was such a meaningful time, Furcas gathered the remaining troops and approached the portal.
A figure emerged from the shimmering portal. Black hair, a white belly, and a yellow beak on its head. If Pahuu had seen it, he would have called it a 'Penguin'. A giant penguin reaching 2 meters in height.
"Father told me all the Pale Riders were dead. What are you doing right now?"
"My apologies, Princess."
Furcas prostrated himself before the black penguin. A flicker of annoyance crossed the penguin's eyes, and feeling the humid, sweltering heat, the penguin scattered mana into the surroundings. A fine mist of steam rose around the penguin.
"Ugh, it's hot. What is this? Is there a fire monster living here?"
"...That is."
Furcas explained how he had fallen for the enemy's cunning schemes. He strongly emphasized that the enemy was a group of monsters who were weak but vicious and cruel, having lured them into traps and set them on fire. The more he talked, the more he felt ashamed, but it was the only way to salvage his own confidence.
"What? You just got beaten because you're weak."
"Grrr..."
Furcas couldn't make any more excuses at the penguin's sharp remark. As the penguin said, if he had been strong, such a pathetic battle wouldn't have happened. Furcas only felt his pride wounded even further.
"More importantly, that's interesting. The enemy is using humans?"
"Yes. The enemies mobilized human adventurers to attack our Pale Rider unit. They lured us into traps and set us on fire..."
"I'm not interested in how you got beaten. More importantly, why is it so hot here? I'm sweating buckets the moment I walked in."
The penguin opened its beak and fanned the inside with its hand. Even though it cooled the area with mana, the air heated up again quickly, and the penguin's body temperature began to rise.
"Ugh, it's hot. What did you do to the dungeon? Aren't you guys hot?"
"...The Corpse Steeds are completely exhausted. We are effectively unable to charge anymore."
The Pale Riders grew weaker as the rider and the mount were separated. Therefore, as the Corpse Steeds—still living creatures—gasped in the heat, the Pale Riders' combat power was bound to hit rock bottom.
The penguin frowned as it looked at the soldiers following through the portal.
"Ugh, then I resurrected them for nothing. Tsk."
Behind the penguin, the dead Pale Riders returned to the battlefield. The Pale Riders resurrected by Halpas had entered vowing revenge, only to be startled by the hot dungeon. The dungeon, which had been so desolate that it felt like there wasn't a single person around, had suddenly become so hot that it was hard to even lie on the floor. It felt as if a river of fire was flowing underneath.
The Pale Riders who had died in the second interception chamber as their Corpse Steeds burned to death groaned in the heat.
"What are you doing? Did you burn to death? ...Really? I'm sorry. But then you should try to overcome the fire! You have no guts, no guts at all!"
The penguin waved its arms and raised its voice. Its beak clattered up and down, pouring endless criticism onto the Pale Riders. The Pale Riders just had to silently listen to the penguin's nagging.
"Ugh, this means I have to step in. Furcas! Tell me about the enemy forces. And bring me the dungeon layout. Once I've grasped it, I'm going."
"The Princess is going personally...?"
"Well, if I don't go, who will?"
The penguin smirked, its yellow beak gleaming. "If you're the one to inherit the legion, you should naturally perform well enough to match it, right? Watch closely. Watch me crush Andras's dungeon."
A black light shimmered in the shadows of the penguin's beak.
"Watch closely. See how the one and only princess of Halpas's legion overcomes a dungeon."
"Wow, I'm seeing a penguin in a dungeon with my own eyes."
I confirmed the enemy's third wave through the Flare Panteras' vision. The Flare Panteras ran around the dungeon floor, creating small breathing holes, and through those holes, I shared their vision to see the enemy.
"Shaitan, have you ever seen a monster like that?"
"Right. Whatever they did, they must have bred it somehow."
That waddling penguin was likely a twisted product created by sowing seeds anywhere and everywhere. I focused on the other troops following behind the penguin.
"...If it's a penguin, why not just stick to penguins? Why are there Cockatrices behind it?"
The monsters following the penguin were giant roosters well over 2 meters tall. Between their black feathers, reptilian-like carapaces were visible. Even a rough glance showed there were well over 100 of them.
'The Pale Riders were really just an appetizer.'
The Cockatrices were all guarding their surroundings with the faces of battle-hardened veterans. Thanks to that, even though the Flare Panteras were watching through tiny breathing holes, I had to pull my troops back for fear of being caught. If the Fire Leopards were discovered, the penguin and Cockatrice units would immediately start digging up the floor.
"Agni. Lead the Fire Leopards and retreat to the 'hearth'. Recon is over."
Along with Shaitan's instructions, the slimes inside the stockings began to wiggle. Because the stockings were long, the slimes had to stretch their bodies out long, like 3-star Slime Dragons. Even though they were wearing stockings, it was effectively the same as dying if they were discovered and stabbed by the enemy from the ceiling, but I felt more at ease using slimes as scouts than beastmen.
Thump. Thump.
The slimes moved through the ceiling and discovered the enemy unit moving directly below. The slimes quietly poked their heads out toward the empty space, and I could see the enemy troops turning the corner of the passage.
"They're weak, so I hope they don't get touched... Did they pass?"
"Right? ...It's a good thing the slimes are weak."
Perhaps thinking that weak slimes weren't even worth touching, the penguin and Cockatrice units entered the beginning of the straight passage. In fact, there would have been no problem if they had just run straight, but they were being extremely cautious, perhaps having been warned by the Pale Riders.
"To notice the slimes and just pass by... they're not ordinary."
Waddle, waddle.
"Indeed. People say 'look before you teleport,' and that's exactly what they're doing. Very cautious."
Waddle, waddle.
"...It's not like they're chirping sparrows, why are they moving so damn slowly?"
Even if time was on our side, it was troublesome if they came out like this. The Pale Riders had crossed the straight route in less than a minute, but these bird-brains were moving slowly, matching their footwork to the penguin's speed. In terms of speed, it was probably around 3 km/h.
"Is that penguin doing that on purpose? To piss me off?"
"...Sigh. Good for us. The later they come, the better it is for us. Alright. We're moving to the second phase of the operation."
I picked up the strongest weapon I had procured from Las Vegas.
"All orcs in the dungeon, pick up your weapons."
Boom, boom, boom!
As soon as my order fell, the orcs picked up the weapons they had been carrying on their backs. It was the same type of object I was holding. The strongest tool capable of cutting, stabbing, and striking, and one that could also be used to instantly renovate the dungeon.
"From now on, we start shoveling."
The sound of digging began to echo, centered around the final interception chamber.
"The remodeling isn't finished yet."
If they were an enemy that was hard to beat head-on, there was no choice but to beat them in another way.