The Mad Orc's Invasion
“Let’s start by breaking down the enemy’s composition. Meari, are you done recording?”
“Yes. The goblins are at the ★ rank, and the gargoyles seem to be ★★ entities. Those, um, camels? The camel monsters you mentioned, Father, they were all over the place. Ranging from ★ to ★★★. There were one or two other oddities, but they weren’t the main force. It looked like a hastily assembled army, the kind where you just throw in whatever you can find. It seems the goblins, gargoyles, and those camel monsters are their primary strength.”
“Sounds like someone like Andras. They must be the main monsters of the dungeon.”
The camel-like monsters. The one Gremory had been riding looked exactly like a camel, but the lower-ranked ones were definitely bipedal.
“Was there anything else unusual?”
“The number of humps on their backs? The higher the grade, the more humps they had. Exactly as many as their star rating. That was the only thing.”
“So, easy to spot at a glance, but hard to gauge from the front, huh? Damn.”
My high-ghouls had leveled up quite a bit, but they were still struggling to deal with the 3-star camel monsters. Whenever that happened, either I, Ryun, or Lime had to step in personally to handle them.
‘But I can’t just stand by and watch.’
Ryun or Lime could handle them without much trouble, but if two 3-star camels rushed them at once, both could be in danger. The camels were all males, and it was obvious what would happen if they managed to catch Ryun or Lime.
“Nothing else dangerous?”
“No. I don’t know what kind of existence Gremory herself is, but I’ve finished assessing the strength of the enemies who crossed over, excluding her.”
“Then that’s enough.”
If my subordinates were in danger, I had no choice but to step up. Our forces had grown stronger, but we were still lacking in many ways to go and conquer an enemy dungeon. So, I left a minimal scouting party at Gremory’s dungeon and gave orders to the rest of my subordinates.
“Slimes, wait on the ceilings of each passage. Deal with any adventurers who enter the dungeon. If you think you can win, gather at the intersection and ambush them together.”
“Ghouls, wait at the intersection near the entrance. As soon as the prey enters, move into the common area, climb to the ceiling, and strike from above the moment they step into the center.”
“Harpies… ugh, never mind. Just take care of yourselves. The barracks are dangerous, so stay in bed until I return, and the other subordinates, make sure to keep the harpies safe in the common area.”
“Eila, Meari, Harpyia, Line, guard the dungeon. If any adventurers come from outside, you handle them. You can kill them or take them prisoner. Eila, Meari, I’m leaving it to you two.”
The instructions for my subordinates were roughly finished. Some of them looked a bit dissatisfied—they all said they wanted to follow me—but I firmly cut off anyone below level 30, and they followed my orders without a word. Just as I pulled out my iron sword and turned to leave, Meari called out to me.
“Father, what about Arthur?”
“…Him, hah.”
The mention of Arthur gave me a headache. It wasn’t that Arthur had done anything wrong, but he had clearly caused a massive accident. No, he was at fault. He was too handsome, just like me.
“…Tell him to take good care of his wives.”
“Father. Isn’t it a bit much to call them wives? If you think about it, he was the one who got taken advantage of while he was sleeping.”
“He said he’d take responsibility, didn’t he? Let him be.”
Currently, Arthur and the female hunters, the residents of Las Village, were resting on a feather bed made from Andras’s black feathers. Lily had suddenly found herself taking care of them alongside Arthur, and the other four female hunters were already showing signs of pregnancy.
“If he weren’t my son, I’d be cursing him out to hell and back.”
While I was busy wrestling with camels, the four female hunters had finally pounced on Arthur. Even for a strong orc, he said he couldn’t do anything because he was outleveled, and eventually, the disarmed Arthur had slaughtered the four hunters with the holy sword he possessed.
“But Father, isn’t something strange? The people of Las Village aren’t subordinates or prisoners. Doesn’t that mean there’s no system backup?”
“Yeah. That’s right. But who knew there would be another way?”
It wasn’t a pregnancy caused by the system; it was a real pregnancy. Thanks to that, the looks Ryun and Eila were giving me were something else.
“Are orcs originally that fast at getting pregnant and giving birth? Or is it the influence of the dungeon? Did Solomon’s system work on Arthur?”
“How should I know? Looking at how their bellies are already swelling, they’ll probably give birth soon. I might as well start a Knights of the Round Table while I’m at it. Meari, you can be Merlin.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That you should take good care of your nephews. Tsk. It hasn’t even been a few days since I had a child, and I’m already about to become a grandfather. Ugh.”
I checked the state of my equipment and stretched my body. Beside my looted belt hung my iron sword, and on my back was a wooden staff with a spiraling, curved tip. That was enough gear.
“Take care of the dungeon. Ryun, let’s go.”
I offered my arm to Ryun. Ryun couldn’t perch on my shoulder like she used to, so she stuck tightly to my side instead. Meari scanned me and Ryun up and down with a skeptical look.
“Wouldn’t that be dangerous? Wouldn’t it be better to go separately?”
“It’s faster for me to deflect attacks if I have her close.”
I was holding Ryun against my side while protecting her with the sword in my other hand. It was practically like I was using Ryun as a hostage, but it was the perfect stance for me to protect her while she fired her shots.
“Couldn’t Ryun just fire from behind?”
“…Meari, that’s a difficult thing. For me.”
Ryun turned her head to the side and gave a bitter smile. It was safer to keep her glued to my side because I didn’t know what might happen if I left her behind. Both for her and for me. It was a desperate measure I’d come up with because I felt like I’d get riddled with holes if I placed her in the rear. Ryun seemed to like it, and I was satisfied with the stance as well. Eventually, Meari gave up.
“Please be careful. No one knows what the enemy dungeon will be like.”
“Yeah. Even if I look like this, I’m a person who’s incredibly cautious. Eila, you guard the dungeon well, too.”
“I’m sorry, Master. If only I were a little stronger….”
Eila hung her head in self-reproach. Eila’s level hadn’t even reached 35, the maximum level for a 2-star. Like Meari, she had been the most eager to infiltrate, but Eila couldn’t defeat a 3-star camel 1:1. Only three people in our dungeon, including me, had managed to take down a 3-star camel 1:1.
“Don’t worry. The day will come when you’ll be strong enough to do your part.”
“…Yes. Please, take care of yourself. Ryun, I leave the Master to you. …And you, too.”
Eila’s gaze swept under Ryun’s black-winged cloak. Ryun and I grinned at Eila, and we turned away from the common area and stood in front of the portal. Fortunately or unfortunately, no enemies were coming out of the portal.
Vwooom!
The red light was flickering much more intensely than before. The system indicated that less than three minutes remained, and I talked with Ryun to ease my tension.
“Ryun. Don’t forget. What you need to do as soon as the portal opens.”
“Yes. But will it really work?”
“If it works, great. If not, oh well.”
I meant it literally. I massaged Ryun’s shoulders firmly a couple of times. The hand that had been raised to protect her slowly moved downward, and Ryun didn’t mind my bad touch at all.
“But Master. Why did you decide to fight Gremory?”
“Because she’s a woman.”
“…Is that really the reason?”
“Of course.”
I kneaded Ryun’s breasts and grinned at her.
“But even if she were a man, or had no gender, I would have fought her. As long as my dungeon is recognized as ‘Andras’s’ dungeon, things like this will happen often in the future.”
Gremory had said she crossed over to our side while trying to conquer Andras’s dungeon. I didn’t know if she had been plotting something to conquer Andras’s dungeon from the start, or if the newly reborn Andras or the Dimension Stone in our dungeon had some influence. In the end, the only way to know was to catch her and extract the information.
“We were so distracted during the Andras incident that we couldn’t get any information, right? So now we catch that one and get the info. It’s fine. Andras was 63rd, and that one is 56th, right? I would have fought her even if the opponent were an orc just like me.”
“Hmm, I see. But isn’t it actually better because she’s a woman?”
“Of course. Ryun. Listen carefully. No matter what kind of dungeon master appears in the future….”
Shimmer.
The red light turned into a green light. I raised my iron sword and took a deep breath.
“If it’s a female entity, I’ll take her first and then decide whether to kill her or not. We’re capturing her alive, no matter what. Got it?”
“Yes, yes. Whatever you say, Master.”
Ryun raised her bow toward the portal that was starting to turn green.
“What will you give me if I catch Gremory and offer her to you?”
“…Hmm, let’s see. A cream pie?”
Ryun snorted as if she found it absurd, then pulled the bowstring toward the front.
Pew-pew-pew.
Wind arrows flew across the portal. And Ryun mocked me.
“Just a cream pie….”
“……You’ll change your mind once you taste it yourself.”
It seemed I would have to teach her the slang one by one. I pulled the hand that had been teasing Ryun away and clenched my fist. From now on, it was time to focus on the ‘attack’ in earnest.
“Let’s go in.”
We took a large step across the portal.
* * *
Gremory, who had attempted to attack Kumcheoku’s dungeon, mistaking it for Andras’s, couldn’t help but be flustered by the unexpected strength and presence of the enemy.
“Damn it, that bastard Halpas, he tricked me!!”
Gremory kicked the wall and threw a tantrum. Her subordinates trembled and bowed their heads at their master’s rage.
“He said there were only bird-brains! He said it was a linear dungeon! So why the hell is there a pig bastard setting up a camp here?!”
According to the information passed on by the 38th-ranked Demon Bird Halpas, Andras’s dungeon was supposed to have nothing but low-grade or lower monsters tainted by his curse.
“He said Andras was the only one who gave birth, so he’d be weak? Andras isn’t even there to begin with!!”
Halpas’s information was wrong from the start. Gremory, who had invaded Andras’s dungeon with peace of mind based on that information, felt ashamed in many ways.
“If people find out I challenged a dungeon ranked lower than mine and ended up in a draw… Ugh, I’d die of embarrassment.”
Her reputation was in tatters. She had challenged the 63rd-ranked dungeon, and instead of reaching the heart, she hadn’t even properly grasped the structure of the dungeon.
‘How did that pig bastard get a High Elf as a subordinate?’
The composition of the enemy, seen through the eyes of her subordinates, was crude yet diverse. They were even using humans as slave soldiers. Strategically, they were much weaker than Gremory’s soldiers, but the dungeon master himself was stepping out to fight, so her subordinates couldn’t win.
“Ugh, I can’t even go there myself….”
Solomon encouraged dungeon wars, but the system prevented high-ranked dungeon masters from unilaterally trampling on lower-ranked dungeons. Unless she found the entrance and entered herself, Gremory, who was ranked higher than Andras, couldn’t cross over to the enemy’s dungeon through the portal.
“And that pig bastard wouldn’t cross over himself.”
So, to catch the master of the enemy dungeon, there was no way to catch him unless she found his location herself or killed him when the orc crossed over through a reverse portal.
“Ugh, annoying. I could kill him instantly if he just came over.”
Gremory gripped the grimoire in her hand tightly. Veins popped on the back of her hand as if she were strangling the pig who had insulted her with lewd remarks.
‘Surely he wouldn’t come right away, would he?’
Unless he was a madman, he would have that much common sense. Crossing into enemy territory through a one-way portal where retreat was impossible on the very day the offense and defense switched? That was a madman’s act, no matter who looked at it.
“But he is a madman, isn’t he?”
Since he was a madman, maybe he really could cross over. So, she placed goblins at the entrance. Just in case he crossed over at any moment.
“Phew, I should take a bath. I’m all worked up and running a fever.”
And just as Gremory was about to move to the bathhouse.
“…He really was a madman.”
Gremory raised her magic power and opened her grimoire. Red magic began to bloom, centered around Gremory.
“Then, what kind of guy did he send as a scout? Hehehe.”
Gremory shared her vision with a goblin. And right in front of it.
Sway, sway.
“Kyaaaaak!!”
A massive green object was swaying left and right.