Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Great Demon and the Cat Goddess (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
That night, Oakwood was dyed red with screams and flames.
"Block them! If they break through, the citizens inside the walls are dead!"
"Don't fall back! Squeeze out every last bit of strength from your nursing days if you have to—hold the line!"
Adventurers swiftly erected barricades along the main paths. They flipped wagons, piled up furniture and all sorts of debris to seal the entrances. But the wave of monsters devoured Oakwood's outer defenses like a tidal surge.
"What the hell—there's so many!"
One adventurer's finger pointed into the darkness illuminated by torchlight. The moon had risen, so the night wasn't pitch black, but the monstrous horde pouring from the eastern forest, western abandoned mines, and the entrance to the Glowing Cave already undulated over Oakwood's outskirts like a black wave.
"Damn it! Squad 1! You got the villagers?"
"Pineville's all clear! Redwood Village was evacuated ages ago!"
Adventurers who would normally squabble over territory were different tonight. Warriors stood back-to-back, drawing swords and axes aimed in the same direction. Archers and mages poured out relentless firepower.
The reason was simple. Most of the adventurers here hailed from this very town.
For their hometown, for their families and neighbors, the adventurers were ready to shed blood.
"Kill 'em all!"
"Waaaaah!"
Across Oakwood, adventurers clashed with the monstrous waves.
"Grrrrowl!"
"Kyao!"
But the monsters seemed endless. The black mages had artificially driven them into a frenzy, charging like zombies that felt no pain. Just as the defensive line began to creak and give way...
Screeech!
The grand doors of the Hearth Goddess Cathedral, firmly shut until now, swung wide open.
"Brothers and sisters! The flame of the hearth burns to protect civilization!"
"It's the priests from the Pantheon Temple!"
Priests in red robes rushed out with torches and weapons in hand.
"Goddess! Bless their weapons!"
As the priests extended their hands, red flames enveloped the weary adventurers' swords and spear tips.
"Hnnngh!"
The muscular elderly high priest at the forefront swung a club the size of a man's head like a windmill. A charging hobgoblin's skull crumpled with a sickening crunch.
"Let's purge the evil! Smash their heads and make them repent!"
"Waaaaah!"
The priests' reinforcements invigorated the front line. And that was just the beginning.
"Hold the line! Shields up!"
"Thrust!"
Beside the adventurers, necromancers in white robes swung their staves. These were the ones Camilla had left behind. Skeleton soldiers blocked the monsters' path, their bones shattering in the process, while the necromancers unleashed approved black magic without pause.
"Blades of bone! Slice the enemies!"
Krunch!
"Kieeek...!"
Sharp bone blades erupted from the ground, slashing through charging goblins. Seizing the opening, a lead adventurer swung his spear, impaling a rampaging tin wolf from the side.
"Ngh...!"
"Don't let your guard down! Lich Clan! We live because you hold!"
"Ngh, thanks!"
A bizarre sight: adventurers and necromancers, who would normally snarl at each other, fighting back-to-back.
Even off-duty guards unaffected by the spells joined the fray, firing guns and swinging swords.
"Damn that mayor! Damn that guard captain!"
Oakwood held on desperately like that.
Clatter! Clatter!
"Everyone, move! Unless you wanna get trampled!"
Cutting through the chaotic battlefield rode a group of mounted figures. Between three horses were two black carriages.
At a glance, ordinary black horses pulling carriages—but anyone looking closely could tell something was off. They were wrapped head to toe in black cloth.
Leather masks covered their faces. Where horse eyes should peer through the slits, ghostly blue will-o'-wisps flickered.
They were skeletal warhorses. The black carriages belonged to the necromancers.
"Keep going! We have to stop those black mages!"
Camilla, gripping the reins from the driver's seat, cracked them sharply. While the White Skull party ahead cleared monsters from horseback, the black carriages closely followed.
The Ancient Camouflage Dungeon was right before them.
The black mages were plotting something deep underground in the Ancient Camouflage Dungeon. The aftermath had already turned our surroundings into a monster-infested hell.
"Alright, everyone hold on tight, children of the earth! If even one of you bites your tongue... your big sis might just cry?!"
Mani stuck out her tongue in disgust at Camilla's voice from the driver's seat, clutching the reins.
"Eww! So cringey. What a Lich Clan elf for ya—treating us like kids!"
Clatter!
Mani's grumbling was buried in the rough jolts.
We were riding in a carriage belonging to the church-affiliated necromancers. More precisely, a skeleton transport cart.
Around us sat porcelain-masked skeletons quietly filling the seats. Up close, a bone-chilling cold seeped in.
Knowing skeletal frames hid behind those masks and robes felt oddly surreal.
'No, that's not the point.'
I gripped the shaking carriage handle tightly and asked,
"Lady Rodentia! Just what kind of demon is Dragosius?"
Dragosius is the worst demon, treating lives like toys! Ripping apart and burning the living is its hobby! Its power is monstrous! At its peak, it wiped out a kingdom's knight order and turned the capital to ashes in a single night!
Sena, sitting beside me, nodded gravely at those words.
"She's right. In monastery demonology class, Dragosius is the first name you learn. Strong enough to tear through walls like paper alone... but the real terror is something else."
"What?"
"Its enhancement ability. It empowers minions with blood and flame. Monsters or cultists bathed in its aura forget pain and grow insanely strong. That's why it's called the demons' great general."
A cheerful voice chimed in from the front seat.
"Oh my, sister! You weren't dozing in class after all?"
Sena's round ears twitched happily at Camilla's praise.
"Of course not! Driving out evil and saving people is our priestly duty! We can't forget that!"
Sena's explanation made the monsters' sudden ferocity click. A raid boss unit that buffs allies endlessly—what a cheat!
Tough opponent.
Exactly! So we must stop Dragosius at all costs. If it descends upon this land, rivers of blood will flow across it! I, the great Rodentia, cannot stand by!
Rodentia declared in a rare, resolute tone.
Holy energy emanated from her golden-glowing apparition.
It finally sank in that this Lord of the Hamster Wheel was a goddess.
Above all... the other rats will get hurt. So, Apostle Reti! I'll bless you with all my power—stop that wicked spark from spreading!
"Leave it to me!"
This time, I'd take the apostle role seriously.
Then another name popped up. I asked about the other seed of disaster.
"By the way, Goddess, what's the Black Cat Goddess? The one you smelled last time. As dangerous as Dragosius?"
Rodentia's expression changed instantly at my question.
The grim intensity from explaining Dragosius vanished, replaced by a look of utter revulsion, like she'd spotted a swarm of cockroaches.
Ugh! That wench? Not as bad as Dragosius, but... she's no good either! A troublemaker kicked out of the Pantheon Temple! The eternal predator of us rats!
Just as I opened my mouth for more, Sena, watching out the window, screamed.
"There! Hobgoblins on us!"
Three hobgoblins had latched onto the carriage side, axes raised.
"Kyaaak!"
"Where?!"
Mani, sitting opposite, grabbed her rapid bowgun and jumped up.
"Eat this and drop!"
Thung!
The close-range bolt slammed into a hobgoblin's face dead-on.
It plummeted without a scream, vanishing behind the carriage wheel.
Krunch!
"Nice!!"
We cleaved through the sea of monsters and reached the entrance to the Ancient Camouflage Dungeon.
Against the pouring waves, we drove the carriage into the darkness like a dive.
Boom boom crash! The carriage smashed through the entrance.
"Good! Everyone off!"
At Mace's shout, we leaped from the carriage.
Skeleton soldiers from the cargo hold poured out, forming ranks.
The dungeon interior was completely different from normal.
Terrain and paths twisted bizarrely. Intact passages were blocked by bedrock, new pillars jutted up where none had been.
"Damn! Why's the path like this? This ain't the Ancient Camouflage we know!"
Mace's cry prompted the mage companion to probe with his staff, detecting mana.
"Half illusion, half terrain altered by earth magic."
"They're stalling us!"
To make matters worse, monster numbers had swelled. Camilla tapped her staff anxiously.
"At this rate, we'll be too late. The ritual might complete before we reach the depths..."
"Don't worry! We'll guide the way!"
I confidently patted my backpack.
"Lady Rodentia! Please!"
Sniff sniff... I smell it!
Rodentia popped out, twitching her nose.
This stench! Nauseating cat fishiness mixed with rotten demon stink! It's vibrating strong!
At Rodentia's gesture, Ratty and Squeaker were summoned.
Horned Rats: Ratty & Squeaker
"Squeak! Squeak squeak!"
The two horned rats sniffed at the fork, then unhesitatingly pointed to the narrow, shabby right passage.
"Reti, what kind of magic is that? Horned rats..."
Camilla's eyes sparkled with interest.
"I'll explain later! For now... that way! Their scent's strongest!"
"Got it. Trusting the rats!"
We dashed off. Some of Camilla's skeletons stayed behind.
"Units 1 through 7, hold this position! Block the pursuing monsters!"
While the skeleton warriors butchered the chasers, the horned rats nimbly exploited gaps the black mages had overlooked. Cracks between walls, holes under collapsed pillars, weakened wall spots!
"Here! Break through!"
"Got it. Stand back!"
Yellow light gleamed on Mace's greatsword. The blade crashed down fiercely.
Boom!
The wall shattered instantly, revealing a new path.
Blasting even nonexistent routes, we sped straight to the dungeon's deepest core.
Finally, a massive cavern loomed before us.
"We're here..."
It was the base where the roots of the Empire Pillar—the landmark of the Ancient Camouflage Dungeon—embedded, a gigantic tower.
"Damn, never descended this fast before..."
The White Skull party members let out sighs mixed with awe.
Then, the source of the trouble came into view.
Woooong!
Numerous half-collapsed pillars stood like a forest in the cavern.
At the center, a blood-red magic circle hummed, and deepest within the outer ring sat a black cat-shaped urn.
Kyaaak! That's it! I feel it! That Black Cat Goddess wench! She's really here!
We had finally reached the heart of the disaster.