Chapter 125
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: 7 VS 500
We pulled back for a moment and retraced our steps up the path we'd come from for about an hour.
It was to let the party recover their condition after more than six hours of exploration.
"We just need a screen on the front. We'll have to pull night watch tonight."
For the past five days, the layers had simple structures, so we hadn't bothered with watch shifts.
It had been possible only because I'd scouted thirty minutes ahead beforehand.
But that area was a different story.
"Excluding the women, two hours each for eight hours total."
Tanya was pregnant, so she was naturally out; Sia needed to conserve her stamina for blessings ahead of tomorrow's battle, so she was out too; as for Lauren... well, might as well excuse her while we were at it.
The order was Uncle Hawk, Claude, Roy, then me.
Claude and Roy's faces turned peculiar when they heard the watch rotation.
While we set up tents, sleeping bags, and prepared dinner, Tanya sidled up to me.
"Master..."
"Yeah? You okay? Tomorrow might be a bit rough."
"Well..."
She'd tried to play it cool, but hearing what I'd seen must've reminded her of nearly dying to a monster during the last exploration.
"It's fine. Don't worry. You think I'd let my slave and girlfriend—and Sia—die?"
Sia flinched!
Lauren shuddered, her shoulders twitching from way over there.
Eh, it was fine if she overheard, but I'd forgotten she was listening.
"Hee hee..."
"Go suck Claude's dick or something. Stop whining about how scary it is."
"Hau..."
Even amid her fear, a thrill of depravity ran through her at my words, making her body quiver.
"I figure you'll handle the pacing yourself, but make it feel special just for tonight, got it?"
"Yes. He's not even touched my body yet. Thank you, Master."
Mwah—
Tanya glanced around briefly before pecking my cheek and darting away.
Clap—
I felt eyes on me and turned to see Lauren staring in shock, hand over her mouth.
I hadn't mentioned it to her separately, had I?
I gave Lauren a casual thumbs-up with a grin and finished prepping dinner.
"Do it."
"No."
"Pleeease!"
"I said no."
"Tch... You said we'd do it every day..."
We finished dinner quickly, and night watch began.
It was about time for Claude's shift.
Sia, who hadn't been sleeping because he'd groped her chest, gazed at me with sparkling eyes.
I was trying to get her to rest for stamina reasons, but she kept fondling my dick and sneaking glances.
"Tomorrow could be dangerous, so we need to save your energy."
"Hiiiing..."
"I'll keep kissing you, though."
"Hmph... Chuup... Chup."
Sia reluctantly lifted her head, putting on a sulky pout, but the moment our tongues tangled deeply, her expression melted.
One kiss was usually enough to unwind her fake grumpiness—it didn't suit her anyway.
I enjoyed her adorable reaction and casually brought it up.
"Wanna suck it?"
"Yesh! Hwap!!"
The second the words left my mouth, Sia eagerly engulfed my dick and slurped away.
She loved kissing, but she was just as into fellatio.
"Just a little since it'll be tough tomorrow, then sleep, okay?"
"Mngh!!"
Even when I said that, she'd never stop at less than two loads, so I gently stroked her hair.
After she finally milked three shots of my cum and flopped contentedly atop me to sleep, I kneaded her soft skin as Claude's voice rang out.
"Roy bro, shift change."
"Ugh... Yeah."
Even as Roy's staggering footsteps faded, I didn't hear Claude enter the tent.
"Claude."
"Uh..."
"Come in."
"In there?"
As expected, Tanya the seductress tempts Claude. I heard the tent with Tanya and Roy unzip, and her voice grew clearer.
"Don't want to?"
"I do."
"Hurry."
During exploration, they'd been whispering and giggling nonstop, so I wondered what they'd talked about to get so close so fast.
Tanya's expert, full-throated sucking—rivaling any performer's—drew muffled groans from Claude, faintly audible.
A moment later, confirming the lewd slurping sounds, I turned in for the night.
I didn't have a fetish for hearing other guys get blown.
The next day, after breakfast, we all gathered around the campfire for a strategy meeting.
"Claude, grab my backpack and yours."
"Sure."
Claude brought the two largest packs stuffed with gear, and I pulled out the explosion potions.
"Ha... I packed 'em, but they're expensive, so not many."
"Haha! Twenty's plenty, Cain!!"
Uncle Hawk burst out laughing at the surprisingly high number, but...
"At least five hundred of them."
"What?!"
I'd only said there were a lot of lizards, not the exact count, so when I gave the rough estimate from my scan, everyone's faces fell.
"Depending on the layer's terrain, but in a setup like this, we should've taken down around two hundred by now. Way too few."
We usually bagged at least a hundred in a week of exploration.
Even on the conservative side, factoring in the first and last days' paths back.
Last time with Lauren in my first party, three weeks netted just over four hundred kills.
And that was a maze layout without pack-hunting monsters.
Realizing we were facing three weeks' worth all at once made Claude, Uncle Hawk, and Lauren's expressions darken further.
"We could turn back... Anyone want to?"
"""..."""
The path back was monster-free; we could make it in under three days, but that'd mean nine days for barely a hundred kills.
For a small three- or four-man party, sure, cut losses and bail. But we had nearly double the numbers, and food consumption wasn't trivial.
Plus, Roy and Tanya weren't here for mana stones or cash—they'd quit their jobs and come at my invitation to dodge prying eyes.
Head back, dive into another layer tomorrow with new terrain, monsters, tactics... Roy was barely holding it together now; I doubted his morale would survive that.
"Never seen a swarm this big..."
Uncle Hawk muttered with a troubled look.
"Exactly. Let's see..."
Frustrated, I rummaged deeper in the pack. I'd packed for her, but I recalled Camella slipping something in on the day she visited the sundries shop.
...Huh?
"Isn't that a magic scroll?"
"What? When...?"
I dumped out everything to check my usual gear, and a bundle of scrolls tumbled from the bottom of both packs.
"More than I thought... Cain, you prepped these?"
"Ah...! Forgot I bought 'em ages ago."
"Heh heh... Kid's got veteran foresight now."
"Haha..."
Inspecting the scrolls Camella had apparently packed, they were all auxiliary magic ones.
And at the bottom of the pack with them was a single paper smeared with someone's lipstick.
Attack magic scrolls were pricey, but aux ones were cheap; thirty or so would've cost around fifty silver total.
Ha... Camella, you clever girl. Gotta reward her properly when we get back.
"Whew... This should do it..."
"Right?"
After checking the scrolls, Uncle Hawk and I exchanged smiles.
"Might go smoother than expected?"
"How many can line up single-file in the passage?"
"Hm... Five or six, maybe. Uncle, you seem to be thinking the same. Wanna hear my plan?"
"Yeah, lay it out."
Having finalized my thoughts, I looked around.
"Keep the base camp here. Tanya sis and Roy bro stay put; we wait way up ahead and lure the whole swarm into the passage."
"Hm... Better than charging into the swamp where feet sink."
"Plus, the aux scrolls have the most Grease ones. Lure 'em to solid ground, thin the herd, then Grease to trip 'em up, break their formation, and buy breathing room."
"Oho..."
"I'll take five explosion potions, loop around the edge, and come back."
"Isn't that too risky?"
Claude asked worriedly at my words.
"You saw my footwork. No way I'll sink and get skewered blind."
"If you say so... Still anxious."
"Cain... Can't you skip it?"
Sia trembled, uneasy after hearing the plan.
"I told you it's fine."
"B-but... Hiiing..."
"You trust me, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
I hugged the teary-eyed, anxious Sia and patted her back.
"Then Tanya sis and Roy bro, stay here. We'll head up a bit and prep."
"...No, we'll come too."
"...Bro?"
Roy stared at me with a resolute expression.
"Even if we break through up front, you two couldn't make it back alone... But you saved me and Tanya's lives, Cain. I can't just sit. I can't fight monsters head-on, but let me stay close so I can do something."
O? Roy stepping up like that? Then I noticed his awkward expression and Tanya winking at me.
She'd egged him on again, huh.
"Hm... Got it. Thanks for the guts, bro."
"N-no problem."
"Whoa, Roy bro's cool! Fathers-to-be really are something else."
Thud—
Claude clapped Roy's shoulder like he'd gained new respect, twisting Roy's face into something comical.
This is fun. Bet he'll outright ask me or Claude to bang Tanya soon.
"Alright, then. Prep to move out."