Chapter 193
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 193
“…Your tastes are always so unique, Sister. But what if this causes a huge mess one day?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll set the stage so everything works out in the end. Besides, Lady Rene will never get anywhere if she just keeps playing the silent, devoted lover.”
The older Yaksha sister laughed heartily and turned away.
Most of the dungeon monsters had finished preparing for their departure. Except for the Golem of Room 3, all the monsters up to Room 4 had gathered in Room 1.
Calamidad was continuously heading south, so if they set off now, they could intercept her at a convenient location. Once there, they would retrieve the eggs with the help of the Leprechaun Merchant Guild. The timing would be perfect.
As everyone gathered and chattered noisily, Swallow climbed a stalactite to a high vantage point. Once all eyes were on him, he began to speak.
“When we reach the destination, we will split into designated groups to search for the eggs. The group tracking Calamidad will meet the merchant guild at the rendezvous point to exchange information.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And don’t fight among yourselves on the way.”
“Yes, sir!”
Countless voices overlapped, ringing out in a thunderous roar as if from a single throat. Swallow covered his ears, feigning that the noise was too loud, and concluded his speech.
“We set off now to claim Calamidad’s eggs.”
*
“Before we move, there are two things you must watch out for.”
Swallow held up two fingers, sitting on a makeshift chair—a wooden frame covered with magical cloth.
“First, conflict with humans.”
He slowly folded his index finger.
“None of you are strangers to fighting humans, so you should be able to tell just by looking. You know the type. The kind that makes you think, ‘Ah, if I mess with that guy, this is what’s going to happen.’”
While some humans left no trouble behind after a fight, others became an even bigger nuisance afterward.
Usually, scout units sent ahead of a main force, or the private soldiers of some self-important lord, fell into this category. If you made the mistake of provoking them, humans would swarm in under the guise of revenge. Monsters commonly referred to them as a ‘hornet’s nest.’
“So you mean we shouldn’t make a scene.”
“Exactly.”
Swallow grinned at the question.
“I’m not telling you to avoid humans entirely. Roast them, boil them, do whatever you want, but let’s not create a mess that’s a pain to clean up. Of course, if they keep bothering you, feel free to just crush them.”
How should he sum this up? Swallow pressed a hand to his forehead in thought before muttering vaguely, “Well, you get what I mean, right?” The assembled monsters nodded in unison. Swallow liked obedient subordinates.
With a satisfied smile, he folded his remaining finger.
“And second, conflict with the turtle.”
Calamidad was a Great Evil Cave master, a monster feared as a natural disaster in the north, just like him.
“There’s nothing to gain from provoking her. And above all, you can’t beat her.”
This time, the monsters fell silent. Not a single one stepped forward to argue.
If any of them were confident they could defeat a giant Sky Turtle over five hundred meters long, they would have already established a Great Evil Cave of their own.
Taking their silence as agreement, Swallow continued.
“Unlike ordinary turtles, Calamidad lays her eggs in three separate stages. The nesting locations are all different, too. That means there will be a total of three nests along her path.”
Her sole reason for heading south was to lay her eggs in an environment more suitable for hatching. In other words, once she finished, she would have no more business here.
“The moment she lays her final egg, the turtle will return along the exact path she came. This means she’ll be checking to see if the eggs are safe on her way back… So, here’s a question. What happens if she returns and finds all her eggs gone?”
“She’ll go absolutely wild.”
“Right. So, we will retrieve the eggs after the turtle has already passed the nest. Honestly, I don’t care what she smashes to pieces, but this is much easier than cutting it close and getting caught.”
Feeling himself sliding down from his slumped posture, Swallow stood up and stretched.
“That’s why we’re splitting into groups.”
“……”
“That’s it for now. If you have any questions, ask them.”
“Where is Lord Patrick?”
This time, Hyeong-ak raised his hand.
“He’s not here. He’s staying behind to guard the dungeon.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Hyeong-ak nodded repeatedly to Swallow. Though he was a lifeless undead, his words of gratitude were more animated than anyone else’s.
“Anyone else?”
Swallow nodded in satisfaction, shoving his hands into his coat pockets.
“If there’s nothing else, Rene.”
“Yes, Lord Swallow.”
Having said his piece, Swallow spun around and left.
Rene took his place and addressed the monsters.
“I will be handling practical command from here on out. As Lord Swallow explained, we will organize the groups immediately.”
*
“The monsters of Room 4, including Miss Melju, will be tasked with scouting. Investigate the path Calamidad has traveled and check if she has already built any nests.”
Led by Melju, the Demon King’s army marched north from the temporary base where Swallow was stationed.
Her assignment was to find any nests Calamidad might have already built, which meant they had to trace the path the great turtle had taken.
If she had been a land turtle, it would have been easy…
“The Leprechaun Merchant Guild hasn’t arrived yet.”
But since Calamidad was a turtle that flew through the sky, she left no tracks.
The Leprechaun Merchant Guild, which had promised support, was supposed to provide information on her southward route, but their scheduled arrival was still a ways off.
‘Waiting would be the proper course of action to ensure accuracy, but…’
Tasks had been assigned to each room. Room 1 was the defense group, responsible for protecting the eggs once they were found. Room 2 was the tracking group, tasked with following Calamidad and monitoring her movements.
Naturally, since they were divided into groups, their performance would be evaluated by group. Melju had no intention of falling behind. Every monster in Room 4 shared the same desire to produce results and earn Swallow’s favor.
At first, the Demon King’s army searched for the path by questioning eyewitnesses. Deciding this was too inefficient, Melju began to employ her familiars.
Countless black butterflies, born from her fingertips, scattered in all directions.
Several of the magic-using monsters marveled at the sight.
“Magnificent, Your Majesty.”
In the past, such a method would have been impossible.
Just a few months ago, during Erebos’s invasion of Hastin, the best she could do was scatter butterflies around the castle. Even then, hadn’t some been detected and shot down by the Lich?
The massive increase in their range and utility was all thanks to the magic tools she had received from the Primordial Core. Dozens of black butterflies could now scout an area several kilometers wide—it was a massive leap in her power.
“Speaking of which, Your Majesty, this humble one has a question.”
As they made their way through a secluded forest path, Alraune, who was following close behind, spoke up.
Ever since catching Melju’s eye, she had stuck to her side constantly.
“What is it? And you can drop the smirk.”
“……”
“I’m kidding. What are you curious about?”
“Why do you think Lord Swallow wants Calamidad’s eggs?”
“Well, naturally…”
—Naturally, he wants to eat them.
…No, that was awkward. She couldn’t shatter the illusions of her subordinates, who had only just joined the Primordial Core.
After marching in silence for a few seconds, Melju thought of a suitable way to phrase it.
“I shall tell you a story I once heard. It is said that a Demon King of the north, while retreating from an ambush by cowardly humans, happened upon a giant egg over three meters in circumference.”
“And that was Calamidad’s egg?”
“The moment he ate it, all his wounds healed, and a massive spiritual energy surged within him. With the power he gained, he subjugated all the surrounding humans. That is the legend of Lord Gamigin, a myth of the northern Demon King’s army.”
“Then the reason Lord Swallow wants the eggs is to become even stronger…”
—No, he just wants to eat them.
…In any case, she really had heard that story before. Since the ultimate purpose of eating them was the same, Melju wasn’t technically lying.
“Then if one eats a chicken egg, does the energy of a chicken surge through one’s body? I have never eaten a chicken egg, so I wouldn’t know.”
“I do not know that much either,” Melju replied, shaking her head. “Focus on the objective at hand.”
Once Calamidad laid her eggs, countless monsters would swarm to claim them. Perhaps someone had already taken them. Even if it meant a fight, they had to secure the eggs at all costs.
After walking for a few more hours, the black butterfly that had flown the farthest suddenly returned. Receiving the information from her familiar, Melju addressed the Demon King’s army.
“It seems we’ve found a nest.”
Following the butterfly’s guidance, they arrived at a scene of utter devastation.
The location was a forest. To be precise, it was a place that used to be a forest. The sight of countless dense trees snapped and toppled looked as though a typhoon had swept through.
The only difference was that even giant trees, which would normally withstand a typhoon, were brutally broken, and the ground was gouged deeply.
And.
“What a spectacular sight.”
“The entire area is destroyed.”
As if a giant hole had been punched through the woods, a radius of about two kilometers around the center had been turned into a wasteland.
Stepping over the haphazardly fallen tree trunks, Melju surveyed her surroundings.
First, she assessed the radius of the damage, then she checked the direction the trees had fallen. A picture began to form in her mind. If Calamidad had landed in the center of the forest and thrashed her legs to dig into the ground, it would have produced a similar scene.
“……”
Several members of the Demon King’s army stared blankly, unable to hide their bewilderment.
Animals and monsters wandered aimlessly in all directions, no different from humans fleeing a monster attack. Everything touched by Calamidad’s flailing limbs had been destroyed without exception.
The forest’s ecosystem had been completely wiped out.
“The eggs…”
Having roughly assessed the situation, Melju used Flight magic to head toward the center of the disaster.
There was no doubt this was Calamidad’s nest. If so, there should have been eggs in the center, or at least a raised mound where they were buried.
That was how it should have been.
“……”
Melju bit her lip.
It was the worst-case scenario.
The traces remained, but the eggs were gone.
Frowning as she stared at the empty hollow, Melju let out a deep sigh and examined the ground.
In the damp mud, which looked as though it had just been dug up, numerous monster footprints were clearly visible.
‘Both the traces of the eggs and these footprints…’
…were not very old. Considering the prints hadn’t hardened despite the dry weather, it had likely been less than half a day since the eggs vanished.
“Listen up, everyone.”
Melju gathered the entire Demon King’s army. The monsters, gathering in a circle near the center of the nest, also understood the situation upon seeing the empty hollow.
“Another force has taken the eggs first,” Melju said.
And from the footprints, she was able to deduce the identity of the thieves.
There were various types of tracks.
Some belonged to races she recognized. Most of them were creatures that had no business being in this forest…
This was…
“Another Demon King’s army.”
*
A smile never left the lips of Demon King Robiad.
“Good… This is perfect!”
Although tents had been set up nearby as a temporary Demon King Castle, he hadn’t gone inside. There was no way he could just sit and wait. Robiad had come out to watch his army transport the eggs from start to finish.
“Splendid.”
Even at a glance, the eggs were over two meters in diameter. Perhaps because the contents were as substantial as their size, it took four monsters to carry a single egg safely.
He was lucky.
No, perhaps it was fate.
Robiad, who was neither exceptionally strong nor weak, was a typical ‘parasitic Demon King.’ He belonged to the faction of Obstarius, the second-highest-ranking of the two major Demon King factions.
The reason he was passing through this forest was that Obstarius had declared war on the count’s territory near the Dipris Coast.
Robiad was merely passing through to provide reinforcements.
He never expected to stumble upon such a precious treasure.
Calamidad’s eggs.
Though it was his first time seeing one in person, he too was familiar with the myth of Gamigin. Since Gamigin was a war hero, the story was so famous that not a single Demon King was unaware of it.
Calamidad’s eggs had been called a miraculous elixir since ancient times. Even so, no Demon King had ever tried to obtain them because Calamidad, blocked from heading south by humans, had always laid her eggs in the freezing, bitter cold of the extreme north.
‘If I had been even a little later, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.’