Leveling Up #4
My blood boils, and my senses sharpen instantly. To be honest, even though this is a Dungeon, it’s rare for enemies to actually invade. And a night raid, of all things?
This isn't normal. It’s not as if I’ve been neglecting the perimeter patrols, so if they managed to launch a surprise attack at night, it means they know our location all too well!
"Keruk!"
"Keryaaaaak!"
Having continuously drilled emergency combat readiness—benchmarking the methods of Jeon Jun-tae—my dungeon soldiers quickly armed themselves and began to fall into their designated positions. I, too, donned my armor and gripped my sword.
"Sentry! Report the situation!"
"Keruk! Enemies! They’ve broken in! They look like humans! I saw five of them!"
"Well done, sentry! I’ll reward you later! Buril! If you’re ready, lead the charge to the dungeon entrance immediately! Serineu! Follow up quickly from the rear! Hobgoblins, enter the tunnels! Imps, stick behind the pixies!"
I issued orders rapidly while gathering intelligence.
"Lamias, prepare for deployment!"
Humans? Did information leak from somewhere? Or are these just some camping enthusiasts who went backpacking? No way! First, the priority is to go there and kill or subdue them all!
—Thud-thud-thud!
—Whoosh!
The goblins formed a defensive line and advanced at high speed, with the pixies trailing behind. I followed the goblins, shield held high.
The moment we rounded the corner.
"...!"
Something human-like was standing there... no!
"Dark Elves!"
Brown skin, long ears, and white hair! Just as the Lamias had described, they were Dark Elves! The armed male Dark Elves were pointing their blades toward us!
At the same time, a question arose. Why didn't they run away? Two goblin sentries had clearly alerted the others and retreated deep into the dungeon. The fact that they didn't flee after seeing that meant... they didn't know the true extent of our strength. If so, this was a bold attack!
"Attack! Buril! Keep the formation and charge!"
"Keruuuuuk!"
—Thud-thud-thud!
The goblins immediately kicked off the ground. A charge performed in perfect alignment, shields and spears held forward.
"What...!"
"That is!"
I heard the Dark Elves shouting something. They were clearly flustered. Had they not expected a goblin army to appear?
"Pixies, fire! Aim and shoot at your discretion!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
—Swoosh!!
—Swoosh!
The moment the pixies fired, the Dark Elves turned and began to flee. Running away, huh? I thought they would stand and fight, but I guess not.
—Zap!
I saw a Wind Cutter strike one in the back, but they didn't fall, likely due to their high-quality cloth armor.
"Kyaaaaa!"
The roar of the Lamias echoed from behind. They were ready.
"Buril! Open the path!"
"Keruk! Left and right! Stick to the walls! Execute!"
"Pixies, stick to the left and right too!"
—Zap-zap-zap!
The moment the order was given, my subordinates plastered themselves against the walls.
"Lamias, deploy! Skewer them all!"
"Kyaaaaaaak!"
"Watch out for ambushes! If you feel it's dangerous, retreat!"
—Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The Lamias, spears and shields in hand, passed through the dungeon corridor like a gale. It was the momentum of a stampeding horse. After sending all the Lamias out, I immediately ordered the goblins to advance.
"Buril! There might be an ambush outside! As soon as we exit, raise your shields and spread out to the left and right! Understood!"
"Keruk! Understood!"
The situation was extremely urgent. They might have a unit waiting in reserve outside. It was risky, but I needed to take prisoners quickly. Staying holed up in the dungeon in a situation like this was a terrible idea!
The moment I thought that and stepped outside.
—Uaaaaaaargh!
A scream rang out. It wasn't a Lamia. It was clearly a male voice. The Dark Elf hunt had been a success.
"Keruk! My King! The defensive line is formed!"
"Well done! Pixies and Imps, get behind the goblins! Wait for the Lamias here!"
I gave the order and kept a close watch on the surroundings.
—Aaaargh!
—Khaaaaaaaargh!
Screams of agony. There were no Lamia voices among them. What a relief. It was clear they had successfully hunted them down. How much time had passed?
—Rustle.
"We have returned."
The Lamias emerged from the darkness.
"You’ve brought back the spoils, Sashunal!"
"They were easy opponents. These Dark Elves. They were unprepared."
"Well done!"
—Thud!
The Lamias dropped the Dark Elves they had been carrying on their shoulders to the ground.
"Ugh...!"
Every single one of them had been pierced through the body. They must have been skewered by spears while trying to flee and then subdued. It was only natural, given they were ambushed in the middle of the night. And their opponents were trained, elite Lamias.
"As expected. Sashunal. Any ambushes or other enemies?"
"None. These were all of them."
So, five male Dark Elf warriors were the entirety of the force.
"S-save me...!"
"Kuh! Kuheuuuugh...!"
"The blood!"
The five sprawled Dark Elf warriors groaned as blood poured from their wounds. If there were no other enemies, it would be fine to clean up.
"Buril. Organize three guard teams of four, and station them in front of the dungeon. The rest of you, move the Dark Elves inside! Prepare for treatment!"
"Understood!"
Let the interrogation begin!
We laid the transported Dark Elves in the prison, washed their wounds simply with Lumika’s water magic, and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. The Dark Nuns who had rushed over immediately cast Heal on the wounds.
With that, basic first aid was complete.
"My goodness! These are Dark Elves...!"
Irene looked quite surprised, her expression grave. Reika just looked at them with a disgusted gaze.
"So these bastards were the ones who invaded?"
"Yes. But please, treat them. They need to be alive for the interrogation."
"Fine."
Their bodies had been pierced by spears. It didn't seem like the current technology of the Demon King's Dungeon could save them. But we could at least keep them breathing for a while.
Let’s find out what we need to know before they die.
"They clearly came for a surprise attack, Demon King."
Julia spoke up then.
"Dark Elves are a belligerent and cruel race. They likely followed us after discovering us by chance and came with the intention of a night raid."
"Does that mean there is a Dark Elf village nearby?"
"...I apologize. I did not predict this."
Julia apologized to me, looking dejected. She had told me before that there were no other races in the vicinity. But it was fine. They could have moved here recently, couldn't they?
"It’s alright. They might have moved here."
"Thank you for your understanding. In my estimation, didn't we go quite far to recruit new soldiers recently? Perhaps the Dark Elves settled in that direction and tracked us back."
"Hmm... that’s plausible."
As I was saying that.
"Hey. This one looks the best, doesn't he? We should interrogate this one."
Reika pointed to one of them.
"Oh."
He was struggling to breathe, but compared to the others, the wound wasn't as severe, and the blood loss was lower.
"Good. Move only this one to the next room."
"Yes, my King."
Sharan immediately helped the Dark Elf up.
"Ugh!"
A groan burst out. At the same time, the bleeding intensified. I wasn't sure if he could handle an interrogation.
Anyway, we moved to the next room and began the interrogation immediately.
"Lumika. Pour some water on his face."
"Okay."
—Splash!
"Kuh...!"
"Are you awake?"
"Wh-where am I...!"
"Tell me your name! Dark Elf!"
"Kniv! It’s Kniv!"
Since the language was compatible with the Lamias, it was compatible with the Dark Elves too. I continued to shout at him.
"For what purpose did you come!"
"That is...!"
"Answer me! If you don't answer, I'll feed you to the Lamias!"
"Huk!"
His face was filled with terror.
"Reconnaissance! We came for reconnaissance! Huk!"
"Reconnaissance? Why are you scouting?"
"Kuh...!"
"Speak quickly! Sharan! Scratch his calf with your nails!"
"Yes, my King!"
Sharan immediately unsheathed her claws and scratched his calf.
"Gaaaaaaah!"
A scream erupted. At the same time, I injected my demonic mana into the Dark Elf, bit by bit, to aid his physical recovery.
"I’ll ask again. For what purpose did you come to scout?"
"There was information that a goblin army had appeared! And information that the Lamias had allied with those goblins! So we tracked them...!"
"You knew the Lamias were here, yet you entered so defenselessly? There must be some other scheme, right?"
"Kuh! It’s not like that...!"
He spoke with difficulty, his face pale, but no matter how I thought about it, it was suspicious. A goblin army and Lamias had allied. They tracked them and arrived at this cave. Then, wouldn't they usually be cautious? Why did they enter the dungeon so carelessly, only to flee after seeing the goblins?
"If it were me, I wouldn't have thought to enter so rashly."
"Grrrr."
The moment I tried to continue the interrogation, the guy started foaming at the mouth and fainted. As expected, his wounds were too deep. He couldn't hold on and lost consciousness.
"Even if I inject mana, I can't heal wounds of this severity."
It’s a pity, but this is just food now.
In the end, we had no choice but to interrogate the remaining Dark Elves. We split into groups and interrogated them one by one. Since they were all out of their minds from pain and blood loss, we couldn't get detailed information, but they generally answered that they had come for reconnaissance.
"Origin. Where they live. Did anyone hear anything like that?"
Vanessa raised her hand.
"I was able to find out roughly. They say there is a Dark Elf village a little ways from here."
"Was it there originally? Or did they move?"
"I didn't hear that far."
"Hmm..."
Dark Elves nearby, huh.
"I need to come up with a countermeasure."
This is more dangerous than Orcs.