Chapter 27
Chapter 27
The time taken to form the formation was short.
"We depart! Do not look around! If there is a comrade who seems enchanted, immediately contact them and wake them up!"
The soldiers moved slowly according to the squire's orders. Even in such simple movements, the discipline was clearly felt.
The personnel, divided into groups of fifty, formed the vanguard, center, and rear. The healers were evenly distributed, and the non-combat personnel and supplies were all handled by the center. In the dungeon, monsters could suddenly erupt even from the rear, so it couldn't be helped.
In a way, it was a spectacle. It was a sight never seen before in the dungeon. It seemed I wasn't the only one thinking this—the guide ahead kept glancing back.
So many people moving all at once in the dungeon. Who could have even imagined such a scene?
That aside, we had to stay tense. I didn't know how many people were still alive on this 11th floor... but with this many moving together, all the burden would be concentrated on us.
The first encounter wasn't an ambush.
"Halt."
The rescue team stopped step by step at the guide's signal. Looking ahead, there were many things scattered around.
It was the corpses of explorers. The guide rummaged through the bodies, examining this and that. I'd need to look closely, but from the way they had fallen...
"Were they killed by people?"
"Pardon?"
"It looks that way."
"That's likely."
It was obvious at a glance that monsters hadn't killed them. All the valuable equipment had been stripped. About three of them had been forced to their knees and shot with arrows. The rest had died fighting. I don't have a forensic license or anything, but no matter how I looked, there were more traces of rage-driven mutilation than wounds from combat. Seeing the entrails spilling out or limbs severed, that was clear.
"Where did the ones who killed them go?"
"They must have escaped."
"And what about them?"
"Who knows. It's impossible to find them now..."
The Rescue Commander's face hardened. Had he thought they came to save the weak groaning in pain?
Of course, there would be such people too.
But most explorers are closer to thugs. Given the chance, they'll try to increase their share 'by any means necessary.'
From my perspective as a 21st-century modern person, every single person in this world was a thug, without exception.
"The corpses..."
The Rescue Commander trailed off, and I shook my head.
"Leave them. We have a long way ahead."
"That's true. Still, to bury them... no, we can't even do that, can we?"
It would be proper to bury them out of decency, but we couldn't spare the time.
At the guide's signal, the column set off again.
The march continued, and the corpses continued. They fought on the road, they fought in the woods. Some had died fighting even at places where they had lit fires among themselves.
The most memorable was a pair of corpses who had stabbed each other.
Bodies scattered around a campfire. In the middle, two men lay collapsed, each having stabbed the other with a knife. There were no traces of monsters, nor signs of equipment being looted.
What was the reason? Well, who knows. Even death hadn't erased the hatred from their faces. Anger, malice, and pain remained etched on their expressions.
What could have driven them to kill each other? Surviving should have been the priority.
"In cases like this, what do we do? It feels off to leave the equipment lying around..."
A knight asked.
"Recover the equipment and return it to the city hall. If you take the explorer badge along, compensation for the bereaved family will come out of the equipment cost. After deducting the fee, the rest goes to the retriever."
"So they do care somewhat."
"In theory, yes, but... with so many incidents happening right now, I wonder."
Would the city hall have the capacity to handle all this? Probably not.
The squire gestured, and a few soldiers came out to collect the equipment from the bodies. The gear loaded onto the cart looked quite valuable.
Valuable items—anyone might try to sneak one. But none of the soldiers touched the goods. Just how elite were these soldiers?
Meanwhile, the march continued. Not all was bad. There was one good... good? Well, anyway, something like that happened too.
"Halt!"
"You there, come out!"
The guide's halt signal. At the same time, Hera's shout rang out. Hera aimed her bow and glared at the forest. The forest, which had shown no movement, finally stirred slightly when Hera nocked an arrow.
Stumbling out of the forest were shabby-looking explorers.
Their faces were gaunt, their bodies emaciated. Yet the bags they carried were heavy, and their equipment was mismatched—as if they had taken someone else's and worn it.
The Rescue Commander frowned at the sight. The squire spoke instead.
"Are you explorers?"
"Huh? Ah, yes, that's right..."
"We are a rescue team dispatched by the Sebron Kingdom with the cooperation of the Ailath Order."
"A rescue team? No, that can't be..."
They didn't believe it. Naturally. If it were the city hall, they would never send a rescue team.
"Will you join us, or will you make your own way out?"
"If we join, what happens?"
"We will continue ascending to the 15th floor. If you join, you must come with us all the way to the 15th floor. If not, you can escape now. There were no monsters on the path we came from."
"We'll... we'll escape!"
Hearing there were no monsters, the explorers moved hastily. Leaving behind a "Thank you kindly!" they disappeared.
Even as they moved, they kept dropping something. Elbow guards stained with someone's blood. It definitely wasn't their own blood.
"I wonder if this is right."
The Rescue Commander's voice slipped out naturally. What was this guy thinking coming here? Well, as a knight, letting go of people who seemed like blatant murderers wasn't the right thing to do. But what could we do? When the higher-ups say jump, you jump.
"Let's move. There will be many cases like this."
"I understand."
The Commander nodded and gave the order to depart again. As I returned to my position and walked, Erion asked.
"Is it... this common for people to kill each other?"
"I told you before."
The average temperament of explorers really isn't that high. He should know from experiencing it back then. But from his reaction, it seemed Erion had dismissed it as just one peculiar incident.
"Back then, even before the Deep Layer, it wasn't like this—people killing each other. But now it's become like this..."
"I'm feeling a bit disillusioned."
"What's there to be disillusioned about? The job is the same. What changes just because you're among people killing each other?"
Hera's scolding. She was right. It's a bit awkward, but the work to be done is the same. Erion seemed to understand, nodding.
The first ambush came after a bit more marching.
"Ambush!"
The guide, scouting ahead, pointed at the forest and shouted. The Rescue Commander gestured.
"Secure distance, prepare for battle."
"Secure distance!! Prepare for battle—!"
The squire's shout. The soldiers stepped back about fifteen paces, stomped their feet, raised their spears, and set their shields. The knights drew their swords, and the mages in the center began casting. It was the appearance of elite troops honed by battle and training.
"How far out are they?"
"This..."
Hera, listening intently, wore a surprised expression. Then the guide's cry, almost a scream, covered it.
"There are over a hundred of them!"
Over a hundred, huh. The job to be done doesn't change.
"Spears—up—!"
The Rescue Commander's roar rang out. A feeling of vitality surged through my body. A buff, was it? Before drawing my sword, I first grabbed the axe I had received today. Time to try it out. It's brand new.
"Kiiieeek!!"
The monsters' howls were close enough to reach my ears. Footsteps became audible, and then a goblin burst straight out of the forest.
The axe struck its forehead precisely.
"Hold the line—!!!"
A wave of monsters poured in. Goblins, kobolds, goblins, something I didn't recognize, and so on. Blood-mad beasts charged, got impaled on spears, and dissolved into magic stones. Even those impaled, still alive, struggled to bite at legs.
The soldiers kept holding with their spears, while four knights formed a line, cutting into the ranks and slaughtering the monsters. Arrows were shot from the center.
"More are coming!!"
The guide's follow-up declaration.
I reached for another axe, but a strange premonition made me raise my hand. With a whirrrrring sound, the axe I had thrown earlier smacked perfectly into my hand—thwack!
"Oh shit! What the Fuck!"
Too excited, English slipped out. Sorry. Hera stared wide-eyed at the axe in my hand.
"It's got a retrieval enchantment?"
"Seems like it."
I threw the axe again and raised my hand—the axe that had split the goblin's skull returned precisely. This is nice! So believing in a god is the best after all? If only it had lightning bonus damage or something, that would be perfect... Ah, would that be copyright infringement? A hammer might be fine, but an axe might violate copyright?
The ambush ended by then. There were over a hundred of them, but our side also had over a hundred, so the handling was quick. Not the god being the best—the military is the best, it seems.
The soldiers collected the magic stones and handed them to the center cart. Since the corpses had turned into magic stones, retrieving arrows was very easy. There were no deaths; one soldier had a light injury. The healers treated their wounds. Being from the religious order, they couldn't do physical healing, so Erion stitched the wounds instead.
Meanwhile, the Rescue Commander asked.
"Is it always like this?"
A hopeful remark. I shook my head, and his expression turned to disappointment.
"From my experience, these kinds of attacks will continue sporadically as we go deeper."
"You're saying that's not all."
"Yes, correct. Though I don't know exactly what form it will take."
Like the gnolls we encountered before, or the lizardmen Calliope met. Some version of monsters that have gotten 'stronger' will appear. If we get worn down and injured by these small fry, we could just get swept away by those. We couldn't afford to let our guard down.
After that, attacks continued sporadically. Though it's odd to call them sporadic when over a hundred come at once.
During the two attacks, three soldiers were seriously injured.
One soldier crushed by an orc's charge. Two soldiers whose heads were torn off when goblins suddenly surged. One nearly had his eye pop out.
All three were quickly healed by the healers. There weren't no aftereffects, so they were sent to the center. While they recovered, the rescue team kept moving.
We also encountered explorers. Some left, some joined. Joining was a bit of a strange choice. There's still a long way to go. Why? If you're going to leave, it makes sense to do so from the 11th floor. Were they not confident in breaking through and returning on their own?
"Shouldn't we keep an eye on them? They might steal magic stones or equipment and run."
"I'd like to think they're not that rotten, but..."
It's sad that I can't outright deny it. I subtly hinted to the Rescue Commander, and a few soldiers discreetly watched the explorers.
Walking along, the sunset began to set.
"Find a water source. Prepare to camp."
"Send them in a group no matter what. They could be enchanted or ambushed."
Pointing out details that could be overlooked, the Rescue Commander quickly accepted my words. It's nice when everyone listens like this. Still, just in case, our party followed behind.
The forest was a bit dark. The sun hadn't fully set yet, but we had to light torches.
"Hoo, finding water."
Knight 1 seemed a bit uncomfortable doing such chores, but still, he did his job. He kept watch and reacted to suspicious movements.
"Soldier. Where are you going?"
"Ah, yes, uh... Sorry. I thought it would be better to go deeper over there... The thought suddenly came to me."
"You're enchanted. Snap out of it. This is the dungeon, not the outside."
He also woke up a soldier who was being enchanted. Why is everyone so diligent? In web novels, most knights are arrogant, huh? They're combat power gauges that get slaughtered by the protagonist.
We found a stream a little away from the starting point.
"Found it!"
"Good. Send the signal."
"Yes!"
Ppu-u! Minjiwajjyeoyeom.
The soldier blew the horn, and slowly, the main force began approaching from the other side. We relied on the torches and walked out of the forest slowly. My back felt a bit eerie.
At that moment, the atmosphere changed. Hera seemed to sense something and abruptly lifted her head.
"It's coming."
"What?"
"Enemy!"
"From that direction?"
I immediately drew my sword and looked into the forest. The knight also entered combat stance, and the soldiers guarded the surroundings.
But Hera looked elsewhere and started running.
"It's not here!"
"Not here?"
"Outside!"
Hera ran almost as if flying. Without time to sheathe my sword, I quickly followed. The knight and soldiers chased after us.
"Ba-ttle--read-y--!!"
Just before exiting the forest, the squire's piercing shout rang out. I couldn't see anything, but I could clearly hear something charging.
"How far!"
"I don't know!!"
Hera practically rolled out, drawing her bow. I also drew my sword and recited a prayer. A full cast was needed.
"Valtern, let your power dwell here..."
"Hold—the—line—!!"
The Rescue Commander's roar erupted. It was stronger and more definite than before, power seeping through. Riding that momentum, I burst out, spinning once and swinging my sword at the monsters about to clash with the soldiers who had raised their spears.
God's Wrath tore the monsters apart.
The monsters exploded. Disappearing, leaving only ashes and magic stones, the soldiers who had braced for impact and death widened their eyes or opened their mouths.
But it wasn't time yet.
"More coming!!"
The guide's shout. Should I use it once more? I still have two left?
I adjusted my grip on the sword. Not yet. The number of monsters running toward us against the sunset seemed more than all we had encountered today combined.
It was time for a full-fledged struggle.