With Coby in the lead, the kingdom’s army continued to advance through the twenty-seventh floor. The long and arduous journey through the dungeon wears down the minds of those who have been forged. The enclosed space further exacerbated mental fatigue, and even Arvish was slowly starting to show signs of fatigue.
“Oh, you look tired. We are almost at the twenty-eighth floor.”
“Don’t say anything unnecessary. Anyway, why don’t I find any enemy on this floor?”
Arvish asks Coby, who is ahead. Strangely, they did not see any magical beast in the twenty-seventh floor where they are located. Everyone was anxious because of such unnatural scene in the dungeon.
“Don’t worry about it. Well, I don’t know why but there are no more magical beasts on the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh floor. There used to be skeletons and lich wandering around here before.”
“Then, does it have something to do with Homeless?”
“Who knows? I don’t have a clue about that.”
Coby laughs as he walks down the road. Feria called out to Arvish.
“Doesn’t that man’s mouth gets lighter every time we go downstairs?”
“It’s probably just your imagination. I think Coby was like that originally.”
“…………”
Feria fell silent and stared at Coby’s back. He is a person whose identity has not been revealed except that he is an adventurer who once reached the thirtieth level. Why did she decide to hire such a man? There is only one reason. Because there was no one else there. Feria went to the guild and asked many adventurers to guide her, but they all refused. That’s when Coby appeared.
“Now that I think about it, I think the timing was too good… Earlier on, I never thought that someone could be behind the scenes…”
Shinichi Tanaka’s face popped into her mind, but she immediately stopped her thoughts. Countering her own self, she judged that it was impossible. No matter how much of a hero he is in the front lines, it is impossible for him to control the adventurers behind the scenes. Even more so, it would be suicidal to try to lure those who are trying to kill you into your stronghold. That is what Feria came into conclusion.
“Look! It’s the stairs! I’m almost done with my work!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It is as I said. Well, once you get to the thirtieth floor, I’ll be relieved of my role, isn’t that right?”
“…..That’s right.”
Feria furrows her brows even more. She had this sense of doubt that she can’t shake off. Still, she decided to reconsider that such hesitation was due to exhaustion.
◇◇◇
The kingdom’s army reached the twenty-eighth floor. The floor is filled with darkness, and the soldiers could only illuminate their surroundings with torches.
“This floor is quite spacious. I can see that it as a great place for Homeless party to hide.”
“I think so too. I think it would be better to get the soldiers ready for battle.”
“Yeah. Considering the possibility of being ambushed, it would be better to be prepared here.”
Arvish forces the soldiers to form a formation. Far behind them are Arvish and Feria. Next to the two of them are Professor Jill and his four artificial lich.
“Move forward!”
When he gave the order, the less than 5,000 men trampled the ground and moved forward. On the horizon, countless red lights twinkled like stars. They all rushed straight ahead without knowing what it is.
After about 30 minutes of walking, Coby suddenly spoke up,
“Oh my~, Thank you for your hard work! This is it for my guide!”
“Oi! What the hell are you talking about?”
“If you don’t leave soon, you’ll get caught! The sooner you give up, the better. See you then!”
Coby speaks quickly to the bewildered Arvish, he then runs towards the red light just a stone’s throw away. When the soldiers shined their torches to the direction Coby was headed, a young Shinichi Tanaka was handing Coby a small leather bag.
“Thank you for your hard work to get them here. Please thank the lord for me.”
“Hehe, of course. Well then, this is it for me.”
This time, Coby disappears into the darkness. Arvish ran past the soldiers and rushed to Shinichi.
“Are you fucking kidding me!? He was hired by you!?”
“No. That person was ordered by the lord. His task was to make sure you all get here. What I handed him was my thanks for his hard work.”
“That city lord!? You guys got me! But-, why are you in the form of a child!?”
“This is due to some circumstances. It has nothing to do with you.”
Arvish repeatedly stomps on the ground in anger. Who knew that he, a hero, had been rolled in the palm of Shinichi’s hand. It was an unforgivable fact for him, who was so prideful.
“It wasn’t just about guiding you here. I also know about everything you guys said and did. Ever since you were at Mana’s inn you see.”
“Whaaat? How!? I didn’t expect that there is a traitor in my midst!!!”
“Wrong.”
A young girl appeared out of thin air right next to Shinichi. She was dressed in black, and her eyes were half-closed, looking sleepy.
“I’m tired, can I go home now?”
“Mmm, you might as well get some sleep at Moore’s mansion.”
“Fly”
Liz blindly flies off somewhere. Arvish was stunned by the situation.
“I see… She was using her stealth skill to find out what we were doing. But how did she report to you?”
“Do you know the skill, telepathy? Those who possess such skill can talk to whoever they want. We don’t know the effective range of it yet, but it has been confirmed that we could communicate at least up to Mana.”
“Telepathy huh….”
Arvish was stunned. The telepathy skill is one of the top rare skills. Its convenience is immeasurable. Additionaly, it is said that the holder will be greeted with various favorable treatment that he or she could even be attached to the royal family unconditionally. Arvish couldn’t imagine that Shinichi would have such a person in his hands.
“Well, I’m not a demon either. If you guys admit defeat, I will not take your lives.”
Arvish could feel the blood rushing to his head hearing Shinichi’s words. It is you who should admit defeat! You are the one who will rub your head against the floor and pleads for help with tears in your eyes. Arvish thought to himself.
Arvish then smoothly draws his sword and points the tip at Shinichi.
“Hahahaha! It’s funny how you try to face us alone! What happened to your comrades!? Oh-, I know. They all got scared of me and run away!”
“Wrong, they are here. Erna.”
Shinichi snapped his fingers, and five balls of light were launched from behind him. After the sphere of light stagnated above their heads, it emitted a dazzling light.
“Wa-, What the heck is this!”
The ground illuminated by such light was filled with something black. There is a red light in their eyes, and all of them are silently staring at the kingdom’s army. There are 100,000 of them. Black skeletons surrounded the kingdom’s army.
As if they can’t believe what they saw, Arvish and Feria rubbed their eyes over and over again to make sure that what they are seeing is real.
“This is my skeleton army. The reason I lured you guys here is simple. I needed the darkness of this floor to ensure that I surround all of you properly. If it’s bright, you’ll be able to escape quickly you see.”
“Skeleton army… Do you mean to say that all of them are under your control?”
“Correct. So, now do you want to admit defeat?”
◇◇◇
I encouraged the man in front of me to surrender. With such a large difference in strength, ordinary people would admit defeat without even fighting.
However, the man in front of me remained in a combat posture. Considering his personality, it’s not hard to imagine that this would be the case. Including Arvish, there are still a number of unknown enemies. We can’t let our guard down.
“Kukuku… Hahahaha!”
“What’s funny?”
Arvish suddenly bursts out laughing. Not only me, but even the soldiers of the kingdom’s army doubted his sanity.
“I can’t help but laugh at this farce! No matter how many of them you gather, they are just skeletons! Soldiers! Show him how capable the kingdom’s army is!”
The soldiers obeyed the order and ran furiously. When I concluded that persuasion is impossible, I turned my gaze to Suketarou.
“Katakata”
On Suketarou’s orders, the skeleton army begins its advance. Soldiers and magical beasts collided with each other, and metallic sounds and screams echoed on the floor. It was a sweeping battle from the start. The kingdom’s army resists in vain and the entire area is filled with black.
“Don’t back down! Advance!”
“It’s impossible! These guys aren’t just skeletons!”
“I know that! If you don’t want to die, fight!”
The circle of the kingdom’s army gradually shrinks and is crushed by a huge number of skeletons. In the center, Arvish, Feria, and Professor Jill were swearing at the soldiers with pale faces, telling them to do something about it.
They are like an insect surrounded by ants. If they had feathers, they would be able to escape, but unfortunately, they don’t have such things. In less than ten minutes, they were swallowed up by a large army.
“Hmm, was it unfounded fear?”
“It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.”
Freya comments as we, Pero and Erna included, watch the battle situation. Besides us, Suketarou and Sukejiro were also waiting.
“Ooooooowooohhh”
A voice echoed out. At that moment, the skeletons are blown away and they fly in the air. The culprit was Arvish, who was clad in red aura. More explosions swept through the ground, obliterating my familiars.
“Good job Ignis. Kick those small fries out.”
“Katakata”
The lich named Ignis, raised his right hand and unleashed a series of huge fireballs that appeared to be the same as flame bursts. There was a flash of red light, followed immediately by a series of explosions. Not only that, the other three lich also use powerful magic to wipe out my familiars.
“Soldiers are just decorations. I’m the one who will defeat you!”
“I was a little surprised, but they are just skeletons after all. In front of my magic, they are just junk.”
With red aura around him, in a single slash, Arvish sliced several familiars in two. Holding up her wand, Feria created a tornado that sent the skeletons flying into the air. Suddenly, a large hole was formed in the encirclement of skeletons, then a stage was created for the three people. I was looking at the scene with admiration. They must be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to getting out of that situation.
“Suketarou”
“Katakata”
By order of the general, the skeleton army suspended the offensive.
“What’s the matter? Bring it on! I’ll show you the power of a hero!”
The excited hero provokes my familiars with a hoarse voice. His body was covered with numerous cuts, and he was taking short breaths repeatedly. Physically, he still seems to be able to afford it, but his mental fatigue seems to have peaked. With this, even if it isn’t me, they can deal with him.
Before I could speak, Suketarou moved.
“Katakata”
“A golden skeleton? Get Shinichi Tanaka out! You are no match for me.”
Arvish’s eyes are fixed on me. However, Suketarou stepped in between us to block his line of sight.
I speak admonishingly to the hero,
“If you can defeat that skeleton, then you can fight me.”
“Are you telling me that I’m no match for you? Don’t look down on me you bastard!”
When his body blurred, the sand under his feet rises. Seeing that movement, Suketarou instantly drew his sword and parried Arvish’s slash.
“Can you see my superhuman movements!?”
“Katakata”
“Kuu! It can’t be helped then! I’ll deal with this guy first!”
Two swords strike against each other, and sparks fly between them alongside with a high-pitched sound. Each time, the air vibrated and the sand under their feet lifted up. The ball of light floating in the air illuminated them like a spotlight, making them look as if they were dancing.
“Explosive Sword Dance!”
As soon as Arvish slashed his sword, an explosion of flames occurs. However, Suketarou didn’t avoid the flames. On the contrary, he calmly pushed Arvish’s sword back. It’s like his move is not working at all. Arvish jumped backwards to check Suketarou. He confirmed that he was unharmed.
“Its defense power is better than that silver skeleton! Damn it!”
“Katakata”
Suketarou moved his jaw as if chuckling. His red eyes glowed faintly, he is checking the hero’s real ability.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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