The Expedition

On Adamantine Mountain, near the border of the City of Wings, a new dungeon was reported to have appeared.

The dungeon expedition had been proceeding as planned, something Clint was excited for. With the help of Duke Ifrit's army and the adventurers of the adventure association, hundreds if not thousands of lower-level monsters had been slain in preparation for the opening of the entrance to the third floor of the dungeon, The Crystal Quarters.

The Crystal Quarters were one of the many connecting dungeons, which meant that it was not a single dungeon. It is connected to a much larger dungeon system, which was said to be as large as the empire if not larger.

Although none have found the way to the dungeon it is connecting to, many forces of the empire, not only the Brightwing Empire but the remaining empires, have been searching for a way to enter to reap the treasures it hides.

Clint, the head of the City of Wings, was ordered by the duke to lead the expedition. He had no idea why the duke put him, a small city head of a non-military city, in charge of the expedition. But he had no choice but to accept; it was a chance to prove his worth.

The duke even sent his own army for the expedition and hired hundreds of mercenaries for it. There's news that Duke Ifrit has been trying to clear all three floors of numerous connecting dungeons in hopes of finding a way to the "Greater Dungeon," as people call it nowadays.

It normally wouldn't take long for such high-level warriors to move through this dungeon. To the duke's army or the B-class mercenaries, this dungeon was simply no threat at all; they could probably walk through it just randomly swinging their swords and casting their spells.

It was just a common-rank dungeon.

There was no need for the Duke to even send his army here unless he had another reason.

Even though Clint wasn't strong enough to lead these forces, he was certainly smart enough to do so. After all, becoming the city head at the age of 29 is no ordinary feat.

Clint knew exactly why the Duke sent his army over here. Clint heard that the duke had been sending his force to several dungeons in the guise of the safety of adventurers, and while most common folk would believe that reason, the empire must have already known that he was planning something.

But with the empire's current affairs, they do not have the luxury to investigate and send their own troops to every dungeon the duke sent his forces to.

The heroes were summoned just a few weeks ago, and their safety cannot be compromised. Numerous forces were hiding in the shadows, and even the other two empires would not hesitate to eliminate such dangerous weapons of power.

"They seem to be searching for something or hiding something," cautioned Clint, indicating the adventurers and the duke's army making a mess of the dungeon by chatting and laughing together.

"I wouldn't question them if I were you," Michael whispered back, tightly holding his sword as he stood guard for any danger.

"That girl Alice who came with the duke's army is rumoured to be crazy. She has been going crazy ever since she returned to the 2nd floor after going back to the 1st."

"It just doesn't seem right, did she and her group really go back to the 1st floor?" Clint doubted.

"Shut up! If she hears you, we are both done, okay? Even though you are leading the force, the adventurers and the army only listen to her. Do you know what that means?" whispered Michael.

"Hold on a little longer, just let them do whatever they came here to do, ok, Clint. Please, I know you and your stupid brain are curious but don't fuck up, ok?"

Michael wasn't the type to be scared of monsters, after all, as a B-class warrior himself, he had gone on numerous expeditions and dungeon clearings. But humans were another thing. He wasn't scared of a monster, but of humans. He and Clint were the only ones who were not sent by the Duke. He already knew that the adventurers were all under the duke's command.

To make matters worse, they were doing something that could affect the empire.

Clint couldn't blame Michael, he brought Michael to this expedition, so Clint cannot make a mistake, risking both of their lives.

"How are you two doing? Don't mind Alice commanding the troops, when the expedition is successful, you will get all the credit," laughed one of the knights, Jagd, as he approached and patted Clint's shoulders.

Jagd was not just any ordinary knight, on this expedition, he was the strongest after his sister, the crazy mage.

"Haha, no worries, no worries."

"I don't mind, she is a much better commander than me in the end!"

"Yes, yes, Clint just stinks at leading an army; that is why he is the city head of a non-military city! He was lucky to get appointed by the Mighty Duke!"

"Good to hear that, continue on your work then." Jagd snorted

Clint formed a smile, and Michael groaned as they sent off Jagd.

"Don't worry, the expedition will be finished soon, get ready to pack up and head home!" Jagd shouted on his way.

"Jagd!" someone shouted.

A woman was glaring at Jagd with piercing eyes that he could almost feel. "If you have finished slacking off, then I suggest you take the shovel and help the trainees dig."

"I... I wasn't slacking off, Alice, I was just advising the city head and his friend, and how can I, join the trainees in digging? I am just a rank lower than you, you know."

Jagd wept.

"Don't make me kill two useless humans, Jagd, you know what we came here for. Don't waste time."

"..." Jagd frowned.

"Ok, ok, don't touch those two, if you do, you will only bring trouble to the duke. You know how much the duke hates trouble, right?"

"Forget that, did you guys really find an opening?" Jagd inquired.

Instantly, a fireball appeared in Alice's hands as she prepared to launch it.

"I AM GONE BYE BYE, so much work to do, urgh."

Alice sighed.

Her brother was too careless. The mission was given to them, but only she and a few others knew what they were really doing. If the empire knew, they could even be charged with treason, and the duke wouldn't trouble himself to save some of them if caught.

With all the tunnels and pathways swept, the expedition was already over a few hours ago, but they had to prolong it as long as possible until they found what they came for.

An opening to the Greater Dungeon.

They already found a way that wasn't uncovered before, on the 1st floor, it connected to a large area that was filled with monsters of all kinds. It was the first time Alice or anyone else had seen something like this. It was unheard of before.

The monsters did not even fight among themselves. They attacked the monsters, clearing them in a few hours while most escaped. The monster they killed in just that area was more than the number of monsters they encountered while clearing the 1st and 2nd floors.

It was all going well until a strange monster attacked her and injured her.

She knew very well the strength of the magic shield, it was enough to protect her from any attacks from the Elite monster and below.

Which only meant one thing. The monster that attacked her was above the elite rank. The mystic-rank monster was not that rare, the bosses of the rare-rank dungeon were always mystic-rank.

But the strange thing was that the dungeon she was currently in was not even an uncommon dungeon; it was a common dungeon.

Alice immediately retreated, although she could kill the monster if she brought the rest of the troops, she could not allow them to know the existence of this place.

She had to inform the duke about it before venturing further.

For now, she will search to see if any similar ways can be found on the second floor. And head to the 3rd floor after.

In an orderly fashion, the army moved swiftly and cleared the second floor.

The mages moved quickly to make walls, using their spells as temporary barriers, to set up a camp on the 2nd floor. The army and adventurers combined numbered close to two hundred, while fifty other trainees were hired to do the digging and clearing of the dungeon.

The trainee who found the opening on the first floor has long lost his life at Alice's hands. She could not care less about the life of a trainee. The task they were doing cannot be known by anyone other than the duke's man.

Alice watched the troops go about their task with a sharp eye. Soon they will fight the boss of this dungeon, an uncommon-rank beast of the giant race. It will only take a group of six or seven men to take down the boss.

After taking the boss, the army will control the camp here and start a bigger and wider search for their objective.

She only hoped that the monster she encountered on the first floor did not have a group of its own. If so, they would have no choice but to retreat if they came across such a terrible foe.

Suddenly, Alice heard a roar from the 3rd floor after the first group of the army made their way there. It was the roar of the boss. There is nothing to be worried about.

Alice went down to the third floor to see the severed corpse of the giant, cut in half from its stomach, with Jagd sitting over it drinking a mana potion.

"I did my job, sis!"