Chapter 157: Battle of the Dungeon

Gradually, the soldiers and the generals of the empire's army began entering the dungeon.

Each one had a rope in hand, connecting them at 3 meter intervals. There was a combat team stationed elsewhere, and they must be able to detach the rope swiftly.

Since they have already made various preparations beforehand for conquering the dungeon, their actions were quick and swift.

Through interrogating Shinji and co, Calgurio had a fair grasp of the dungeon's structure, and prepared measures to combat getting lost in the dungeon.

While spirit mages confirmed the course ahead, a special team would disable any traps.

The combat team would work on subjugating monsters, and the analysis team would collect dismantled monsters and "monster cores"

TN Note: "demonic crystal stone" is the literal translation.

Money and Goods collected from the treasure boxes of various rooms would transferred to the back, and be prepared to be transported to the Command headquarters.

With the soldiers connected, they could act accordingly to the situation.

Calgurio's plan initlally went well.

However, things started happening within.

Contacts with soldiers who entered first were cut off, causing minor disturbances.

There were also reports of rather than a labyrinth, it was a wide space internally

.

Previously connected to staircases, an order to continue the search was issued under the assumption that it was a distorted structure.

The spirit mages reported that due to the spirits being in disarray the path would sometimes be uncertain.

Thanks to Shinji's report, he knew that the dungeon would change its internal structure on a weekly basis.

This had caused Calgurio's decisions to go awry

(How unlucky. We've just clashed with the maze's remodeling period...)

Thinking about this, he gave his subordinates their orders.

Even so, to panic so much over a changing maze, Calgurio was very dissatisfied with the empire army's disgraceful display.

Among the items continuously delivered from the dungeon, each and everyone of them were first rate equipment made with demon steel.

The "Monster cores" collected were also of high quality, with high energy-conversion rate.

Before all the reaped profits, the confusion was a minor problem no matter the scale.

After a whole day, the majority of the 350,000 troops had successfully entered the dungeon.

The ground troops were on standby at the dungeon's entrance, communicating with the internal group via ropes and making preparations.

In addition, they're work on pitching up a tent in order to place the transported riches and goods.

That's when the actual abnormality began.

Losing contact with the soldiers within, the rope was suddenly cut.

This happened exactly when all 350,000 soldiers entered the dungeon.

They tried getting in contact, via telepathy and clairvoyance communication, but there was no reply.

Things were going well up until then, the transportation of goods from within was also interrupted then.

The means of confirming the internal conditions of the dungeon were all lost.

The entrance of the dungeon remained opened as it first was.

And yet, near the entrance within, the presence of soldiers were all gone.

With an indescribable foreboding silence, the empire's troops felt an ominous premonition

Calgurio was no exception, as it hindered his decision-making.

However the situation is changing too rapidly, he had no time to spare worrying about those who went conquering the dungeon...

Calgurio was left with little time.

――Dungeon Stratum 61~70――

Charging through a hoard of undead type monsters, the soldiers of the Empire army・cybernetic troops invaded deeper into the dungeon.

Having a delayed headstart, the combat group vigilantly guarded each other as they took cautious action.

To begin with, the soldiers were all individually fairly strong.

In adventurer terms, they were all at the very least above B rank.

Their bear first class prowess.

If it's them, they would need not panic as they dealt with monsters ... ... or so it should have been.

After the first day in the dungeon, things took a drastic sharp turn.

Losing all contact with the surface troops, they were completely isolated.

No, this isn't right.

They've descended 9 layers.

And then, there was a large space, with absolutely nothing there.

They've continued to descend, but once 10,000 had passed, the stairway had disappeared.

In its place, a giant door.

Without hesitation, they've opened the door.

And...

"Welcome, to mine kingdom of death, Dystopia.

Now, let us immerse in fun-filled times.

We're holding back those behind thee, so lets begin!"

Skeleton, one word describes it all.

With Polished, pure white bones, it spoke to the empire's troops in fluent human tongue.

Right after, a demoniac roar bellowed as if the very space itself was crushed under its pressure.

And with it a Spectral dragon (death dragon).

The strongest of the undead types and the vilest of dragons, it assaulted the empire's soldiers.

The large door was swung completely open, and a continuous steam of death knight cavalry lead by a death knight charged.

The Spectral dragon (death dragon) released corrosive zombie breath from above, while the death knights began their assault from the ground.

The empire army's numbers diminished in an flash, and the first 10,000 were wiped out in less than an hour.

After all, even if the death knights only number about a thousand, they would rise up no matter how many times they were felled.

This situation broke the minds of the empire's soldiers, driving them to the edge of despair.

Their enemy knew neither fatigue nor death. Then, there's the overwhelming threat from the skies known as the Spectral dragon (death dragon).

The second wave followed, and the first wave also met a similar fate.

More and more empire soldiers descended below, unbeknownst to them as they ceaselessly entered the jaws of death.

――Dungeon Stratum 71~80――

The empire's forces traversing this level were forced in a battle against an endless swarm of insects.

An endless onslaught, the bugs attacked fiercely.

With no fear of death, they fought in their swarms without rest.

However, the amount of "Monster cores" collected were high in both quantity and quality, bringing a smile to the soldier's faces.

They were simply endless, their individual fighting powers were nothing much.

If this were a normal adventurer party, they would be unable to rest from the endless onslaught, fatigue hampering their performance and ultimately be brought down.

However, even if there were a large quantity of bugs, the empire's numbers are nothing to scoff at.

Switching out those who are tired, the empire can still advance as one.

Even though the contents of the dungeon didn't match the reports, this isn't content a single should care about, and shouldn't mind the reports of their superiors.

There wasn't much time to rest, and the situation is still manageable, but it's the amount of luxurious goods they've obtained that brightened their mood.

For example, an earlier room had a treasure chest, and a soldier discovered a dagger within.

Glided with gold and silver, it was an expensive looking dagger. It had superior capabilities, and was made of demon steel.

A demon steel core alone would make something very expensive, yet the whole dagger was made of pure demon steel.

The soldier spoke of it with a grin.

Naturally there would be a body search afterwards, however a dagger of this degree could easily be sneaked through.

The surrounding soldiers were envious, and hoped themselves that it would be them next.

If there weren't perks like these, it would be unbearable to fight insects in such a place.

The number of "demon cores" collected had also piled up considerably.

High purity "demon cores" were difficult to come by, yet they could be easily procured here by defeating monsters.

This alone warranted quite the bonus.

There was a feeling of loathing when the first group screamed something about specters, but they felt like they hit the jackpot with this insect-filled stratum

And so everyone's delusion of getting lucky continuously bloated.

While some started acting carelessly, there were also those who still remained alert.

Soon, those individuals gathered secretly and formed a group, consisting of the intelligence bureau and the reconnaissance bureau.

They had originally been allocated to separate groups, but soon they gathered.

The reason is simple.

They felt danger.

"This dungeon is dangerous, the conquering plan may have already failed"

One spoke without opening their mouth.

By holding hands and communicating via telepathy, this was a unique method of communicating within the intelligence bureau.

"Ah, you noticed?

The powerful individual earlier, I think they're known as the floor boss..."

"Ah, the one in front of the stairs right?

It's strength is in a different league, it even took down a several high ranking soldiers."

"Ah, it's that guy. But, the report that followed was unbelievable.

It revived, in 3 hours."

"W...TF...?"

TN Note: Got creative. Why not 

And so, they've exchanged information.

The more they listened, the more chaotic this dungeon seems.

The current situation, was evidently different from prior reports.

When the situation doesn't match prior intelligence, forceful actions would be evaded while a re-investigation is commenced.

And yet, the higher ups forced the search to continue.

It's evident this was the result of prioritizing their desires, and so the intelligence bureau members wondered should they comply with the mission and fail with it.

As they were discuss should they retreat from the dungeon first

The head of the soldiers next to them had fell to the ground.

They're too late.

They weren't able to decide, as the time for talk was over.

"Fufufufu. The bait has arrived.

Good work all of you. You may now die."

They've heard a voice.

Resounding from the floor, a beautiful voice.

That, was the beautiful voice of this level's guardian floor boss, the Insect Queen Apito.

Transforming into Mental waves, it undulated throughout the entire floor.

And there it began, a one-sided slaughter.

Any amount of confident in their fighting strength was now all meaningless.

Even if they were A ranks, if they were below a certain threshold they were no different from amateurs.

Those who couldn't react aren't even given the chance to fightback.

The army wasps led by Apito.

They real identities, slaughters with 3D-maneuvers capabilities at hypersonic speed reaching sizes of only 30cm.

Small invisible wings emit terrifying high-frequency blades. Approaching you at speeds surpassing sound, they were silent killers.

These slaughters numbering over a thousand could seek out humans (game) with their heightened senses.

Excellent dynamic vision is meaningless, if one doesn't possess the unique skills "accelerated thinking" and "hyper reaction speed" they couldn't even possibly react to them.

An opponent beyond the perceivable range of humans, even if it's only one, would be classified as an A rank disaster class――On a side note when such a monster is discovered in the western countries an emergency alarm would be triggered. A subjugation team consisting of elite holy knights would be formed, and a large scale holy barrier would be erected to weaken the monster followed by a large area sweep. Still they must enter with the conviction to make sacrifices, for such was the danger of an A rank disaster class ―― it was such a monster.

And thus begins the slaughter fest.

And the time it took to slaughter the empire soldiers was a measly less than 10 minutes.

――Dungeon Stratum 81~90――

They could say it now.

The first 2 floors were bonus stages.

Michael and Raymond are waging a desperate 2 man battle.

Their comrades aren't here anymore.

They, were all slaughtered.

The demon before them, with beautiful white hair, was an ape with wisdom.

However, they weren't the only ones suffering.

What they didn't know, was that beyond the 81st stratum, those who reached the lower floors are all engaged in a miserable battle.

The 81st stratum was simply a taster level. Where powerful beasts roam, it's the paradise of demonic beasts.

However, even though there are would be some head and shoulders above their group, they're basically wisdom-lacking monsters.

For veteran soldiers with a load of experience in their belts, they were opponents that could be taken down with ease.

Monsters beyond what they expected――on average, B+ monsters appearing in groups of 3 to 5――were a tough matchup, but they managed to clear the first floor with no casualties.

At this rate it would probably take some times, but given a few days conquering the dungeon could still be possible

・・・

Until that guy appeared.

With the capability of speaking human speech, it was an ape with wisdom.

Making use of Youjutsu, it had annihilated the army.

TN Note: 妖術, Think witchcraft, but for Youkais instead.

A pure white Youkai ape, a Byakuen.

Using a unique Taijutsu utilizing the staff, it was a phantasmagorical way of killing from the air.

Manipulating wind and sound, beckoning forth storms.

Then, slashing vacuum blades at all directions, it was an extremely dangerous demonic beast

Their encounter with this demonic beast has lasted over an hour, and their friends fell one by one.

Michael and Raymond, as "otherworlders" and as soldiers, were reasonably relied on.

With their pride as strong individuals, they desperately fought against the demonic beast.

The sniping squad's attacked were blocked by the storms, the mage squad's debuffs, status effects, and even magic itself, were all interfered via Youjutsu.

A barrier of wind threw a monkey wrench into the plans of all direct magic attacks for their strength was insufficient.

Even the elites amongst the enhanced cybernetic troops of the empire are toyed like children with the Byakuen as their foe.

It was an unbelievable sight at first.

But in reality, it soon developed into a despair-filled battle, and only Raymond and Michel were left in the end.

Similar beasts also lurk in the other stratums.

The soldiers who lead the invasion began to painfully collapse.

When they were asked, there were also black spots on their skin, and high fever.

Small black mice scurried around their feet. They existence were so insignificant the soldiers simply ignored them.

However, it was those very mice that were the perpetrators of the current situation.

Black Rats Coccus.

They, are the floor boss of this level.

Spreading Black Death everywhere, the rulers of plagues.

If someone with abilities like Shinji's were here, they would probably be able to neutralize this floor, unfortunately there isn't.

Magic treatment had little effect on the disease, and holy magic that could completely cure this was scarce.

Treatment of injures and treatments of disease are based off completely different fundamentals.

In this fashion, death had spread throughout this floor.

Similarly in other floors,

The lightning clad trigger――The thunder Tiger Raiko, blocking all who attempt to pass the stratum.

―― the rabbit manipulating gravity―― Lunar Rabbit Getto――scattering tyranny here and there.

The snake with wings――Winged serpent Yoda――lowering the oxygen concentration in the air to 0 by manipulating air contents.

The sheep that reaps the conscious of soldiers――drowsy sheep mink ――lulling all to sleep with hallucinogenic hypnosis.

The bird with a cowl of flames――Fire bird Enchou――killing all soldiers with high temperature.

The dog that uses the mirror that reflects all――Mirror hound Igami――sending any and every technique back to sender.

At each stratum, was a vicious demonic beast rampaging about.

What's worse is the fact that even after being defeated they would revive.

This truth easily crippled the hearts of soldiers.

They could do naught but fight endlessly.

Mouse・Tiger・Rabbit・Snake・Sheep・Ape・Bird・Hound are all beast type demonic beasts.

They, are the Nine-Head Kumara's squad (pet) of eight.

Their forms are those of Kumara's and they each manifested an aspect of her abilities.

Kumara has the bewitching form and beauty of a courtesan, however in reality she is the illusive empress of the demonic beasts whom beckons death.

Before Kumara, the fools have finally arrived.

Yet, they are only food for Kumara...

It would seem death is being mass-produced within the labyrinth

And so...

When the dungeon conquering of the empire's 350,000 soldiers had ended, a day has passed.

The number of survivors, is 0.