The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 036

EP.36 Inspector Lich’s Duty

Orc warrior leading the dungeon ‘Red Headed Tribe’, squall.

He had an unruly head, befitting a tribal leader.

Therefore, he even hosted gatherings as a communication channel for sharing information with nearby dungeon owners.

But this gathering was strange.

“Chwiik?”

A presence he had never seen before.

She boasted an extraordinary appearance.

That wasn’t all.

The energy radiating from her was no joke.

Has there ever been such a being among those who attended gatherings until now?

No matter how much he thought about it, there definitely wasn’t.

“Uh…”

Immediately, squall kneeled in surrender to her.

Even though he was a tribal leader and a warrior leading a dungeon, there was no shame or embarrassment in kneeling.

Such feelings should arise only if the other party is at a similar level, and the woman before him was an overwhelmingly formidable presence.

A being from a different dimension than himself.

Originally, the world is survival of the fittest.

So, squall chose to surrender, and sometimes such swift decisions bring good results.

And the result he chose?

“I am Squall, the tribal leader who will rule over you. Chwiik.”

It was a great success.

First, the number of his minions under him increased significantly.

Considering that even orcs from other dungeons joined forces under him, the number was definitely not small.

The only regret was accepting goblins as minions.

‘Living together with an inferior race in the same dungeon….’

It wasn’t without dissatisfaction, but he wasn’t foolish enough to voice it externally.

This was the will of the new ruler.

Acting against the will of such a ruler was akin to rebellion.

So, squall also embraced them under his command.

Fortunately, the size of the dungeon had increased significantly.

At least Orcs and Goblins could have separate spaces for living.

The fact that the dungeon had grown in size was a fresh shock to Squall.

‘To have the ability to freely change the size of the dungeon. Chwiik.’

He had never heard or seen such an ability.

If such an ability existed, there would be no need to spend money, labor, and time to expand the dungeon’s size.

‘It’s a more extraordinary existence than I thought.’

Not only that.

He heard that the one he had surrendered to, Lady Celia, was simply an Apostle worshiping Master.

How great of a being is this ruler called Master?

As of now, as himself, he couldn’t fathom it.

At the same time, as a warrior, he was hopeful.

Squall, who had been lost in thought for a while, snapped out of it and wanted to do his best in the task given to him now.

Because the new ruler had bestowed a duty upon him.

Margrave.

The exact meaning was unknown.

But he heard that it meant being an honorable warrior protecting the safety of the dungeon as a vanguard and occasionally fighting against enemies.

He liked it.

The ruler had acknowledged him as a warrior, no different from a warrior.

Of course, the duty assigned was not the end.

Skeletons appeared somewhere and provided them with equipment.

And the quality of the equipment was decent.

“Clang-clang” (This is the mercy of Master.)

The lich leading the skeletons said.

“Clang-clang” (If you do well, better equipment awaits.)

Goods bestowed by the new ruler.

And if you achieve good results, they can be exchanged for even better equipment.

The ruler didn’t just bestow equipment on him.

Any warrior needs a weapon suitable for a warrior.

The warrior can charge towards the enemy without any worries, gaining the glory of a warrior, which is the completion of honor as a warrior.

But didn’t he provide equipment to him?

Moreover, he received a definite answer that if he achieved results, they would be exchanged for better equipment.

The new ruler was definitely not someone who simply dominated with strength.

That person truly understood the virtues of a warrior.

He was truly someone who recognized the honor and glory of a warrior.

“Keuheuk. Chwiik.”

Squall was moved and choked up with tears.

A ruler who even brought tears to the eyes of a warrior…

This had to be followed without a doubt.

Squall pledged beyond an eternal oath to strike down anyone who would harm the ruler in any way.

In this way, while Squall was moved, he was establishing the dominion system of the dungeon.

“Tribe leader! Intruders have appeared. Chwiik.”

A minion belonging to the original ‘Red Headed Tribe’ shouted as he rushed in.

It worked out well.

Even without it, he had been eager to produce results as a repayment of loyalty to the ruler.

Squall stood up from his seat.

Then he raised the hand holding his weapon.

“Everyone, gather around!”

All eyes turned to Squall.

“Bestowed with the position of Margrave by the ruler, meaning a valiant warrior, intoxication. As the tribal leader leading the Red Headed Tribe, chwiik. Those cunning intruders who dare invade the ruler’s territory, chwiik. They will never be forgiven! Follow me! Chwiik!”

The time to show his strength, squall!

“Wooohooo!”

All orcs cheered and yelled in excitement.

At this moment, it didn’t matter which dungeon they originated from.

Their warrior’s blood was boiling.

Even the goblins caught up in the atmosphere shouted and cheered.

Everyone armed themselves and started following Squall out of the dungeon.

Those fools who dared to invade here would regret it.

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***

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Armed individuals entered the outskirts of the mountain range.

“Captain, do we really have to enter the dungeon? We’re not adventurers, and we’ve only experienced battlefields.”

They were mercenaries.

And one of the mercenaries spoke to the one at the forefront.

Upon hearing this, the one at the forefront stopped and turned around.

“Whether it’s a battlefield or dungeon conquest, it’s the same. We risk our lives every moment.”

The leader of the mercenary group ‘Red Fang’, captain Baren Bloodworth.

Baren spoke gruffly towards his minions.

To him, dungeon conquest and missions entrusted to adventurers were no different.

“Don’t worry. Can’t we do what adventurers do?”

Fundamentally, mercenaries and adventurers had different roles.

They were originally in different positions.

Unlike adventurers who undertook dungeon conquests and various missions, mercenaries only roamed battlefields.

They prioritized material rewards over honor, and accordingly, they frequented dangerous battlefields.

In this regard, captain Baren thought.

Mercenaries who put their lives on the line on the battlefield were more noble.

So there was no reason why they couldn’t do what adventurers do, especially dungeon conquests.

Moreover, there were few inter-kingdom wars lately.

Occasionally, there were small territorial disputes within empires or kingdoms, but that alone didn’t bring in much money.

Therefore, baren decided to earn money by conquering dungeons like adventurers.

Monster corpses brought in money, and some even obtained treasures during dungeon conquests, so, baren came to this mountain range.

“And I heard that there’s only one dungeon nearby that we need to be careful of.”

To be precise, there was a string attached to the adventurer guild of the Sael Kingdom.

According to him, they just needed to be careful of dungeons recently upgraded to the silver rank.

Except for that one, the rest of the dungeons were considered insignificant.

Of course, it cost them a bit of gold during this process, but they obtained crucial information.

‘The adventurer guild can’t bother with us due to our involvement with the Order.’

They were just here to quickly raid a dungeon and be done with it.

“Check your equipment, everyone!”

Baren shouted towards his mercenary members.

From now on, it was no different from a battlefield.

All preparations were made, and all they had to do was climb up.

====

***

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‘Something’s strange.’

How much did he climb?

Baren Bloodworth, leading the Red Fang Mercenary Group, felt something odd.

‘There’s not a single dungeon.’

Despite secretly using gold coins at the adventurer guild to obtain a map with dungeon locations marked, there was no dungeon in the marked places on the map.

‘Those guild bastards.’

Nothing was accurate.

Even just now, he had checked over ten dungeons marked on the map, but none of them actually existed.

It was all in vain.

However, it’s unlikely that they conquered so many dungeons in such a short time.

Even if they did, there should have been several groups of adventurers, but they haven’t encountered any so far.

Baren couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had been deceived by the guild members.

‘Those bastards.’

Swindling him after taking his gold? Baren immediately decided to descend from here and head to the Adventurer Guild. Payment should be received for being deceived.

It was a principle for mercenaries to show more than just revenge to someone who betrayed them.

While organizing his members, preparing to descend from the mountain, suddenly.

– Clang! Clang! –

Somewhere, a strange sound echoed.

“Everyone, stop.”

Baren lowered his voice and raised his hand.

– Clang! –

In the silent atmosphere, the sound became even more pronounced.

“Captain!”

Someone shouted in terror. When Baren looked in the direction someone pointed to.

– Clang! Clang! Clang! –

Overwhelming numbers of skeletons surrounded the area.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Fortunately, it seemed to be only skeletons.

Skeletons were known to be monsters even novice adventurers could handle. Therefore, baren didn’t think he would lose.

When one of his comrades shouted and rushed towards the skeletons at Baren’s command, the result was…

– Boom! –

One mercenary rushing towards the skeleton exploded, losing his life.

“……”

Another moment of silence ensued.

Skeletons exploding? To those ignorant of adventurers and dungeons, the current situation was incomprehensible.

All they knew was that they shouldn’t approach those skeletons. The mercenaries, fearing they might be caught in the explosions, huddled closer together.

“……”

Baren looked around with an embarrassed heart.

There was no escape route. Skeletons surrounded them in a formation.

‘What is this?’

No matter how he looked at it, they didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

The only fortunate thing at the moment, just as he thought that.

” Chwiik!”

Another sound echoed.

“Lord Rich! You’re truly a warrior! Intoxication! Sacrificing prey like this for us! Chwiik!”

Orcs’ figures started to appear in Baren’s eyes.

“What is this…!”

Orcs and skeletons. It was an utterly incomprehensible combination. Moreover, the skeletons, while maintaining the encirclement for the orcs to enter, were giving way.

“Chwiik! I will show my strength to the ruler!”

Squall, an orc tribal leader bestowed with the Margrave position.

He shouted with his weapon raised towards the sky. Seeing Squall like that, the lich nodded.

Then, he took out a piece of paper and a feather quill. A nearby skeleton held up a bottle of ink. It was a tool for recording.

The lich remembered. The instructions given by Celia, the Apostle who managed the dungeon on behalf of Master, maintained diplomacy, and established regulations, for evaluating all individuals during a dungeon tour without missing a single one.

‘Record all evaluations for everyone during the dungeon tour thoroughly. It will be used for future personnel evaluations. Lich, please.’

The lich was making an effort to follow Celia’s command. That was the duty of Inspector Lich.