The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 055

EP.55 Army of Death (1)

Dark night.

Dim lights enveloped the hospital room.

Despite having only one bed in the room, several people were moving around.

Even outside the room, security guards were stationed.

All of this was to take care of a single patient.

The patient was none other than the second son of the Phoenix Guild’s leader, Jung Woo-jin.

Therefore, everyone was taking care of him diligently even at a late hour.

If any problems arose, their lives would be the first to be in danger.

“Hehe… Huh….”

However, Jung Woo-jin’s condition on the bed was not good.

No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the worst.

Even when left alone, he would sometimes smirk or drool, occasionally even having seizures.

When the seizures were severe, the people around him had to stick together to restrain him.

Jung Woo-jin.

He originally wielded influence within the guild.

Though lower in position compared to his older brother, the vice guild leader, the title of the guild leader’s child was not something to be ignored.

And what kind of guild was the Phoenix Guild?

It was one of the leading guilds in South Korea.

A mere glance could wipe out a small guild on the street with its influence.

Thus, Jung Woo-jin lived receiving royal treatment within the Phoenix Guild.

If this wasn’t happiness, then what was?

But such happiness didn’t last long.

Jung Woo-jin wanted a bit more.

He wanted to raise his honor within the guild and at the same time bring down his annoying younger sister, Jung Ye-rin.

So, he planned one thing.

Dungeon conquest.

Assigning dungeons was not difficult for him.

Since he held the authority, he could freely choose which dungeon to assign.

He assigned an A-rank dungeon with a goblin lord for his younger sister.

And he chose a B-rank Incubus dungeon for himself.

Incubus.

A monster that steals the vitality of women.

So, with good preparation, it was like a dungeon where you could easily reap the rewards.

Jung Woo-jin confidently set out to conquer the Incubus dungeon.

The result?

He returned in failure.

Even if he barely survived with his life hanging by a thread, his current state was beyond words.

It was almost better to die.

Daily life became impossible.

The life he envisioned within the guild was now over.

He was no longer a person within the guild.

No, he had become someone to hide.

What he experienced in the dungeon was strictly kept secret and controlled.

“Ah.”

Tears rolled down Jung Woo-jin’s eyes as his consciousness briefly returned.

It was a repetition of regret.

In the dungeon he thought would surely succeed, there was one variable.

The appearance of a succubus.

Moreover, it was a high-level monster.

And the memories of him and his subordinates were cut off.

After that…

“Ugh…!”

Only terrible memories that he didn’t want to think about remained.

It was hell.

A hell he didn’t want to think about.

Yes, memories that must be forgotten at all costs.

He even wished his sanity would leave him completely.

Even now, Jung Woo-jin desperately tried to erase those memories.

It only takes a moment.

‘I might lose my mind again at this rate.’

As Jung Woo-jin muttered to himself, a voice from outside reached him.

“Have you come.”

Someone seemed to have come to visit.

Who could it be?

Jung Woo-jin had already given up.

No one from his family had visited when he was admitted here.

Even if someone came now, it would likely be the hunters from the department responsible for information in the Phoenix Guild.

But someone had come to see him.

Could it be someone from the guild again?

The door to the room opened, and a man revealed himself shortly after.

It was an unexpected figure.

“… Brother.”

It was Jung Tae-young, the vice guild leader of the Phoenix Guild and Jung Woo-jin’s older brother.

“Everyone, leave. Don’t come in until I speak separately.”

Jung Tae-young first organized the people inside the room.

After confirming that everyone had left, he finally looked at him.

“I heard your condition isn’t good, but you seem fine, woo-jin.”

The first visit to his injured younger brother.

But Jung Tae-young’s voice carried a chilling indifference.

“…”

Jung Woo-jin couldn’t say anything.

Because his brother’s reaction was too cold.

‘Well, I did fail.’

Perhaps it had an impact on the image of the Phoenix Guild.

And it would be a blow to his older brother, the vice guild leader.

Jung Woo-jin thought so.

But the response from Jung Tae-young’s mouth was completely different.

“So, you wanted to become the vice guild leader?”

“…?”

What did he mean?

Why would he want to become the vice guild leader?

Jung Woo-jin couldn’t understand the meaning of his brother’s words.

He wanted to open his mouth and express his confusion, but Jung Tae-young didn’t give him time.

“If all those appearances until now were just an act, I’d want to applaud. Truly impressive.”

Jung Tae-young sarcastically clapped his hands.

“There’s nothing correct about what you said.”

Despite his brother’s words, Jung Woo-jin still expressed doubt.

What was going on?

Was something happening when he lost consciousness?

“Even now, looking at that expression of not understanding, it’s truly admirable.”

Jung Tae-young gradually approached.

“I sent a raid party to that dungeon just by listening to your words. However, there’s been no news from the party. With that level of power, there should have been time to conquer the dungeon and more.”

Jung Tae-young had come close to Jung Woo-jin.

“Within the guild, the atmosphere is already deciding the conclusion. Something unexpected happened. And there’s talk that the expedition has practically been wiped out.”

Jung Tae-young slowly raised his hand.

“So, I thought. Where did it go wrong? No, is it really wrong?”

Petals in Jung Tae-young’s hand were torn one by one.

“There was no succubus in the dungeon from the beginning. No, it might not have been an Incubus dungeon at all. It was all just playing with a pre-planned scenario.”

All the petals fell.

“If this incident goes awry, who do you think will benefit the most?”

His hand, now purposeless after all the petals had fallen, pointed at Jung Woo-jin.

“Woo-jin. Did you want to become the vice guild leader so badly? Enough to push aside your own brother?”

Jung Tae-young’s voice trembled with anger.

After all, Jung Ye-rin had gone to a place of no return.

An A-rank Goblin Lord dungeon.

Even if she had managed to survive until now, she would likely die soon.

So, he erased Jung Ye-rin completely from his thoughts.

But not Jung Woo-jin.

He was Jung Tae-young’s younger brother, but he was also in a position where he could become a competitor at any time.

“I’ve been watching over you until now not just because you’re my younger brother. It’s because you knew your place well and humbled yourself.”

But not anymore.

Now that Jung Woo-jin showed signs of surpassing his position, he couldn’t stay silent.

Jung Tae-young’s hand grabbed Jung Woo-jin’s mouth.

“Ugh…”

Jung Woo-jin struggled to free himself from his brother’s grip, but the difference in strength was too significant.

Jung Tae-young exerted more force on his hand.

It seemed like he might kill his younger brother right there.

“It’s probably better for something useless like you to just die anyway.”

Strength gradually drained from Jung Woo-jin’s body.

At that moment.

“Vice guild leader!”

Someone entered the room.

It was Jung Tae-young’s secretary.

“What? Didn’t I tell you not to come in?”

“I’m sorry! It’s urgent right now…”

Jung Tae-young released his grip on Jung Woo-jin’s mouth.

What urgent matter could there be at this hour?

“What is it?”

Ignoring his struggling younger brother, he turned his body away.

“Monster Wave, Guild Leader!”

“… What?”

A moment of silence filled the room.

What did he mean by a Monster Wave all of a sudden?

“An expedition led by Seo Yeong-ho entered a dungeon, and a Monster Wave erupted!”

“The scale?”

Jung Tae-young looked at his younger brother with an annoyed expression.

Really, nothing was going right.

“The confirmed monsters are Ghouls, incubus, and…”

The secretary hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth again.

“A Death Knight has been confirmed.”

Haha.

An A-rank monster…

Jung Tae-young laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

He seemed like someone who had lost his mind.

“Woo-jin.”

Then he called his younger brother’s name again.

“Even now, is there a succubus in there?”

It was a voice filled with anger.

Now Jung Tae-young understood the questions he had in mind.

There wasn’t a succubus in the dungeon; it was a Death Knight from the beginning. Focusing only on the succubus explained why there was no news from the expedition. They had likely already been wiped out by the Death Knight.

“And also…”

But the report didn’t end there.

“Miss Jung Ye-rin has come out of the dungeon.”

“What?”

How was this happening right now?

Was it because she barely survived in the dungeon in a life-threatening condition?

If that were the case, it wouldn’t be impossible.

However, the next words shattered Jung Tae-young’s expectations.

“… She cleared the dungeon. And she brought the corpse of the Goblin Lord.”

Jung Tae-young sat on the bed, his expression twisted.

“Ha…”

It was the worst.

In the current situation, Jung Ye-rin’s appearance was a tremendous variable.

He thought that eliminating Jung Woo-jin would end it, but now another troublemaker had emerged.

How did things get so tangled up?

While thinking, he glanced at Jung Woo-jin who was struggling.

“Woo-jin.”

Unlike earlier, his voice was not cold.

“We are brothers, right? Aren’t we?”

It was surprisingly gentle.

“Mother is very worried too. She came all the way here because it’s the Phoenix Guild. If things get worse from here, it will be tough.”

It was true.

When Jung Woo-jin’s situation came to light, Jung Tae-young took swift action.

He used artifacts to prevent the information about the dungeon from spreading and suppressed the situation as much as possible.

Covering up Jung Woo-jin’s incident quietly was possible because of the prestige of the Phoenix Guild.

But now the atmosphere had changed.

A Monster Wave erupted from the dungeon owned by the Phoenix Guild.

They had to stop it immediately.

They couldn’t let the Monster Wave grow any larger.

And there was a Death Knight turning the killed targets into ghouls.

If the scale continued to increase…

After the Monster Wave, the government would thoroughly investigate the Phoenix Guild.

In severe cases, there might even be a hearing.

“Tsk.”

The Monster Wave turned everything upside down.

Moreover, the place where the Monster Wave erupted had a considerable population.

If more damage occurred here…

If he couldn’t intervene anymore…

Even the guild leader father would not be unscathed, let alone the vice guild leader himself.

In the worst-case scenario, he might have to step down from the position of vice guild leader.

No, maybe that was just the beginning.

While swallowing his anger, Jung Tae-young looked at Jung Woo-jin.

Still, he was his younger brother.

Unlike the different Jung Ye-rin, Jung Woo-jin was a younger brother born from the same womb as him.

“Woo-jin, finish this incident.”

It was a request as a brother.

“Whether you kill Ye-rin or stop the Monster Wave, take full responsibility and step back. Then I’ll at least make sure you can survive under the Phoenix Guild.”

Simultaneously, it was a threat. If he couldn’t do it, was there any other way? He would have to die.

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***

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The Hunter Association was quiet today as well.

It was not because of a lack of personnel but rather due to the absence of any special emergencies.

Unlike before, the system was now somewhat organized. Most situations could be handled by lower-level agencies and hunters.

“It’s quiet again today.”

Han Jung-cheol, an A-rank hunter, and the leader of the emergency response team in the association, rested in his chair.

The emergency response team, at a peaceful time like this, practically had nothing to do.

If a dungeon suddenly appeared in some region, nearby guilds or government-affiliated hunters would handle it promptly.

Well, unless a Monster Wave erupted, that was a different story.

“Team leader! Something big happened! A Monster Wave has erupted!”

Just like this.

Yes, a Monster Wave had erupted. A Monst…

“What?!”

Han Jung-cheol stood up with a surprised expression.

Then, looking at the one who had just spoken, he asked in disbelief.

“Mi-rae, a Monster Wave? Are you trying to fool me?”

Suddenly, a Monster Wave?

Under normal circumstances, he would have dismissed it as a joke.

However, the person in front of him was not someone who knew how to make jokes.

Lee Mi-rae.

She was a B-rank hunter affiliated with the emergency response team.

Since she was under Han Jung-cheol’s command, he knew her well.

She was definitely not the type to tell lies.

“Really, Mi-rae. What are you talking about? A Monster Wave out of the blue?”

This couldn’t be a joke.

The contents coming out of Lee Mi-rae’s mouth were all serious matters.

“… And a Death Knight, not just Ghouls? This is crazy. Where is it happening?”

The most crucial thing was the location.

If the incident occurred in a remote area with no people, they might have some time.

But the world was not always a beautiful place where things went as desired.

“Anyang.”

The last hope was also crushed.

If it was Anyang, it was a reasonably populated area, close to Seoul.

“Darn! We need to move right away!”

A Death Knight was an A-rank monster.

Its true power lay in its skill.

It could turn the ones it killed into Ghouls.

The most important thing was to know the location.

If the incident occurred in a deserted place, they could at least buy some time.

But it seemed the world had no intention of going the way they wanted.

“Please…”

He hoped that nothing serious would happen.

At least, he prayed that the damage would not be extensive.

With a heavy heart, han Jung-cheol mobilized the emergency response team.