A large boulder had been carved into a chair, atop which sat a Haggon, the strongest of its kind. It was bigger than all the Haggons, possessing grace, charisma, and an imposing presence unmatched by any.
Dungeon Boss!
Standing guard next to him was Hekatra, basking in nostalgia, now in bliss for being able to perform the same action that she had done a century ago. Currently, she was relaying all the information obtained through the prayers of Secret Society to the Dungeon Boss.
As his loyalty towards Compass Carburettor hadn't reached 100 yet, he wasn't qualified to possess Secret Society. And hence, Hekatra had to relay everything to him.
Upon hearing everything that was happening in the ring-shaped mountain range on Level 3, the dungeon Boss laughed in pride, "As expected of a plan created by my son. Everything is happening as naturally as possible. Our enemies won't even realise that everything that is happening was actually planned and not coincidental."
"Yes, as always, the schemes created by Lord Meharb look as if they are a natural course of events." Hekatra said, sighing, "As expected of our Great Empire's gem."
"I too was involved in the planning, you know. This wasn't entirely Meharb's scheme." Compass Carburettor exited the cave, saying with a hint of disappointment. "I might not look like it, but I once ruled an entire world's economy."
…
In the ring formed by the mountain range, the Haggons fought nonstop, dyeing the lake a shade of red due to all the blood that poured out from them. Regriel and Rikune were barely holding on, trying their best to survive.
Standing atop a mountain peak, and watching everything happening below was an old woman in her late sixties. Carried in a princess carry was General Artica, having been knocked unconscious.
As she had been sitting on the female Haggon's shoulder and had moved towards one corner when the female Haggon rushed into the horde in anger, General Artica was all alone.
Suddenly, a ribbon-shaped energy blade appeared, wrapping around her mouth while releasing a strange mist, knocking her unconscious immediately. It had happened so fast that General Artica was unable to react.
After all, the one to take action was a Transcendent from the Great Megwest Empire. Adding onto her strength as a Haggon Transcendent, the amount of Darlac she could infuse into her ribbons was a tremendous sum.
And, she had lived as a Transcendent for more than a century. The plethora of experience she had amassed was unimaginable. So, General Artica was no match for her, despite her tremendous talent and potential.
As she was instantly knocked unconscious, the ribbons wrapped around General Artica and lifted her up, bringing her to the peak immediately. Once she was tied up into a cocoon, the old woman placed her behind a rock, calmly gazing at the scene of chaos happening within, focusing on Rikune, "The last one."
A Haggon that was part of Secret Society arrived, kneeling before her as the old woman said, "Take her to the designated location and ensure she doesn't wake up until when we need her to."
"Yes!" The Haggon bowed before carrying General Artica, descending the mountain range as it ran in a certain direction, heading towards Level 2.
The old woman remained in her human form, casually walking through the mountain range as she kept an eye on Rikune all along, not once gazing at Regriel. And all along, she was constantly conversing with Hekatra.
"Balala…bibilli..blublubuuu…!" Most of them were just nonsense sounds since she didn't wish to say anything.
The reason she did this in the first place was to ensure all her thoughts, and the resultant Mental Energy streams were directed at Hekatra. This was to prevent the Slave Harem System from realising their plan.
All along, everyone that was taking action against Regriel's group did the same. Though, they were giving a live recount of everything that transpired using their utmost tone of respect.
But the old woman did otherwise, casually sending grunting noises through the prayers, "Kakaka…kekeke…kukuku…uuu!"
"Are you a freaking monkey? Why can't you just speak? Just give me a report of what is happening there!" Unable to endure it any longer, Hekatra snapped, shouting through their telepathy.
"Accept that I'm prettier than you. Otherwise, all I'll be sending your way are these noises." The old woman grinned, transmitting the message.
"…fine, I'll ask for a report from other subordinates in the area," Hekatra said, turning silent.
"Kuaakkk…kehehe…gruaonnnn!"
The old woman casually strolled, creating a ribbon that wrapped around a piece of rock, sending it flying towards Regriel with a tremendous speed that the air surrounding it flickered for a moment. She had aimed it towards his head, intending to kill him.
But, right as the rock was about to slam into his head, one of the Haggons coincidently moved in the way, taking the impact. Upon seeing the scene, she didn't express anything, but instead, screamed in her mind, transmitting to Hekatra, "My goodness, a Dungeon's filth! This Regriel guy is indeed a System Host. Coincidences happen to prevent any instant death of the sort. I really wonder what would happen if I try to kill him constantly?"
"Don't screw up the plan! Just follow your orders. This plan was thought up by Lord Meharb himself. It's his final scheme." Hekatra bellowed through telepathy.
"Heh!" The old woman snorted, "It was I who taught Meharb everything related to schemes. Don't lecture me. I know what I am doing."
Upon hearing Hekatra rage on the other side, she laughed, "Relax, I won't act on my own. I'll just follow orders."
Soon after, the thoughts she transmitted returned to being grunts and animal noises. Time passed in such a manner as she watched Regriel and Rikune getting tired, shaking her head as she muttered, "The Transcendents of this day and age are pretty weak. Back in my days, we could easily mow through a group of Haggons."
When a group of Haggons began to fight, the battle would span for at least half a day. Thanks to their tremendous Darlac reserve, they could go about without feeling even the least bit tired or sustain any lasting injuries.
But in contrast, Regriel and Rikune were only humans. And in such a chaotic battle where they had to constantly defend themselves to avoid a squashed fate, they were already exhausted.
Soon, the chance she was looking for had arrived, coiling her ribbon over the foot of a Haggon as she lifted it and threw it towards Regriel and Rikune, aiming at their centre, causing a couple of Haggons along the way to tumble too.
Rikune had to use her energy blades to forcefully slam Regriel away. Otherwise, he would have died from the impact. But, this only served to create a gap between them that the old woman took advantage of.
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Author's note: December month's mass release quota:
Golden Ticket: 1 bonus chappie for every 12 GT
Magic Castle: 2 extra bonus chappies for every Magic Castle
Spacecraft: 5 extra bonus chappies for every Spacecraft
Read 8 chappies in advance in Privilege
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