Chapter 140

140 – The First Stratum – The Watchdog’s and Hellfire’s Realm 2

There were cheers all over the video room.

The timing could not have been better, for the plan had worked.

That said, the important thing now is what the enemy does next.

Whenever I was asked for my opinion, not just on the first stratum, I responded.

Basically, a Dungeon is set up with a recommended Clear level.

This is a rating that is given to Adventurers separately from their rank.

If the Dungeon or area is in the same level range as yours, the video will become something worth the audiences’ attention.

That being the case, the Dungeon-side cannot blatantly change the Clears.

Any big changes in the difficulty of Monsters that appear, the traps, or the area’s configuration might create a gap resulting in a horrible recommended level.

No matter who challenges it, a Dungeon seeks to expose them to almost the appropriate level of threat.

There are exceptions, of course, but these are the basics.

That’s why there is originally no culture of researching the challenging Adventurers, finding their weak points, and creating a counter-plan against them.

Doing something like that would classify it as an All Level Dungeon.

However, if you recall how I was recruited to be the Chief of Staff, it’s a different story.

I’m here to convince the audience that it’s okay for Monsters to win.

If that idea doesn’t exist in the first place, then let’s start by instilling it.

It might become a problem for other places, but this is the Impregnable Demon King Castle.

The only Dungeon that has never been completely Cleared.

There won’t be any criticisms if something different is done in order to chase the Adventurer’s back to the surface.

Fortunately, the Monsters of the Demon King Castle crave victory.

It’s also possible that me defeating the Fenix party has made what I say more persuasive.

「I expected nothing less from Lord Lemegeton’s orders.」

I shook my head slightly at Carmilla’s words.

「It is only because they have abilities of their own.」

I was always an Adventurer fanatic, so I am able to provide information much faster than watching hours upon hours of their Clear videos.

Everyone in the first stratum took the time that would have been spent gathering information and used it for training instead and trained to a level where they were ready for the real thing.

No matter how good a strategy you come up with at the war table, it’s meaningless if you don’t have the people capable of pulling it off.

Also, no matter how well you think the plan has been carried out, there are still living beings known as Heroes who can break through it.

I used to watch the Flame Hero first hand, so I know.

Even caught in a pinch and driven into a corner, a Hero can still snatch victory away from the grasps of defeat.

「It’s not over yet.」

I mutter.

Several threats were attacking the Adventurers at the same time.

So of course, several things happened at the same time.

First off, the Aerial party.

As expected of them. Only a few of them were shaken.

If I think about who would be thrown into confusion, my first thought would be the Gale Hero Ewan.

He’s the newcomer who just joined, after all.

I asked Gla-la to be his opponent. The Invisible Slaughterer Glasya-Labolas.

The wings, reminiscent of a bird of prey, are huge and matches his large beast body.

Just before canceling his invisibility, he lets down the several Hellhounds and Beast Master that were on his back.

He did a nosedive that canceled his invisibility in order to draw attention to himself so that they wouldn’t notice his allies landing behind them.

Even that Bella made a mistake on her first Clear.

Even that young woman, who is able to ignore common knowledge and think such thoughts as「What if the Black Sorcerer Lem wasn’t incompetent?」, and made decisions far more calmly than the average person, could get worked up.

You don’t have to think too hard about it.

He’s challenging the Dungeon that is the ultimate final Clear of all Adventurers just as he got out of the Training Institute.

What’s more, he’s a newcomer in a high-ranked party.

It’s impossible to not be nervous.

In fact, Ewan was so flustered with the sudden attack that his counterattack was lackluster.

However, he wasn’t bitten by Gla-la.

Gla-la crashed into an invisible wall, made a pained groan, and bounced off.

「Calm down, Ewan. We’re with you.」

It was the Storm Hero Aerial.

His other allies should be able to attack Gla-la, but they don’t.

Are they taking it easy? No, it’s not that.

Just now was Ewan’s mistake. Normally, you should back up your ally.

But this should only be done when Ewan is comfortable with the party.

If they back up his mistake in this situation, Ewan will lose confidence. He’ll probably blame himself, harshly. It isn’t easy to regain lost confidence.

The Aerial party plans to make him redeem himself with his own two hands, here and now.

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「Prove to everyone who can see this…just who you are.」

Aerial just puts a hand on his shoulder. That’s what it looks like on the outside.

But for that young man, it was more than that.

The Gale Hero locks eyes with the Storm Hero, the Samurai, the Crimson Wizard, and the Blade Alchemist.

And in the next instant, his eyes and breathing return to normal.

「Yes.」

The world’s 1st-ranked party is waiting for him.

They have given him a chance to redeem himself.

In other words, they believe that he can do it.

Those who still get cold feet despite all this support are not fit to be a Hero.

One wing of Gla-la’s, who just stood back up, was cut in half in the next instant.

「…?!」

It was cut off by Ewan’s wind blade.

「I am the Gale Hero of the Aerial party.」

This isn’t the end for Gla-la. He applies invisibility on himself, once again.

On the other hand, we turn to the three-man side of the split Scathach party.

Once again, the Faceless Archer Suuri’s skills are tremendous.

Even though I know that he uses Elven magic according to Lily’s information, I was still surprised. To those who don’t know, it must look like an incomprehensible miracle.

He must be using Wind Magic to interfere with the atmosphere and get a rough idea of what is happening within the reach of his Magical Energy.

It seems to cause him to feel things in the space covered with his Magical Energy. If anything passes through that area, he can sense it as if he touched it with his own hand.

This is why he can sense the whereabouts of objects that pass through his space, even if they’re invisible.

It seems that this magic was originally used to find the whereabouts of prey that would conceal its breath.

Due to the fact that it requires very delicate Magical Energy manipulation, it normally lasts for a short period of time and it is normal to be unable to do anything else while it is active.

I can’t judge accurately through the monitor, but judging from the reaction speed, he is activating it for a long time and also firing Godspeed in quick succession.

That alone proves that his technique is excellent.

But it isn’t perfect.

The area of his「sense」can be roughly measured by the first wave of Hellhound attacks.

Also, it can be confirmed that it isn’t deployed in all directions because the falling Hellhounds and Beast Master weren’t shot.

He probably could if he wanted to, but as mentioned previously, it is a technique that requires very delicate Magical Energy manipulation. He probably narrows down the deployment area in order to lessen the burden based on his judgment.

The Hellhounds are being dispatched at a tremendous pace.

But…

「Watch out, there’s more than just Hellhounds.」

By the time you noticed, it’s already too late.

「Huh?」

A knife pierces through the Magic Arrow Archer Caleena’s neck.

A large Hellhound carrying a Beast Master dashed towards them in Suuri’s blindspot, and the Beast Master jumped off just as they entered Suuri’s area.

Flying through the air in an arc, the Beast Master lands close enough to cancel the invisibility, but the Beast Master was able to successfully stab Caleena’s neck with a knife at the same time.

「Gotcha…!」

The Beast Master purposely yells to draw their attention.

If the Beast Master could steal their attention for just a moment, the Hellhounds could advance at that moment.

That wasn’t the wrong call.

If the opponent wasn’t Caleena.

「So have I.」

She is a Hunter who can shoot and defeat an opponent even when said opponent attacked her and sent her flying.

You can’t expect her to be shaken by someone suddenly appearing in front of her and delivering a fatal wound.

If he wanted to bide for time, he should have run away from her immediately.

She immediately grabbed an arrow from her quiver and stabbed it into the eardrum of the Beast Master.

He had a thin smile on his face.

Caleena pushed the Beast Master away, readied her bow and muttered「I’m going down.」with an apologetic expression on her face.

「Master, please forgive this unseemly disciple.」

Until this point, Caleena had been hesitant to fire her arrows, but during the short time she has left until she is forced to exit, she fires off as many Godspeeds as she can.

If she really wanted to, she would have aimed. She would have wanted to see through the enemy’s whereabouts and shoot through them.

But if that isn’t possible and her defeat was imminent…

Even if it is unseemly, she tried to cut down the enemy numbers even if by a little.

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Until she disappeared, she managed to shoot down four Hellhounds and a Beast Master.

Even if we paved the way to their defeat, they will not be beaten with no casualties. 

Even against an invisible enemy, an opponent against who she can’t use her own abilities, she will fight to the bitter end without retreating.

The Magic Arrow Archer Caleena is defeated.

While that was happening, Wraith and the others…