Chapter 198

Chapter 198

The following morning.

Two parties entered the dungeon.

Our main party and Kuilans band of five bandits.

Wait, werent we supposed to fight monsters on the fortress walls?

Kuilans face turned pale in an instant as we were dragged into the gloomy dungeon.

Its damp! Its dark! Its creepy! Where the heck are we?

This is a dungeon, the very lair of monsters.

Lake Kingdom Dungeon, Section 3. [Outside the northern fortress].

I pointed towards the dark interior of the dungeon where the shadows seemed to stir.

Were here to fight the next wave of defensive monsters in advance.

There was no mention in the contract that wed have to fight here!

Oh, come on~ Its written right here.

Id brought the contract with me, anticipating his complaint, and I waved it back and forth.

See this small text in the corner? Its clearly written here, right? And your signatures here too. Can you see it?

Urk... ugh?!

Kuilan examined the contract with a defeated look. I chuckled wickedly in front of him. You shouldve read it carefully, my friend. Kekeke.

Uh... ugh, ugh, ugh...!

Kuilan looked back and forth between the dungeons depths and the safe zone with a face as pale as death.

The other bandits whod been watching Kuilan approached me, sighing.

We apologize. Our leader is a bit of a coward...

Hes more afraid than he looks. Please understand.

How can the leader of a bandit gang, whos bold enough to defy Imperial generals, be a coward? That doesnt make sense.

Their answer to my question was simple.

If his opponent is a person, even an Imperial general, our leader looks down on them... but ghosts or monsters, hes terrified of them.

Ah...

Right, that type. Particularly weak against occult things.

And he hates tight, dark places. And this place is not only tight and dark, but also the lair of monsters...

So the guy over 2 meters tall and all muscle is shaking like a leaf, huh?

I clicked my tongue in disbelief.

Even the shortest member of our party, Evangeline, and the thin Damien, who were younger and smaller, didnt shake in fear. Youve got to live up to your size, King of Bandits. And your salary too.

Dont worry. Well take good care of him.

The other bandits groveled to me with sycophantic smiles, then ran to Kuilan and began berating him fiercely.

Get a grip, boss! This is an embarrassment!

Were on probation in the punitive forces! If we dont do well here, we might be sent back to the execution ground!

Were up against the infamous Wastrel Prince!

We just need to hang on for six months and get a full-time position! If youre gonna get scared, do it later!

As his subordinates scolded him, Kuilan finally seemed to muster the courage to step forward, though his face remained pale.

Al, alright. Lets go.

Thats the spirit, boss!

Well back you up! Lets wipe them out!

With mutual encouragement, Kuilan and the bandits energetically took the lead and entered Section 3.

And not long after they started walking,

Slosh! Slosh!

Clank! Clank!

The slimes began to roll in.

[Outside the Northern Fortress - Room 1]

- Eliminate the enemies!

- Lv.12 Normal Slime: 20 bodies

Level 12 slimes without any special characteristics. About twenty of them.

This should have been enough for Kuilans party to warm up. I watched them with a hint of anticipation.

And then,

Yaaargh!

Monsters!

The four bandits turned and started to run away all at once...

My blood pressure shot up. Unintentionally, I grabbed the back of my neck and let out a scream.

Hey, you good-for-nothing bastards! What are you doing-!

What was all that confident talk just a moment ago! You encouraged each other like you were going to do well!

But, but! Weve never seen such monsters before?!

Never heard or seen! A Soul Drinker that absorbs souls in the swamp?!

No! It must be the demon that sucks the brains out of its victims! Brain Drain!

If I had to train them from A to Z, Id just raise new recruits, not bother bringing convicts into a Penal Squad.

"If youre scared of the monsters, pack your bags and head back to prison. You can pay for your crimes justly under the empires law."

"..."

"But if you dont want prison and prefer to earn money and serve your sentence honorably, do it properly. Show me the skill worthy of the name of Bandit King and his elite force."

I pointed at the flattened slimes with a click of my tongue.

"Those slimes are way weaker than the Imperial soldiers you fought before. Fight without fear. Got it?"

Two R-rated warriors, two R-rated rogues, and one SR-rated fighter.

With proper utilization, this could have been a decent party. They had messed up in the first battle, but the idea of giving up so soon had never crossed their minds.

But at this rate, when will they become useful...?

Despite my frustration, I could still see fear in the eyes of the Bandit Kings party as they watched the monsters. What should I do with these cowardly bastards...?

Then, it happened.

Ding! Ding!

Suddenly, the system alert rang in succession. Huh? I opened the system window in curiosity.

[Outer Castle North - Room 1]

- Annihilate the enemies!

- Lv.14 Normal Slimes: 28

- Lv.15 Tricolored Slimes: 16

- Lv.15 Acidic Slimes: 24

- Lv.20 Normal Slimes: 30

Waves 2 to 5 were all updated at once.

What...

The [Northern Fortress] was a dungeon where monster waves had to be fended off in succession within an elongated room. Usually, the waves came one at a time.

Thump! Thump!

But now, four waves started rushing at us all at once.

Almost 100 slimes spilled over the fortress walls, a massive horde storming in. What the hell is this?

Even if they are low-level slimes, this number...!

Damien and Junior, who were standing by my sides, immediately prepared for battle.

Damien drew two Cerberus in his hands, and Junior began to chant magic.

Bang! Bang! Boom-!

Flash-!

The bullets pierced through the slimes, and lightning magic struck the swarm.

But there were too many slimes.

Furthermore, as the slimes crawled up from below the walls, the angle for magic bullets and spells wasnt right, allowing them to approach.

The slimes quickly surrounded us.

My lord!

Lucas and Evangeline, who had gone to clear wave 1, were trying to rush back but were isolated by the swarm of slimes.

I gritted my teeth and swung my staff, summoning a blade of magic power behind me. Damn, I had let my guard down, thinking it was an easy place...

Thwap!

The slimes leaped at us all at once.

Though they wouldnt absorb our souls or suck out our brains, it was clear that if we were engulfed by them, we would meet a horrible fate. Damn it!

Just then,

Whoosh-!

Kuilan flew through the air.

Bang!

Splatter!

Leaping into the air, Kuilan struck out with fists and feet like a whirlwind.

Wherever his fist power touched, slimes shattered like clay, and those hit by his kicks exploded like fireworks.

In the blink of an eye, Kuilan had destroyed over ten slimes and lightly landed back in position, his red mohawk spinning round as he came down.

Shit...damn...

Curses spilled from the Bandit Kings mouth.

No matter how scary it is, we must protect our paycheck...!

Snap!

With one fist to his chest and the other stretched forward, and his bodys weight lowered, Kuilan assumed his unique martial arts stance.

Hey, guys, get ready! We need to make money! We need a lot of it!

At the party leaders cry, the bandits eyes flashed with determination as they brandished their clubs.

I chuckled at the sight.

Theyre not entirely useless after all.

Lets get converted to full-time employees-!

Yelling, the Bandit Kings party rushed in all directions, and the horde of monsters swooped down on them.