Volume 4 - CH 15.2

Translator: vysio_seth

Volume 4 Chapter 15 Part 2

A few days passed, and five people were assembled for the raid, two knights and two adventurers, and of course, Larx.

Larx was advised by the adventurers to limit the number of members to less than six, in order to benefit from experience gained from defeating monsters.

Up to five people can gain 100 percent of the experience, any more would drop the percentage and the leveling-up will be slower.

That is the prime reason why the adventurers’ parties usually have a maximum of five people.

The two adventurers are Thief and Warrior, and the knights can use elementary level magic and are used to fighting on the front lines.

At first glance, their party seems unbalanced, but the dungeon is not that difficult, and Larx even proposed that he will assist with magic if need be.

The adventurers in company are A-ranked also, and have recently conquered the dungeon except for the lowest floor. They were confident in their ability to conquer it completely this time.

The knights were also the strongest out of all the knights of the Kingdom, and one of them was their Vice-commander and prided himself on his skills.

To conceal his identity as a Hero, Larx registered as an adventurer before departing from the royal capital.

He left for the dungeon accompanied by troops of close to a hundred, who were tasked to set up the fort and transport materials.

Upon arriving at the dungeon by carriage from the royal capital, the soldiers unloaded the materials they had bought and began setting up the fort. The entrance to the dungeon looked more like a cave, and several of the soldiers put up a fence at its entrance to block any monsters coming out.

The largest tent in the fort was assigned to the five who were to conquer the dungeon, so they could hold meetings.

「His Majesty has ordered us at all cost to conquer the dungeon before the Lunette Empire 」

Larx and his party nodded in agreement with the Vice-commander’s words.

As the five were reconfirming various precautions regarding the dungeon, one of the soldiers burst into the tent, looking rattled.

「I have an urgent report; soldiers who appear to be the Lunette Empire’s dungeon raiding force are making their way here 」

「We knew they’d come……. Well, that’s fine. It will be fun to finally meet again. Let them through to this tent 」

「Yes, sir! Understood, sir! 」

The soldier who came to report, saluted and rushed out of the tent.

「We’re going to have to strategize here……. 」

「I agree. If they had come three days later, they would have found us already finished with the job」

In one of their prior meetings, they had concluded that it would take three days to reach the bottom of the dungeon. That is why they made haste to arrive before the Lunette Empire’s raiding party– they were after the dungeon core.

Unfortunately, the Lunette Empire’s raiding force appeared a day before they even entered the dungeon.

「Let’s just see what kind of strength they have on their side 」

One of the knights spoke up.

They were stunned when the other party’s representatives showed up.

It was a young adventurer-looking man and two girls who were still in their teens.

It was truly a shocking reveal that it made one wonder if the Lunette Empire was serious about the raid. But, this meant the Generate Kingdom needn’t worry about them.

「These…… are very young representatives. It seems the Lunette Empire is running short on manpower, as they leave such matters to women and children 」

The Vice-commander said with a sneer.

But his impression quickly changed with the introduction of a girl with an elegant touch and appearance……

「I am Charlotte von Lunette, Princess of the Lunette Empire 」

The Princess herself has come out on the dungeon expedition.

…… Seriously? The Lunette Empire’s military strength has dwindled to the point where it has the Princess leading the expedition? Those on the Generate Kingdom’s side wondered.

「My name is Touya Kisaragi. I am the Marquis of the Lunette Empire 」

Next, they were startled by the introduction of the adventurer-looking man. He apparently is the head of a Marquis household, while just being a boy who probably just came of age.

Everyone started to assume that perhaps he had lost his parents in the last war and had taken over the reins of his family.

They all thought, 「The Kingdom is assured victory in this raid 」, and smiles crept up on their faces as they listened.

The meeting was dissolved with the ending consensus being that both countries will not interfere with the dungeon for some time being and with each other. It was also established that only one team from each country would raid.

The Lunette Empire’s side left the tent and the discussion continued. Those who remained were feeling rather elated.

「I don’t know what the Lunette Empire is thinking of sending this sort of group on a raid…… A Princess and a Marquis? I think they are extremely underestimating the dungeon 」

No one argued with what the adventurer said. But who knows, there might be some strong members in their group.

Although, it was groundless fear to assume.

The next day, before entering the dungeon, Larx sighed as he watched the raiding team on the Lunette Empire’s side.

Except for the Marquis, all of them were women in their teens, and one of them was even a child who had not reached adulthood yet.

「Impossible…… The Lunette Empire is seriously going to raid……? 」

Larx unintentionally let his thoughts slip out. No, that is what everyone was thinking.

Sure enough, some of the soldiers made their thoughts known about the Lunette Empire’s raiding party.

「They are so shorthanded; this is all they have…… 」

「It must be considerable. A party of one man and five women. Look one of them is just a kid 」

「They can’t be serious. The Lunette Empire must be getting desperate」

The voices of the two soldiers were heard by those of the Lunette Empire. The youngest girl’s eyes became stern.

Others did not notice the magic power in her hand, but Larx did.

(That’s dangerous……. Advanced? No, it is filled with super-class magic power. If it is released in a place like this, it would be……)

Death is certain for everyone.

–Except for him. Larx felt it.

But the boy, the Marquis, stopped the girl’s hand.

「Natalie, don’t do it. Let the howling of the…… mongrels slide 」

He easily stopped the girl, who can manipulate super-grade magic. Larx was curious as to the power the boy was hiding.

「……!!! You bastard!!!! 」

Just as the soldier was about to clutch his sword in anger, a hand reached out from the side and stopped him.

「This is not the time for this, and we are in the middle of a ceasefire with the Lunette Empire. We have the Princess here, too. Are you trying to cause trouble? 」

Thanks to the adventurer with them, the day was saved. Larx broke out in a cold sweat when he thought about what would have happened if a battle had ensued.

The Lunette Empire’s party returned to their tent, saying they would take a break before going into the dungeon.

「We’ll go in first then 」

「I’m sure they’ll be overrun by Orcs before long 」

「Ha-ha-ha. They have retreated to their tents 」

After confirming that the Lunette Empire’s raiding party had returned, Larx and his team entered the dungeon.

Because the dungeon has been explored to some level, they proceeded into the dungeon, relying on the map ordered from the guild. As a precaution, one of the adventurers, the Thief, was leading the way.

The adventurer would detect the monsters in advance and signal his companions, and Larx and the rest of the party would handle subjugation of the monsters. This was how they continued on in the dungeon.

And being the elite gathered by their country, they advanced without difficulty.

「The level of the monsters is higher than before, but still about the same. We can conquer this dungeon in just a few days. Easy job, ain’t it? 」

The other adventurer made light remarks as they went. When the kingdom requested him to accompany Larx via the guild, he could imagine the size of his reward. If they were to succeed in finishing this mission in a few days and receive the reward, he knew he would not have to work for the next few months. His eyes glimmered with excitement.

When they reached the boss’s room on the tenth floor, they opted to take a break before opening the door.

Inside was an arena occupied by several orcs and an Orc General. They were mere fodder for Larx and his party.

The two adventurers led the Orcs on as bait and Larx and the knights launched attacks on the monsters. Within minutes, what remained of the orcs were magical stones.

「There are five floors to go. We have come so far, I don’t think those guys will reach this point any time soon, don’t think we even need to rush ourselves 」

Larx shook his head at the remarks of the adventurer.

「We should keep up the pace. The sooner we conquer the dungeon, the less damage there will be from the monsters 」

Everyone including the adventurer nodded at Larx’s input, and after a short break, they resumed their expedition.

On the eleventh floor, however, monsters were far stronger, and it delayed their progression to the next floor.

After a round of battles with the monsters, they took a break at the end of the passageway.

「The monsters are getting stronger. I didn’t think they could get this powerful…… 」

The adventurer, who was stowing the Earth Dragon magic stone in his Magic Bag, let out a small grumble.

He had to return to the Kingdom with the Dungeon Core to get his reward.

The two adventurers were drinking and chatting about how they would be able to live a reasonably wealthy life when they got back to their home country.

After a short rest, Larx and his party carried on. The monsters were strong and time taken to defeat them lengthened in response, but they arrived at the next guardian’s room without major injuries, thanks to the presence of the Hero of the Generate Kingdom.

「This is the guardian’s room. The monster waiting inside is a Rock Dragon 」

The adventurer explained while recalling his past memories. The Rock Dragon is a large but slow-moving monster. Attacks, especially to its back, are ineffective since it is covered by a solid rock. He further explained that it is more efficient to attack its legs and belly.

Everyone formulated their strategy, prepared themselves, and proceeded to go inside.

The large door slowly creaked open, and waiting for them in the center of the room was —- nothing.

「There is nothing here…… How is that…… Possible? 」

No monster emerged even after they entered the room. Larx tilted his head and made a discovery.

「Hey, there’s a passageway in the back! 」

It was then they all spotted the tunnel.

「Don’t tell me that the party from the…… Lunette Empire …… is ahead of us? 」

One of the knights snickered at the words the Larx unconsciously uttered.

「No way, that’s impossible. They planned to raid later, and besides there is no indication that we were overtaken. It could just be that the guardian’s room has moved 」

Certainly, Larx was confident that no one had overtaken them in the dungeon.

Combined with their ability to defeat the monsters at reasonable speed and the fact that there was no hard-fought battle in which they were seriously wounded; he doubted that they were overtaken.

「Let’s keep going 」

Nodding at the adventurer’s words, Larx and his team proceeded down the passageway that had appeared in the back of the room.

「I wonder if it’s a newly formed layer…… Still, no monsters have appeared so far, what’s going on? 」

As the Thief adventurer blurted out and led the way, a door, more radiant than they had seen, stood in front of them.

「…… This seems to be the guardian’s room. I’ve never heard of a guardian’s room moving…… 」

「That doesn’t matter! Let’s get on with it and get back to the kingdom 」

A knight lashed out.

「Hey, hey. I understand 」

The dazed adventurer retorted, putting his hand on the door.

The door opened and upon entering, a shocking scene unfolded.

The Lunette Empire’s raiding party, which had entered after Larx and his men, was sitting back and resting.