“Welcome. You arrived sooner than expected.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, commander Julius. I am Raul de Ashton, the third son of the Ashton household.”
As he arrived at the command room, commander Julius was waiting for him. However, Julius’ appearance was not what Raul had expected.
‘He just looks like a plump old man from the neighborhood, doesn’t he?’
He had expected someone charismatic and robust, fitting the title of the Iron Wall Knight….
Moreover, unlike Duke Hansley, who had made him tense upon first meeting, Julius exuded no such aura. Yet, that made him even scarier.
‘It must mean he has perfect control over his power.’
It felt similar to the time he had his first private audience with the Great Sage Gray. After a brief exchange of greetings, they got straight to the point.
“So, you came to search for the missing Lawrence?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I see. Talking about your brother means we can’t avoid discussing the current state of Corpse Road.”
“I am all ears.”
Although he had received a rough explanation beforehand, no information would be as accurate as what the commander on the ground could provide.
“You know the history of Corpse Road, don’t you?”
It was a place where countless lives were lost and buried during the war with the Empire. Since then, whether due to something the Empire did or not, undead creatures had been emerging constantly….
“No matter how you look at it, isn’t it strange that those corpses remain even after decades? We’ve dealt with a colossal number of undead ourselves.”
Undead don’t arise from nothing. There must be corpses to create them, so why do they keep appearing without end?
“Beyond the Great Canyon of Despair that borders Corpse Road, inside the mountain range known as the Forbidden Zone, an enormous number of monsters reside. Those monsters continue to flow into Corpse Road through underground dungeons.”
It had been quite a while since they became aware of that fact. However, they didn’t block those monsters’ entry routes because they were a ‘necessary evil’.
If they removed all the undead immediately, the border with the Empire would be left unprotected. Moreover, there would be issues with funding to maintain the barriers.
“But a problem has arisen. It’s about the Gate.”
Up to now, the number of monsters entering from the mountain range and the resulting undead maintained a balance. But with the appearance of the Gate and the ongoing dungeonization, that balance crumbled.
The number of monsters increased rapidly. If they couldn’t be left alone, they would be dealt with, and then they’d turn into undead hordes attacking the barrier again.
Dealing with those undead would lead to an increase in the number of monsters… This vicious cycle continued, leading to the current situation.
“Now, waves large and small are occurring almost weekly. Issues with supplies and the increasing casualties among the troops have made things difficult. So….”
They decided to block the existing routes through which monsters entered from the mountain range. But upon trying to execute the plan, they encountered a problem.
The structures of the underground dungeons, which had been perfectly mapped out, had changed.
“According to the mages, the ongoing dungeonization due to the Gate interfered with the spatial magic circles of the existing dungeons. Decades of accumulated data became worthless in an instant.”
However, if they did nothing, the relentless onslaught of monsters could push back the barrier. As a result, a special exploration team was organized, and Raul’s second brother Lawrence was part of it.
“Through almost a year of exploration, the general layout had been identified. We were about to start sealing the passageways when the incident occurred.”
The exploration teams dispatched to the five candidate dungeons had all gone missing. And Lawrence was among them. When the return of the exploration teams was delayed, they sent investigation teams and troops, but they found only signs of battle and monster corpses.
“We wanted to conduct a thorough search, but a wave forced us to retreat.”
“Then, is the search effort completely halted?”
“Not exactly. We’re focusing on volunteer soldiers rather than regular troops to search those dungeons. However, there haven’t been any significant results.”
It was within that context that Raul and his group arrived. Other families’ search teams were also scheduled to arrive shortly.
***
After a while, Raul finished his conversation with Commander Julius and returned to the camp. However, his expression didn’t look very good.
“Did you receive some bad news?”
Kane, who had been waiting in the meeting room, asked, and Raul nodded.
“It seems we don’t have as much time as we thought.”
According to Julius, despite the special exploration team’s disappearance, the work to close the monster entry routes was still ongoing. Volunteer soldiers were completing the dungeon mapping and the mages were ready to install the sealing magic circles.
“Julius has given us exactly fifteen days. If we don’t complete the search within that time….”
The passage connected to the Forbidden Zone would be closed. In other words, if Lawrence and the special exploration team had crossed into the mountains for some reason, they wouldn’t be able to return this way.
“This is troublesome. Searching through the dungeons and reaching the Forbidden Zone within fifteen days….”
Kane trailed off, but it was almost an impossible task.
How could they find them in that vast mountain range within fifteen days?
‘We’ll have to hope that they are staying in one of the dungeons that the original search teams didn’t reach….’
“Fortunately, if we find them or any significant clues within the time limit, we can buy more time. I returned with a transmitter specially designed to send signals. And Julius promised to spare no support for the search, so we don’t need to worry about anything else.”
“That’s a relief. So, how do you plan to organize the search team?”
At Kane’s question, the First Knights’ officers and Baron Carlo, who were in the meeting room, showed eager expressions. Everyone seemed eager to join Raul’s search team.
‘But I can’t take everyone.’
Moving around in Corpse Road with dozens of people would risk attracting the undead. The undead craved ‘life force’.
While moving in small numbers might be manageable, dozens of knights on horseback would certainly catch their attention.
‘We didn’t encounter many battles while using the well-maintained main roads to reach the base, but it will be different from now on.’
Dozens of power armor users would not lose in battle unless the undead legions were enormous. However, getting bogged down would not only waste time but also prevent proper rest.
Additionally, it would be advantageous to be in a smaller group for quick movement within the dungeons.
“I’ll divide the team into three groups. Team A will include me, Kane, Jake, and Josh. Team B will consist of Baron Carlo and five Bear Knights. The remaining 40 knights will form Team C.”
Raul spread out the map he had received from the general on the table.
“Our destination is the ‘Formica Dungeon’ where Lawrence was last headed. Teams A and B will take different routes to enter the dungeon and immediately begin the search. Team C will head to the temporary base set up near Formica Dungeon.”
“What exactly will be Team C’s role?”
“If necessary, they will secure the retreat routes for Teams A and B. If they discover anything unusual after we enter, they will report it. And if the battle escalates, they will provide backup.”
As a result of detailed planning, it was decided that the leader of Team C would be Rashad, a senior expert of the First Knights.
Rashad was one of the original 50 knight trainees from the Count Ashton household who had followed Raul from the beginning.
He was a talented knight who was the first among the trainees to reach the senior expert level.
“Then let’s depart immediately.”
Although dusk was already falling, there was no time to rest comfortably at the base.
The fear that Lawrence’s life could be hanging by just an hour or two drove them.
Thus, teams A and B departed from the base under the red sunset, while Team C secured sufficient supplies and left the next morning at dawn.
***
“Over here.”
Four days later. Raul’s team, team A, had entered their destination, the “Formica Dungeon.”
“Formica” meant “ant” in an ancient language, and true to its name, the dungeon resembled an ant nest.
Large and small caves and crossroads kept appearing, and the monotonous, repetitive cave paths were reminiscent of a maze. If it weren’t for the markers left by the exploration and search teams, it would have taken an enormous amount of time to find their way.
The party followed the finger-shaped markers glowing faintly in the darkness as they navigated deeper into the dungeon.
Swish. Slash!
Kane, leading the group, swung his hunting knife through the air, cutting down something.
Shaaa….
A translucent ghost ant, the size of a forearm, split in half and disappeared into the void. As Kane’s knife moved a few more times, drawing green trails, more ghost ant heads were severed and vanished.
“What a bothersome monster.”
Shoo, thud!
Jake, hindered by the narrow space, punched a ghost ant’s head instead of using his greatsword, crushing it.
“As expected, they are trickier to deal with now that they’ve become undead.”
Bang!
Josh swung the round shield on his left arm, squashing another ghost ant. Originally, the monsters frequently appearing in this dungeon were “Giant Ants”.
These insect-type monsters were characterized by their hard shells and sharp mandibles.
However, during the undead transformation, they took on the form of ghost ants, which were fully transparent and freely moved in and out of the cave walls, making them difficult to deal with.
Of course, to Raul’s party, they were just annoying pests.
‘With heightened perception, they are easier to handle than the original. Their shells are weaker, and they don’t swarm in masses.’
Of course, having such a level of perception meant being at least a intermediate-level expert, which was a catch.
At any rate, they quickly moved in the direction indicated by the markers, slaughtering the ghost ants that appeared from time to time.
“We’ve arrived.”
As soon as Kane finished speaking, a group approached them, shouting.
“Who goes there!”
“Identify yourselves or we will attack!”
At their destination, a force of at least 50 soldiers had set up a temporary camp in a large cave.
“Lower your weapons. We are a newly dispatched search team from Gamma base.”
The soldiers relaxed their guard and accepted Raul’s group into the camp only after confirming the commander’s orders and the noble seal.
Raul decided to first inspect the dungeon’s interior after hearing about the search situation and the monster entry routes from the knight managing the temporary camp.
‘Just in case.’
There might have been mechanisms or hidden magic circles and spaces that the search team missed. However, he found nothing.
After spending nearly half a day exploring the depths of the dungeon, they had not found anything special.
“It seems we need to go beyond.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
Although the search team had attempted to enter the monster passage several times, they only briefly explored near the entrance before returning.
The monsters from the Forbidden Zone were an issue, and the area to investigate was too vast, leaving them no choice.
“Are you really going in? That area is much more dangerous than here.”
The knight managing the temporary camp asked with a reluctant expression.
Many had ventured in since the special expedition team went missing, but many had not returned after delving deep. He seemed to think that they might only increase the casualties.
“Don’t worry and guide us. If any follow-up teams arrive, please guide them as well.”
Josh patted the knight’s shoulder reassuringly and handed over some supplies from his inventory. The knight smiled, thankful, as the supply delivery had been delayed due to the wave.
“It’s best to return within ten days at the latest. There’s talk of blocking the passage.”
Although they already knew this, they thanked the knight and finally reached the passage. Beyond the barricaded clearing, there was a human-sized hole in the wall, shimmering with a silvery light.
“A temporary holy barrier has been set up, so the monsters aren’t crossing over now. But be careful, as they may be gathered on the other side.”
Ignoring the knight’s words, Raul finally reached out toward the silver hole.
Swish.
Just like a mirage, Raul’s body turned into particles and was sucked into the hole. Soon, the rest of the party disappeared into the passage, leaving the worried knight staring at the spot where they had vanished.
(To be continued)