Second Dungeon Battle
Pursuit
Another large group of hostile reactions appeared on the map. When he took a look, it was a group of golems.
However, it wasn’t the kind of golems that Ontentoo knew of.
“…! Oi, the heck’s with those golems, they’re armed!”
[H-huh!? You’re saying they’re armored golems!?]
The golems wore stone armor and helmets, carrying s.h.i.+elds, swords, and short spears. And moreover, they appeared to be moving in a systematic rectangular formation. It was like they were human troops.
He couldn’t see what was inside it, but they were even carrying a wooden box. Ontentoo though that it might be be something good to reproduce.
“Hahaha! That’s amazing, it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this… wait, huh?”
However, as soon as half of the golems appeared, they changed directions and started to head outside the dungeon.
“Huh? What’re they thinking? Huh? Are the golems… running away from the enemy?”
Ontentoo tilted his head to the side, but since half of them had already infiltrated the dungeon, he had the red lizards that escaped from the water a.s.sault before face them. Although the majority of them had been washed away, there were still approximately the same number of them left as there usually were.
However…
“Tch, even so, they’re hard to deal with. They’re cooperating better than humans unskilled at cooperating.”
They stopped the red lizard’s a.s.sault with their s.h.i.+elds, skewering them with spears. Even if they breathed fire, the golems in the back row blocked it with their s.h.i.+elds.
They completely blockaded against the main force of the red lizards. Then, in the blink of an eye… although it was slower than when the water first appeared, they accurately suppressed their way up to the stairway with the shortest route possible.
An additional group of golems appeared when they suppressed the route. Their bodies also bearing stone armor, they moved to take command. They advanced through the pa.s.sage that was being defended by their golem comrades, similarly suppressing the second floor.
“Kuh… these guys’re nuisances… the magma slimes ran away because of the water, and if the red frogs fight against golems, their toxin that’s their main fighting potential won’t even burn them!”
For a fire-type dungeon, their compatibility against a group of golems was hopelessly bad.
(The red minotaurs could do it at least…)
He sighed, but they were set up to first appear on the sixth floor.
“But if they’re just attacking the front… huh!?”
New intruders showed up. However, they weren’t at the entrance.
He looked at the fourth floor on the map. That was where he’d cleared a hole to remove the water earlier. A group of armored golems entered from there.
“Wha—… so that’s where that detached force went!! Hahaha, so that was it! The rest was a feint huh!”
If walls were broken by enemy forces, it was possible to mend them even if there were intruders.
However, it wouldn’t work on the hole he’d opened himself. It wasn’t possible to close up when there were intruders. There was also the remains of the water showing as hostile reactions. Although he might be able to deal with the water if he used all of their capability, there’d just be a second wave of water if he did so. It couldn’t be helped. He might have been able to think up a better plan, but the magnificent feint caught him like a fish.
From now on, that hole… would be a shortcut that could skip the first three floors.
Furthermore, even though this next group of golems that came in were lightly equipped, they were carrying something. It looked like snakeskin… Connected to the other side of the dungeon, it zigzagged many times as it extended.
(What is that thing used for? And just how long does it extend?)
The golems were still carrying it as it stretched on the way.
This group of golems took a roundabout way outside.
(The heck are they doing…?)
Although the group of armored golems invaded into the fourth floor… they didn’t move. It was like they were waiting for something to arrive… even when Ontentoo’s side attacked to repel the invaders, they blocked with their s.h.i.+elds, short spears, and swords.
Like that, the golems that stood still were joined up with by the golems carrying the thing that looked like cast-off snake skin.
“What the heck…!?”
Another large group of intruders showed up. They weren’t golems. He couldn’t see them at all.
However, the snakeskin thing that was being carried by the golems showed a change. It had been flat until then, but was now starting to swell. Then, the intruders began to run through it…
(Perhaps, it might be the same as that water from before?)
It temporarily left the dungeon, before arriving at… the fourth floor’s hole. When he looked, they were pus.h.i.+ng soil together where they were, making sure that not even a small amount of water could leak out from there.
“Hah, hahahahaha! This guy is fast…!”
Ontentoo was in a pinch, but he renewed his fighting spirit with a hearty laugh.
*
The water continued to pour through the hose using the difference in height. The things being poured were water fleas.
Ah, though I called it a hose, it’s more like one from a fire engine. It wasn’t to the point that the second wave would flash flood the dungeon, but it could still flood the dungeon.
“Well then, it’s Plan B, but let’s hear your guys’ impressions.”
“When our opponents made a hole to drain the water, the water poured out through the hole. The hole was closed up… then you’ll do it again if they make another hole farther down, right…? I think it’s awful! It doesn’t take their feelings into consideration at all you know!?”
“As expected of Goshujin-sama!”
“Kinda brutish~”
By the way, Plan A went with the pattern of going straight down without it being drained. Plan C goes with the pattern of the water being completely stopped so that we’d have to entirely stop trying it and go we a head-on a.s.sault.
Though Plan A was ideal… no matter how you look at it, wanting that to be the case would be a bit selfish huh.
It’s just… though we bought the fire engine hose with DP, it was still expensive. I used part of the 100,000 DP for it. It’d be profane to trade the gold coins in for DP, so I borrowed some from Rokuko using the gold coins as collateral. Interest free… It was the most expensive thing this time.
I could think of it as being a waste on this fight which is already a sure win, but it’s probably acceptable. I mean, I wanted to submerge them in water… not. It was a necessity to reach the lowest floor. We could quickly capture floors by repeating the flooding. Besides, it’s probably not wasteful since we could reuse it at the inn I guess? Yep, yep.
A fire engine hose might be alright to sell as a general good… well, it’s fine. It’s convenient.
“Rather Goshujin-sama, ya don’t need me at all? Isn’t it ‘kay to just attack from the outside?”
I left Ichika with the golem force meant to attack and gain control of floors one by one starting from the first.
“… Isn’t it fine to just get experience?”
“Well, yah… but isn’t it better to leave and reenter from the closed hole?”
“… Right. Go ahead and try that.”
Sorry. You’re insurance for if Plan B doesn’t go well. You’re not something unneeded. You were just consequentially unneeded.
“The rat scout force discovered the remaining red lizards. I’m sending golems for a preemptive strike.
“Ooh, I’ll leave it to you, Meat.”
Furthermore, now there are rats scouting outside the dungeon. They were brought in the wooden box, set free outside the dungeon.
“Kehma, a new hole opened up. On the fifth floor. Moreover, it’s at the boss room.”
“As expected, defeating the boss by drowning it didn’t work huh.”
However, even though they came up with a countermeasure, I didn’t give up.
By the way, the boss room looks like it’s a boss room. We can’t advance farther if we don’t defeat the boss. It doesn’t look like even a single drop of water could make it through the door inside it. In other words, there’s no choice but to defeat the red dragon here.
It’s a very bad game when what looks like the last boss of a fifty-floor dungeon appears on the fifth floor. Even bad balancing has its extremes.
“… So then, it’s dragon extermination now huh?”
An armored golem peeked through the hole.
[Gyaaaaaaoooooouuuuuu!]
Immediately after that, the vibrations were transmitted to the monitor. Then a white light. Then nothing.
The other golems saw what happened. It was dragon breath. The incredible heat covered the armored golem, instantly melting it… Just how hot is that fire to be able to melt stone equipment!?
[Kakaka! How’s this one’s breath!? It can even melt their stone bodies you know!? Well well, it looks like this one’s breath is a little hot for your puppets!]
The red dragon laughed in triumph. Her body was overflowing with power, enough to make us recognize her existence as a strong person. It wasn’t something you would imagine from her form when she was together with that Stupimander.
“K-Kehma? C-can you win!?”
“… No clue.”
… Seriously, I have no idea if we can win against this thing known as a red dragon.
However, we’ve already won this battle. Let’s give it a shot.