Chapter 66

Chapter 66 – Chapter 10: Breakthrough #4

Many things were necessary to break into a dungeon .

There needed to be a sufficient amount of food, water, weapons, trap detection and the combat power to defeat the dungeon guardians and monsters .

Additionally, there was one thing that was easy to overlook, even though it was very important .

Securing the right lighting .

The dungeons were dark . Most dungeons were underground and of course, they didn’t even have windows for sunlight to come through . Many dungeons had lighting devices or torches installed, but there were large gaps between the installed devices .

Thunderdoom Fortress was dark . It had been hundreds of years since the dwarves lived in the fortress, so having magic lights pour from the ceiling . . . that was already in the past .

As a specialist in ruins exploration, Felicia had prepared quite a few lighting fixtures . There were shining rods that could be called small flashlights while Delia at the front and Carack at the end were given glowing fist-sized stones . It emitted a very strong light that was able to stretch out 10 meters in every direction .

Currently, the only thing missing for the party was a sufficient amount of food and water . They hadn’t brought a lot of food because they were going to come back after getting a glimpse of the fortress .

"My stomach hurts . ”

Carack caressed his belly as he sat down . In-gong was paying attention to Green Wind and replied vaguely,

“Aren’t you just hungry?”

"Uhh, I am also hungry . ”

It had been three hours since they broke into Thunderdoom Fortress . They had been walking around for two hours despite being exhausted by the awakening potion .

Thunderdoom Fortress was big . It was a fortified city, not a mere fortress like the place where the Thunder Light Anvil was hidden, so the scale was really great .

‘But it is a range that can be explored in a day . ’

Thunderdoom Fortress was a place built by digging into the mountains . There were various traps, monsters and dungeon guardians, but they should be able to explore from beginning to end in a few hours .

For the past two hours, In-gong’s party had encountered two trap rooms and two groups of dungeon monsters . If there was one attribute about it being a fortified city, it was the fact that the traps were less meaningful .

After all, this was a place where people lived . The more traps that were laid, the harder it was to live .

‘Fortunately, we haven’t met anyone else . ’

He wondered about the questionable people in the fortress .

In-gong checked the minimized mini-map once again . In-gong’s group was currently located at the back of the Thunderdoom Fortress .

He hadn’t memorized all the dungeon maps that appeared in Knight Saga .

However, if he remembered the important points, the story would be different .

'If I go straight, there will be a turning point . ’

Indeed, there were two paths leading to the control room of Thunderdoom Fortress . One way was short but was a literal trap field, while the other path took a long time because it passed through the settlements but had few traps .

"Your Highness, do you really not need to draw a map?”

Daphne asked carefully from a corner where she was drinking a mana potion . She had no experience in dungeon exploration, but she was well aware of the important of cartography when exploring a dungeon .

However, nobody was making a map despite the fact that they were exploring a strange dungeon . She was forced to feel uneasy .

However, unlike Daphne, everyone else had relaxed expressions . In-gong nodded and said,

"Yes, don't worry because everything is in my head . ”

She became more uneasy after hearing him speak so confidently .

Felicia said with a smile,

"It might seem ridiculous, but it is the truth . I don’t know about other things, but you can trust him regarding maps . ”

"You don’t know about other things?”

Felicia shrugged and giggled at In-gong’s incredulous question .

“Anyway, it is a waste . I wanted to investigate properly . ”

Right now, the party was just advancing unconditionally . They walked passed the everyday products of dwarf life as well as the art and architectural style . Felicia was interested in ruins, so it was very regrettable for her .

"Well, you can come back later . ”

“Even so . I didn’t think that it would be like this . ”

She had expected some difficulties, but she had never imagined that they would be attacked and trapped inside the fortress .

Carack nodded .

"Well, that’s right . Things turned out like this . Prince always ends up getting caught up in something unexpected . ”

“Yes . ”

It really seemed like it .

The swamp mammoths had shown up unexpectedly with the Red Lightning tribe while monsters with purple aura had appeared in the casios subjugation . It was also true for their reconnaissance of the northern part of the Enger Plains . They had been surrounded by monsters unexpectedly and had been almost killed .

It wasn’t just the missions that were unexpected . Both of his court gatherings weren’t common .

In-gong recalled everything that had happened in the past . The translucent Green Wind appeared above White Eagle and asked,

'Master, is it really like that?’

In-gong laughed bitterly instead of answering . Even though it was true, he didn’t like it being brought up like this .

‘Are these things due to Protagonist Correction?’

In-gong unwittingly opened the skill window to check .

“But . . . we were able to handle the unexpected events thanks to Your Highness . I would already be dead if it wasn’t for Your Highness . ”

In-gong wasn’t just the cause . They were able to resolve the unexpected situations thanks to In-gong .

Delia said so with a smile and Felicia nodded in agreement, with Daphne and Karma following suit .

In-gong looked at Delia with a touched expression before turning his gaze towards Carack and Green Wind .

"My stomach hurts . ”

'I am always on Master’s side . ’

In-gong couldn’t help laughing at the both of them . It was at that moment . . .

The darkness vanished in an instant . Bright light poured from the ceiling, not only the room where In-gong’s party was but all over the fortress . This was followed by sharp sirens .

Carack, Daphne and Kama sprang up at the sudden change . In-gong, Felicia and Delia were also astonished but the three people thought of something else .

Lights turned on and emergency sirens started ringing . It was a situation that would happen in a fortress or a city, not a small dungeon . Additionally, this situation didn’t happen very often .

It occurred when the most important facility in the ruin was attacked or when a guardian, with a rank that could affect the entire ruin, was attacked .

In-gong and Felicia looked at each other . It was obvious that they both had the same thoughts .

Someone was attacking the dungeon .

They had just arrived at the most important facility or had started a battle with the highest ranked dungeon guardian .

It must be the people who attacked In-gong’s party .

‘The purpose of those guys was to capture Thunderdoom Fortress?'

Did they ambush General Kashubal and In-gong’s party so that their fortress attack wouldn’t be hindered?

It was plausible, although he wasn’t certain .

General Kashubal had died a fortnight ago . If so, they had at least a fortnight to attack Thunderdoom Fortress .

Then why did they wait until now?

It wouldn’t have taken so long unless they were looking in every room and exploring the fortress like Felicia wanted to do .

There was something more . It was clear there was something that In-gong didn’t know about .

'And that is their purpose . ’

What if their goal wasn’t to capture the fortress but to find something? Perhaps they were after the dragon slayer series of weapons, like In-gong?

‘Ascalon . ’

It was the most powerful dragon slayer weapon sleeping in Thunderdoom Fortress . In-gong absolutely had to get his hands on it in this mission .

In-gong finished organizing his thoughts . He couldn’t sit still while those people were acting .

“Shutra . ”

Felicia looked at In-gong . Once again, it was clear that she was thinking the same thing as In-gong .

“Breaking through with force . ”

Felicia nodded at In-gong’s words . Delia was also prepared to fight as she put away all the lighting devices .

In-gong glanced around the party and quickly commanded,

"Carack, raise your shield and lead the way . Just keep running forward . Karma will bring Daphne . Felicia noona and Delia will defend the sides . ”

Until now, they had dismantled the traps one by one, but it would be different now .

Breaking through the traps . They had to do this despite the risks to their bodies .

Carack couldn’t help but laugh as he grasped his shield tightly with both hands . Delia and Felicia stood right behind Carack, followed by Karma who was holding Daphne .

“Green Wind . ”

In-gong raised his left arm and White Eagle flew to it . It would fly around the party and bridge all the gaps in their defense .

“I will try it . ”

Felicia grinned and called her wind spirit . She gave up on all her other magic and only focused on the wind spirit . The wind spirit became a powerful gust of air as it responded to Felicia .

Carack’s side was defending the front . Felicia’s wind was defending the sides . White Eagle flew above their heads and filled in for any gaps .

Daphne added various support magic, while In-gong was armed with the dwarf dagger in order to trigger Below the King’s Flag .

"This is the first time I am targeting a dungeon in this way . ”

It was an ignorant and reckless manner, but Felicia couldn’t help smiling at the new challenge .

“Go . ”

In-gong cried out and Carack breathed in deeply . He released a long breath and moved .

"Run!"

“Kuraha!”

Carack rushed forward . Like a train, the party followed suit . In-gong kept an eye on the mini-map and directed Carack .

Kakakang!

Not long after, arrows poured in from the front . Carack didn’t stop moving and the arrows rained down on his shield .

"Karaha!"

There were also arrows from the side, but the wind spirit didn’t allow this . Almost all the arrows were swept away by the wind while the ones still headed towards the party were blocked by White Eagle .

Carack went down the short path with a lot of traps . At that moment, flames poured down from the ceiling .

"Don't stop!"

In-gong shouted as a green light came from White Eagle . . .

The shield that guarded the heads of the party . The range that wasn’t covered by White Eagle was once again protected by the wind spirit . The strong winds twisted the course of the flames and even redirected the path of acids pouring down .

Carack ran as hard as he could . He was slightly of breath but In-gong had no thoughts about stopping him .

"Full Charge!"

Daphne cast a strong stamina regeneration spell from Karma’s back . Rather than restoring wounds, it was a stamina recovery magic that stabilized Carack’s breathing and gave new power to his legs .

“Hoeeeh!”

Carack moaned as he looked in front of his shield . This time, flames were pouring from the front .

Carack cursed and gave a battle cry at the same time . He tackled the wave of flames head on and opened the path .

“Oatatata!”

"Full Charge!"

Arrows, fire, javelins and so on poured towards the party . Daphne used the spell Full Charge whenever they were exhausted .

They couldn’t become tired while rushing through the traps .

Not just Carack, but everyone in the party had the same determination . However, in the midst of this, In-gong thought of something else .

'The traps are still active!’

This meant the 3rd party didn’t take this path .

“Run! Carack! Run!”

“Ohhh!”

"Full Charge!"

Daphne used her fifth Full Charge . The magic shield from the Demon King’s Palace was a mess . Daphne was becoming exhausted despite being on Karma’s back and Felicia was strained as she kept operating the wind spirit . Regardless, the party was able to maintain the momentum of a runaway train . They weren’t far from their goal .

The advantage of the traps was that there weren’t many dungeon monsters . The monsters that they did see didn’t think about rushing into the traps to fight them .

In fact, this was the nice thing about rushing recklessly . However, it would be the end if there was a trap on the ground . Fortunately, In-gong knew that there were no ground traps on this path and Felicia also disregarded it . It was because ground traps weren’t common for dwarves .

Some time passed .

As Daphne used her final Full Charge and fainted from the lack of magic power, the party reached a big door .

"Kuha, heo . . . ker . ”

Carack gave a bizarre moan and removed his shield . Thanks to Full Charge, his breathing was stable, but his heart felt like it was going to burst due to the psychological problems .

Karma was barely able to stand on her two legs while Felicia’s arms were trembling . Delia looked back at In-gong .

"Your Highness . ”

"Yes, it is probably here . ”

He was sure of it . He had seen the entrance to the control room a few times in Knight Saga .

'Did the dungeon guardian go to support the battle?’

There was supposed to be a gargoyle protecting the entrance to the control room . In-gong gritted his teeth . He guessed where the gargoyle had gone .

‘Indeed, Ascalon . ’

In Thunderdoom Fortress, Ascalon was embedded in the chest of the black dragon Partizan .

Partizan’s body was located in the central plaza . The highest ranked guardian was also there .

‘Master, it is too hard . ’

In-gong gentle touched White Eagle on his left arm in order to soothe the whining Green Wind and opened the door to the control room .

He felt dizzy in the very large room . The last day of Thunderdoom Fortress had been very confusing, so everything was a mess .

In the centre of the room was a large sphere on a desk along with a dwarf helmet on top of some bones . It was Sarabal, the last captain of Thunderdoom Fortress .

Sarabal was seriously injured in the battle with the dragons, so he remained in the control room while the other dwarves escaped . It was clear that he had controlled Thunderdoom Fortress until his very last breath .

After a short moment of silence, Felicia withdrew the control key from Sarabal’s hand . It was the first time she had been to Thunderdoom Fortress, but she had explored dwarf ruins several times and knew what to do .

The small metal rod shaped controlled was inserted into a hole beneath the large sphere and she inserted magic power . A large blue light emerged from the sphere and spread out in front of the party .

"There is a fight . ”

The window of light showed the dungeon guardians of Thunderdoom Fortress confronting the people that he saw in the tunnel . Beyond that was the body of a giant black dragon .

The number of people fighting was roughly 100 .

Felicia gazed at In-gong and he nodded .

It was a chance they could take advantage of .