Dungeon Defense (WN)

* * *

I was sitting in my chair nervously.

My leg shook as I tapped the floor with my foot. It was an unsightly habit, but what was I supposed to do about it? The fate of the Plains Faction was hanging on this battle.

I stayed up all night stooped over on a chair and glaring at the crystal ball placed on my table as I waited to be contacted.

‘Barbatos can’t fall already.’

The northern central region of Habsburg had a great amount of geographical importance.

The region known as the sacred land of Demon Lords, where an absolute majority of the Demon Lords resided……was surrounded by the Black Mountains. My Demon Lord Castle was also among them. It was located in the westernmost area known as Pagegiai.

The name didn’t matter. The issue was the fact that this area was extremely dangerous.

The Teuton Kingdom was to the west while Habsburg was to the south. The region was basically completely exposed to the humans. Barbatos’ faction had to manage this very region for me.

As someone who had gained the immense animosity of several human rulers……in other words, it’d be the end of me if Elizabeth were to go wild and send an army after me. A faction friendly to me has to become my shield and prevent these hostile forces from thinking that sending troops at me would be a viable option.

It would be a problem for me if Agares or Gamigin were to occupy this area. They obviously weren’t on my side. ‘Oh darn, I wasn’t able to deal with the troops sent by an enemy nation! Sorry!’, they’ll probably say something along these lines as they turn a blind eye to the expeditionary force sent at my dungeon.

Imagine what would happen if five hundred soldiers led by knights were to invade. It would be horrifying.

‘I may be fortifying my dungeon, but it can’t stop an army.’

Barbatos has to be my shield until my dungeon is able to finish building at least 7, no, 5 floors.

……Bringing Sitri out was my ace up my sleeve. Sitri’s strength was acknowledged as being a level higher than that of Brother Beleth’s. The chances of victory should increase if she were to join with reinforcements. Of course, there was still a chance of losing.

Victory or defeat. Depending on the situation, I might have to run up to Gamigin, get on my knees, and start licking her toes. This wasn’t a joke. I could clean some toes dozens of times if it means I can increase my chances of survival in the future. However, I also earnestly didn’t want Barbatos to be defeated…….

– Dantalian.

A blue light flowed out from the crystal ball. General Zepar appeared within the ball. I was finally being contacted!

– Dantalian, are you there?

“Yes, Brother Zepar! I’ve been waiting.”

I could tell just by a glance that General Zepar was utterly exhausted. He was still wearing his armor, so the battle must have only just ended. I hastily got closer to the crystal ball and hunched down. I was nervous on the inside. Why wasn’t Barbatos contacting me herself?

Barbatos had been the one to contact me all the time. It didn’t seem like she’d let another person do it without a special reason. Therefore, it meant that Barbatos wasn’t in a state that allowed her to contact me. Injured, defeated, lost……hopeless words started to pop up in my head on their own.

I asked in a trembling voice.

“The battle. How did the battle go?”

– Ah. We won.

They won! Barbatos won!

I covered my face with my hands. My chest pounded as I let out a relieved sigh. It felt like the exhaustion that had piled up for the past 4 days as I stayed up all night had vanished all at once. Barbatos had won!

“How big are our losses? What is the state Her Excellency Barbatos is in? Was she injured to the point of being unable to contact me herself? Has Agares been captured? What is happening to the unaffiliated Demon Lords?

– Dantalian, you are in too much of a hurry.

General Zepar let out a hearty laugh.

– I cannot answer all of those questions at once. Calm down.

“……My apologies, I have just been on edge for the past few days.”

– Our forces were victorious. This fact will not change. There is no reason for you to be in such urgency now. The frantic battle has ended, so it is time for your calm sense of reason to return. The duty given to you is far from any sort of excitement……am I wrong?”

“No. It is as you said.”

I nodded.

That’s right. I’m a diplomat in this internal discourse, not a general. I have to be calmer than everyone else. Even if my opponent was someone who has about 200 snakes in her stomach, Demon Lord Gamigin. She was definitely a formidable opponent.

“Brother Zepar, please tell me what the losses are on both sides first.”

General Zepar’s expression became serious.

– Within our army of 18,600 men, we lost about 4,000. 3,000 were injured and 1,000 were killed in battle. We do not have the exact numbers yet. And for the enemy……out of their 21,000 men, they suffered about 10,000 casualties.

My face lit up.

Their casualties reached up to 10,000 out of their initial army of 21,000 men. It wasn’t a simple victory. It was an overwhelming victory! You could almost say that Agares’ army was annihilated. My breathing became heavier. I did my best to hide my excitement as I asked calmly.

“How is Supreme Commander Barbatos’ condition?”

– I understand your unease, but you can put your concerns aside. Her Excellency had simply used too much magic power during her battle against Agares. There is a chance of a mana reflux happening if she were to exert herself any more than this, so Her Excellency is currently recuperating.

“So she is not injured?”

– To be honest, she is rather full of energy. Beleth and I were barely able to stop her from shouting about trying to pursue Agares as we put her to bed.

What a relief. I let out another sigh. It almost felt like I had become a grandpa who was filled with worries and woes. Damn it, they say that you grow older the more you sigh.

– Unfortunately, we failed in capturing Agares alive. Well, it is questionable whether capturing Agares alive is actually possible or not. It is not exactly comparable, but we captured three unaffiliated Demon Lords as prisoners.

According to General Zepar’s explanation, Sitri’s army abruptly appeared from behind while the Plains Faction was holding down the enemy. As a result, they were able to wipe out the enemy troops by carrying out the most ancient hammer and anvil maneuver.

General Zepar smiled wryly.

– I never imagined the day we would get helped by the Mountain Faction would ever arrive. Dantalian, our Plains Faction has constantly been in a state of surprise because of you as we continue to wonder what sort of magic trick you will perform next. You ended up being the biggest contributor to the battle despite not participating in the battle yourself.

“This is embarrassing. Then would it be fine for me to immediately go into today’s negotiation?”

– Indeed. Her Excellency has given her royal permission. Do your best to hunt that Desert Fox.

Desert Fox was Gamigin’s nickname. She had beautiful blonde hair, but she was also as sly as a fox. It was now time for me to hunt that fox.

I nodded.

I, Dantalian, was powerless before the strong, but I was also utterly powerful against the weak. I’ll torment you until you cry, Gamigin. Look forward to it. I’ll be applying a tax to all the teasing you have done until now…….

* * *

Gamigin possessed a large villa in Niflheim.

It was probably best to refer to it as the most recent style of architecture in this era. Most of the land consisted of a garden with a stream flowing down the middle, and the villa was placed deep within this plot of land. The building was small but fancy. It seemed like every person with a high rank possessed at least one villa of their own in a large city within the demon world.

I smiled as I walked past a beautiful fountain. Gamigin was probably making a sour face while holed up in this fancy villa. The thought pleased me.

“Please come this way.”

I was led by a maid to one side of the garden. The foliage had all been pruned with the utmost care. There was an artificial beauty here. It was identical to Gamigin who had also lived her entire life deceiving others with her smile. It made sense that her personality was rotten since her taste was rotten as well. Haha.

After walking on the garden’s dirt path for a while, I arrived at an open field that seemed like it was being hidden by the foliage. Gamigin was seated here.

“Come on in, Dantalian.”

Gamigin welcomed me with a smile. She still had the strength to smile. How splendid.

“This is the first time a man has set foot in my garden.”

“How many men have you whispered that line to up to this point?”

“Mm, maybe about 200~?”

I knew it. I sat down across from her.

“You seem to have quite the leisure. I expected you to be a bit more nervous.”

“Despite how I look, I’m actually really anxious on the inside.”

Gamigin laughed. Her smile may have been plastered on her face for so long that she could no longer take it off. I suddenly became curious to see how this woman’s face would look if she scowled. The thought of her expression contorting in pain and pleasure to the point that she couldn’t possibly smile.

Wouldn’t it feel like paradise?

The thought of it alone excited me.

“Only the two of us are here, so there should be no need for us to keep up appearances.”

“Oh dear. Are you saying that we have a special relationship between us?”

“Who knows……? That may happen depending on how things proceed from now on.”

I deliberately ended it with an open-ended sentence.

Hmm, Gamigin mused as she tilted her glass. She was wearing a cloth attire that was more revealing than her usual clothes. Was this her sleepwear? Her thigh and cleavage line were completely revealed because of the way the cloth draped over her skin. The cloth was also thin, so Gamigin’s white skin was also fairly visible through it.

The sun was setting, so it wasn’t weird for her to be wearing her sleepwear. However, wearing something like this while welcoming a guest was way too insincere.

She was clearly taunting me with this attire…….A clear seduction tactic. This was probably her intent.

Considering Gamigin’s personality, was she trying to seduce me? Was she trying to pull me in with her beauty? How interesting. Let’s see how skilled her seduction skills are.

“I will get straight to the point, our Plains Faction will not distribute even a tiny piece of our land.”

“Oh? You’re coming out rather strong?”

“I gave you a clear warning during the last negotiation.”

I removed the smile from my lips.

“That was honestly the last opportunity for Miss Gamigin to suggest a ‘good’ compromise. Our Plains Faction has won and we will continue to do so. Miss Agares and the other unaffiliated Demon Lords no longer have this opportunity.”

“Why? Victory and defeat are fickle things.”

Gamigin commented as she fiddle with her side bang with her finger.

“Agares may have lost today, but who knows what will happen tomorrow. Agares has the strength to turn the tables. You can’t deny this.”

“Naturally, I acknowledge this fact. Miss Agares is undoubtedly the strongest fighter in the world. Out of the entirety of both the demon world and the continent, there is probably not a single person in this day and age who would dare to be hostile against her.”

However, I added as I continued.

“Therefore, I have been busy in order to remove even the slightest possibility.”

“Hm?”

“The day after tomorrow, Sir Marbas will lead the Neutral Faction and cross Habsburg’s border.”

“…….”

Gamigin paused for a moment.

“Don’t lie. Marbas would never get militaristically involved in a power struggle.”

“You are correct. However, that is if this internal discourse was a struggle between ‘factions’. In all respects, this situation was caused by Miss Agares alone. All of the Demon Lords involved on her side are unaffiliated.”

I smiled.

“From Sir Marbas’ perspective, this is like an unaffiliated group is stirring trouble. An era is approaching where the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction are finally about to co-exist after having been enemies for more than a thousand years; however, there is a group who is unable to read the mood and is trying to interfere with this era of coexistence…….”

I casually took the glass from Gamigin’s hand. I took a sip of the alcohol before continuing. The alcohol was sweet and had a deep taste. It was a high-quality wine. I gradually felt better.

“This is probably incredibly displeasing to him. Monkeys that interfere with the concord of factions could only be annoying. It would only be natural to use this opportunity to stomp them out. Don’t you think so as well?”

Was I seeing things? Gamigin’s red eyes became cold.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I said I would get this chapter out sooner but I was busy with some real life stuff yesterday, so I wasn’t able to upload this chapter. Sorry about that. Uh, nothing too important to say here today. Still no response from Discord about recovering my servers, but at this point, I might have to just give up on them. It really sucks that all the memories will be gone, but what else can I do? It’s my fault for getting hacked temporarily.

In any case, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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