Chapter 42 - Monke Games
A/N: Edit: Had a Typo, Fixed!
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… I will make sure that all the soldiers involved in that distasteful execution will beg for death once I have my way with them, but all I can do is watch for now.
As I saw the corpses of the two Hunters who were my temporary allies in the past, all I felt was rage. Not rage at their deaths, but rage at the soldiers' actions.
Is that really how soldiers are supposed to act? Killing valuable assets that could help them against the monsters that plague their lives every day?
Suddenly, I felt thankful to the System for reincarnating me as a Dungeon Master, and not as an ordinary human. The System was right, not even a month in and I can see why I would be dead in that time-span.
This world is ruthless.
Maybe my assholery when I made a deal with Bentley wasn't as farfetched as I claimed it out to be.
From what I could gather from the reports of the chimps, as well as their conversation I overhead when I saved the twin elves, I concluded that whatever faction these soldiers are a part of, they discriminate heavily against demi-humans.
The chimps reported that humans with no relations with demi-humans, as well as Hunter parties with only human members, were left alone if they didn't oppose the rule. Demi-humans and the humans who interact with them at a personal level, however, were subjugated, imprisoned, tortured, and executed in the most painful and humiliating way possible.
What's even worse is that they didn't even care to consider the ages, as well as the disabilities of those they subjugated. Adult? Imprisoned. Old? Imprisoned. Pregnant? Imprisoned. Children…?
Imprisoned… And all of them wouldn't live to see the next morning sun rise because, by that time, their souls would've already risen up high into the sky.
… Filthy humans…
"Domino, have all mobs in the poison swamp area hide," I relayed my orders to Domino, who accepted with a tiny nod. "Instruct them to work their way around the traps, and strike when they see an opening, only when they're sure they won't get killed."
"Mu… Soldiers entering…" Domino's monotone voice entered my ears like a soothing song. I patted her head as she leaned in once more to my touch.
"Let them," I glared at the screen, the filthy human soldiers entering my Dungeon in groups. I grinned maliciously as the first group made it to the poison swamp area. "They won't live to see the rising sun tomorrow."
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~ Third Person POV ~
"Gah, a swamp," a nameless soldier who wasn't paid enough to question the horrible things he had witnessed towards the human couple, muttered out. "Probably poisonous too."
"Then step lively," the accompanying soldier whacked his head with his free hand. "I won't have you killing me early, not when there are still filthy demi-humans to purge from our wonderful earth!"
"Yeah, yeah…" The soldier replied with a shrug. He had nothing against those demi-humans, but the religion his faction worships made him want to throw-up and desert all the way to another country.
There were 5 in his group, all of them wearing similar attire, wielding similar weapons. They were only outfitted with a shield, a shortsword, chestplates, gauntlents, greaves, and boots.
All in all, a standard piece of equipment perfectly suited for footmen like them.
"Hey, you heard that?" Another one of them piped up from his side, shield raised high in alert.
"Stay sharp, lads," the soldier who wacked the nameless soldier's head gripped his blade tightly. "Who knows where the filthy demi-humans are hiding."
… Goddamn fanatic…
Ignoring his last remarks, the nameless soldier cautiously walked along the mud-caked path. The other soldiers followed suit as well, slowly making their way across the muddy ground.
"I don't like the looks of this," another soldier remarked anxiously, his sword hand shaking slightly as his paranoia slowly took a hold of him.
"Tch, quiet coward," the fanatical soldier sneered at the shameful display of a soldier. "If you weren't a part of our army, I would've executed you on Phoemis' behal—"
The fanatical soldier's words were cut off as he fell into a trap. A pitfall trap, to be precise. He landed with a thud, his groans signifying that he was still alive.
"Shit! Traps! Everybody, on your toes!" The nameless soldier quickly scanned the surroundings. The ground, the swamp, the trees, the vines, the grass, everything, he scrutinized heavily. The other soldiers all did the same.
"Ugh… Hey! Help me get out of here!" The fanatical soldier's shouts were heard as he tried to reach for the muddy ledge. The nameless soldier bent down on his knees to inspect the hole if there were anymore traps. "Hey! What are you waiting for! Help me get out of her—GAH!?"
His complaints, however, were cut short as a dagger stabbed through his neck. The dagger was swiftly removed and the assailant was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence of its attack was the convulsing body of the fanatical soldier as he gasped for air with his blood-filled throat.
What the nameless soldier saw during the attack, though, was a black, hairy arm wielding the dagger from the shadows.
"Shit! Man down, keep your eyes peeled for any sign of black fur!" The nameless soldier screamed out as he nudged the other panicking soldiers to back away from the hole.
That was a wrong move…
Another trap was triggered when a panicking soldier tripped on a tree root. His foot got snagged on a rope and he was lifted into the air, his limbs flailing as he dropped his sword to the ground.
"H-Help! Get me down!" His panicked screams intensified as a giant piece of wood slammed into him, sending him flying into the poison swamp.
"S-shit! I didn't sign up for this!" Another soldier shouted and ran back towards the exit. Seeing this, the nameless soldier widened his eyes in shock.
"H-hey! Wait!" The nameless soldier, as well as the other remaining one, chased after the deserting soldier through the muddy ground. It wasn't long until the deserting soldier fell into a pitfall trap, letting out a shriek of pain as his unprotected skin and flesh were pierced by the sharp sticks placed upright.
"Aggh!!! H-help me! HELP ME!!!" The nameless soldier ran towards the pitfall quickly, but carefully, making sure that he travelled the same path the deserting soldier did. It wasn't long after that the deserting soldier's cries slowly lost intensity, and by the time the nameless soldier reached the pitfall, it was already too late.
"W… We need to report this back…" The nameless soldier muttered in fear. They weren't Hunters, damn it. Soldiers were trained for war and combat, not for spotting traps within Dungeons.
Little did they know, this would be the day their pitiful lives ended.
Outside the Dungeon, the commanding officer was waiting for the expendable group of scouts to return. If they didn't return, then they would've most likely died, and he could make a guess at how difficult the Dungeon would be.
"… It seems that this Dungeon is above D-rank," the commanding officer stroked his stubble. "Probably about mid C-rank."
The commanding officer addressed a soldier nearby.
"You, go back to Kazanpan, recruit some Hunters specialized in trap detection," the soldier nodded and gathered a group of four and vanished into the dense forest. "Well then, Jionni.. The game is on."
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