Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Monarch (3)

Monarch (3)

Monarch (3)

The central cavern, expanded to the size of a plaza.

I look around once more before deactivating [Gigantification].

‘This is like Gwanghwamun Plaza.’

Thousands of explorers are standing shoulder to shoulder, staring at me.

Just how many are there?

I can’t even begin to count.

If you include those who are still in the passages because of the crowd in the center, it would be a truly staggering number.

I realize once again…

…that there’s a huge difference between numbers you hear or read about and numbers you see with your own eyes.

‘Would that bastard have made a different decision if he had seen this?’

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

It was a meaningless assumption.

And it wasn’t something I should be worried about right now.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

“…You were supposed to tell us what to do, why are you suddenly shouting?”

“I just felt like it!”

To be precise, I get nervous when this many people gather.

But shouting made me feel a bit better.

I’m a barbarian.

Right, so…

…there’s nothing I can’t do in this world.

“Everyone, listen carefully!”

All eyes turn to me in the silence, which is hard to believe considering how many people are gathered here.

Geez, how embarrassing.

“Let’s put our heads together! There must be someone smart among this many people!”

I continue speaking shamelessly.

Although I already have a plan, I judged that it would seem suspicious if I revealed everything in front of this many people.

“Huh?”

“That’s it…?”

The explorers, who were listening intently, make dazed expressions.

Some of them even look disappointed.

“What was I even expecting? From a barbarian?”

It’s a barbarian’s only weakness.

They can’t lead the situation proactively while showing their intellectual side. Well, I wouldn’t have been able to stop the fighting if I weren’t a barbarian.

“Th, then why were you shouting so passionately earlier?!”

“Because a wise warrior knows where to vent their anger. This isn’t the place for us to shed blood.”

“No, I understand what you’re trying to say, but…”

The explorers don’t know what to say.

I feign ignorance.

I’ve already achieved my goal of saving the knight.

No, is that all?

I also succeeded in creating an environment for everyone to gather and talk, and I even left a deep impression on them.

The first objective is complete.

“He’s not wrong. Everyone has their own role, right? He stopped the unnecessary bloodshed and allowed us to gather here, so he’s already fulfilled a great duty.”

The middle-aged man who introduced himself as a military mage defended me and changed the atmosphere.

It seems like he has a good impression of me.

“Role… that reminds me of a passage from The Prince. That a monarch’s role isn’t to fight, but to inspire the will to fight.”

“Haha, I can’t believe there’s someone here who read that book. It’s nice to meet you. You’re Melter Pend from the Nartel Clan, right?”

“Yes, Kyle.”

“Oh, you know me?”

“You’re quite famous.”

The two of them exchange friendly glances as they have a brief conversation.

It’s not a good sign.

We don’t have time for socializing, and these are explorers who were abandoned by the leaders.

They’ll definitely feel uneasy if a bond forms between us.

“Enough, let’s talk! Does anyone have any information they don’t know?”

I cut in, pretending to be clueless, and steer the conversation back on track.

These people need to have a discussion for my plan to work.

And they need to reach the conclusion I’ve already reached.

Even if it’s a bit troublesome for me.

“First, we need to figure this out. Why did the royal family abandon us?”

Melter Pend initiates the conversation as no one else steps forward.

“That’s right! There was no problem enduring until now, so why did those bastards…”

The biggest contradiction in the current situation.

Those who were angry at being abandoned have regained their composure and are expressing their doubts.

The answer comes quickly since there are so many people gathered here.

“It’s probably because of the Floor Master.”

It was the military mage, Kyle, who spoke.

“…Floor Master?”

“But we’ve been successfully blocking the Floor Master until now!”

“That’s true for now. The commander was probably afraid of what would appear after the ninth Floor Master is defeated.”

“…What?”

“The Lord of the Abyss, Verzak. It’s another Floor Master.”

Most of them are confused, saying they’ve never heard of it, and Kyle briefly explains the Lord of the Abyss to them.

“That’s why we have to report to the guild and get their approval before defeating the Lord of Fear. It’s that much of a disaster.”

“So you’re saying that even hundreds of knights and large clans can’t defeat it?”

“No, it’s not that bad. But…”

Kyle trails off and looks into the distance.

“We’re not the only ones here.”

Noark and Lafdonia.

And the Lord of the Abyss, Verzak.

“The command judged that Noark would definitely interfere if we fought Verzak.”

“Come to think of it, there haven’t been any attacks since the first day…”

“Damn it, I was wondering why, so that was their plan all along!”

It’s a kind of endgame scenario.

A strategy of mutual destruction, where they use Verzak to inflict heavy damage on each other.

That’s why the knight commander chose to retreat.

High-ranking explorers and knights are valuable assets that can’t be easily replaced.

He wanted to protect at least that much.

For that damn royal family.

“Wait! Then isn’t that strange? If they knew something so dangerous would appear, why didn’t they try to go up to the 2nd floor before that?”

One explorer points out a contradiction.

It’s also something I’ve thought about deeply.

But the answer is simple.

“I think I can answer that.”

This time, it’s the priestess from the Heindel Church.

“A search party was formed to explore the 2nd-floor portal on the first day we entered the labyrinth. And this is information I heard while treating a knight from the search party who survived.”

“Tell us quickly!”

“The portal connected to the west, the Rock Desert, is unfortunately no longer usable.”

“No longer usable?”

“The Ruin Scholar. I heard that cursed mage destroyed the portal.”

A wave of unrest spreads as the name of the Ruin Scholar, one of Orculus’s executives, is mentioned.

I silently organize my thoughts.

‘The west…’

Then the probability is 1 in 3 now?

I obtained valuable information.

“If the west is blocked, we can just go through another portal!”

Someone in the crowd shouts, but very few people agree.

Because it’s an obvious cause and effect.

“Although we haven’t confirmed the other portals, the knight said it’s highly likely that the Ruin Scholar has already been there.”

“Then…”

“Yes, it means we’re completely trapped here.”

A heavy silence falls after the priestess’s words.

But the discussion continues.

“Those Noark bastards are really serious this time.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“Even if it’s not that Verzak monster, if they find out that our core forces are gone, they’ll definitely attack.”

The explorers are participating in the conversation even more actively than before.

But there are no results.

Because we don’t have enough clues to come up with a solution.

“Aren’t you all looking at this too narrowly? A skilled warrior always predicts the enemy’s next move and acts accordingly.”

I interject from time to time and give them hints.

“Do you think they didn’t expect us to open Dimensional Gates and escape after preparing for months?”

“…Honestly, I think it would be stranger if they didn’t expect it.”

Hmm, that’s true.

It’s a crazy act that ordinary people wouldn’t even think of.

But…

“That makes sense. Maybe they cornered us to make us use Dimensional Gate.

The military mage, Kyle, and a few others didn’t dismiss my words.

“Yes. Then the real war might be next time, not this time. There aren’t many mages left in the city who can use Dimensional Gate.”

“It could also be a strategy to instigate internal conflict between the royal family and the explorers. If this incident spreads throughout the city, the distrust towards the royal family will explode. Well, that’s only meaningful if we return alive.”

They were all questions I had pondered.

Any of them made sense in the current situation.

“I don’t know what those bastards are aiming for.”

The military mage, Kyle, asked me,

“What do you think? I think your opinion is important.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just pointed out the key point. I’m curious about your intuition as a warrior.”

I hesitated for a moment.

I had reached a conclusion after much contemplation and speculation.

Of course, I wasn’t sure if it was right.

But…

“I think we were their target from the beginning.”

“Hoo, not the knights and the large clans?”

Kyle responded with interest, but not everyone felt the same way.

“That’s ridiculous. If they knew we would use Dimensional Gate, why would they use this strategy? It would be a loss for them to be annihilated with us after all the valuable people have escaped.”

It was the guy who had been talking amicably with the other powerful figures and giving me hostile looks.

I don’t know why he’s acting like that towards me.

Is it because I’m bald?

I chuckled and spoke,

“Why do you think they want to die with us? They can just go up to the upper floors.”

“Like I said before—”

“They can just leave one portal open and escape through it.”

That was my conclusion.

After all, it’s a world full of efficiency freaks.

If I were the leader of the enemy, this was the only option that made sense.

‘It’s the most profitable option for them.’

First, they can make over a hundred high-ranking mages use Dimensional Gate and buy time.

And they can weaken the royal family’s influence in the city…

And most importantly, they can wipe out tens of thousands of explorers without shedding a single drop of blood, even if the core forces have escaped.

We wouldn’t be able to defeat ‘Verzak’ even if we tried, now that the key players are gone.

But could it be that it was hard for him to accept?

“There’s no way it’s that simple—”

The guy, who was momentarily speechless, started to object mindlessly.

No, to be precise, he was about to…

“As expected, you also thought the same.”

…when the military mage, Kyle, nodded.

‘What, so he was testing me even though he already had a guess?’

Although it’s a bit unsettling, I keep my mouth shut.

Geez, this is why I tried not to stand out.

But it was comforting that it seemed like he was testing my abilities rather than suspecting me.

“…?”

That’s when we heard a commotion from outside.

Although we couldn’t hear the sound because it was far away…

…it didn’t take long for the news to reach us.

“Captain!”

“What is it?”

“The Noark bastards who were blocking the passages have all disappeared!”

Kyle smiled bitterly, looking at me.

“It seems like you and I were right.”

Now we really have to hurry.

____________________

It wasn’t difficult to come up with a plan after learning about Noark’s strategy.

Even if it wasn’t a perfect plan.

What we had to do was clear.

“We have to go up to the 2nd floor too.”

“But do we even know where it is?”

“At least we know it’s not in the west. Let’s split into three groups and search.”

We split into three groups and run towards the 2nd-floor portal.

Of course, it doesn’t end there.

“It’s still a problem even if we go up! They’ll be there…”

Another mountain to climb.

More hardships await us.

But so what?

“It’s better than dying here. It’s up to each of you now.”

Kyle spoke coldly, and no one said they would stay behind.

At least not around us.

“Then how are we going to divide our forces?”

One explorer asked about the detailed strategy.

I interjected before Kyle, who had been leading the conversation like a leader, could say anything.

“It’s better to divide into groups of 300.”

“300? We’re already short on manpower, what are you—”

Ha, this bastard is at it again.

“It’s a terrain where it’s difficult to fight together effectively if there are too many people. It’s better this way.”

In technical terms, it means we’re going for guerrilla warfare.

Although I didn’t say it out loud, everyone seemed to understand the meaning behind it.

“Hmm, that makes sense. Leaving aside the battles, more people will survive if we disperse. It will also distract that monster.”

“So you’re saying we should act as bait for each other and survive individually since most of us will die if we encounter him.”

It’s a truly ruthless strategy.

But everyone agreed without objection.

That’s the good thing about being an explorer.

There’s no time wasted on arguing about things like fairness.

“Then how are we going to form the groups?”

“Let’s just do it ourselves. I don’t want to be under anyone’s command.”

“Right, we don’t have time.”

One explorer, the leader of an unknown small clan, left as soon as the plan was roughly organized.

And then it was pandemonium.

“Red Light Clan! I’m looking for people to escape this damn place with! Anyone above 6th grade, any number of people!”

Some were recruiting companions.

“One of our team members is 7th grade. How about it?”

Some were looking for a place to belong.

And in the midst of that chaos…

“Mr. Kyle, I heard you’re alone, would you like to join our clan?”

…Melter Pend, the leader of the Nartel Clan, immediately tried to recruit the mage.

Tsk, I was going to ask him first.

But judging by how they were chatting amicably earlier, it seems like he won’t refuse.

‘I need to move quickly before they’re all taken.’

“Then I’ll be going. Let’s see each other alive.”

I said goodbye briefly and turned around.

I was planning to return to my companions and then quickly start recruiting.

It would be quite difficult to gather 300 people as a nobody barbarian.

That’s when, as I was hurriedly walking away…

“Wait, what are you planning to do?”

…the military mage, Kyle, stopped me.

“You’re the type to be the leader, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then take me with you.”

Huh?

“Why?”

“I’m just following my gut. I feel like people will gather around you.”

“…You’re following your gut in a life-or-death situation?”

Kyle smiled and answered as I glanced at Melter Pend, who had just offered him a position,

“A mage who voluntarily stayed in this mess wouldn’t be sane, would he?”

Uh, well, that’s true.

“Alright. I look forward to working with you.”

I have a high-ranking mage now.

It’s a very positive sign.

I can use this to recruit even better members—

“Take us with you.”

A group of knights approached me before I could even take a step.

The knight at the front was a familiar face. It was the one who was being beaten up with a resigned expression when we first arrived.

“Four regular knights and six apprentice knights. We won’t hold you back, wherever you go.”

Are they trying to repay their debt?

It’s a win for me.

“Alright, follow me.”

The knights stand behind me.

But before I can even take another step, someone calls out to me.

“Wait.”

It’s Melter Pend, the leader of the Nartel Clan.

What? Is it because I stole the mage from him?

He didn’t seem like that kind of person…

“Which direction are you going?”

“East.”

The west is blocked, so the east is the best option.

If the first attempt fails, we can change course and head north or south, depending on the situation.

“Coincidentally, I’m also heading in that direction. How about we go together?”

“I don’t intend to join your clan.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll follow your orders.”

“What?”

This was also unexpected.

I didn’t think he was the type to be under someone’s command.

What is this? A prank?

“So what’s your answer?”

“…If you promise to follow my orders.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Melter Pend and his clan members stand behind me.

Honestly, I’m dumbfounded.

I haven’t even made an offer yet, and I’ve already gathered this many people?

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

“Follow the next chieftain!!”

More barbarians run towards me and follow as I take a few more steps.

Well, this is only natural.

“Mister!!”

“Erwen? Where’s your clan?”

“My sister said this way is safer! You’ll take us too, right?”

“Of course.”

The fairy sisters also join us, as if they were watching from nearby.

And that’s not all.

“If it’s okay with you, we’d like to join you.”

A 4th-grade team operating on the 6th floor.

“I think you’ll be able to save the most people.”

A priestess who stayed behind to save people.

“Haha, a loyal guy is the most trustworthy in times like this. Take us with you too.”

Even a famous dwarf clan from the city.

Countless people approach me and ask to join as I’m just walking.

“See, I told you. People would gather around you.”

“…….”

“A mage’s intuition is usually accurate.”

Kyle smiles meaningfully, looking at me.