Dungeon Defense (WN)

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“Old man Marbas has called for a meeting.”

Barbatos collected her whip as she spoke. My body trembled as I pulled up my pants after being forced into experiencing some SM play. It stung a lot when my pants reached my rear…….

“A meeting?”

“Old man Marbas, the whore slut, and me, he wants a meeting with the three of us.”

Whore slut was referring to Paimon. Barbatos must not have been satisfied with just calling Paimon a whore as she decided to put the words whore and slut together. I chuckled as I responded.

“Don’t go. Marbas is going to try to act as a mediator between you and Paimon. There’s no reason for you to go right now. If you wait a little longer, you’ll be at more of an advantage.”

“Hm.”

The meeting has to be held not when the 2nd legion arrives, but when the 3rd legion, 4th legion, and the 5th legion all arrive.

The more Demon Lord armies present, the harder it will become for the Mountain Faction to coordinate with the Habsburg Empire. The Demon Lord army and the Habsburg Empire are still enemies, after all. This will make things absurdly troubling for the Mountain Faction that’s a part of the Demon Lord army and also the human empire’s ally……. On the other hand, this will give our Plains Faction more of an advantage.

“Then we’ll just wait.”

“Yeah. Time is on our side.”

We decided to wait comfortably.

Like this, several days had passed. The Demon Lords of the Plains Faction became more relaxed as well. They walked around the encampment casually as if the time they were mulling over whether ‘we should fight honorably or, although it’s cowardly, survive for now’ was in the distant past.

In particular, Brother Beleth would often be seen grinning. Similar to the time when we were in the lord of Brandenburg’s castle, he would occasionally hold small banquets with a few other Demon Lords. Drinking in the middle of our camp……well, it’s fine as long as they keep it in moderation.

Nonetheless, I’d be really grateful if he stopped trying to force me to drink with him. If I were to make a comparison, Rank 13 Demon Lord Beleth was like Zhang Fei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He believes that everyone in the world enjoys alcohol as much as he does. This 4-meter tall ogre crossbreed lifted up a 1-meter barrel of alcohol like some sort of professional weightlifter and chugged it down!

“Kuaah. Those humans know how to make some good alcohol.”

“…….” 

I watched as the 1-meter barrel of alcohol was emptied in real time. I was bewildered. How large is his stomach? If his stomach is large enough to contain the alcohol from a 1-meter barrel, then I don’t think you can call that a stomach anymore.

“Burp.”

Beleth let out a burp. The wretched smell of alcohol spread all around him. I wanted to faint. I already felt annoyed because I got forcefully dragged into this when I just happened to be passing by, but I also had to experience another man’s breath. ……Seriously, the world is cruel.

“Now then, Dantalian. Drink up!”

Beleth poured some alcohol into my cup.

“This is too much…….”

“Nonsense. If you’re a man, then you should be able to drink this much through your nose!”

If we were to go by his standards, a man has to first also share the blood of an ogre. Unfortunately, I’m human. But it seems this ogre mixed breed has faulty eyes because he was treating me like I was the same race as him. This isn’t right.

I let out a sigh and chugged the alcohol down.

“Ooh.”

The other Demon Lords around us let out an exaggerated sound of awe. One of them spoke.

“Impressive. He drinks well despite his figure.”

“What about my figure?”

If possible, I’d like them to say that my style is that of a young noble. Macho men like you guys are not the general trend. The trend is men like me with slender lines. I’m serious. I’m not a shut-in but a young noble who prefers a life of seclusion.

“Kuh, Vepar lost as well! 4 people have lost already!”

“Hahaha! If you wish to beat me in a drinking battle, then you have to bring three times more than this!”

Rank 42 Demon Lord Vepar collapsed. There were 3 other Demon Lords on the floor beside him. All of them had started a drinking contest with Brother Beleth and lost miserably. They are truly pathetic. Why is it that drunkards are unsightly whether they win or lose?

“You’re next, Dantalian!”

Alcohol spewed out from Beleth’s mouth as he called me out.

“Eh!? Me?”

“It’s because you’re my younger brother. If you’re my younger brother, then you must naturally drink as much as me!”

A glass was forced into my hands. It was a big porcelain bowl that was probably mistaken as a cup when it was brought over from the kitchen. Beleth poured alcohol into the bowl.

“B-Brother, this is too much.”

“Hmmm? I can’t hear you―?”

Damn it. Was he trying to act cute just now? It’d be great if he bit his tongue and killed himself right now.

……No. Let’s calm down. Even Beleth should have a limit to the size of his stomach. 

He competed against 4 other people before this, so it should be rather full now. If you look at this objectively, Beleth should no longer have any room left inside of him……. Therefore, my victory is guaranteed!

I chuckled. It was the leisure of the wise who knew how to use their head compared to a warrior who only knew how to use their body.

“Very well, then. I will take the title as the greatest drinker of the Plains Faction.”

“That’s the spirit! Kuhaha, come at me, little brother!”

I let out a short shout before raising my bowl of alcohol.

My memory was sent flying.

Once I managed to force my eyes open, I saw 7 other Demon Lords collapsed on the ground pitifully around me. Beleth wasn’t among them. He most likely defeated 2 more people after I collapsed. He wiped us out completely.

You shouldn’t venture to do things you aren’t used to in life.

There were small incidents like this, but……for the most part, the atmosphere in the Plains Faction was fairly good. Human and demon armies continued to set up their positions on both of our sides, but no one seemed worried or acted like defeatists. 

We weren’t excessively relaxed either. We trained our drafted soldiers and reinforced our camp. We were relaxed, but we also kept our guards up. Our forces managed to maintain this ideal state of mind. A majority of the Demon Lords from the Plains Faction were bred for war. They knew when and how to relax better than anyone else.

Armies started to gather on the Bruno Plains where we had set up our encampment.

The army from the Republic of Batavia arrived first. Once they arrived, the humans on the other side of the plains let out a cheer. Different from the commanding officers who now had to integrate their command, humans were simply on the side of humans while demons were on the side of demons to the normal soldiers. They welcomed the sight of more humans with opened arms.

Next, the armies from the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom arrived at the same time. They both had 20,000 soldiers respectively.

Their dignity was impressive. The tents and banners of the human armies on the other side of the plains created a forest. With this, the human army consisted of Habsburg, Francia, Batavia, Sardinia, and Polish-Lithuania. Thus, with a total of 5 nations, they made up a massive army of 80,000. Their morale increased exponentially.

For only four days.

“Lord! Come outside quickly!”

Laura ran into the tent urgently. I thought that some sort of complication had occurred so I asked no questions and followed her outside. I then witnessed a surprising scene.

“……A fortress?”

A massive fortress was ‘moving’. The structure that was about 50 to 80 meters above the ground was being supported by 6 claws that were incredibly slim compared to the main body itself. It made me think of the movie Howl’s Moving Castle. 

Of course, if you exclude its ability to move, then they shared absolutely no similarities. The body of the fortress looked slender while the legs were long. Furthermore, there were 3 cogwheels that were as big as the body attached to the stronghold. The cogwheels turned endlessly. 

I wasn’t the only one that was surprised as there were other monsters and Demon Lords coming out of their tents to stare up at the sky with blank looks. Only Barbatos could speak calmly.

“That’s Valefor.”

“Valefor? The Rank 6th?”

Barbatos nodded.

“That’s Valefor’s Demon Lord Castle. The moving fortress, <Labyrinthos>.”

Dear Lord! My mouth fell agape. A dungeon like that didn’t exist in the game. If I remember correctly, Valefor definitely had a grand castle like the other high-ranking Demon Lords. Albeit, the unique thing about his was the fact that it was in the ocean……. Wait a second. The ocean?

I asked Barbatos.

“Hey, out of curiosity. Where is his castle normally located?”

“It’s usually sitting in the Germania Ocean. That guy really likes the ocean.”

“I see.”

I understood now. That imposing castle is usually sitting in the ocean, so it normally looks as if it’s floating on the surface of the ocean, but it’s actually capable of walking around like it is now. Even an avid fan of Dungeon Attack like myself wasn’t aware of this hidden setting……. 

Rank 6 Valefor’s castle overwhelmed anyone that looked at it. This was an era where tall buildings don’t exist. You could live your entire life without seeing a building that’s over 10 meters, and yet, a structure that’s no less than 60 to 70 meters tall had suddenly appeared. Adding to this, the structure could also move around freely. The morale of the human army naturally dropped.

Referentially, Rank 6 Valefor made up the Crescent Alliance’s 4th legion with Rank 3 Vassago. Two people were being treated as an entire legion, but if they’re like this, then they’re definitely comparable to an entire legion. Think about it. An impregnable fortress can move around on its own. The amount of strategic value this has is unimaginable.

The next day, Rank 2 Agares arrived while leading the Crescent Alliance’s 3rd legion. The main army of the Frankish Empire arrived at around the same time. The armies of all nations hastily gathered here as if it were some sort of race.

The arrivals slowly trickled down after a week.

The human army’s military strength was as follows. 20,000 soldiers from the Habsburg Empire, 20,000 soldiers from the Teuton Kingdom, 5,000 soldiers from the Republic of Batavia, 35,000 soldiers from the Frankish Empire, 25,000 soldiers from the Kingdom of Sardinia, 25,000 soldiers from the Polish-Lithuania Kingdom, and 5,000 soldiers from the Kingdom of Brittany. ―A total of 135,000 soldiers.

The Demon Lord army’s military strength was as follows. 30,000 soldiers from the 1st legion, 20,000 soldiers from the 2nd legion, 35,000 soldiers from the 3rd legion, 5,000 soldiers from the 4th legion, 5,000 soldiers from the 5th legion, and 15,000 soldiers from the 6th legion. ―A total of 110,000 soldiers.

If you put together the military strengths of both sides, then this will be a war with over 200,000 soldiers. Be it the humans or the demons, they intended to bet their all in this single battle. 

Paimon’s plan had gone completely up in smoke.

Would she still side with the humans in this situation? For starters, since it’s obvious that the Third Princess Elizabeth doesn’t have power over all of the human army―she’s only 17-years-old and a ‘strong candidate for the throne’, so there’s no way she would be acknowledged as the supreme commander of that massive army―it’s questionable how much the leading members of the human army would even cooperate with Paimon. It’d be a relief if they didn’t backstab her.

Furthermore, our side wouldn’t let that happen either. If you’re going to betray us, then give it a shot. The demon world might’ve understood if she used the Plains Faction’s 6th legion as a sacrificial lamb, but there’s no one who would consider the sacrifice of every legion from the 2nd to the 6th as a simple sacrifice.

She can’t put out a justification. She’ll simply be labeled as a traitor.

“Old man Marbas is calling for a meeting again.”

Barbatos grinned as she handed me the letter. A request for ‘the commanders and top advisors of every legion to gather’ was written neatly on the piece of parchment.

“It should be fine for me to go now, right?”

“Of course. Let’s go and give Paimon a good beatdown.”

The two of us looked at one another and laughed insidiously. We truly looked like Demon Lords.

“Oh right. You’ll have to look as sad as possible.”

I warned Barbatos.

“Our great commander is an innocent girl who almost got sacrificed in that wicked Paimon’s plan, after all. You have to look as pitiful as possible.”

“Kekeke. Don’t worry, brat. I’m already a rather pure and innocent girl.”

“The purity of the world has been wiped out.”

“Do you want to get wiped out first?”

The two of us bantered as we headed to the gathering area.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I wonder if Valefor’s castle will actually play a part or if it’ll just be swept under the rug and forgotten. It wasn’t important enough to appear in the LN, after all. Welp, I guess we’ll find out later.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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