Chapter 529 It'll Be Trouble If She's Summoned

It was a day in the new year.

Outside the Rift Cave, the stream of people visiting the village had dwindled. A few remaining adventurers looked on with furrowed brows.

The Minotaur Tavern’s business had plummeted since last month.

The reason was that no one who went exploring underground ever came back out. The handful who managed to escape were either gravely injured or driven mad with fright.

Rumors began to circulate about terrifying monsters underground—an invincible army, thousands strong.

A fully armed military force halted outside the village. The few scattered adventurers glanced over in curiosity, but their expressions changed dramatically upon recognizing the Thunder family Emblem on the banners. They hastily turned and fled.

“Lord Vito!” Doyle clumsily reined in her horse, approaching the burly man. “I’ve finished my investigation.”

She held a sheet of parchment out to Vito. Her cheeks were flushed, perhaps from exertion or something else. “According to reports, many terrifying, malevolent creatures have appeared down there. Their power is comparable to a Transcendent’s. They’re nine feet tall, and there are winged lions that enjoy eating people.”

Vito took the parchment, glanced at it briefly, and then shook his head. “Impossible.”

He explained, “If there were truly malevolent, man-eating creatures underground, they would have emerged long ago. Our path here was undefended. It’s impossible for them to have remained hidden.”

“So you’re saying the legends are fake?”

“Prince Hoffman has been here before.” Vito shook his head. “I’m not sure, but she said the space was unstable then. Perhaps something new has changed. Still, the fact that so many people went down and never came back up must be true. It’s a shame I’ve been delayed by trivial matters for so long.”

‘Otherwise, I would have had time to investigate this place long ago.’

The rampaging tribesmen and Cult Thailand had left him spread too thin.

The massive loss of life, especially in a shattered projection plane that Prince Hoffman cared so deeply about, meant this was no simple matter.

Doyle furrowed her brow, trying to see things from the perspective of Lord Vito, the “Cunning Barbarian.”

‘A horde of chaotic, man-eating creatures. They’re clearly not far from the entrance, yet they’ve never once come out.’

‘Can they not bear the light?’

‘Clearly not.’

‘In all the myths and legends I’ve gathered recently, I’ve never heard of any monster, besides vampires, that fears the sun.’

“There must be a chaotic lord of the underworld!” Doyle gasped.

‘That has to be it. Only a malevolent being with absolute intelligence and overwhelming power could make a horde of chaotic creatures so obedient.’

‘The strong only fear those who are stronger.’

She noticed Vito’s expression remained unchanged, meaning he had already reached the same conclusion. At this realization, Doyle stared, momentarily lost in thought.

‘As expected of Lord Vito!’

“I’ll take some men and go down to have a look.”

“My lord, it’s too dangerous!” Doyle quickly objected. “We can summon a group of Transcendents. Ordinary Soldiers against those monsters… they wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Her voice trailed off as she spoke.

The population of Giant’s Foot was no smaller than that of East Gorge, but due to issues with mixed allegiances and faiths, few were truly loyal to the Prince. On the surface, it seemed Prince Hoffman held the entire region in check through her power alone, but in reality, plenty of people were scheming in the shadows. They couldn’t muster many Transcendents.

“I have to go down,” Vito said. “You know how it is. The Prince is exhausted. She has far too much on her plate.”

“…” Doyle fell silent.

Of course, Doyle knew. Though the Prince seemed immensely powerful, she had very few reliable subordinates. As a result, she had to handle many things personally, forcing her to waste time on trivial matters that should have been beneath her concern.

An entire duchy… Even for a legend like her, it was impossible to manage everything.

“Don’t worry. I’ve prepared a magical artifact. If there’s any trouble, I can teleport out instantly.”

Doyle bit her lip and said softly, “My lord, let me go with you.”

Having said that, she hunched her shoulders, squeezed her eyes shut, and braced for a reprimand.

But a long moment passed, and the scolding she expected never came.

“Maybe next time…”

His voice was gentler than she’d imagined.

Doyle opened her eyes and watched the burly figure lead his troops into the earth. She hesitated for a long while but didn’t follow. She was just an ordinary person; going with them would only make her a liability.

‘Lord Vito has no innate talent, but through his own knowledge and relentless training, he’s forged a nigh-invincible body. He’ll be fine!’

…

“This training regimen will grant you bodies tempered like steel! Your innate talent isn’t great, but that doesn’t mean you have no chance of becoming a Transcendent!”

Leech watched the youths on the training ground as they painstakingly honed their bodies. They were the candidates most likely to become Transcendents, the ones who remained after several rounds of selection. Thanks to an uninterrupted supply of giant silkworm cocoons and Giant Crab Flesh, and though none had yet become a Transcendent, each one had grown tall and powerfully built. They had the physiques of elite soldiers through and through.

The New Year holiday was short. Even though the ice had yet to melt, the Soldiers’ training could not stop. A day of slacking means ten days of training wasted.

While cultivating Casters, Leech hadn’t abandoned raising his own Transcendents. Even if they were pure muscle Warriors like Vito, they could still be a formidable force on the battlefield when equipped with Rune Armor.

In fact, Leech had higher hopes for the untalented youths.

‘Muscles forged through painstaking effort are always better utilized than gifted abilities. They’ll also have a greater appreciation for what they’ve earned.’

With their lord watching over them, the youths trained even harder.

‘They knew this was a rare opportunity. If they could just take this one step, they could make a name for themselves and win glory. So what if they weren’t good at studying? Couldn’t they at least endure hardship? Come to think of it, enduring hardship was practically a family tradition, passed down since their grandfathers’ time.’

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Leech received an urgent message from the world below.

This sort of thing rarely happened. Usually, there was no need for Kaqi or the other Corpse Ghosts to intervene. Leech had issued strict orders: any adventurers entering the caves were to be driven off by the centaurs’ arrows first.

Only the most stubborn intruders would be fed to the Scorpion-tailed Lions, ogres, or Giants as an extra meal.

For a while, the centaurs hardly had to bother with hunting at all. Every day, a fresh batch of volunteers would offer themselves up as beast fodder.

This time, however, was different. The centaurs had run into trouble.

A unit of fully armed, elite Cavalry.

The centaur troop was immediately in peril. They were unaccustomed to wearing armor, had no horseshoes, and their only weapons were simple bows and arrows, along with whatever they had scavenged from fallen adventurers.

They were hopelessly out-geared.

“Save the centaurs!”

Leech immediately issued the command.

‘The centaurs can’t be allowed to die. They’re far too useful. First off, they’re intelligent.’

‘They might not be as crafty as the Burrowing Dwarves, but they’re by no means stupid. They’re fast, they can hunt to feed the ogres and Giants, and they can even lead the ogres and Giants to herd the Scorpion-tailed Lions. They’re basically top-of-the-line border collies.’

They saved Leech a tremendous amount of effort.

‘If these incredibly useful tool-horses were to die, it would be a real shame. I’m counting on them to multiply—to have a second, even a third generation.’

‘If the centaurs don’t reproduce, who’s going to do all the grunt work? I can’t have the Corpse Ghosts do it. Every single repair on them costs gold!’

“Wait!”

Ordinarily, this was a game of cat-and-mouse, or dog-chasing-cat.

If the centaurs couldn’t handle something, the ogres would. If the ogres failed, the Corpse Ghosts would take over.

But when Leech, looking through the eyes of a Corpse Ghost, saw that familiar muscular Black Ball and the Thunder family Emblem, his heart seized.

‘Vito? You damn muscle-bound oaf, what are you doing here!’ Leech nearly coughed up blood. ‘I helped you out big time! Is this how you repay me?’

‘Everyone knows Vito is one of Prince Hoffman’s most loyal men.’

‘If I kill Vito, Prince Hoffman is sure to come after me. What do I do then?’

‘A fight? I’d definitely lose.’

‘But if I don’t kill him, he’ll just keep coming. Even if I manage to push him back for now, he’ll just call for reinforcements.’

‘I’ve witnessed his “Grand Summon: Prince Hoffman” technique before, and she really is on speed dial.’

But giving up was out of the question for Leech. The Scorpion-tailed Lion hides were too useful, and thanks to his efforts, a group of female centaurs were already pregnant. Besides, there was no place better suited for his dark and chaotic creatures to live. Moving them elsewhere would undoubtedly cause a riot.

“My lord? Is everything alright?” Lacy Sith, who was overseeing the training, came over and asked with concern.

Leech said quickly, “I have urgent business to attend to. You’re in charge here.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After returning to his castle, Leech ordered that no one was to enter without his permission. Then, with a mere thought, the Black Dragon Du Ao materialized on his desk.

Its long, serpentine body twisted, wings folded, as it looked at Leech.

“Open your mouth!”

The black dragon opened its maw, and a suit of articulated plate armor flew out, which Leech donned.

Leech considered for a moment, then tapped the armor. The plate mail instantly transformed, its metallic silver sheen turning to pitch black.

Du Ao climbed onto his shoulder, found a comfortable spot on the menacing armor, and settled down. Its tail draped across Leech’s left breastplate while its head rested on his right pauldron.

Using the black dragon’s stealth abilities and his own status as its contracted Dragon Lord, Leech successfully concealed his aura.

‘Now, anyone who sees me will only perceive a mysterious figure shrouded in black mist, their true level of power completely obscured. As for just *how* mysterious… I’ll have to build up the hype later.’

‘Thankfully, recent developments have given me a little confidence.’

“To the Rift Cave.”

ROWR~

The scenery blurred. When it came back into focus, he was once again in the Rift Cave.

The foul air filled his nostrils. Leech breathed through his mouth, struggling for a moment to acclimate.

“Let’s go. Time to have a chat with that muscle-bound oaf. It’ll be a real mess if he summons *her*.”