Retaliation (Patreon)

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"..."

Where is this place?... Are we on the 19th floor already?

'Silver followed the white bunny through the long caves of the Dungeon, going up and down, left and right, sometimes, the ground was made of wood, other times, it was the cold rocky ground he was used to.'

'He didn't know where he was, this place wasn't on the map… And it was to be expected considering that this route was chosen for this commission in the first place.'

'The Xenos know much more about the Dungeon's inner structure than the adventurers after all… They need safe and hidden paths to move around.'

'Still… The adventures have decades of accumulation and information passed down from generation to generation, so at the very least, they don't lose by much...'

'But Silver would like to know how much the Xenos knew about the Dungeon, perhaps they knew of areas completely hidden off from the rest of the Dungeon... Areas he could use to hunt in peace.'

"Kiki!"

"Did we arrive, Arles?" Silver asked the bunny Xenos, who was now sitting on his shoulder

"Kiu!" Said the rabbit as it pointed toward a rock

'They were currently on a large corridor, Silver didn't know where it led to, but that didn't seem to matter as their goal was a giant rock on the wall.'

'The rock wasn't anything special, and if the bunny hasn't pointed at it, even Silver would've passed by it as it looked like any other large boulder in the dungeon, he had seen at least 40 of these ever since he started walking with the little rabbit.'

/Kuo! Kuo!/

'Arles jumped from his shoulder, and let out a strange noise as it looked at the rock.'

/Tremble…/

'The giant rock slowly moved, and a hole appeared behind it…'

"Arles did you…?"

'Surprisingly, the one that appeared on the other side was someone Silver knew… A large gray monster, a gargoyle to be exact…'

'It was one of the 3 Xenos leaders, Gros! Staring at Silver with his cold, stony gray eyes.'

"You? What are you doing here?"

"I would like to ask that question myself..." Silver joked with a shrug

"You are truly a bother." Gros said with a grunt

'He then noticed the large backpack that he was carrying.'

"I see, so this is the cause, well, it doesn't matter who does it." Gros replied as he signaled with his head for them to get inside

/Tremble…/

'Once they got inside, Gros pushed the rock back in place and led them deeper into the Hidden Village.'

…

'Once he got inside, he was met with many other Xenos, most of them he actually knew, but some he didn't…'

'They seemed more surprised to see him than he was in seeing them, but still, seeing him right beside Gros, they didn't cause a ruckus.'

'Silver also realized where he was, it was the same Village as last time, but this time, it seemed he got inside through another entrance.'

'He was surprised, Silver thought there was only a single entrance to the Hidden Village, but that may have been an assumption from him.'

"I was wondering who would be delivering the items this time, but to think it would be you." Gros said in a low tone as they walked

"Things happened, and now I'm here."

He's still a bit aggressive...

"Just like how you met with Lyd?" He asked Ironically

"Perhaps."

Perhaps not, he's even joking now, look at him go...

"Here, this is enough." Gros said as he pointed at the ground

/Thud/

'Silver dropped the bag as soon as Gros stopped walking, letting the Xenos open it and start distributing the things inside.'

"We talked about this last time… But are you guys preparing for something?"

These aren't simple tools, also, by taking a glance at them, it seems they already received a few of these before as most of them are equipped in at least one or two new pieces of shining gear...

'Gros smiled, he felt he could use this situation to his advantage…'

"This doesn't concern you... Don't meddle in our affairs Human…" He said smugly

'Just when Gros was feeling good from telling Silver to go away, someone interrupted him:'

"We're going on the offensive against the Hunters that captured our kind." Lyd said as he walked from the darkness

"Lyd?" Silver asked as his silhouette became more and more apparent

"We meet again Silver-Chi… Although this time, there is no time to throw a welcome party." He said in a heavy tone

"What's the matter?"

He looks oddly serious, this is unlike his overly friendly behavior.

He's also wearing some brand new armor... If he appeared like that on the surface, I might even think that he came from a civilized nation of reptiles...

'Lyd stayed silent for a small while before he said:'

"What you said last time… And showed us, it has impacted us pretty deeply."

"Not only me, but many of us have started to hunt constantly in the Dungeon, in order to gather Magic stones for us to grow stronger faster."

"Previously, we did that slowly and over time, since not only was there no motivation to do so, but it was also extremely hard for us to grow beyond a certain limit."

"Yet now, everyone is doing their best to grow as much as they can."

"And as they say on the surface… 'To strike while the Iron' is hot if I'm not mistaken… We'll now start our counterattack."

"What?" Silver asked as he furrowed his brows

What I said huh... I simply told them that they were too idealistic, but I did not deny their dreams, it was possible, I just think they are being too passive about it...

To a point where they are making themselves more vulnerable.

But who am I to judge? They have their own reasons, their own struggles they grew up with and experienced.

"Dammit, Lyd… Whatever, you heard him, Human." Gros said annoyed

"..."

It seems he's at least willing to talk with me now without cursing or sounding unpleased…

Looks like something changed while I was away.

"We had enough of them going after us, so this time, we'll go after them." Gros said agressivily

"We've already confirmed, that they aren't stronger than us, nor are they more numerous than us. With these odds, we can simply crush them completely, and avenge everyone."

"So don't get in the way! We don't need your help!"

"I didn't even say anything…" Silver replied with an awkward smile

Besides, they are indeed more numerous... But stronger?

The Ikelos Familia isn't so simple to deal with.

"Grr…"

'Gros growled and turned around…'

"Aren't you grabbing anything?" Silver asked

"I DON'T NEED IT!" Gros replied as he showed his claws to Silver

"My claws are sharper than these blunt swords and my scales are sturdier than the metal used to make this armor, I don't need these petty things to fight!"

/Fwoosh!/

'And like that, Gros opened his wings and left the place, grumpy.'

"..."

"Don't mind him, he's simply too bad at expressing goodwill in any way other than Violent quotes." Lyd replied with a straight face

"It's okay, I know he means no harm… For the most part."

He'll get used to me eventually, and I hope that once this is over, I'll be able to learn more about the Xenos and train with them daily.

Even if my stats don't increase, I'm lacking strong people around my Level to face, this is the only way for me to improve past my status.

Since strength isn't only about the numbers shown on my back.

'Lyd smiled with his awful full smile, showing his sharp teeth to Silver before bending down and grabbing a medium size curved sword.'

'It was a good sword that seems to have been made from Damascus Steel, the patterns on it looked like lightning bolts.'

"With this batch, we're ready."

"Now that I think about it… There are some Xenos I don't recognize and some seem to be missing…"

Shit, I may have hit a sore spot...

"Oh! It seems I was insensitive and forgot to introduce you all to them…"

...

'Lyd them gathered everyone and introduced them to Silver once more, it was both embarrassing and awkward, but Silver felt more welcomed than last time.'

"... They are from our Hidden Village on the 27th floor, they are here to help us with our plan… As for Ray and the others, they are currently preparing our trap."

"..."

Phew, so nothing serious happened, I ought to be more careful with my words next time.

'Silver then became curious.'

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well... A trap is a trap." Lyd said awkwardly as he searched for the words to use

"Direct confrontation is an option, but it could lead to considerable casualties, something I... No one can stand."

"So instead, we'll lead them to a trap, make them think they have the upper hand, and capture as many of them as we can."

"We were just waiting for the support from the Guild, and now, we can start our plan."

"I see…"

Will it be so simple I wonder? Especially considering who are dealing with?

Now that I think about it, the reason I was told to come here may have been due to this.

My actions… My meeting with the Xenos must be the cause behind this.

The Xenos are excited, and their emotions are boiling, they have decided to stop being cautious, always hiding, and are now on the offensive against their assailant.

This may be their boldest move ever.

Hum… But since I'm here, I see no point in returning, besides, I would feel bad if something bad were to actually happen.

"Can I help? Even if I stay on the sidelines, my abilities are rather versatile."

They may refuse me if I ask to stay on the front lines.

"Would you be willing to?! HA! If that's the case, an extra hand would be more than welcomed…"

'Lyd then became serious as he looked at Silver.'

"Although… If it comes down to that… I wouldn't want you to have to go through that…"

'Silver smiled slightly, he was thankful that Lyd was so mindfully of his feelings, but he was too naive.'

'Silver wouldn't care so much about the lives of these criminals, and even if he didn't know who they were, he would place the lives of these strange and cheerfully monsters over the lives of people he never saw, that hunt and torture them simply out of self profit and pleasure.'

"It's okay, when the time arrives, I won't slow you all down, nor get in your way…"

I never thought I would say that… Rather novel...

"Then let's go, we have no time to waste." Lyd said as he walked past Silver

/ROAR!/

/ROAAAAAR!/

'Lyd roared, and soon enough, the loud cries of the Xenos echoed in the village.'

'They were ready, this time, armed to the teeth, they were out for blood.'

"..."

Sometimes I wonder what I'm getting myself into…

No matter, I'll just treat this as part of the commission...

And this means that everyone is coming back alive.

'Silver shook his head, following the Xenos as they left the Village.'

…

/At the same time, somewhere in the Lower floors…/

'Inside a dark wet cave, a group of people, some sharpening their weapons, others eating some snacks, a few more on looked, all waiting for something.'

'At the edge of this cave, a bald man talked with an Amazon, and once he was done, he approached a man sitting on the ground and holding a black spear.'

"Everything is done Dix." Said the bald

"Good, let's get this over with." Dix said as he got up from the ground

All preparations are over, this time, we'll capture a nice amount all at once… And with it, money shouldn't be a problem for a long while.

We invested quite a lot in this just so our investments return 10-fold, there is no room for failure.

The problem is… Something feels off... And I don't like this feeling.

Tracking them was too easy this time… Their path is too obvious, they're going to the Southernmost Pantry on the 24th floor, probably to gather food...

However, even though they aren't leaving tracks behind, their movements have been... Too simple in regards to their past habits.

As if they are deliberately luring us…

'Dix thought deeply, before smiling slightly.'

So that's how it is, no wonder I felt something was off.

"They must have decided to retaliate." He mumbled to himself with a sadistic smile

They're smarter than I thought... But if so… Things change, yet the plan can't be called off, it's too late for that.

"Hm..."

'Dix thought deeply, gazing at the Dungeon outside of the cavern until he figured a plan out.'

There's no need to change things, I've made extensive preparations...

But... Having a plan B won't do any harm.

Let's see what they have in offer for us.

'Dix smiled, he felt that these monsters' pathetic attempt at trapping them to be amusing.'

'He would wait… Wait for the moment he would crush their hopes and carve their flesh, all while laughing at them for entertaining even a slight bit of hope.'

'After all, he was the Razor of Orario… Killing 'monsters' is a pleasure for him.'

'He did that over and over again for a decade, what difference had it if the monsters could think... Scream... Feel fear?'

'It simply made things that more enjoyable.'

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