Worthy Core

In all the weeks that the dungeon had been withstanding the assault of the Domain army, there had never been quite so high a level of tension and alarm. In the lead-up to the first Battle of Floor Four there had been a fair bit of stress, of course, but most of the dungeon's residents had been confident of the defenders' chances. It had been very well known just what sort of resources the Domain had to throw at them, there had been days of warning to prepare, and more than half of the residents had been kept in reserve. The main question had only been a matter of how hard-fought the victory would be, not whether or not there would be a victory at all.

That confidence largely does not manifest as defenders hastily arrange themselves for the second battle for the forest. Supreme and Master-tier opponents tend to be unique categories of threats, and a raid of several dozen of them is nearly impossible to fully prepare for. Worse, the defenders still don't know what many of them are capable of, although Pretty Thing does allow some of his other squads to take the lead as they advance through Floor Three. A few doomed monster ambushes do virtually no harm to the high-tier soldiers, but they do help provide at least a few more hints as to what abilities might be on display.

As Trush gets an emergency respawn for the second time today, the mortals determine who should take the lead in manning the walls. The Rainlanders were still in a somewhat rough state from their earlier battle, so today it's a few other groups who step forward.

"I understand you are a mighty combatant, Lady Beatrice, but you're not a soldier. Allow the Scarlet Eagles to lead this defense of your...beloved dungeon." Grim, the minotaur commander of the Challenger's Association team, puffs up his chest to its largest size as he crosses his arms.

Although Beatrice frowns, its the sword at her side which answers. "You're not a soldier either, Grimslaw! I can give orders just fine, I can see and talk from here no problem!"

Bandages, the human Rector of Restoration, grimaces as he examines Lady Evervein's new body. "I must admit, as an admirer of artifice I am in awe of your new form, my lady, but as a man I find myself profoundly disturbed. I've never heard of a dungeon doing such a thing to a person before! I don't know if this is the right circumstances in which to...test your current capabilities."

"More importantly," Grim interjects before Nalina can complain, "You might not be so good at issuing orders while you're buried in a draconic's guts. Perhaps if we spent more time training...but this is not a day for the nobility, if you will forgive me. Challengers shall be leading the defense today, from the New Continent and beyond. As the highest-ranking Challenger in the dungeon, I am taking control of field command."

Beatrice mutters to herself as she watches soldiers and adventurers scurry from portals to defense points. "Wonder if Alizz would agree with that..." Shaking her head, she speaks a little more clearly as she addresses the party leader. "If both of you would allow me to finish, I wasn't here to claim command for myself. I'm here to tell you that the dungeon is putting Prince Thaddeus in charge today."

The man in question chooses that moment to arrive, still adjusting parts of his armor. "Apologies for my delay, I was assisting my wife with gathering up some of her supplies. Is there an issue, here?"

Referee, the brown-and-green lizardkin, gives him a somewhat chilly smile. "Ah, Prince Thaddeus, glad you could make it. We Scarlet Eagles were just..." He side-eyes Grim before continuing. "...politely suggesting that we Eagles should take command. I understand both you and Lady Beatrice here are Supreme-ranked combatants, but our entire team is made of such. If our opponents today are also to be Supremes, then it makes sense for us to take the lead in this fight."

The prince sighs, really not in the mood for dealing with this sort of thing at this particular moment. "If we were strictly discussing Challenger defenders, you would have a greater point, Streakbreaker Referee. However we will be leaning more heavily on monster defenders today than previously, and your team has not had as much experience training alongside the Rabbit Champions and others. I would of course greatly appreciate you being the tip of our spear today, but I must think of the larger picture."

In a silent show of support several of the previously-mentioned champions happen to take up position behind the prince, as do a number of shadowy wraiths. Less-sapient monsters keep a further distance, lurking in the treeline, but the attitude of the dungeon towards the argument is made clear. Sighing, Grim fixes a slight smile to his face. "I see your point, prince. You're in direct contact with the dungeon spirit?"

"I'll be taking care of that - we will, I mean." Beatrice pats the hilt of her new blade. "Nalina here can hear the dungeon master just fine, as can I with the right equipment on. I - we'll - try not to go charging off into the thick of things this time."

"I see." Accepting defeat, Grim relaxes his stance. "Might we at least be informed as to our battle strategy today?"

"Of course!" Thaddeus waves over the other party leaders to have joined in the defense, and by time he's turned back a table has appeared in front of him, complete with a miniature map of the floor. "Ah, thank you, Xenia. First, lets discuss our resources today."

Referee eyes the collected group and appears displeased at what he sees. "Not as many of those resources as we might like."

The prince nods. "The Valleylands army detachment is entirely too low-tier for this battle, although their Battle Alchemist has provided us with her stock of bombs and traps. The Rainlanders only have a few Experts, which we've spread around to the various parties. Our primary defense, then, is the dungeon itself and five parties of Challengers - including yours and mine. Aside from our two, the other parties contain only Experts and Masters. In total, we're looking at two dozen mortal soldiers and Challengers for this battle."

Grim frowns. "An equal number to the invaders coming - assuming they do not bring an escort of lesser soldiers. Not nearly their equal in quality, however."

"Indeed. Thus we must make up for that difference in defenses, monsters...and equipment." As Thaddeus says that a pair of large wooden crates suddenly appear, rattling with the sound of metal. "Attention, everyone! The dungeon is dipping into its armory reserves for this battle! If you are not entirely confident in your arms and armor, equip yourselves now! Each piece is enchanted and of the finest make!"

While a handful of the Challengers do seem to be rather attached to their own personal gear, most of them do take a quick look at the free loot. Weapons, shields, and basic armor like helmets and greaves get passed around like candy - not to mention the amulets and rings going to those not already wearing their fill. Once everyone's taken whatever suits their fancy, the rest doesn't go to waste as even the dungeon monsters begin pulling out enchanted blades and magical arrows.

Yellowbelly, the kobold of the Scarlet Eagles, shakes her head at the sight. "Gonna need to be careful with that. If those monsters die, the enemy could end up using that equipment against us."

"Not to mention if we die, so let's not plan on that, shall we?" Thaddeus gives a slight smile before continuing. "The basic defensive layout will be largely the same as last time, however we're making one major change in the plan."

Grim nods along. "Can't use all of our tricks twice, after all. What's the new strategy, then?"

"Well, if this is to be a siege battle, then we better properly treat it like one..."

---

As Pretty Thing leads his expedition out of the tunnel connecting floors Three and Four, he admires the twilight forest he finds. "Ah, amazing thing sometimes, fighting in a dungeon. From the sounds of it this forest was a burning ruin when the last attack failed. And yet here it is! Complete and unharmed, not a single leaf out of place! Wonderful place to have a battle, don't you think?"

Grenwald eyes his companion. "Considering how badly that last attack went, I'd say it's a wonderful place for the defenders, alright. We're tougher than those poor idiots, but we ain't got a Dungeon Legion squad, and we ain't got the numbers. So you got a plan in that big brain of yours, or should we take a break and hit this when we're ready?"

"Pfft, a handful of light battles with dungeon guardians is nothing more than warm-up, friend! No, this forest is what I came here for today." Pretty gives the forest one last admiring look before stepping aside and turning to his draconic companion.

"Fidelia, if you would - burn it all down."

She raises a brow ridge. "All of it? Happily."

As she begins to get to work, flames jetting out into the trees ahead, Pretty explains for the rest of the group. "In normal modes of operation this layer of the forest is used for nuisance ambushes. Minor monsters, designed to cause light injuries and scare off the unprepared. In the last assault, it was used as a massive trap. The forest was turned into a one-way gate, allowing the soldiers to enter but not to exit, at least not once it was set on fire."

The kobold chuckles. "So you're beating them to it? Of course, it's going to be kind of hard for us to actually move ahead now, unless you want to wait until the whole thing is ashes. We've got some hydromancer types here I think but it'd be a pretty big mana drain to have to put all this out before we can get into a fight."

"Fortunately, we have a more efficient option available. Tiffany."

The blonde demon furrows her brow. "I'm not teleporting two dozen people across a burning forest, Pretty."

"Nor would I ask you to. Efficiency is the goal, after all!" The incubus waves his arms at the inferno in front of him. "All we need is a path, and all we need for a path...is for the trees to not be in our way."

"...I think I see what you mean. Give it five more minutes to burn out a bit, and I'll get started."

With a normal pyromancer, or even a strong elementalist like Lollyp, it would take all afternoon to burn down a stretch of trees like Fidelia had just done. The draconic is a true master of flame however, turning even thick trunks into kindling in only a few minutes, and it's not long before the smaller trees begin to crumble. Domain mages begin casting air and barrier spells to keep the heat and smoke away from them, and on the other side of the woods Pretty is sure the defenders are doing the same. Tiffany doesn't need the burning to be entirely complete before she begins, though.

Instead, she picks a straight line ahead of her and begins filling the space with spatial scythes. The whirlwinds of twisted space don't cut the trees, not truly, for the most part only warping them for a few seconds. Were the trunks fully intact they would likely recover from the magical spell without being any the worse for wear. Already weakened as they are, though, the crackling limbs find themselves unable to support their own weight as the local direction of gravity shifts, and tree after tree falls before the invaders. Of course, blocking their route with a bunch of burning tree trunks would hardly be an improvement, and so another twist of warped space keeps the path clear. Each time a tree branch would fall upon it, it instead practically slides off in another direction, in some cases shooting off into the woods with a fair bit of momentum.

It's not exactly a red carpet but there is eventually a somewhat clear route which the expedition can use to get to the cliffside - one free of traps or monster ambushes. Pretty gives his team a small round of applause for their efforts. "Well done! Hrmm, now perhaps we could use this smoke to obscure our approach - "

His thoughts are interrupted by a shout from one of the other mages. "Up there! Look! Take cover! Prepare barriers!"

As Pretty glances upwards, he notices a number of large fireballs arcing downwards towards their position. "Ah! Now things get interesting indeed..."