266. Northern City Panic
“We were hoping to use a guerilla tactic,” Knight Kalahad suggested, his tone low and tactical. “We could move slowly and silently through the twisting passages toward the discovered stairs, minimizing exposure and conserving the few rounds we have left. Our survival depends on not drawing too much attention.”
“No,” Ravenna objected, her eyes gleaming with sudden, decisive intent. Her voice sharpened, cutting through the knight's practical suggestion. “I have a different plan entirely.”
Northern City, Northern Coastline, Kim Island, Kim City, Ancorna Empire
“Fire! Fire! Do not let them out of the line of control!” Dame Aisha commanded, her voice raw with urgency as she fought the relentless tide pouring from the dungeon.
The sudden emergence of the Dungeon Portal had ripped open a massive, jagged hole in the newly constructed coastal city. The opening, a door of pulsating, dark wood, stood menacingly far from the hastily formed line of defense. The Kim City troops were fighting a losing battle of territory, already clear that nearly half of the new northern district was overrun by the torrent of magical beasts.
The primary enemy was the Minotaurs, hulking, bull-humanoid creatures that burst forth with terrifying speed and brute strength. Their thick hides and dense muscle absorbed repeated impacts from the Kim Pattern Rifles and even the heavy naval cannons with unnerving resilience.
“It’s a blessing that the railway station remains structurally intact, or else securing even this crude line of control would have been nearly impossible,” Dame Aisha remarked, reloading her rifle with swift, practiced motions. She glanced at Sarah, who stood by the command post, her face white with terror and anxiety. New trenches were being dug as fast as the workers could manage, and barbed wire barriers were rapidly being deployed to establish a second perimeter against the overwhelming Minotaur herd.
“I understand the military necessity,” Sarah stammered, her voice tight with panic. “But we must do something more! Your Highness and the Saintess are inside that nightmare!” The sight of the rushing beasts, their heavy hooves pounding the ground, their powerful bodies shrugging off rifle fire, was an unendurable strain on her civilian nerves.
It took agonizing minutes for a single Minotaur to fall, even with the concentrated, repetitive impact of the powerful Kim Rifles and Cannons tearing into their flesh.
“I am trying, alright!” Dame Aisha snapped, picking up her own rifle. She sighted a goblin, being smaller, less durable beast, that had slipped through the chaotic herd of Minotaurs and was darting toward them. Dame Aisha fired, killing it with a single, precise shot as Sarah screamed, jumping backward away from the creature's corpse.
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“We need to clear a defined, secure route to reach the Dungeon’s entrance if we even have the hope of finding them inside first,” Dame Aisha stated, her eyes scanning the overwhelming battlefield, searching for a tactical solution. “Are the priests from the Herptian Church arriving? We desperately need to figure out the dungeon’s threat level and characteristics before we commit troops blindly.”
“The train they boarded must be arriving soon,” Sarah replied, her eyes wide as she looked toward the railway tracks. “They had to take the next one right after mine, needing the time to gather the necessary equipment and spell-flowers for the inspection.”
Dame Aisha fired another precise round that felled a Minotaur, then quickly unclasped her sword and slashed down a goblin attempting to breach the wire perimeter. She was panting, her breath misting in the cold air, her frustration palpable. “If only Captain Hughes or Vice Captain John were here,” she muttered, her voice thick with exhaustion. “They would have figured out a definitive tactical approach.”
Sarah, clutching her ledger of reports, nodded in weary agreement. “I intercepted the reporter from the city newspaper before he could arrive. The last thing we need is for Kim City to know that Her Highness and the Saintess are missing, trapped inside a newly spawned dungeon.”
“You won’t be able to keep that information hidden for long,” Dame Aisha replied, reloading her rifle. “Not with the sheer volume of troops and workers we need to control the ever-spawning magical beasts and secure the dungeon portal.”
Advanced Education Academy, Herptian Church, Kim City, Ancorna Empire
Meanwhile, in the bustling industrial heart of Kim City, a desperate race against time was unfolding. Kaelen and Ryan burst into Chief Blacksmith Nille’s private office, a small chamber nestled beside the roaring heat of the factory workshops.
“Master! Master!” Ryan exclaimed, his voice high-pitched with panic. “I heard that many priests are being deployed for some sort of emergency related to the dungeon!”
“Shhh!” Nille instantly glared, worry deepening the lines on his soot-streaked face. The old man was both worried and curious: worried about the chaos, and curious about the source of Ryan's leak. “How do you know that?! That news is not supposed to leave the official channels!” He moved swiftly, clamping a heavy, calloused hand over his apprentice's mouth to silence him.
Kaelen, seeing the old blacksmith’s alarm and understanding its urgency, quickly spoke for his stifled comrade. “Junior Priest Finn was supposed to help us with experimenting on an improved method for photographing and stabilizing the image using glass’s reflection, but he was suddenly summoned away to the new northern city to assist with some kind of dungeon emergency.”
Blacksmith Nille nodded slowly, the confirmation of a major breach in security settling heavily on him. He removed his hand from Ryan’s mouth.
“Though I haven’t yet figured it out properly yet, I am still working diligently on Her Highness’s command. So, I...” Ryan, seizing the sudden attention, burst forward, unable to contain the knowledge that was consuming him. He had been quietly researching the properties of light and glass since Ravenna first tasked him with it.
Nille said in stern voice “Stop beating around the bush”
“Yes, Master! I think I might know how to disrupt the dungeon core’s mana!” Ryan suddenly blurted out, the audacity of his claim filling the small office with electric tension.