Chapter 52
Belvar was the happiest when Yohan told them they had secured a base close to their destination.
“See? My instincts never fail me! Hahaha!”
“You just got lucky, old man.”
“Lucky?! Nonsense! It was instinct! Instinct!”
The dwarf soldiers had spent years fighting inside the Underground City’s Burrow Well.
If they could not accomplish at least this much, it would hurt their pride.
That was the meaning behind Belvar’s celebration.
And since things had worked out well, nobody except Danforth bothered arguing with him.
The only useful items left in the warehouse were several kinds of alcohol and grain.
The previous owners seemed to have taken everything else.
Still, something was better than nothing.
The expedition stored the newly found supplies alongside everything they had carried with them.
The commanders then ordered everyone except the guards to rest.
Yohan did not object.
While the others rested, Yohan stood near the entrance and spoke with Belvar and Kalkerak.
“Our strategy will depend on how much power the ruler of this place, the ‘Hibernator of Devermos,’ currently possesses.”
“Until we understand the situation completely, we should move quietly. A direct confrontation would be dangerous.”
“Agreed. That thing has been active since the Four Great Powers first entered the Dungeon.”
Yohan nodded.
“And the Derhai enslaved by it are extremely troublesome. Especially if one of them has already become an Apostle...”
“...If one has?”
“Half of you will probably die.”
Naturally, Yohan did not include himself in that half.
That was extremely like him.
Yohan glanced at the exhausted expedition members and thought for a moment.
They had somehow made it all the way to the thirteenth floor.
They certainly had not reached this place through their own strength alone.
Still, it would be unfair to say they had done nothing.
Several had even played major roles during earlier battles.
Enough for Yohan to remember their names.
Either way, he needed to preserve as much fighting strength as possible.
His first destination was the thirty-sixth floor.
No matter how many people he had, it would never feel like enough.
Starting from the thirteenth floor, defeating an Apostle alone became almost impossible.
At the very least, he would need others supporting him.
Everyone needed to perform their own role properly.
“Well... it’s not all bad news.”
Yohan pointed downward.
“The Hibernator is located underground, closer to the fourteenth floor than the thirteenth. If we defeat its Apostle, free the Derhai from its control, and obtain authority to open the gate, we can completely skip the fourteenth floor.”
“...That’s true.”
Now it was time to investigate again.
“Finding the entrance this easily doesn’t mean we can relax. Devermos is a large district. The Derhai aren’t the only ones living there, so outsiders walking around won’t immediately look suspicious. Even so, move carefully.”
Yohan raised three fingers.
There were three major things they needed to confirm.
First.
Whether Bulsum, the Hibernator of Devermos, had entered hibernation.
“Its hibernation cycle is at least eight hundred years long, so the chances are low. Still, we need to confirm it.”
Second.
Whether Bulsum’s Apostle had obtained the authority of immortality.
“Bulsum is a Great Old One capable of handing out that authority fairly freely, so the probability is high. If the Apostle isn’t immortal, our chances improve dramatically.”
Third.
What weapons Bulsum’s slave soldiers possessed.
“If they’ve moved beyond the age of cold weapons, our chances of victory drop below fifty percent.”
“If not cold weapons... do you mean firearms?”
“There weren’t many signs of them last time, but quite a lot of time has passed since then. We’ll check first.”
“Wait. When exactly was your last visit?”
“Ten years ago.”
“......”
Belvar had no words.
General Kalkerak lightly patted him on the shoulder.
“We’ll begin investigating tomorrow. Nobody moves alone. Groups of three should be good.”
Once the information was shared and the groups organized, everyone returned to resting.
The following morning, roughly one hundred investigation teams spread throughout Devermos.
Three full days passed after the investigation began.
“What about somewhere closer to the center?”
“You mean the fountain plaza?”
“Yeah. It feels like the sort of place where something could be hidden.”
“Um... how much longer do I need to keep watching?”
“Thirty more minutes.”
“Captain, I’m seriously going to run out of mana!”
Team 44 consisted of Danforth, Frank, and Dexter.
Their first task was understanding Devermos’s geography.
They befriended the human owner of a grocery store and gathered detailed information about the district’s layout.
Then they compared it with a map of the Underground City and continued forming theories.
They had observed twenty different locations in total, hoping to identify the dwelling of the Great Old One.
Unfortunately, they had achieved nothing.
As they moved toward the manhole leading back to the Burrow Well, Dexter wiped sweat from his forehead.
“But seriously... wouldn’t it be faster to search from inside the Burrow Well? It’s much deeper than this place.”
“They wouldn’t hide it that carelessly. They might connect the middle using a gate only they can access. Or the passage might have nothing to do with the sewer at all. Maybe both.”
“...Then how are we supposed to find it?”
“Hey. Did you already forget what you’ve been doing since yesterday?”
Danforth folded his fingers one by one.
“We heard how that thing creates slaves before leaving, remember? Someone has to visit its dwelling before they can be enslaved. If we keep observing the whole district, sooner or later we’ll identify somewhere the Derhai visit suspiciously often. Right?”
“But... we still haven’t found a single suspicious location.”
“You’ve only been watching for two days. Stop complaining.”
Danforth grinned.
“We’re just getting started, Observer Dexter Boyle. We might be searching for a month if necessary. Stay focused.”
“...Would you believe me if I said I suddenly don’t want to do this anymore?”
