## Chapter 896 – Otherworld Dungeon

The Royal Army commander, for some reason, began to share information with me. It included specific details about the exploration’s progress and analyses of the combat capabilities of the monsters they had encountered.

Since there was no harm in listening, I quietly paid attention.

“Their combat abilities vary greatly. Some can be taken down by a single Royal Army soldier, while others require five soldiers to handle, and some can only be killed by knights.”

Monsters of varying strengths were attacking irregularly. However, they didn’t seem like a trained army.

They seemed more like monsters.

“We don’t know their command structure or anything in detail… We haven’t even explored the entire first floor yet. We have no idea where these creatures came from or what their purpose is.”

It would be stranger if they knew more, considering they had just started exploring.

“Judging from the palace’s appearance and internal structure, it’s clear that it was built by a race similar to humans, but the monsters haven’t shown any ‘intelligent’ movements. They just seemed like beasts. The mages say that the monsters don’t seem to be the original owners of the palace.”
“Hoo… That sounds like a peculiar story.”
“It’s very peculiar. Oh, and be careful of the masked ones.”
“Masks?”
“They seem to be very strong. Even the knights are struggling. Those kinds of creatures are appearing occasionally.”
“Hmm.”

In any case, it was helpful information.

“I’ve heard that Paladin-nim’s martial prowess is exceptionally high. I didn’t see the martial arts tournament myself, but the soldiers and knights all praised Paladin-nim. If such a Paladin-nim were to enter the inner parts of the palace and discover something…”

Ah, I see what he means.

“Hehehe, don’t worry. You’ve shared information with me, haven’t you? If I find out anything, I’ll be sure to let you know. One good turn deserves another.”
“Ooh! As expected of Paladin-nim, your character is also noble! Thank you so much!!”

Information sharing in exchange for information sharing.

The Royal Army seemed to be keenly focused on the internal exploration. They hadn’t brought a large number of troops. To achieve results with a small force, they needed to gather information.

That must be why they contacted me when I arrived.

Indeed, the fame of the Paladin.
They’re being so friendly right off the bat.

I couldn’t have imagined this in the past.

Well, one good turn deserves another. Since they’ve shown goodwill, I’ll let them know if I find out anything. Then I can receive new information that the Royal Army has discovered.

“Please explore carefully!”

Anyway, after hearing everything, I returned to where my wives were.

“Katt, what did they say?”
“I went to hear some information. They’re already fighting inside.”
“Fighting?”
“It seems otherworldly monsters are appearing.”

Hilde was shocked by those words.

“Monsters!! What kind of monsters are they!!”
“I saw a drawing, and they’re quite bizarre. Twisted monsters. You can definitely feel that they’re otherworldly beings.”

The creatures looked like ghouls that were twisted, distorted, and protruded. On top of that, they had exoskeletons growing on their bodies. Just from the picture, it was impossible to think of them as an intelligent race.

It would be better to describe them as being distorted by some kind of curse.

I explained the creatures to them.

“I can’t really understand just from the story. Katt, we’ll only know if we go inside ourselves.”
“Yes, we’ll only know if we go inside, as Claudia said. We’ve already left the carriage, right? Let’s go inside. I’m getting a little excited about going in there.”

Karin seemed to be looking forward to it.
It’s definitely fascinating.

“Me too. Then let’s go.”
“Father, I’ll refrain from using my skills inside. There seem to be a lot of witnesses.”
“Yes, that would be good.”

Alaune’s skills can’t be used just anywhere.

“Then let’s go in quickly.”
“Did you pack everything, Blackie?”
“Yes.”

With that, we packed only what we needed and passed through the barricade to the front of the palace.

The palace, seen from right in front, was truly incredibly huge. Its height was literally on the scale of a large apartment building.

There weren’t any buildings right in front of the palace, but there were quite a few armed soldiers waiting to enter.

“I’m uneasy… Otherworldly monsters, you say.”
“I heard they’re like an army of demons.”
“This kind of exploration… We’re all dead.”

I don’t know where these soldiers came from, but the ones with polearms were saying things like that. They were also waiting to enter.

It seemed there were many civilian experts who had gathered in parties, local lord’s armies, and guys who looked like they had come from robbing or banditry.

“Oh my, is that a mage unit?”

At that moment, Liztina, who was looking around, said.

“Oh. Those are combat mages.”
“Combat mages? What are those, Winia-nim?”
“It’s like a unit operated by the Magic Tower. A group of trained mages.”

As Winia explained, what was over there really seemed like a combat mage unit.

—Mages in unified uniforms were marching in formation.

They wore sky-blue robes that came down to just their thighs so they wouldn’t be cumbersome, and on top of that, silver-blue breastplates protecting their chest and abdomen, and gauntlets protecting their forearms. They also wore greaves on their legs. They carried ceremonial swords at their waists and wands with blue jewels embedded in them in their hands.

Do they wield swords and wands at the same time?

The armor and everything made them look like they could fight well. Above all, despite that attire, they were also wearing the wide-brimmed conical hats typical of mages.

Also sky-blue.

“Karin, are those guys good at fighting?”
“Hmm… They’re versatile, but not exactly professional killers… I don’t know since I’ve never fought them.”

Karin narrowed her eyes at Claudia’s question.

“Well, they’re probably good at fighting. They’re the guys who explore dungeons under the Magic Tower’s orders. It seems they were dispatched because an otherworldly building appeared.”
“Is that so?”

Winia seemed to know quite a bit.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with us, so let’s slowly enter… Huh.

“Huh?”

But the moment I looked closely at them.

“Eeeeeek!!!!!”

I discovered a familiar face.

“Katt?”
“Blackie?”
“Katt-nim?”

I screamed without even realizing it.

“Th, that!!!”
“…?”

At that moment, I made eye contact with him.

“Ah, no!! You!!”

He also recognized me and jumped up.

“Marquis Lormalza!!”
“You thief!!!”

What was there was Marquis Lormalza.
That crazy old man is here?

“Who’s the thief, you crazy old bastard!!”
“To meet you in a place like this!! You enemy of Salberin!!!”
“Salberin? Ah.”

Come to think of it, Salberin is also living forever in my heart along with Vugal, Mersin, and Bulberza. Strictly speaking, they’re not dead. Because they’ve become one with me.

—Hiss! Hiss!

Anyway, Marquis Lormalza, who had discovered me, huffed and puffed and strode closer, then—Tsupat! He used Blink to suddenly appear right in front of me.

This guy’s magic skills were quite considerable.

“Good to see you, you thief!!!”
“Old man, how have you been?”
“Old man? You’re incredibly insolent!! Return the Necklace of Harmony at once!!”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden!!”
“I’m talking about the necklace you stole!!”

Ah, the one I took when I fought Baron Salberin.
I’m keeping it safe at home.

“Hand it over now, you thief!!”
“I already gave it back.”
“What?”
“Last time your mom came to say hello, I gave it back to her. Haven’t you received it yet?”
“Wh, what!!!! Mother is already!!! Uwaaaaaaah!!! How dare you, you thief!!!”

Lormalza grabbed his head and roared.

It’s just a simple insult to his parents, but he can’t seem to handle it.

“What should we do, Unni? It seems like that guy from then.”
“Ah, was he the notary for Katt-ssi’s duel back then? But shouldn’t we stop them?”
“Hehehe, Katt was really cool back then.”

I heard voices from behind.

“Katt-nim…! Who is this rude old man!!!!”

Hilde, who came to my side, pointed at Lormalza and shouted. I told Hilde about his identity in a small voice.

“Marquis Lormalza!! Calm down! Everyone’s watching!!”

Anyway, shouting like this in a public place, he’s not a fully formed person.

“It’s because of you—!!!”

When I pointed that out, the marquis raged and shouted.

“Marquis Lormalza-nim. What’s wrong?”

At that moment, one of the mages who had been wearing that armor approached and spoke to Lormalza.

“To have a fit like this…”
“Did you just say ‘fit’!”
“No, not a fit. It’s… hyperactivity? Yes. Why are you so excited?”
“Shut up!!!”

Judging from this, did Lormalza bring the combat mage unit? He definitely had some kind of title like Qing Dynasty. As a marquis with considerable skill, it’s not strange for him to lead a unit in response to the Otherworld Palace situation.

It would be better to just ignore him.

“There!!! Stop the dispute! You can be punished according to the kingdom’s law!!!”
“…!”

When a Royal Army soldier shouted from over there, Marquis Lormalza glared at me once, then gritted his teeth and said.

“You thief…! I haven’t forgotten the grudge of Salberin!!! Someday, you will definitely pay the price!!!”
“You’re going to die of old age soon! Or get dementia!!”
“Wh, wh, what!! Aaaaaaah!!”

This scream maniac!!!

“Marquis-nim. Please calm down. I know you have personal grudges, but today, orders come first.”
“Let go of me!!!”
“…”

The mage unit member dragged away the screaming Marquis Lormalza. As he left, that mage unit member sent me a look, but I had no idea whether he was picking a fight or what.

Huh?

But could it be that if this guy is here, then the Hylen siblings are also… I immediately expanded my senses and scanned the surroundings.

—Tsupat!

A head of blue hair caught my eye.

—Flinch!

When I glared in that direction, the person in question trembled once and tried to run away.

“Hey!!!! You, you son of a bitch, you’re that Georgie from then!! Where are you going!!”
“O, oof!!”

It was Georgie, who had been beaten by me before.

“Oh? Run away! Come here, you bastard!!”
“Ugh… Th, that…!”
“Heo-eok!! You are!!”

It wasn’t just Georgie.
His sister, Metal, also appeared next to him.

“Come here!!!”
“Ah, no, that’s…! I, I’ll go! I’ll go, so please calm down!”

—Hurriedly!

Metal, who was watching, grabbed Georgie’s hand and ran to kneel in front of me.

“Ah, hello! O, long time no see… I’m Metal! This is Georgie, as you know…”

Metal was rambling her greetings.
The side effects of being beaten by me last time must have been severe.

“Yes, you bastards. It’s been a while, huh? Coming to a place like this. You were so greedy for the Otherworld Palace, huh!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Yes, yes!! So we were roughly investigating…!!”
“Don’t you know about nature conservation!!!!!!!”

These sons of bitches don’t know the concept of nature conservation!!!

“Th, that’s not it!!!”
“Get out of here quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You monster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I ended up screaming.

“Yes sir!!!!!”

Anyway, once I shouted at them, they ran away again.

To have Marquis Lormalza and the Hylen siblings appear together like this. It’s not a good sign. It’s just creating unnecessary trouble. I’m just incredibly unlucky. It’s better to never see those kinds of guys for the rest of my life.

“…Those are the ones from back then. I hope there won’t be any unnecessary trouble.”
“I think so too.”
“Blackie, there’s no point in fighting here. Just ignore them.”
“I will. Shall we go in, then?”

Anyway, we headed straight for the entrance of the palace.

—…

The entrance was quite wide, and the Royal Army was controlling it. But it wasn’t strict, so there were quite a few people busily coming and going. It seemed the mage unit members were currently staying put, investigating something in the back.

—Thud, thud.

We went straight inside.

“The ceiling is high?”

As soon as we entered, we came to a large hallway. It was long. And the ceiling was quite high. Were the architects tall? No, that’s probably not it. The first-floor hallway is usually large.

“Kuek…!”
“Go back quickly!”
“You monster bastards!!”

Looking around, I saw various injured people carrying their comrades on their backs or supporting them as they tried to go outside.

The first-floor hallway was crowded with those kinds of people. Above all, there were barricades made of various debris set up in various places. It felt like a war zone.

“We’ve come this far, so we have to see it through. Shall we go treasure hunting?”

—Sreung.

Karin drew her sword, and as if it were a signal, everyone grabbed their respective weapons. Let’s go deeper inside.