"Five dead, two seriously wounded, and five lightly injured. This is bad. Two of the porters died too."
Even if the lightly wounded could still fight, nearly half the force had taken casualties, so the stiffness never left Galfredic's face.
It wasn't concern for the dead or injured mercenaries.
It was the fact that, despite suffering this level of damage, they had only just barely met the minimum condition for subjugation.
"Still, we caught more than the quota of low-grade monsters, so it's not all bad. What do you think, sir? Feels like it's about time we pulled out. For an opening expedition, this is decent enough."
"Hmm."
Eugene swept his gaze over the mercenaries.
Their condition was a mess. At first he thought it was just exhaustion from consecutive battles, but that wasn't all.
In the dungeon's environment—no different from night—Eugene's abilities had grown far stronger, but for the human mercenaries it was the opposite.
Pitch-black darkness and surprise monster attacks had pushed their nerves to the breaking point.
Though it was only the third day, some claimed they had seen ghosts, others swore evil spirits were laughing at them from the darkness. On top of that, they couldn't sleep or rest properly, and hadn't even had decent meals, so their morale had plummeted.
Now Eugene understood why humans rarely stayed in a dungeon longer than five days.
It wasn't their bodies that failed first—it was their minds.
"In my opinion…"
The desperate gazes of the mercenary leaders converged on Eugene.
No one doubted his abilities anymore. If anything, he was now their hero and savior.
The image of Eugene lifting a troll's head high just a few hours ago was still vivid in their minds.
For a fleeting moment, they had even thought him the Demon King himself—such was the terror and impact of that sight.
Everyone knew that if Eugene hadn't joined Galfredic to bring down the big one, at least three or four more would have died.
"I agree that we should withdraw. But judging by the way the passage is gradually widening and the wind blowing from the opposite side, there might be something like that underground plaza you mentioned, sir. What do you think about checking that first before we pull back?"
The mercenaries' faces, which had only just brightened, darkened again.
"Fine. Then we'll go with only a few, excluding the porters. Let's take about five or six."
As Galfredic's eyes swept over the leaders, they averted their gazes as if by prior agreement.
"These cowardly weaklings. How many times have Sir Eugene and I wiped your sorry asses for you already…?"
As Galfredic's face twisted in irritation, Eugene spoke.
"I'll go with just those guys over there. Partek."
"Yes, Sir Eugene. Hey!"
At Partek's beckoning, Glad and Raban ran over.
"Will you be all right? Should I go too?"
"You said at least one knight had to stay with the main force. You guard them, sir. If there's nothing, we'll be right back."
"Tch! Can't be helped. Then I'll leave it to you."
He wanted to go explore with Eugene himself, but with the mercenaries already exhausted and their morale in shambles, Galfredic couldn't afford to leave them.
It wasn't because he cared for them or worried about them.
Without the powerful focal point and restraint that a knight provided, the mercenaries would almost certainly bolt straight out of the dungeon.
"Then we're off."
Handing Galfredic a pouch of magic stones in case of emergency, Eugene set off with Partek's group.
Whooo—
A strange echoing sound accompanied the cold wind that swept through, making Partek and the two mercenaries shiver.
There was no moderate temperature in the dungeon. It was either cold or hot—nothing in between.
Still, this kind of cold was better than heat so oppressive that it made you want to strip off your leather armor, so they pulled their robes tight and cautiously followed behind Eugene.
He really is an incredible knight.
Sticking close behind Eugene, Partek clicked his tongue inwardly in awe.
Galfredic had lived up to his reputation as well, but Eugene was in a league of his own.
Especially the fierce battle with the trolls earlier—it made his hair stand on end just thinking about it.
Severing the spine of an underdeveloped young with a shortsword, taking it hostage, and shattering the adults' judgment—
He had heard of hunters deliberately using young as bait to hunt ferocious beasts, but he had never seen such a bold tactic used against mid-grade monsters in a dungeon.
And then there was that terrifying brute strength—half-severing a full-grown troll's neck with his blade and then ripping out the entire head along with the spine.
No one would believe this even if I told them.
Thinking how choosing Eugene again had been the stroke of a lifetime, Partek urged his two companions onward.
"Just hang in there a little longer. Thanks to Sir Eugene, not a single one of us has died, right?"
"Ha! Exactly. That's why we followed without complaint. Black Sheep Mercenary Corps or whatever—pure weaklings, the lot of them."
"Raban, how about you? You holding up?"
"My palm got torn up a bit, but I'm fine. Once we get out, I'm definitely buying a good pair of gloves. Cheap ones just won't do."
At Raban's awkward smile, Partek nodded firmly.
"If we make it out alive, I'll buy you a pair as a souvenir."
"Yes. Huh?"
Even as they kept up their quiet conversation while walking briskly, the mercenaries suddenly halted.
It was because Eugene at the front had stopped dead in his tracks.
"Sir Eugene?"
The moment Partek called out—
Ssssh! Ssssss…!
From beyond the darkness came a bizarre sound that made the hair on their necks stand on end.
Partek, the most experienced in dungeon subjugation among them, immediately guessed the source of the sound.
"Don't tell me… a giant cave spider?"
Giant cave spiders, as large as bulls, were monsters that even trolls did not recklessly attack.
True to their status as mid-grade monsters, their physical power was formidable—but more than that, their venom caused instant full-body paralysis upon being bitten.
Moreover, giant cave spiders never traveled alone.
With no distinction between male and female, they laid hundreds of eggs at a time, most of which became food for the exhausted adult after hatching.
Those that survived by sheer luck followed the adults as soldiers and emergency rations until they grew strong enough.
Just like now.
Sssssk!
The mercenaries froze in place when they saw dozens of pairs of dark-red eyes gleaming in the darkness ahead.
Shing.
Drawing his shortsword, Eugene fixed his gaze forward and spoke.
"I'll hold them here. You return to the main force and call for reinforcements."
"What? You alone, Sir Eugene?"
"Yes. We haven't even been walking five minutes. There's no time. Run. Now."
"But…"
Eugene snapped his head around.
"If you all want to die here, feel free to stay. But if you want to keep me alive, run back right now and bring Galfredic."
"…!"
The instant he saw the blazing crimson eyes shining from within the helmet, Partek felt his breath catch in his throat.
A gaze packed with an unprecedented power that felt absolutely impossible to defy.
Unaware that this was the unique Fear of a high-ranking undead vampire, Partek trembled all over and nodded.
"Yes, understood."
"Go. Now."
When Eugene turned his face forward again, Partek finally broke free of that fear and led the others.
"Run!"
"Yes, sir!"
The mercenaries, overwhelmed by Fear, ran madly back the way they had come without even feeling guilty about abandoning their comrade.
"Kieeek! Sir Eugene, are you finally releasing your power now? Is it happening!?"
Mirian, who had been waiting for the right moment to speak, quickly popped out and fluttered her wings.
Thanks to having drunk the troll's blood while with the main force, Eugene's five senses had become far sharper, allowing him to detect the presence of other monsters far in the distance.
And the aura he felt was far more intense than that of the troll.
That was why he had sent Mirian ahead to gather information first and then slipped away separately under the pretext of scouting.
Thud.
Throwing off his robe, Eugene cracked his neck from side to side.
"So it isn't just an ordinary giant spider?"
"Yup! It's a Lord! Giant spiders normally appear with their young, right? But you can only see the babies now, and not the big one. That's because it's there—it's just invisible to the eye!"
According to Mirian, when a giant cave spider evolves into a "Lord," it gains one special ability.
Camouflage.
The ability to freely change its body color or blend perfectly with its surroundings.
And Galfredic had once said that any mid-grade monster that underwent evolution would be promoted one full rank regardless of its species.
In other words, the giant cave spider lurking there right now was an "upper-grade" monster—the true objective of Eugene's dungeon expedition.
"It can hide its form?"
With a low growl, five long, jet-black claws burst through the glove on Eugene's left hand.
"But it can't hide its scent or its sound. Krrraaagh!"
The vampire, releasing every ounce of his power to the limit, charged toward the swarm of spiders while spraying a crimson aura.
"Sir Galfredic! Sir Galfredic!"
"Huh? What the hell are those idiots doing?"
Seeing the mercenaries running out of the darkness with torches in hand, Galfredic sprang to his feet.
"It's an emergency! Right now Sir Eugene is—!"
"Brin! Piolo! Bring everyone down there and follow me! Anyone who refuses gets their skull cracked! Partek, lead the way!"
Before Partek could even finish speaking, Galfredic had already grasped the situation and shouted while pulling his helmet down over his head.
"Yes, Sir Galfredic!"
The bald mercenary Brin and Piolo followed behind him, leading more than ten mercenaries.
Clank! Clatter!
The harsh sound of plate mail and chain mail crashing together echoed as they sprinted after Galfredic.
"What monster is it?"
"A giant cave spider! We didn't see the adult, but there were about twenty young ones!"
"Shit."
While running, Galfredic sheathed his longsword and pulled out the two battle axes crossed on his back.
In the distance ahead of their labored breathing, they could see a torch lying on the ground.
The moment Galfredic recognized it as the torch Eugene had been carrying, his eyes rolled wildly.
"Damn it all! Everyone, chaaaarge!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Though their lungs were on the verge of bursting, the mercenaries charged without hesitation.
But the closer they got to the torch, the slower their running became.
And when they were only a few meters away, they all stopped dead in their tracks, mouths gaping open.
Dozens of chicken-sized giant cave spider hatchlings, split apart and severed, writhed weakly on the ground.
Behind them lay several two-meter-long logs scattered about—but it didn't take long to realize they were actually the severed legs of the giant cave spider.
"You came quickly."
Eugene was sitting on the ground with one hand raised, his long hair and pale face smeared thick with spider blood and bodily fluids.
"…You insane bastard."
Galfredic, his eyes blazing with fury, strode over to Eugene.
And then—
"You crazy, insane knight! Kahaha!"
Bursting into loud laughter, he grabbed Eugene's hand, hauled him to his feet, and pulled him into a fierce embrace.
Thump! Thump!
Slapping Eugene hard on the back, Galfredic shouted with spit flying.
"Damn it! I really thought you were dead! You killed a troll just hours ago—how did you decide to take on another mid-grade monster alone!?"
"I figured if I stalled a little, you'd come running. And it wasn't as strong as I expected. Though I did break one arm."
"Breaking just one arm while soloing a mid-grade monster is a bargain! Then what about the bastard?"
"It ran as soon as its legs were severed. It was too fast, and I lost it because of the young ones."
Galfredic felt a brief flicker of regret at Eugene's answer, but soon shook his head vigorously.
No matter what kind of mid-grade monster it was, it normally took two or three knights to handle one. Just driving it off alone was already an incredible feat.
And this was the same man who had killed a troll only a few hours earlier!
"You really are a mad knight. Now let's go back. Can you walk?"
"I'm fine."
Eugene walked shoulder to shoulder with the grinning Galfredic.
The mercenaries, alternately staring at Eugene and at the corridor filled with the corpses of giant cave spider hatchlings, grew pale with shock.
How many people would actually believe what had happened today?
No—more importantly—
If word ever spreads that that knight is on a battlefield…
Avoid that fight at all costs. Or join his side, no matter what—it won't matter what the penalty is…
We're unbelievably lucky to have survived seeing this firsthand.
No matter how mercenary-minded they were, they would never stake their lives on a battle with no chance of victory.
And even less so if their opponent was a knight rumored to be like a Demon King.
(To be continued in the next chapter)