Growls, roars, and shouts reverberated throughout the battlefield as both sides clashed against each other. Due to the presence of the Diabolical Hell Ape, a powerful pressure had descended upon the Dungeon Creatures which made their movements and performance decrease significantly.
William and Ella cut through the sea of monsters like a hot knife through butter. The Spire, and the Long-Horned-Enchanted Deer that flanked William's sides, bulldozed everything in their path.
Due to the vast difference in strength, Xolotl was mercilessly pummeled by the Diabolical Hell Ape. Although it was a Mythical Beast, the Xolotl was clearly not a match to the Giant Ape that was immune to fire.
As a creature of the underworld, its resistance to Miasma was very high. Even if it was surrounded by corrupted monsters, it moved unhindered and turned the lower-tiered monsters around it into ashes.
The other rules of the forest under its command were all Class B Beasts. They were more than enough to fight off the hordes of monsters coming their way. Psoglav, wielded a bastard sword in its hand as it sliced one monster after another.
It was as if it was venting out its frustration on the low-tiered beast for being forced to participate in a battle that was due to its carelessness.
While the hordes of Corrupted Dungeon Monsters, and the Allied forces collided, the true Powerhouses were duking it out on both the land and air.
Xolotl relied on its lightning bolts and speed to deal with the Giant Ape, because it knew that it was no match against it in close combat. What it didn't know was that the Giant Ape's Serpent Tail was an expert in medium-ranged combat as well.
It would spray acid and poison that was strong enough to melt boulders, from time to time to cut off the Xolotl's path of retreat, and allow the Diabolical Hell Ape to deliver a nasty blow that would send it flying.
Since the magicians couldn't fire their spells towards the ground for fear of friendly fire, they focused their attention on the aerial monsters that hovered above their heads. Spells of different kinds flew in the air which illuminated their surroundings like trails made by fireworks.
The Winged Serpent wanted to help the Xolotl deal with the Diabolical Hell Ape, but an annoying Parrot Monkey blocked its path. After their initial clash in the air, the Winged Serpent knew that it was no match against the weird-looking-creature that had the head of a monkey and the body of a parrot.
It's pitiful shrieks resounded across the sky as Oliver toyed with it to its heart's content.
-----
'He... Help us.'
"Sa… Save us.'
William could sense that the voices calling out to him were gradually weakening. He had a feeling that the time the voices stopped calling out to him, something sinister would take place inside the dungeon.
"Spire, I'll leave the clearing of the battlefield to you!" William shouted. "I'm heading inside the dungeon."
Spire eyed him for a brief moment before nodding its majestic head. 'We will help to create a path for you. Be careful, Young William.'
The Diabolical Hell Ape heard their conversation and the Serpent Tail immediately spat several fireballs the size of a car into the sea of monsters. The fireballs turned everything it hit into ashes, paving a road for the boy and his mama goat to traverse unchallenged.
Twenty Long-Horned-Enchanted Deer took the lead and formed an arrow formation with William at its center. They used the path that the Diabolical Hell Ape had created and ran in the direction of the dungeon.
Spire ordered the remaining deer under its command to stay on the frontline of the battlefield. The Eternal Guardian had a special cleansing ability that allowed it to purify the Miasma in the bodies of the defenders.
With its help, the humans were able to continue fighting without having to retreat to cure the miasma poisoning.
Two minutes later...
"Thank you, this is as far as you can take me." William thanked the deer who had accompanied him. "Please, go back and help Spire protect the students."
'Are you sure you can do it alone, Little Will?' Oliver's voice sounded inside his head. 'Do you need me to follow you?'
Although Oliver was currently toying with the Winged Serpent, it would be very easy for him to subdue it if need be. The reason he came to Dawsbury was to ensure William's safety. A mere Winged Serpent was not as important as his Mistress' future husband candidate.
'It will be fine, Second Master,' William replied. 'I am never alone.'
'Ah, that is true,' Oliver commented. 'You are never alone. Very well, I'll play here for a while longer. Just call me if anything happens.'
'Understood.'
'Goodluck with whatever you plan to do.'
After reassuring Oliver, William and Ella entered the entrance of the dungeon. William was expecting to fight his way through a horde of monsters, but the dungeon was practically empty. Before William could even do anything, a gate suddenly appeared in front of him.
It opened very slowly and the voices he had heard earlier urged him to enter.
Since his purpose for coming was to find out who was calling out to him, William entered the gate while raising his guard. The moment the shepherd passed through it, the gate disappeared completely leaving nothing behind.
-----
In a wide and spacious land, where dark clouds covered the sky, William stared at two black orbs, the size of a car's wheel, floating in front of him.
'Y-You're finally here.'
'P-Please, help us.'
'Save us.'
William approached the two black orbs with caution. The Miasma that the two orbs were releasing looked so sinister, that the red-headed boy didn't know if it was a good idea to get closer.
Suddenly, the dark cloud of Miasma transformed into a giant two headed dog with a serpentine tail. The two-headed dog bared its fangs at the intruders on its territory, however, it didn't make any moves to attack William. It stayed in its position and shielded the two black orbs behind its back.
William narrowed his eyes as he used his appraisal skill to read the information of the monster in front of them.
----
< Orthus >
-- Dog of Twilight
-- Corrupted Guardian
-- Threat Level: B (Mid)
-- Cannot be added to the Herd
-- A two-headed dog that guards the castles of the Abyss Rulers in the underworld. Wields the power of Darkness and specializes in mobility. For a short period in time, it can split itself into two giant dogs with one head each. The serpentine tail on its back contains a powerful paralyzing poison that can paralyze a human for hours.
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Although the Orthus was a Class B, middle-tier monster, William felt that it was very different from the other Class B monsters that he had fought against. Psoglav was a Class B monster, but the presence that it excluded was more powerful than the Orthus in front of William.
Still, William didn't dare to underestimate his opponent and decided to go all out to defeat it.
"Let's go, everyone," William raised his spear and shouted. "Gate Open!"
A portal appeared behind the boy and a herd of Angorian War Ibexes stepped into the dungeon room.
Chrono, Aslan, and the others looked at the monster dog in front of them with sparkling eyes. They were sick and tired of getting bullied by James, and the other powerful experts in Lont, during their training lessons.
It had been so long since Willliam had called for them, so they endured the beatings of these powerful fighters as they honed their fighting techniques to the peak.
The corner of William's lips twitched when the goats that answered his summons began to discuss with each other.
Aslan: "Meeeeeeh?" (Can we bully that dog?)
Chronos: "Meeeeh!" (Let's bully it!)
Aslan: "Meeeh! (I agree!)
All the goats: ""Meeeeeh!"" (Let's go!)
They didn't even wait for William's command and charged at the two headed dog as a group. It was like a dozen school kids were flocking towards a little puppy that had been presented to them by a teacher.
The Orthus roared mightily and faced off against the Angorian War Ibexes… at least, that was its original plan.
However, it had underestimated how fast and how strong the War Ibexes were. The dog yelped in pain as several horns collided with its body that sent it flying to the air. As it was falling, it noticed a single War Ibex waiting for it where it would land.
The War Ibex had a mischievous look in its eyes as it turned around and lifted its hind legs to… kick it!
The poor dog became a volleyball ball that got passed around by the War Ibexes that were venting out their frustration. In a desperate attempt to fight back, Orthux split its body into two.
Unfortunately, its actions only made the goats more excited as they, too, split into two teams. Aslan's and Chrono's teams took one dog each and resumed their volleyball session.
William didn't know whether he should laugh or cry at the pitiful guardian dog that was being bullied by the goats he had raised since they were kids.
(A/N: Fun fact. A young goat is also called a kid.)
Since the immediate threat was already being taken care of, William approached the two black orbs and checked their condition with his Appraisal Skill.
-----
< Corrupted Dungeon Core >
-- A dungeon core that was corrupted by Miasma
-- Corruption Progress: 95%
-----
'System, how do we resolve this issue?' William inquired.
< To answer the host's question, there is only one way to handle a corrupted dungeon core and that is to destroy it. However, even if the host did nothing, these two cores will shatter automatically once the miasma has corrupted it completely... >