The situation in the crypt was strange.
After the group of humans and knights was split into two, they were forced to continue as such. With no real method to communicate with one another, they couldn't arrange a reunion with potentially dead allies.
Kiano and Mons didn't leave Wiley, Eyad, and the rest any instructions to wait for them in any capacity. While the team could have taken it amongst themselves to wait for a little longer, the risk wasn't worth it.
If the special skeleton came and killed them, the supplies would never reach their comrades.
"Eyad, you are certain this is the way, right?" Agalia, the ex-party leader now expedition team leader, asked the support magician Eyad.
"I- I haven't been here enough to know for sure but… going straight will take us there eventually" The compass pointed straight towards the next floor of the dungeon but it didn't form any sort of most optimal route.
For that, they had a map. The keyword being had. Kiano was the one in charge of the map and Mons had the backup. It made sense for the defensive guy to hold onto something of such importance.
"I wish we had more maps…" Lea grumbled on the side with a small sigh. The maps were a limited commodity, however. In fact, the latest map had been made on their expedition further and further into the dungeon.
Any mass-produced map from say... the freedom union were outdated by now. The perplexing changes in the dungeon were to blame.
This included and was not limited to the destruction of a safe room, the rewarding puzzles around the dungeon, and collapsed or blocked passages. The maps were just a formality by this point.
"We are supposed to set a regular route here too…" Someone commented pitting in another reason to complain about life. They had enough but one could never have too many things to complain about.
In theory, setting up a trade route was easy. Just find the most direct path or even better, create one. The issue was that dungeons were a different space from reality. The way they worked was an enigma.
Yet, one thing was common knowledge. Digging through a dungeon was a bad idea.
There were pockets of space embedded in the walls that if hit could very well irate the entity or just outright cause one's death. These spaces generated under unknown conditions could rarely be broken anyway so facing such a risk was entirely pointless.
If it wasn't clear enough, they had it rough.
As they continued to travel down the dungeon, they were able to make it into the boss room with little to no interruption.
"Phew, we've made it" Prissy said while taking a short breather. All the walking had tired her out quite a bit
"Yeah, let's just hope a new boss doesn't suddenly spawn in or something ridiculous like that HA HA HA" Wiley said with a fake laugh. Did he jinx it?
The others stared daggers at him while secretly cursing out Samuel. They personally would not take in a lunatic. Even if it came bundled with two competent young ladies. Actually, the fact that two competent young ladies were bundled in was that much more suspicious.
Ignoring the words of Wiley, Glaive struggled to push open the boss room door. The wide-open space immediately entered their eyes. Finally, what used to be a small black dot at the end also appeared in their vision.
"The portal is just up ahead, let's hurry all!" Eyad said from atop the magic cart. This was it!
The group hurried on with great anticipation and in an anti-climactic turn of events, made it successfully through the portal to the next floor.
A skeleton who had been following them closely behind finally retreated after seeing them enter the boss room. It was none other than Zephyr.
If Ed was going to recon for skeletons it only made sense to have Zephyr help him. Of course, Ed also instructed Zephyr to watch out for suspicious activity on account of the dungeon.
Whatever the case, Ed was heading towards Survivors outpost. They were tasked with finding regular skeletons for him as well so Ed was hoping to get some good material.
"Hm?" Upon reaching the ex-safe room, however, Ed was greeted by signs of battle. The marks left behind weren't very revealing but the body of an armament skeleton told Ed enough.
'There was an attack and they made it past this point recently' Ed thought reaching a logical conclusion. There was something odd though.
'Are these tire marks?' Ed asked himself while inspecting the marks left in the dust. Previously, he failed to notice them but thinking again, he had seen them on the way there.
'These straight lines must belong to a cart' Ed's logic was sound meaning he had discovered the reason for his summoning. All that was left was to follow the tracks.
Ed would usually consider his other options but in this case, his only choice was to follow. If a cart was brought in the destination was obvious.
'It's the orc plains' While he didn't mind them coming in he couldn't allow them to settle in. it was like having stray cats enter your home. Sure you'll feed them and they'll start coming over but you certainly wouldn't have them live with you. It'd also be a matter of time until too many cats came over to feed and they would become a nuisance.
Ed brought a basic set of armor from his storeroom and equipped it before promptly dashing after these invaders. In the worst-case scenario, they would have already crossed into the next floor.
***
When one thought of a forest one might think of a tranquil scenery with the trees being gently rocked by a refreshing breeze. But the Bosque kingdom was not like this in the slightest.
The plains were littered with bodies forming streams of blood and the forests became home to sneaky foes. The bravest of Bosque men knew they were being sentenced to death by going there.
The Bosque Army was much weaker than its monetary power. This meant they were unprepared for war. While their enemies had given them plenty of time to prepare, the current prince appeared to lack the necessary foresight.
"Prince! Bad news! The Volcan empire has finally attacked in full force!" The advisor to the king came in and said with worry. They didn't know why the Volcan empire suddenly attacked, only that things were not looking good for them.
The regent prince, Adelio Bosque II, looked at the subject with indifferent calmness as the man reported this dire situation.
"So? Just beat them back" The prince said from the throne feeling his answer was logical.
"Wah- Beat them back?" The advisor was dumbfounded by this response. The prince received a royal education so it was impossible for him not to know better than to simply say beat them back.
In situations like these, the king had to think of ways to pacify the hearts and minds of the soldiers and or the people. Perhaps even pass some laws to care for the soldiers' families allowing them to fight with no regrets. Anything they saw necessary or fitting in their great wisdom.
"Yeah, just pay some adventurers and beat them back" They had already hired plenty of adventurers to make up for their lacking combat power. These adventurers were practically their main force.
Unlike the knights and soldiers, the adventurers did not receive training. Yet this also meant that they fought in an uncontrolled environment with death looming over them. While the survival rate of this method was much lower, the result was much better.
This meant that having adventurers on their side was beneficial but that was actually only true to an extent. The adventurers could easily turncoat for more money or give up if they felt they might die.
The adventurers fended for themselves all their lives so they'd feel little to no loyalty to the country. Some might still have morals and try to fulfill their contracts even at the threat of death but they weren't the majority.
"With all due respect your highness, the situation on the field is more chaotic th-" Before the man could continue doing his job the prince signaled him to stop.
"Hah… I'm not like my incompetent father. You don't try to lecture me" Brennan Bosque allowed the advisors and nobles to run their mouths and would only occasionally reject them. This was all done in the name of listening to one's subjects but in the eyes of some, this was a weakness.
Brennan was not the strongest or the smartest that had graced the kingdom but that meant he had to make up for these things he was lacking with others His ability to listen to others and know when to say no was developed like this.
"But your highness-!" The man cried with a mix of disbelief and anger.
The prince's eyes suddenly turned hostile and his whole body seemed to emanate a dangerous atmosphere.
"Leave" The prince commanded. The advisor wasn't willing to stay any longer. He hardened his expression, bowed, and turned to leave with clenched fists.
"You'll see…" The advisor muttered as he walked out and closed the throne room doors.
The young prince was left alone on the throne.