Chương 551: 965
<Dungeon of the Deep Sea> 6th floor.
Eun-ha was fishing along with future Yu-seong and others guarding the ship.
This was a scene that could be seen on other conquest team's ships as well.
"It's peaceful."
"Indeed. If the remaining conquest is like this, I'd have no regrets. Though that's impossible..."
"Unfortunately, it's impossible."
"Still, I like it..."
It's much less burdensome compared to the floors conquered so far.
Eun-ha, future Yu-seong, Avenier, and others smiled gently while basking in the warm sunlight.
With a cool breeze blowing, their mood improved even more.
"Yes! Another big catch! Gu-rae, the net please!"
"Oh, honey, you're quite good at this? How many is this now?"
"Heh, I'm pretty good at fishing. I catch something every time I cast!"
On one side, Kang Si-hyeong was proudly showing off the big fish he caught.
He puffed out his chest, holding his head high.
The twin sisters Mei-ling and Mei-rin teased him.
"Si-hyeong is good at catching fish? But he doesn't seem to be able to catch women."
"Unnie, you never know. Maybe the fish Si-hyeong caught is a female?"
"Oh my, I didn't think of that. Sorry, I was short-sighted. I take back what I said about not catching women."
"Unnie, we should still check. You might be right, you know?"
"But what if it's not? Then we'd be killing Si-hyeong twice."
"Sob sob... Then our poor Si-hyeong..."
The twin sisters pretended to cry, wiping their eyes.
Kang Si-hyeong retorted with a sulky face.
"You two don't eat my fish. I really won't give you any..."
"Aw, Si-hyeong~ Don't be like that~"
"That's right, we're sorry. You know our hearts, right?"
"Yeah, you're not thorny at all~"
It's the way of the needy to cling.
When Kang Si-hyeong took the fish hostage, the twin sisters changed their attitude and started flattering him.
It was quite an amusing sight for the people watching around.
Meanwhile, on another side, On Tae-hee, Sun Mi-ye, and Son Ga-yeon were chatting while fishing.
"Ah, it just ate the bait and got away again... How about you two?"
"I'm catching them fairly well. We could make spicy fish stew later. Come to think of it, dad, I mean, father liked spicy fish stew..."
"I want to eat sushi..."
Thus, the people guarding the ship were spending time peacefully.
At that moment.
"Eun-ha Eun-ha! Aren't you playing too leisurely just because you have nothing to do right now? We're dying from work..."
Ariel, who had been exploring underwater, poked her head above the water surface.
She puffed up her cheeks as if quite displeased.
The blue scales on both sides of her head also fluttered in protest.
Eun-ha replied nonchalantly.
"Does it look like we're just playing? We're guarding the ship right now."
"Wow, you're not guarding the ship but just fishing leisurely, you're so shameless! Eun-ha Eun-ha, I'm disappointed!"
"We're fishing, just trying to get some dinner along the way. You'd get tired of eating preserved food every day, right?"
"Hmm, that's true, but..."
"I'll make ramen for you later. Seafood ramen, it'll definitely be delicious."
"Slurp."
Ariel swallowed as if she had never been angry.
Eun-ha chuckled.
"We've caught various other things too, so you can look forward to dinner later. We know how hard you're working, shouldn't we repay you somehow?"
"Hmph, now that I look at it, you're quite sensible. As expected of Eun-ha Eun-ha!?"
"You just realized? So, can you tell me what you came for? The fish are running away because of you."
"Ah! Eun-ha Eun-ha, are you saying the fish are more important than me!? How could you do this to me!"
"I need to catch fish to give you a delicious dinner, so please understand."
"Then am I more important?"
"Of course you're more important."
"Yes! Eun-ha Eun-ha, then you know. When we eat seafood ramen later, can I have just a little bit of dew..."
"No."
"..."
Dark clouds gather on Ariel's face, which had been brightening.
Eun-ha comforts her...
"No."
...not.
He emphasized again.
Ariel became sulky with a sense of betrayal.
"Eun-ha Eun-ha, you're bad. I hate you. You're mean."
"I'm sorry. Instead, I'll let you drink to your heart's content when we conquer the dungeon and get out."
"Hmph! Even if you try to persuade me like that..."
"I'll even be your drinking buddy all night. If you want to sing together, I'll sing with you too."
"...Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Okay, it's a promise!"
Ariel quickly regains her energy.
Eun-ha looked at her contentedly.
On the other hand, future Yu-seong next to him muttered quietly, "Really... Aunt Ariel falls for father's words so easily," and gave a bitter smile.
Anyway.
"So how did the exploration go? Did you find the clams' habitat?"
Eun-ha decided to return to the topic.
To this, Ariel, with a bright face, held up her fingers in a V-sign and answered.
"Yes, I found it! But there's a problem."
"What's the problem?"
"There are quite a lot of monsters guarding the clams. So I think we need separate support besides us. Eun-ha Eun-ha, let's go together!"
"I guess we have no choice."
* * *
The mission given on the 6th floor was essentially an individual mission.
To move to the next floor, they had to offer pearls from the 6th tier giant coral clams at the altar on an island somewhere on the 6th floor, in proportion to their numbers.
So the conquest team divided roles, with some guarding the ship and others exploring underwater to find the creatures.
"So you found the clams, but there were other monsters around so you couldn't approach?"
"Yes yes! They were swarming all over. If Eun-ha Eun-ha hadn't tipped us off, we might have gotten into big trouble approaching the habitat carelessly."
"Any injuries?"
"Fortunately, none! Everyone's waiting at a distance now."
While swimming underwater, Ariel, guiding Eun-ha's group, briefly conveyed the situation.
Every time she breathed and spoke, bubbles rose from her mouth and nose.
This was the same not only for her but also for Eun-ha and the others.
Soon after.
"We're here! Over there!"
Eun-ha's group reached an underwater canyon.
The people who had been searching for the giant coral clams were waiting there.
They revealed themselves from where they had been hiding in the surrounding terrain.
"The giant coral clams are over there."
Kaede pointed to an area of coral reefs some distance away.
"..."
Eun-ha, enhancing his eyesight with mana, could see the giant clams opening and closing their mouths within.
At the same time, he could also see the pearls emitting mana that lured beings, resting on flesh reminiscent of human tongues.
"You found them well. How many clams?"
"I didn't count exactly, but there seem to be at least 50."
"50... That's quite a lot for the first find. Are we lucky?"
"That's probably why the monsters guarding them are not easy to deal with."
"Where are those monsters?"
"Look carefully at the surrounding floor and canyon walls. Because of the clams, your gaze might not go there easily, and it's dark around so it's easy to miss, but if you look closely, you can see holes."
"Indeed... You're right."
Just then, a monster reminiscent of a moray eel poked its head out of a hole in the underwater wall.
It was a 4th tier monster, Abyss moray.
"And do you see the rocks scattered sparsely on the floor? If you look carefully, you can find rocks that are subtly different from the surrounding environment among them."
Inside the rocks Kaede mentioned lived monsters reminiscent of hermit crabs.
They were 5th tier monsters, Trench pagurids.
"But that's not all. While we were hiding here earlier, monsters that looked like marlins kept coming and going frequently."
"They're probably 5th tier Patrol Marlins. If they're in a group, there's a high chance there are higher-ranked individuals too."
It seems it won't be an easy battle.
But we have to do it.
Eun-ha instructed the people.
"Let's divide into two groups. One group will deal with the monsters, and the other group will extract the pearls in the meantime."
At this time, they absolutely must not subjugate the giant coral clams.
Because in the process of the creatures meeting their demise, the pearls belonging to the same existence might also disappear.
So they had to obtain only the pearls without subjugating the creatures.
The people who agreed with Eun-ha's opinion nodded.
"Then let's start right away while the Patrol Marlins are gone."
Right after, Eun-ha and the others headed towards their destination.
And so, a battle to steal the pearls began.
* * *
The monsters desperately lunged to prevent the pearls from being stolen.
As a result, even after somehow stealing the pearls, Eun-ha's group had to endure the monsters' pursuit all the way back to the ship.
No, it was a problem even after returning.
'We couldn't relax our guard because monsters entranced by the pearls' mana kept posing threats...'
They could only rest relatively until they obtained the pearls.
Afterwards, the conquest team had to spend tiring days without a moment's peace.
'Fortunately, it ends today.'
They've gathered all the necessary pearls.
It's time to say goodbye to life on the 6th floor.
Eun-ha, who had briefly reminisced about the past days, broke from his reverie and raised his head.
At the end of the mountain path on the island stood a massive iron door.
It's the door to go to the 7th floor.
Please offer pearls to the altar for the number of people who will pass through the door!
The conquest team found the altar, which was hollowed out like a cup, near the iron door.
Eun-ha and the conquest team representatives moved towards it.
"We'll go first."
Starting with Albert Valentine, the conquest team representatives poured the pearls they brought into the altar.
Soon, as the pearls blazed.
Whoosh! Creak...
Suddenly, light of the same color as the pearls spread across the entire iron door.
The iron door opens.
Beyond the door, where originally there would have been a vast sea, was now filled with light.
"Since we can't all enter at once, we'll enter by country. First, we Italy..."
According to the dungeon guide's assurance, ships wouldn't be needed from the 7th floor onwards.
From the start, it would require enormous effort to pull ships up the mountain path to the iron door in front of them.
Therefore, the conquest team had agreed, albeit regretfully, to abandon the ships they had grown fond of and move with only necessary luggage.
"..."
They didn't know what was beyond the door.
People with stern expressions each stepped forward to pass through the door.
Just then.
"Pleaaaasssseeeee!"
"Take uuuussssss!"
"..."
Shouts were heard from below the cliff where the iron door stood, specifically from the anchored ships.
It was the cries of the criminals who had been decided to be left behind on the 6th floor after considering various factors.
"..."
Please take us too, don't abandon us, save us...
The conquest team couldn't help but be shaken by the desperate screams coming from below.
Nevertheless.
"What are you doing not coming? We're going in."
They couldn't show mercy by giving them scarce food or gathering pearls for them.
Albert, who was guiding the conquest team in front of the iron door, awakened them with a cold voice.
"..."
They knew it too.
They tried to compose themselves and stepped beyond the door.
The other conquest teams that followed, including the Korean conquest team led by Eun-ha, also ignored the criminals.
Time passed.
Whoosh...
"Ah..."
As the light imbued in the iron door faded, it slowly began to close.
It had finished its role of sending people to the 7th floor according to the number of pearls offered to the altar.
The criminals on the ship, realizing this fact, couldn't help but wail.
Their choked cries echoed across the island.
"Those damn bastards..."
"..."
Sorrow, indignation, hatred, hostility towards the conquest team rose.
The criminals shed thick tears to the point their eyes turned red, screamed with anger to the point veins popped on their necks, unconsciously clenched their fists so hard they bled, and bit their lips.
It was then that the air suddenly split vertically, and people wearing ragged cloaks along with the dungeon guide appeared.
It's such a pity that there are so many abandoned people. Sob sob...
"..."
I'll give you all an opportunity.
The dungeon guide giggled.
The criminals forgot their sobbing and blankly stared at the dungeon guide.
You want to live, right? You don't want to die, right? And...
"..."
Don't you want to kill all those who abandoned you?
Of course.
None of the criminals denied it.
Will formed in their eyes, which had only known how to shed tears.
The will soon turned into killing intent.
Good. We welcome your belonging.
The dungeon guide was pleased.
Then it sat on the shoulder of a man wearing a ragged cloak.
The man with red eyes glowing from within the cloak, Lorenzo Mairon, opened his mouth.
"Join me, follow me."
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