章節 36: Hidarus Challenge Finale [Part 2]: Beating The Odds

Before we opened the entrance to the battlefield, I decided to give a speech while sitting on Obsidian's back. Luckily, since Obsidian stood 10 feet tall, I was given a vantage point of the army that I put together.

"104...Troops...Strong. But Troops are nothing but a group of soldiers who pledge allegiance to their commanders and kill without worry. We are more than that, my friends. For I am a Dungeon Master and you are my citizens. You are not pawns to played on a crimson chessboard. You are valued citizens of the Dungeon, who will not allow your nation to fall into the trenches of nothingness. A wise man once said that 'Great empires are not maintained by timidity' because when you fear nothing, you have nothing to fear. If Hidarus has the balls to challenge me to war then he obviously has the balls to lose it. However, war is not won by one man, foolishly thinking that all it takes to conquer the world is sheer will and conviction. A wise man once said that 'we sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us'. It may be true that you are mobs summoned by me to protect the Dungeon, which is inevitably tied to my life. But who needs a speech when you have Griffin and a Succubus risking their lives to protect us! Who needs a speech when you have this giant Dire Wolf and the best god damn architect Orune has ever known! Who needs a speech when you have Dungeon members of incredible talent willing to join a Dungeon who hasn't even completed its first week? It's strange, it's unusual, and it's damn near atypical. But my Citizens, I ask you one question: If the road to being an Overpowered Dungeon was easy then what's the fucking point!", I shouted passionately.

"Yeah!", shouted most of the troops.

As the troops of war accumulated excitement, Briggs was stroking the beard on his face, smiling throughout the rest of the speech.

"So who gives a fuck about a war speech when we have a war to win! When we have DP beckoning us to free them from their captors! When we have a god damn Dungeon City to build! Open those motherfucking doors and let's take what we god damn deserve!", I shouted passionately.

As the smiling Cyclops and Minotaur opened the Dungeon's doors, the mobs began to walk out of the Dungeon with large smiles on their faces. They began chanting as I took the position to lead them into battle.

"Jordan! Jordan! Jordan! Jordan! Jordan!", said the chanting troops.

"Hehe...awesome", I said to myself.

"Nice speech, lad! I didn't know you had it in you! But we should revisit the plans that you laid out, right?", Briggs asked.

"Yes. The plan is still the same. You and Obsidian will split 16 B+ and 30 A rank units. It looks like Krotos is dealing with 5 A ranks at the moment but I want him and Helora on Behemoth duty. Judging from my knowledge of games, I think I'm supposed to beat the Draconic Valkyrie to achieve an early victory. I think I'll kill some B+ ranks before facing her. I would send Helora and Krotos to face her but I don't want the Behemoths destroying the Dungeon. I'm the last person other than those two who has the ability to fly, thanks to Vargoz and Hidara. It's fitting for the Dungeon Master to face the boss anyway, you know?", I said smiling.

"You're welcome by the way", Hidara and Vargoz said simultaneously.

"Yeah Yeah Whatever. Just make sure you guys actually keep me unscathed this time! Obsidian! Place me on the ground. It's time for you to satisfy your animal instincts, my friend. I'll probably just slow you down anyway, right? You can be as brutal as you want to be! You may not be as graphic as Vargoz but I know you like gore and slaughter as much as the next Dire Wolf!", I said petting his head.

As Obsidian slowly put me down on the ground, he started to make a few whining sounds. However, as I gave him a quick head rub, he was ready to do what he always wanted to do. Of course, that was killing enemies in ways that made Mortal Combat seem like a tame experience. Since I was always a person who liked my gore to be a moderate experience in the games I played, I'll spare the more...graphic details of Obsidian. It's important to note that the same beast who whines about my departure is the same animal that decapitated a minotaur and favors dismemberment as it's go-to option. Despite these disturbing facts, Obsidian always acted as if he was just a regular dog from the earth, which may be attributed to the Domestication feature of the Dungeon's System.

"I wish you luck, lad. May Father Hidarus Give Us Strength In Battle!", Briggs said happily.

"Alright, you god damn Golems! Let me see what you're worth! Slimes! Master Jordan tells me you can become armor for the Golems so you're with me! Orcs! Half of you are supporting the Golems! The rest of you will support Jordan and Obsidian. I would give a speech but I have assholes to snipe!", Briggs said enthusiastically.

As Briggs sat on the shoulder of one of the golems, the troops began charging towards the left side of the battlefield. Once they got past the double door entrance of the Dungeon, they rapidly advanced towards the frontlines of the army. It seems that the B+ troops that assaulted the Dungeon were the only specialty troops that were B+, as the rest of the B+ army were either Demonic Soldiers, Minotaurs, or even Corrupted Orcs. In my opinion, the Dungeon members shouldn't have any trouble wiping them off the map but the Corrupted Orcs are a bothersome opponent. According to Mera's Encyclopedia, Corrupted Orcs are Demonic/Hellish versions of regular Orcs. They're stronger than orcs of the same rank and can last longer as well. Their unique ability is the nullification of pain, primarily from the nullification of all emotions during the corruption process. On the battlefield, Krotos was currently launching multiple bombardments of various elements while hovering 20 ft above the ground. As I performed a quick whistle, I was happy to see that Obsidian knew what I was doing, as he immediately began sprinting towards the frontlines. The troops eagerly followed behind him as I tried to get accustomed to Vargoz and Hidara.

"I know you told me that I could fly but how exactly do I do that?", I asked.

"It's not hard. Just picture flight and fly in the air", Vargoz said.

"Ok...I guess I'll fl-"

If only it was that simple.

As soon as my feet left the ground, I felt as if I was flying at the speed of Mach 2. Naturally, I had the reaction that any person would have in this situation.

"What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck!", I panicked.

"You're a dumbass, Vargoz. Did you really forget about the restraints? You know he can't control all this power at once. Did you think he was still relying on whatever small amounts of power you had left?", Hidara teased.

"Fuck you, bitch! I know what I'm doing! Let's see...I think it's 4th generation magic? Or maybe 5th generation? Hm...", Vargoz said pondering.

"For the love of...here! I'll do it then! Before we find ourselves without any oxygen from this altitude!", Hidara said annoyed.

As my speed began to stabilize, I began to float in the air above the battlefield. The positive effect of losing control was that I had an incredible view that could only be described as breath-taking. The negative effect was that I was only 100 ft away from the Draconic Valkyrie, as we both stared at each other in the face. She had a form similar to Helora, with Dragon wings, horns, and tail on an overly attractive female form. If I remembered correctly, Helora told me that the Valkyrie's name was Hedra and that she was an A rank Junior Valkyrie. While she looked like a nice person, I knew what it took to be a Draconic Valkyrie for Hidarus. It was anything but nice.

"Oooh! Are you the Dungeon Master? This may be strange but you have an appealing face! If you were a citizen of D2, we probably could've gone on a date and watch a Dungeon Battle. But I have to say, you look pretty decent despite having such a young Dungeon!", Hedra said happily.

"Spare me the bullshit, Hedra. I know what it takes to become a Draconic Valkyrie! You're not fooling anyone", I said.

It was easy to be fooled by the seductive beauty of a Valkyrie. But Draconic Valkyries, while appearing attractive and pure on the outside, were sadistic and dangerous beings. Luckily, she wasn't an Hidarian Valkyrie. Those S+ Valkyries can and will kill Gods if they wanted to. Just thinking about them makes me feel sick to my stomach. However, any Valkyrie that gets acquired by Hidarus is usually one of the best in the realm. Even if she was an A rank, I couldn't afford to slip up against her.

"Fine. But I honestly do feel like you are an attractive Dungeon Master, you know. Too bad I'll have to cut such a pretty head into two...maybe three parts. It's a shame really. But to join the Hidarian Valkyries and work alongside our God of War, I have to prove myself to Father Hidarus. This is my first assignment as a Hidarus Challenger but I think destroying this Dungeon and fileting your bodies will secure my position. Just look below you, Dungeon boy. Your friends may be strong but do you really think you stand a fighting chance against me? Against the behemoths? You're just a small link in this little Dungeon you have going here. It's a shame that the Dungeon has to die with you but it's because the fat dwarf has some great design taste. I'll try to make his death a clean and painless one", Hedra stated.

"Thanks but I'm afraid you'll have to wait, correct? Hidarus Challenge rules state that the Dungeon has to defeat a behemoth before you can attack them directly. Unfortunately, that means I also can't kill you so we'll have to continue this chat later", I said.

"You know, you're smarter than you look. Since I'm starting to grow fond of you, I'll let you in on a little secret. If you manage to defeat me, you'll automatically complete the challenge and be rewarded by Hidarus. The reward for this type of difficulty is...lucrative. It's important to remember that the Hidarus Challenge was created to test your ability and worth as a Dungeon Master. Even as we speak, Hidarus is eagerly watching this Dungeon's members to see if the Dungeon's historic rise to power was warranted. I am the person who will determine if this little shit show can continue. We know about the power in that sword so make sure our fight is an enjoyable one, Jordan. Hidarus is watching both of us", Hedra said.

Before Hedra snapped her fingers to teleport, she taunted me as she blew a kiss towards me. She was wearing a revealing outfit while being well endowed, which was hard to resist. Naturally, any man who appreciated the female body would be powerless against it. As she finally teleported, I let out a large sigh.

"--sigh--"why do I always attract the crazy ones?", I asked.

"Why do you care about that slut anyway? The only woman that you need is Hidara, right? Right? Right?", Hidara said confidently.

"Imagine possessing the blood of Hidarus and still becoming this ignorant. Anyway, we need to clear out a large amount of the enemy forces before Helora kills that Flame Titan. The last thing we need is to fight Hedra, the Troops, and the Titans at the same time. That's a losing battle that we don't have to play. Instead, we can take this opportunity to show you what this sword can do. Ever since the fat dwarf modified the sword, Hidara has found some new abilities tied to it. Despite her bitchy personality towards me, she's smart as hell. Since time in her dimension goes slower, she has spent a large amount of time improving her knowledge. In your world, she would be called a 'Scientiast'. Or is it Scientist? Who cares! Just launch the sword like a spear towards an area with no allies", Vargoz said.

"Are you sure?", I asked.

"Yes. Just trust me on this, Jordan. You won't be disappointed!", Vargoz said happily.

"If you say so Vargoz...", I said cautiously.

As I held the sword like a spear, it began to quickly shapeshift into a trident. As black branches began to twirl around my right arm, a large orange marking appeared on the back of my right hand. On it was the initials "VH", which was most likely referencing Vargoz and Hidara. As I threw the trident, it began to exhibit explosive speed that made it comparable to a missle. I knew it broke the sound barrier since an almost deafening sonic boom was heard seconds after I threw it. As it began to pick up speed, the trident began to glow as bright as a flare, as it's red light caused the hostiles to move from its incoming destination. However, such an effort proved useless, as the trident landed on the battlefield with an explosion similar to a mini-nuke. As the 100 ft radius explosion took the attention of the battlefield, the branches on my arm forced me to move my hand back, as if I was Kratos trying call the Leviathan axe. To my surprise that's exactly what happened, as the trident quickly returned to my hand as fast as it left from it.

"Holy shit", I said amazed.

The comparison to a mini-nuke was valid, as the 'fallout' from the explosion was the spread of Hidara's taint. The 10 B+ hostiles that were in the radius died on impact but the 15 A ranks that were still standing took on a modified form.

"Do you like it? We call it 'Hidara's Branch' since I have the naming rights for it. Our Trident used to only provide devastating damage to an area but since you were a summoner, I was able to modify it so we can perform 'Monster Manipulation'. We can perform some Monster Empowerment, Mind Control, and Advanced Summoning with this Trident. Unfortunately, it can only be used once per day since it's a huge drain on my power", Hidara said.

"Yeah. Luckily, the mobs in the blast radius are automatically sacrificed so we usually recover in 24 hours. As for the survivors, well...you'll see", Vargoz said.

As Vargoz turned back into a sword, I flew down towards the battlefield to see the effect of the attack. To my surprise, the hostiles were not only undead but they were going berserk against their former allies! Branded on the entire right side of their faces were neon purple markings, as their eyes began to glow purple and their mind became tainted. However, I knew that this was no time to watch the hostiles, as I needed to prepare for the Draconic Valkyrie's arrival.

I decided to fly towards Krotos, who was finishing up his fight with a few A ranks. I attempted to contact Helora while flying to his location.

"Helora? Can you hear me?", I said.

"Oi! What the hell was that? All I heard was a sonic boom and an explosion from your direction!", Helora said worriedly.

"We can talk about it later. How's your position?", I asked.

"I'm doing"--woah--"I'm doing fine. I'm immune to fire magic so the Flame Titan has been relying on his Defense. I was able to obliterate one of his arms with explosion magic but I would've killed him by now if the Frost Of Ruin's minions didn't bother me. I don't have any defense so if you could send some help my way, that would be fantastic!", Helora stated.

Judging from Helora's tone, it was obvious that she was having fun fighting against the Behemoth. Behemoths are some of the most difficult mobs to defeat since they possess both high damage and high endurance while being giant creatures. Helora may be an Offensive Juggernaut but she doesn't have the defense to last very long against a behemoth. The only person who could possibly keep up with Helora was Krotos.

"C'mon! Is that all you got witch? I thought you were better than that?", Krotos said.

Tattered clothes, blood-soaked weapons, and a pile of slain hostiles. These were the traits that defined Krotos as I landed on the ground next to him. I noticed that some of the Angellic Soldiers, as well as other friendly units, were also scattered around the area in rather...disturbing forms. Krotos was currently dual-wielding two swords as he stood in a duel with a demonic sorceress. As an A rank Healer and Succubus were supporting her, she proved to be rather bothersome to Krotos.

"Hello, Dungeon Master. I see that you have acquired some...destructive magic, correct? Would you mind giving me a hand?", Krotos asked while smiling.

"Let me guess. You need me to take out the healer and succubus so you can finally kill this bitch, right? I'm on it", I said confidently.

"You catch on quick, Jordan. It'll be a pleasure to fight with you", Krotos stated.

"All this fucking talk and not enough blood!", the sorceress said.

As the sorcerer's hands glowed, the ground underneath Krotos and I began to crumble. As Krotos and I flew in the air, we were met with a barrage of attacks from the Succubus.

"Shit! I'll engage the sorceress up close! Make sure the Succubus doesn't get the chance to attack me!", Krotos said.

As Krotos descended towards the Sorceress, I decided to throw the trident towards the Healer as I flew towards the Succubus, who was currently hovering in front of me.

"Hm? Fighting me unarmed? What a stupid-"

The Succubus didn't get to finish, as I performed a heavy punch towards her face and kneed her in the stomach. After leaving her stunned, I eagerly performed a sidekick that sent her falling towards the ground. After holding my hand out, Vargoz automatically came back to me.

"Interesting. So that's what Monster Empowerment does? I think I like it", I said happily.

"Don't get too cocky, my friend. Unless you go into 'War Mode', this is only a temporary benefit from using Hidara's Branch. Even then, Hidara's Branch requires a large amount of magic power so don't think you can just use it willy-nilly. Hidara is trying to entice you into accepting the taint more often by choosing to go into 'War Mode'. Don't end up like the last person, Master Jordan. But while the Succubus is stunned, we should steal the healer", Vargoz said.

As we dove towards the healer, we caught a glimpse of Krotos's fight.

"Is that all you have, Griffin? Who would have thought that the son of Apollo would be so weak?", the sorceress taunted.

"I thought you would be a better sorcerer opponent but it seems your nothing without your little female squad supporting you. This battle is already over", Krotos said confidently.

"I'm not so sure about that. Did you think that I didn't have a backup plan? I'm a sorceress summoned by Hidarus after all", the sorceress said.

However, despite the obvious transformation process that she was about to partake in, Krotos decided to end it early. Using his sword creation skill, as well as his ability to use most magic, he instantaneously summoned 42 holy lances from the ground that punctured, impaled, and skewered the Sorceress. Since Holy magic was the fatal weakness of all demonic units, she was unable to escape the painful prison and quickly began to spit out large amounts of her demonic blood. As her life force began to fade, she quickly looked towards the Demonic healer, who would be the only person who could save her. However, the healer was currently trying her best to resist manipulation.

"Damn you, Griffin! I'll kill you!", the Succubus said.

After the succubus regained her composure, she lunged towards Krotos with her scythe in hand and began her numerous attempts to cut him into pieces.

"You like that, you fucking griffin! Die already!", she yelled.

After Krotos did a large step back, he dropped both of his swords on the ground and took out the sword that he always carried on his person. As he put his grabbed on the sword, Krotos's armor gradually became one of hardened Ice. As both of his eyes began glowing cerulean blue, his frosted armor glistened in the sunlight, as it seemed that he was starting to take this seriously.

"I was saving my true power for the behemoths but you can serve as target practice. I'll admit that you and your friends were very good opponents but Helora needs my help", Krotos said.

"Tch! You arrogant piece of shit! Who said this battle was over?!", the succubus said angrily.

However, the succubus' attempt to lunge at Krotos was a futile effort. As she put all of her power into her scythe, it was clear that she was maxing out her scythe for an undeniable kill. But Krotos wasn't your average A+ rank person. Krotos was the son of the Legendary S+ Griffin named Apollo, which meant that the blinding rage she had would prove to be her downfall. As Krotos raised his sword into the air, he uttered a short phrase that would prove to be exceeding lethal.

"Apollo's Deletion", Krotos said calmly.

Seconds before the Succubus was able to reach Krotos, she was seemingly frozen in time. As Krotos sheathed his weapon, he took the scythe off the Succubus and chucked it towards the effective area of the Dungeon. After drawing a rune on her forehead, Krotos walked towards me as the Succubus began to be reduced to dust, and her existence seemingly erased. I was able to watch Krotos's fight since the Healer didn't stand much of a chance against me. More specifically, she didn't stand much of a chance against 'Monster Manipulation' which was a temporary benefit of using 'Hidara's Branch'. With this power, I was able to effectively control the Demonic Healer but I didn't know how long it would last. But seeing as most of the C rank units were dead, it was important that we had a healer for the remaining B rank units. I did a quick check of the mob demographics and it looked like we had 43 mobs remaining.

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[War Troops Remaining]

Elementals x12 [B]

Golems x13 [B]

Slimes x13 [B]

Orc x3 [C+]

Cyborg x1 [C]

Wyvern x1 [C]

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"Krotos, you can head over to support Helora. I'm going to meet back up with Briggs and Obsidian to plan our next steps. I might also ask Orai for more units so your support is on the way", I said.

After nodding to the information, Krotos quickly launched in the air and flew towards the Flame Titan, who was being bolstered by the Wyrm Titan. As for me, I scanned the battlefield that was currently cluttered with dead bodies. Most of them were the hostiles that were previously threatening us but some of them were my own units. The only hostiles that were left were the 10 A ranks that Obsidian and Briggs were fighting and the massive Behemoths that we still had to face. Not to mention the seductively sadistic Draconic Valkyrie that was just itching to kill us.

But of course, unlike the troops we faced before, Behemoths were a legitimate threat to us all.

Facing A rank units may have left even the A+ members of the Dungeon somewhat exhausted and bruised. However, with Behemoths being the same rank as my best members and a Valkyrie eagerly awaiting her prey, it would seem that the real challenge was about to begin.

If Only I Knew What Was In Store For Us.