[You have successfully thwarted the allied raid party’s raid.]

[You have captured top-tier A-rank Raider Charon.]

[You have captured top-tier A-rank Raider Taric.]

The Tarantula raid party met its end in the 28th room. All except for two.

“Master, please calm down,” Riel said, her voice firm. “You must at least keep those two alive to extract information!”

He had planned to kill them all, but Riel’s intervention had stopped him. Thanks to her, Taehyun had managed to regain some of his composure.

“Hmph. Fine,” he grunted. “Why did you come here?”

“…Before that, let me ask one thing,” Charon said, his wrists now bound in Ability-Sealing Shackles. “I used a Vision Priority Pass and identified your main forces hiding on the right. So why couldn’t I see the ones that appeared at the very end?”

He was talking about Mederia, Hendy, and Raimond. Taehyun held up a newly purchased Vision Priority Pass.

“Did you think I wouldn’t use one myself? Your party was under a Vision Battle penalty the entire time. It’s only natural you couldn’t see the units at the very back who were covered by my pass.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right. The two main forces you saw up front were a feint. The real threat was behind them. You sent a Peacock to the left flank because of the bounty hunters, didn’t you? That was your mistake.”

The bounty hunters on the left, the soldiers spotted first by the Peacock, the attempt to save them with Taric and the Save a Comrade Coin—Taehyun had seen through it all. Charon must have assumed he would concentrate his forces on the left to take out the bounty hunters, but he was dead wrong. The real targets were the raiders who had held on to their single-use skills. To that end, he had positioned even more soldiers on the right, using Hendy’s Vision Priority Pass to draw their attention with Grai and Sihan. The raiders never stood a chance of spotting the real trap.

“To think we were already under a penalty… That’s impossible.”

“You experienced it firsthand. Why is it so hard to believe? Do I look like a joke to you?”

“…I suppose you’re right.” Charon finally conceded defeat. Arguing further against the master of Balak, whose magic power exceeded 1,100, would only be pathetic.

Beside him, Taric glared at Taehyun, his fighting spirit still burning.

“You were their leader, yet you did nothing. What are you glaring at me for?” Taehyun snapped.

“I-I refuse to accept this!”

“Just tell me why you came here. Don’t test my patience.”

“To think a Dungeon Master like you is hogging all of Lady Mihye’s affection! I will never accept it!” Taric roared.

Taehyun just blinked, completely dumbfounded. Since when was he hogging the love of the Tarantula faction leader? And of all people, that crazy woman who constantly tormented him. He would rather die than be associated with her. He shot a stunned look at Charon, who just sighed, having given up on trying to explain.

Just then, Riel’s eyes lit up. “Master, it seems that raider requires some… interrogation. I’ll take care of it and be right back.”

“Wh-what! Let go of me! Let go!”

“Take him away,” Riel said to the guards, her voice devoid of warmth. “This one requires special attention.”

Before he could protest further, goblins were dragging Taric from the Master Room. Riel followed them toward the torture chamber.

Left alone, a flustered Charon turned to Taehyun. “What’s gotten into her? For a second, I saw murder in her eyes…”

Taehyun remained silent.

—

The story they tortured out of him was simple. Taric was a raider who wasn’t highly trusted by Mihye Han. Frustrated, he had taken to watching her from afar, which is how he learned about the Dungeon Master of Balak—the man from another faction with whom Mihye Han had become utterly infatuated. Taric, already harboring feelings for her, was consumed by jealousy. He formed a raid party and came to Balak.

“So, you attacked my dungeon because of your pathetic little crush? Is that it?” Taehyun asked, his voice dripping with contempt.

“It’s not a pathetic crush!” Taric spat, blood trickling from his lip. “My feelings have always been sincere!”

“Ha. Falling for that lunatic is absurd enough, but to think my soldiers died for something so trivial… I’m past being annoyed. Now I’m just pissed.”

At first, he’d thought Mihye was just trying to mess with him, but it wasn’t even that. This whole invasion was the result of one man’s delusion. Thinking of Raviz and Deshkar, Taehyun gave Riel an order.

“Tell Grai to cut off all this bastard’s limbs. Make sure it’s a clean job. We’ll be packing them in a box and sending them as a gift.”

“Understood.”

“C-cut off my limbs?! You son of a bitch, you can’t be serious!”

After losing an A-rank Hero, Taehyun had no intention of sending him back in one piece. Riel immediately had the soldiers drag Taric away. Within a few hours, he would be neatly dismembered as ordered.

Taehyun pulled out a contract and began amending it. “Charon Daike, was it? I’ll make an exception and let you live. All you have to do is sign this.”

“…I don’t have a choice, do I.”

“I’m not in a generous enough mood to entertain your romantic delusions. Once that bastard’s limbs are off, you will deliver them to that bitch Mihye.”

“You want me to come back here?”

“The Daike family. Did you think I wouldn’t know? I’m going to work you to the bone. Look forward to it.”

Charon was speechless.

The Daike family was based in the south. With his identity exposed, Charon had no room to argue. Taehyun placed the contract and a quill before him.

“Sign it if you want to live,” he threatened. “Forget about your comrades. From now on, you belong to Balak.”

“…Just kill me. Being tied down is the one thing I can’t stand. I only joined Tarantula because they guaranteed my freedom. At least they never betrayed me.”

“Don’t give me that crap,” Taehyun sneered. “I decide if you live or die now. You’ll have to go back to hiding in a dungeon because of Count Dinen anyway. Do you really think I’ll just let you walk away?”

A palpable killing intent filled the air. Taehyun held the contract, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “Fine. I’ll make it so you can’t die even if you beg for it. I’ll make you suffer so much you’ll regret not signing this. I will torture you until you plead for your life.”

The contract in his hand ripped into pieces. A cold sweat broke out on Charon’s brow as regret washed over him.

‘Was it a mistake to come to Balak?’

—

From that day forward, Charon was tortured daily. Taehyun was briefly curious how long he would last, but he soon lost interest.

“Master, as you instructed, the raider named Taric has been dealt with,” Riel reported.

Taric had met a gruesome end. Taehyun confirmed the corpse, neatly packed in a box, and had it moved to the Ice Palace. Stored near the Frost Jail, it wouldn’t rot like Junhyun’s body.

With the raid party dealt with, it was time to rebuild Balak.

—”The bus raid is running smoothly! What? You need Zen? I’ll send as much as you need!”

—”Ugh, I was sleeping… Why are you calling? You need Zen? The damage from last time already cost a fortune! You already took a crystal cave, what more do you want? Give me a break!”

—”Okay, Songyi will send you Zen.”

Balak’s finances were healthier than ever, but Zen still poured in with just a few calls. Taehyun shamelessly exploited his connections to restore the dungeon and quickly replenish his forces.

“You’ve left some population slots open,” Riel observed.

“I still need to fill the four S-rank slots, not to mention Deshkar’s position.”

“That’s true.” Riel nodded. Deshkar, an A-rank Hero, had been incredibly effective against raiders. His absence left a significant gap in their external defenses.

Taehyun scanned the shop until his eyes locked onto an item.

[Random Hero Summon Card]

[Rank: A]

[Restriction: A-rank Dungeon or higher]

[Description: A summon card that can randomly summon a Hero-grade soldier.]

The very item he wanted had appeared in the random selection. It cost a staggering five million Zen, the same as a mercenary card, but money was no object. Taehyun bought the card and used it immediately.

[You have used the Random Hero Summon Card.]

[A summon circle is being generated.]

[The summon circle forms near the crystal core, stabilizing the magic power.]

A magic circle materialized near the core. Suddenly, the entire dungeon began to tremble.

[The magic power of the evolved Balak is fluctuating violently.]

[The crystal core’s magic power is running rampant.]

It was the same phenomenon that had occurred when he summoned the High Elf.

“M-Master, this is…!”

“Yeah,” Taehyun said, a grin spreading across his face. “A jackpot.” He watched the summon circle with keen anticipation.

[Super Success!]

[Forced Teleport!]

[Forced Contract!]

[Rank A Hero soldier, Death Knight Granzle, has been summoned.]

‘Huh?’

A Death Knight with a disturbingly familiar look stood before him. Taehyun blinked, examining the new arrival.

[Death Knight Granzle]

[Rank: A (Hero)]

[Level: 1]

[Race: Undead]

[Class: Knight]

[Title: Death Knight of Death]

[Affiliation: Balak]

[Loyalty: 50]

[Favorability: 30]

[Obedience: 30]

[Skill: Land of Death]

[Special Ability: None]

[Strength: 19] [Endurance: 10] [Agility: 8] [Stamina: 12]

[Mana: 6] [Divinity: 1] [Affinity: 1] [Luck: 1]

[Status: Regret, Sadness]

Another Death Knight. And his name was almost identical to another’s. If not for the bright blue plate armor, he would have mistaken him for Grizzle.

“Master, could this soldier be…”

“Hmm. I think you’re right. If this goes well, we might have a father and son…”

“Aaaaaaaah! Granzle!”

Speak of the devil. Grizzle came charging from the other side of the room. Granzle, just coming to his senses, startled and immediately prostrated himself.

“F-Father!”

“Yoooooou! You dare kill me and usurp the throne? I will never forgive you!”

“I regret it with all my being! Please, forgive me! I too have become a Death Knight. I could not forget you, Father. I have regretted my actions ever since!”

“Nonsense! I remember that day as if it were yesterday. When I cried out, ‘What is the meaning of this, my son?!’ you clearly replied, ‘I am succeeding you, Father.’ And now you dare ask for forgiveness?!”

A tense reunion unfolded. Or rather, a father berating his son while the son begged for forgiveness. Riel, who had been watching silently, moved to intervene, but Taehyun stopped her.

“Leave them. They’ll figure it out.”

“But if they draw swords, we’ll lose a soldier we just spent a fortune on.”

“…Is that how you see it? Anyway, just let them be. I guarantee you, Grizzle can’t kill Granzle.”

“Hmm. Very well. If you say so, Master.”

Riel backed down easily. That day, just as Taehyun predicted, Grizzle forgave Granzle, and the two resumed their bond as father and son.

—

[Grizzle’s Hatred status has disappeared.]

[Granzle’s Regret and Sadness statuses have disappeared.]

Deep in the night, as he settled into bed, the Death Knights’ negative statuses vanished. They must have reconciled.

‘I should probably buy more A-rank traps and installation tools. The city of Myol is developing well, so I can leave it for now. My main forces were a bit thin, too.’

As silence fell, he sank into deep thought. Unable to sleep, he tossed and turned. He then noticed a conspicuous lump under the covers beside him.

‘Hmm?’

Taehyun lifted the squirming blanket to find Raviz curled up on the bed.

“…What are you doing?”

“Preparing for hibernation, Master.”

“Then why are you wearing my clothes?”

“…Hmph.”

Having run out of excuses, Raviz simply threw herself into his arms. He started to push her away but stopped when he felt her body trembling.

“I was scared, Master.”

Taehyun fell silent.

“I request that you allow me to stay like this for a moment.”

“Fine,” Taehyun sighed. “You went through a lot.”

And so, Taehyun gently stroked the hair of the girl nestled in his arms.

—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep