“That’s it,” Taehyun murmured. “Show me what you’ve got.”

“Do you think it’s a buff item?” Riel asked.

“Normally, it would have to be,” he replied, his eyes glued to the screen. “He has to make the right call here. My job is to predict whether he’s throwing out more bait or if he’s genuinely desperate enough to use a buff.”

To survive this ambush—the Werewolves, the Harpies, and the B-rank Hero Guardian, Grai—Draxler would have to use a buff item. His fourteen dolls were already struggling to contain Grai alone, and Loquin’s hidden skill remained a mystery. Draxler had two options: use a buff because he was overwhelmed, or feign weakness and use a different item as bait. The latter would cost him more of his C-rank raiders, but it might force Taehyun to waste his Item Nullification or Effect Reversal card.

“Oh, it looks like he’s using it,” Riel observed. “It really does look like a buff item.”

True to her word, Draxler’s posture suggested he was about to activate something powerful. But Taehyun simply toyed with the item in his own hand, waiting. Finally, Draxler used the item he was holding.

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Draxler has used ‘Radar Detection Net’.]

[A vision net expands within a certain range.]

“I knew it,” Taehyun murmured, a cold smile spreading across his face. The Draxler raid party had been playing mind games from the very beginning. Using the dolls to hide their true identities was proof enough. They were undoubtedly trying to bait out one of his trump cards.

But Taehyun had seen through the bluff and held back. He had saved his item while simultaneously thinning the enemy’s ranks. Now, Draxler and Loquin had no choice but to use a real buff or rely on their own skills to survive.

“But I have no intention of letting them off that easily,” Taehyun muttered. “Grai, if you see them make a move, retreat immediately.”

“Understood, Master.”

With the order given, Taehyun waited. On the screen, Draxler scowled and signaled his dolls. They were choosing to fight their way out. But Taehyun wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Now!” he commanded.

At his word, Grai slammed his sword into the ground, unleashing Earth Shatter.

[B-rank Hero Guardian Orc Swordsman Grai has used Earth Shatter.]

[The ground around the Draxler raid party splits apart.]

The ground instantly ruptured beneath the raiders’ feet. As they stumbled, the Werewolves, Harpies, and the rest of the ambush squad melted back into the forest. The raiders, thrown off balance, couldn’t even stand properly.

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Loquin has used To a Faraway Place.]

[Balak’s soldiers are forcibly moved to the opposite side of the dungeon.]

[Forced Movement Impossible!]

[Balak’s soldiers have escaped the range of To a Faraway Place.]

[Balak’s soldiers are not affected by the skill.]

Loquin’s skill activated a moment too late; Balak’s forces were already out of range. In one clean exchange, Taehyun had baited out their Radar Detection Net, eliminated twelve C-rank raiders, and forced Loquin to waste her skill. He could see the fury etched on Draxler’s face, even as the image on the screen grew distant.

“Round one was your win,” Taehyun declared to the screen. “You successfully hid Loquin among the dolls. Round two was a draw; I baited out your Meteor Spear and relocation skill. But this round? This one is mine. I killed your C-rank raiders, forced out your Radar Detection Net, and made you waste Loquin’s skill.”

[To a Faraway Place Use Limit 1/1]

Just like Draxler’s Meteor Spear, Loquin’s skill had a single-use limit. He had spent a Vision Priority Pass, but the battle had been a decisive victory. Satisfied, Taehyun went to greet the returning Grai.

“How was it, fighting the dolls up close?” he asked. “Could you tell which one was the real puppeteer?”

“I could not,” Grai reported grimly. “They all employed similar techniques. The skill was also activated from within their ranks.”

“I see. Get some rest with the soldiers.”

“Understood.”

Unfortunately, Loquin remained hidden. Taehyun dismissed Grai and mentally tallied the raid party’s remaining assets. ‘A Rescue a Comrade Coin, an Effect Reversal card, a buff item, a Vision Priority Pass, and maybe a Radar.’ The raiders didn’t have an Item Nullification card. As long as he continued to play these mind games, the advantage was his. ‘The only question is whether to nullify the Rescue Coin or the Effect Reversal card.’ The enemy still had a Vision Priority Pass, which meant he might have to accept at least one more loss.

Taehyun returned to the Master Room and began repositioning his forces.

—

They had used a Vision Expansion Pass, but the ambush had come anyway. The presence of a Guardian made the Dungeon Master’s intent clear: to cull the C-rank raiders. But Draxler and Loquin had anticipated this.

“What items do we have left?” Loquin asked, her voice tight.

“The most important are the Item Nullification and the Effect Reversal card,” Draxler replied, his eyes scanning the trees. “For now, we’ll sacrifice the raiders and watch. You, deal with the Guardian. Make it look like you’re struggling.”

“Got it.”

The two of them feigned a desperate struggle amidst the dying C-rank raiders. They put on a convincing show of being overwhelmed until, at the last moment, Draxler pulled out an item. ‘This will draw out his nullification card,’ he thought. ‘No, even just forcing the Effect Reversal is a win.’ The value of a single high-tier item outweighed the lives of these hired raiders. At the perfect moment, Draxler activated the Radar Detection Net.

[Raider-exclusive item ‘Radar Detection Net’ has been used.]

[A vision net expands within a certain range.]

It was bait—a disposable card meant to force the Dungeon Master’s hand.

‘What?’ Draxler thought, his eyes narrowed. ‘Why isn’t he using an item? I saw the gesture.’

But Balak’s Dungeon Master remained still, his expression unreadable. From his feigned strain to the motion of pulling out an item, everything had been a perfect act, yet his opponent was simply watching. It was then that the cold realization washed over him: he’d been played.

“Tsk,” he spat. “So you were a step ahead. It’s not over yet. Loquin!”

He had wasted the Radar Detection Net, but Loquin’s skill remained. At his shout, the dolls engaging the Guardian simultaneously began to cast a spell. It was the Puppeteer’s single-use skill, To a Faraway Place. It didn’t deal damage like Meteor Spear, but it could scatter an enemy army by teleporting them to the far side of the dungeon.

As magical energy crackled between the dolls, Draxler allowed himself a victorious smirk. Just then, the Guardian slammed both his swords into the earth.

With a deafening crash, the ground beneath the raid party split apart, shattering their formation. The soldiers who had been slaughtering the raiders instantly retreated. To a Faraway Place activated a moment too late, its magic grasping at empty air.

“N-No way,” Loquin stammered. “Don’t tell me he was aiming for this too?!”

“Draxler?”

He didn’t respond. A deep, cold rage settled in his chest as he assessed the damage. ‘Twelve C-rank raiders are dead.’ That left seventy-three. They had lost twenty-seven people in two skirmishes. Balak’s forces may have been scattered, but losing so many raiders before even setting foot in the dungeon was a devastating blow.

Draxler ground his teeth, his gaze fixed on the distant Valley of Silence. ‘I’ll admit it. You won the third round. But from now on, I’m done playing games.’

—

Meanwhile, the Alex raid party was hopelessly lost in the Labyrinth.

“Sir Alex, this path is already marked,” a raider reported, his voice weary.

“Hmm. I see.”

They had been wandering the same corridors for a full day. Despite using a marking pen, every path led them back to where they started. The raiders were visibly exhausted, trapped in the seemingly endless maze. Alex stroked his chin, his eyes scanning the monotonous stone walls.

‘Thinking isn’t my strong suit,’ he grumbled internally. ‘This is bad.’

Alex, the last descendant of the Garriot tribe, was a proud warrior. He was a man of action, not intellect. That was why he’d ignored the item-based mind games in the Hylon Forest. But this was different. A day had passed, and they were no closer to finding the exit. It was too risky to make camp, so their fatigue was piling up. If they didn’t find a way out soon, an ambush could wipe them all out.

‘Not me, of course,’ he amended. ‘But it would be a pain to handle alone.’

These raiders could barely pull their own weight. They were companions utterly unbefitting a proud warrior. Alex clicked his tongue and placed a hand on the wall before him. The walls of a C-rank maze were built to withstand attacks from B-rank raiders. Knowing this, Alex began to relax his shoulders, gathering his strength. The nearby raiders watched, confused.

“Hmph!”

Suddenly, his gauntlets began to glow with a blood-red light. Immense power gathered in his fist, and he drove it into the solid stone. With a deafening crack, the wall spiderwebbed with fissures before crumbling into a pile of rubble.

“N-No way! Even B-rank raiders can’t break that wall.”

“He shattered it with sheer force?!”

“As expected of the top-tier raider, Sir Alex!”

A mixture of awe and shock rippled through the party. Alex took a deep breath, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Whew. Alright, everyone. You’ve marked all the other dead ends, right?”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Good,” he declared with a grin. “Let’s just smash our way through.”

And so, Alex and his party began to bulldoze their way through the Labyrinth.

A series of crashes and booms echoed through the corridors as, one by one, the dead ends vanished, creating a single, continuous path.

‘He’s incredible, but isn’t this a bit… brutish?’

‘Just how strong do you have to be to break down the walls of a maze?’

‘This is a level of brute force ordinary raiders can’t even comprehend.’

Some of the raiders were unnerved by his simple, destructive solution. He was undeniably powerful, but this was an approach they had never imagined. As they approached the final wall, dungeon soldiers began to emerge from the shadows.

“Kieek.”

“Moooo.”

“Clatter. Clatter.”

Dullahans, Minotaurs, Goblins, Skeleton Warriors—this was an army on a completely different level from what they had faced before. A wide grin split Alex’s face as he gave the order to engage.

“Now this is more like it! I was getting sick of wandering around in circles.”

The sight of a few B-rank soldiers mixed in with the horde sent a thrill of excitement through him. He charged straight for a Dullahan, but just as he closed in, a figure appeared before his target.

“Oh my,” a voice purred. “You look so savage. Just my type.”

“…Are you the Keeper?” Alex grunted, slowing his charge.

“Does it matter?” she breathed, her body clad in black full plate armor. “Just lose control. Beat me senseless. ‘Heheheh’.”

It was the B-rank Named Keeper, Angelina. She was trembling with a disturbing, ecstatic energy.

“Judging by the armor, you’re the Keeper, all right,” Alex confirmed.

“This armor?” she giggled, a tremor in her voice. “If I wear it for a month, the Dungeon Master himself will come and trample all over me. Isn’t it a dream? Oh, the things we’ll do… Ehehehe!”

“You’re one crazy bitch,” Alex declared. “But you seem to be a B-rank Keeper, so let’s see what you’ve got!”

With a roar, the battle between the labyrinth’s defenders and the raid party began.

—

[The Draxler raid party has exited the Forest of Silence.]

The raiders finally emerged from the woods, finding themselves before the Valley of Silence. Taehyun, watching them through his familiars, felt a cold sense of satisfaction.

“Once you’re inside the dungeon, recall items are useless,” he murmured.

With both of their single-use skills expended, there was no way for them to harm the soldiers he had waiting in a recall portal. His eyes drifted to the Catapult Drakes positioned among the valley’s crags.

“Attack,” he commanded.

The drakes unleashed a volley of projectiles. Having just endured the bombardment on the arid plains, the raid party reacted quickly, throwing up defensive barriers. But the modified drakes packed a much heavier punch than conventional siege weapons.

[C-rank Priest Raider Behidona’s barrier blocks the projectiles.]

[Behidona’s barrier damage rate: 80%]

A single volley had nearly shattered their defenses. A vicious smile played on Taehyun’s lips as he watched Draxler through the screen.

“Now,” he whispered, “what will you do this time?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep