Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 915- Location of the Heart

"Fine…" Like a little brother defeated by the arguments of his big sister, Theodore dropped his shoulders and backed down.

Now that a consensus was reached, everyone followed their orders and waited for their master to contact them.

It wasn't very long before Simon got in contact with them.

"Everyone, are you well? Report me your situation".

When the voice rang out, everyone around hurriedly left whatever they were doing and rushed towards the transmission conch.

"Master, we are so relieved to hear your voice. We are all well here and are still in the capital, well what remains of the capital"…

"I see, I understand. Did anything troublesome happen during the mission?"…

"No, we successfully completed our mission. Everything is going according to the plan… Actually, there is something, we want to report to you" Annette recalled.

"The enemy was using some kind of mysterious energy that felt similar to one of master's items".

"Hoh?! Similar to one of my items you say?" a curious voice came from the other side of the transmission conch. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yes master, in the last battle it became completely obvious that the enemy was using this strange power to expand themselves around this region. It was not only the top brass of the Blackthorn Kingdom, but even the footsoldier was using this energy"

"It was coming from the armor and weapons they used. This is what was giving them strength, an external strength that isn't theirs and coming from a different source"

"In the last battle when Cynthia fought against the general of the kingdom, he used a peculiar skill that raised his strength drastically. At that moment, I realised that he was receiving external strength through that skill. The source was a strange energy"...

A grim silence pervaded the room when Annette mentioned the last part. All of them here were aware of what that meant.

A skill that allows one to grant a portion of one's strength to their subordinates. A skill like that would be above Lost Legendary in just tier.

Such a skill… the enemy possessing that meant that the master mind or whoever in charge of the kingdom Blackthorn was at a very high level. A powerful enemy that cannot be underestimated.

"Relax, whoever they are, they are far away and haven't noticed us yet. For them, it would simply look like your normal war between two kingdoms. They wouldn't be able to guess anything else other than that" Simon assured.

The Valkyries, the vampire twins and the vampires under them. All of them were acting covertly and under the flag of the princess of Ellesmere kingdom. There was no trace of them that would lead it to the dungeon.

And by the time that powerful being realises their involvement, the dungeon will grow to a point where they will no longer have to worry about the enemy's retaliation.

"Master is right" Annette smiled.

The grim atmosphere from before disappeared in an instant. The dungeon might not be powerful now but at the rate at which it is growing, there was no need to fear anyone.

Simon raised their morals just from a few words of his.

"Send someone to bring those weapons and some other evidence to me. I am very curious as to who our enemy is"…

"Yes master" Everyone nodded their head in understanding.

"Ah, there is one more thing" Just as Simon was about to hang up, Annette cried out. "The princess asked to meet you. She says it is important".

"Alright, after you are done with your mission in the capital, return back with her"

CLACK… With that, the transmission was over. Everyone rejoiced, the previous air of gloom that surrounded them had disappeared as if it was never there.

Hearing their master's voice gave them renewed strength and scattered all their fear. Although they did not ask, from his voice it was very much clear they had also defeated their enemy, the one that invaded the dungeon.

Two victories in a row and all of this was possible because of their master's meticulous plan.

"Alright everyone, back to your stations. Let's finish tidying up all the nobles and complete our mission here to go back" Annette clapped her hands to make everyone increase their speed.

The dawn of a new era was breaking over the Kingdom of Ellesmere, and with it, the winds of change began to move. It was a transformation that few could have predicted, a resurgence that would ripple through the entire Central Continent in ways no one could have foreseen.

All of this was brought about by a single individual's rise to the throne and a demon grinning inside his lair. .

.

A space filled with cold air and unyielding authority, a high ceiling loomed overhead. The walls and floor were constructed from dark, unpolished onyx stone giving the room an almost cavernous look.

Torches flickered in sconces along the walls, casting eerie shadows that danced across the floor. The place was the throne room of the Kingdom of Blackthorn, intimidating and dark with no warmth of light.

Seated upon the imposing throne was Gladius Onyx Blackthorn, the ruler of this domain. He was an authoritarian, a dictator who rose to power after shedding a vast amount of blood.

To become the king he killed his rivals, his family, brothers, sisters everyone who stood in his way. He believed that the only way he could have everything under his control was by conquering them.

A conqueror with a lust for power.

In his usual days, he would order a sentencing for an ordinary innocent man without batting an eye. However, today was different than usual. His mood was upset, rage in his eyes and he was giving off a murderous aura.

Kneeling a few meters away from him was a subordinate wearing the uniform of the Blackthorn army.

"Are you saying that the mission to capture the kingdom of Ellesmere failed?"

Gladius growled. The reason why he was so angry was because the report he heard from the subordinate was different from what he wanted to hear.