Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 424 - 301: The Mad Dog of Cold Valley Bridge

Chapter 424: Chapter 301: The Mad Dog of Cold Valley Bridge

"What’s up with this guy? It’s just like a mad dog!"

"Captain, doesn’t this thing actually look like a dog?"

The bridge leading to the Cold Valley was echoing with the lively sounds of battle, crackling like New Year fireworks.

The crackling sound mainly came from the lightning the monster was spewing.

When the adventurers first began their fight with the monster that looked both like a dog and a crocodile, they were caught off guard by its outrageous attack frenzy. Its relentless string of attacks and fierce behavior prompting adventurers to label such hyperactive enemies as "mad dogs."

However, calling a monster that already looks like a dog a mad dog seems a bit odd.

"Awooo!"

The monster headbutted Tami flying, followed by a swift backward kick that sent Ais soaring, then lifted its claws targeting Luluwo.

Luluwo was rolling! She drew inspiration from the Ash fighting style and planned to integrate rolling into her combat style!

After rolling once, twice, three times, she looked up to find the monster still holding its claw up, not having struck down yet.

When she couldn’t roll anymore and tried to get up, the monster finally slammed down with its paw!

This fast and slow blade tactic is absurdly obvious! Who’s the idiot that designed this?

Taking a solid hit, Luluwo let out a wretched scream... but it was merely a scream. She blocked the sharp claws with chains, so the only thing she truly felt was the pure impact force.

Her bonfire level was over seventy, with points invested in constitution and speed, making her tough as nails. Taking a direct hit wasn’t much of a problem.

Honestly, this odd-looking monster’s level was akin to that of a normal elite monster, just with higher attack intent, unlike the elite of elites like the Molten Furnace Knight. Even the first Strategy Group to enter the Sain Dungeon could handle it.

However, the Skyrim Strategy Group’s current state was drained of health, energy, and mana. Even though they had thought of ways to counter it, their bodies didn’t cooperate.

To make matters worse, everyone was so focused on battling the monster that they didn’t notice the cold creeping over most of their bodies. Neither Ais nor Em had enough magic left to provide warmth, and it looked like everyone would soon end up frozen.

Seeing this pitiful scene, Elsa’s greatsword glowed with intricate patterns, and she shouted, "Everyone, come here!"

She stuck her greatsword into the ground, and anyone near it felt their strength quickly returning, as a warm vapor emanated from the sword, dispelling the cold.

It enhanced strength, restored stamina, and emitted warmth. What was the true ability of this sword that looked like a divine artifact?

Without the greatsword, Elsa made an astonishing decision.

"Gus, come back!" Tami’s eyes widened as she saw Elsa charging barehandedly to brawl with the monster!

This was savage; she was even overpowering the monster.

It was terrifying; she was practically a human-shaped monster herself.

The Alligator Ember King, being a typical animal-type monster from the soulslike series, perfectly inherited the series’ beasts’ formulaic toughness and aggression, still had the energy to counter Elsa’s pounding despite being pinned down. Elsa wasn’t in perfect shape either, unable to completely suppress the beast.

"Huff!"

Seeing things were getting intense, Elsa was about to rip the monster apart with her bare hands, but the beast was ready to retaliate with fangs and claws—it was bound to be a mutually destructive outcome.

"Alright, time to retreat!"

Suddenly, Elsa felt her collar being yanked by Luluwo. Luluwo and Tami, one at the front, one at the back, carried the steaming Elsa and dashed back through the cave in a flurry, clearly having recovered their energy.

Meanwhile, Ais and Em, the two slender magicians, looked at the greatsword stuck in the ground, utterly bewildered.

Are... are we supposed to carry this and run?

In the end, Mila came back to retrieve the greatsword, a truly welcome relief.

The adventurers had their first encounter with the Alligator Ember King, and it concluded with them making a strategic retreat.

Once out of the bridge’s range, the monster wouldn’t pursue them.

The group chose to sit and rest by the bonfire, and after some deliberation, they all teleported back to the Fire Transmission Ceremony.

After all, they were exhausted today, and staying further would only reduce exploration efficiency.

"Ah, under the blue sky and white clouds is the best."

Back at the familiar Fire Transmission Ceremony, the environment shifted from the biting cold to spring warmth, lifting everyone’s spirits. Even the skeleton monster in the adjacent cemetery moved with a friendly "click-clack" sound.

Throwing concerns for appearances aside, they collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, feeling as though narrowly escaping death.

Luluwo lay on the ground in a "big" shape, her bright eyes gazing at the dungeon’s artificial sky, and suddenly a thought came to her.

Crossing Fran Fort leads to the Casas Underground Tomb, defeating Overlord Vonier allows passage through his boss room to reach Yilushier of the Cold Valley.

Is this map design really reasonable?

What if someone from Yilushier wants to go on a trip? Should they go through the Underground Cemetery and Fran Fort backwards?

Her brain sent out overload warnings, and ultimately, she could only chalk up the weird design to it being a unique dungeon feature.

Simply put, it could all be explained by the dungeon.

"Thud thud!"

She saw Elsa still in a huff, kicking the ground because of the earlier monster incident, and she suddenly burst into laughter.

It was a joyous laughter, contagious enough to get everyone around to laugh too. Soon, everyone at the ceremony, except the bewildered Elsa, was laughing.

"Haha, Captain, why are we laughing?" Tami asked in confusion.

Luluwo raised her hand and tapped his head, saying:

"Nonsense, we just defeated Overlord Vonier! Laughing for a while is already reserved; I’m so happy I could dance!"

Although the attempt to explore Yilushier failed, just defeating Vonier alone makes every second of today worthwhile.

This day, or rather this period of effort, has been brought to a perfect end.

"Let’s go, tonight we feast at the Royal City, dinner’s on me!" Luluwo raised an arm victoriously, with a spirit bold enough to evoke a meal invitation as if it were launching a war.

"Then today I need to eat back all the energy I used up." Mila clenched her fists with enthusiasm, and Ais Em released a firework synchronously into the sky.

"Though the recent income is considerable, Captain, don’t let the frivolities of the Royal City strip your wallet bare," Berto shook his head helplessly but his mouth was smiling.

"Oh oh, long live the Captain!" Tami cheered happily, turning to Elsa and said, "Gus, you should come too."

Elsa showed a look of interest, gazing at the joyful group before her, her mind recalling the scenes when she fought alongside them.

Fighting monsters in the Dungeon is a completely different experience from battling alongside mercenaries on the battlefield; conquering powerful monsters makes one laugh heartily, but the other... seeing fellow humans bleed is still hard for her to derive positive feelings.

If she had to choose, she probably prefers the life of an adventurer, but unfortunately...

"I’ll not be going," Elsa shook her head and bowed to everyone gratefully, saying, "Thank you all for the care during this time, but I must return."

Luluwo revealed a "just as expected" expression, waved a hand smilingly, and said: "Go on, go on, you’re welcome to join us anytime if you want to experience Dungeon adventures again."

"Okay!"

Elsa nodded heavily and used the bonfire to teleport to the Casas Underground Tomb, eager to inform Eliphas about the strategy against Overlord Vonier.

During this time she’d heard rumors that Eliphas’s failed challenge against the Overlord had shaken his confidence, so she was truly concerned.

"She’s gone, huh."

Berto watched her leave, suddenly turning to Luluwo and asked, "Captain, aren’t you considering that?"

As he spoke, he gestured as if wielding a hoe, simply put, he meant poaching talent.

Elsa’s combat power has surpassed everyone in the team, anyone can see her immense value.

"Heh, you think I haven’t considered it?" Luluwo smirked craftily, "The hoe has long been swung."

Mila thought for a moment and said, "But can we really offer conditions better than the Light Eagle Group?"

The simplest way to poach is to offer better conditions, but clearly, the material conditions of the Skyrim Strategy Group cannot compete with the Light Eagle Group.

"Don’t worry, I can tell she’s the type who values emotions more than material wealth, and..." she paused, leaving the unspoken words: I know more about her than you do.

"To be honest, I was surprised to see her again after so long and didn’t expect her to have joined the Light Eagle Group."

"Captain, you knew Gus before?" Tami asked.

"Not exactly knowing, just aware."

Luluwo blinked and whispered, "After all, I was in Bed City before Count Philip died."

"Captain, what did you just say?"

"Nothing, I said let’s hurry and pick a big restaurant to host the banquet!"

The group from the Skyrim Strategy Group headed to the Royal City joyfully, and on her way back to the Light Eagle Group, Elsa felt pretty good too.

"Captain Gus? Where have you been, haven’t seen you for ages." A mercenary greeted her.

"Where’s the Captain?" Elsa asked.

"Still at the usual place, seems to be discussing Dungeon conquest with the Captains."

Elsa nodded, tossed a "Thanks, tough work patrolling." and dashed off.

The mercenary who spoke to her was stunned for a moment, mentally replaying Elsa’s words repeatedly and saying dumbfoundedly:

"Why does it feel... like Captain Gus has become lively? Am I seeing things?"

Shortly after, Elsa pushed open the combat room’s door, finding Eliphas discussing something with other Captains.

"Gus? You’re finally back!" Sali, who temporarily replaced Elsa in meetings, showed a surprised expression.

Eliphas sat at the end of the long table, his flowing silver hair draping elegantly over his shoulders; when he saw Elsa, a slight smile appeared on his exquisite face, pointing to the empty seat beside him, signaling Elsa to sit.

He had returned to his prior state of serene confidence, as if the setback suffered in the Underground Cemetery was entirely absent.

Elsa noticed the documents regarding the Underground Cemetery laid before the Captains, with Vonier Overlord frequently mentioned, evidently everyone was actively discussing battle strategies.

Great, I’ve come at the perfect time.

She eagerly recounted her experiences with the Skyrim Strategy Group, including the pact with Luluwo and the correct strategy against Vonier Overlord.

"Oh, well done, Gus." Aston, upon hearing this, showed a smile, as did the other Captains who started discussing.

"Didn’t expect the attack needed to be on the bracelet, we had the entire wrong approach."

"Apparently due to lacking critical information, if we’d gotten bracelet intel earlier, we might have won too."

"Captain Gus did a great job this time, really worked hard."

The discussions ultimately turned into praises for Elsa, who proudly looked at Eliphas.

He gazed at her gently as always, uttering no words, but his lips moved slightly.

Elsa stood frozen suddenly because it seemed Eliphas was saying...

"Are you giving me alms?"