Ch.8080. Pyramid of Inti-Ra (2)

Stumbling on flat ground and falling face-first—due to this rather untrustworthy first impression, even though they claimed to be a divine messenger, my trust wasn’t particularly high…

“Stop. There’s an arrow trap ahead.”

“…Is it dangerous?”

“No. There aren’t any particularly dangerous additional elements. You can just blow it away.”

“I’ll do that.”

Whoosh—BOOM!!

As they traveled together, Bjorn realized that this vampire messenger was quite competent.

“Is that… a golem?”

“Yes. Those are Pyramid Guards. They’re part of this tomb’s security system. Though made of limestone, they’re quite sturdy, but someone like you can handle them easily.”

“…Understood.”

BOOM!!

The messenger easily detected traps that even Bjorn, who had reached an advanced level, couldn’t identify. They immediately recognized unfamiliar monsters and explained their weaknesses and precautions.

Thanks to this, Bjorn could easily counter enemy gimmicks and exploit weaknesses. They were progressing smoothly through the dungeon when—

“Please stop, Apostle Bjorn.”

“…What is it?”

While walking through the maze-like corridors, the vampire messenger suddenly tensed and stopped, motioning for Bjorn to halt as well.

“I’m detecting multiple magical responses from the room ahead. If I had to guess… it might be an army.”

“…An army? Since this is a king’s tomb, could it be an undead army?”

“Similar, but slightly different.”

The vampire messenger quickly began explaining.

“Most are undead responses, but I’m also sensing magic from other monsters. They’re probably all the forces we’ve encountered so far, working together to face you as a collective.”

“……”

“At least 1,000 7th-grade skeleton types, plus 10 tanks, 40 light cavalry, and various other troops—totaling about 3,000 low-grade and 100 mid-grade enemies.”

“Can I handle them alone?”

“Well, yes. Being advanced-grade, you could certainly kill them all by yourself. But… have you forgotten your special abilities?”

“Special… abil—Ah!”

Only then did Bjorn remember that swinging his sword wasn’t his only option.

As an apostle of the God of Vengeance, he could use miracles to summon his lord’s servants. For some unknown reason, he could also wield chaos power to summon soldiers, plus he had access to various miracles and spells as a divine apostle.

“Messenger, what do you think about summoning Chaos soldiers?”

“What? You’re asking me?”

When Bjorn asked for advice, the vampire messenger seemed surprised by the question, then pondered briefly before speaking.

“Hmm… I’m just a messenger, so I don’t really know, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try it out. Do as you wish, Apostle Bjorn.”

“Very well, then.”

Having decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea, Bjorn reached into his mind for ‘Chaos,’ grabbed hold of it, and pulled with all his might.

Click.

Without any warning signs like magical energy fluctuations or flashing lights, about 100 figures appeared around Bjorn as if they had always been there.

One hundred warriors clad in armor the color of graphite or pencil lead, mounted on horse-like beings that absorbed all light, making even their outlines invisible.

“…’Cavalry of Chaos.'”

According to the information flowing into Bjorn’s mind, that was the name of this cavalry unit, which had appeared wielding lances and stood proudly in formation.

This army, composed entirely of mid-grade warriors (around 5th grade), looked stronger than any cavalry Bjorn had ever seen.

‘Each one is stronger than those guys!’

These soldiers were even stronger than the commanders of the Imperial Legion that had attacked his tribe before. And there were 100 of them.

“Shall we enter?”

“Huh? …Well. There are no variables, so go ahead. Do as you please.”

After receiving confirmation from the vampire messenger, whose skills were undeniable despite some lingering doubts, Bjorn took a deep breath to prepare himself.

“《Summon Battering Ram of Chaos》!”

Bjorn hurled a battering ram created through chaos magic, one of the abilities of the Lord of Chaos. After confirming that the massive pillar had shattered the entrance to the room and flown beyond—

“—CHARGE!!!”

Clop, clop, clop, clopclopclopclopclop—THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!!!

Bjorn ordered the Cavalry of Chaos to charge through the breached door, then followed behind them into enemy territory.

In an instant, the Cavalry of Chaos passed through the long corridor, with Bjorn following close behind.

Soon, Bjorn entered a massive cavern that resembled a desert and spotted an army in the distance, their formation partially damaged, likely from the battering ram.

BOOM!!!

At that moment, the charging Cavalry of Chaos collided with the army, and the battle began…

Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!!!

Predictably, no formation could withstand the Cavalry of Chaos.

They charged without hesitation, breaking, trampling, blasting, and shattering all the skeleton troops in their path.

“—!!!”

THUD!

Under the direction of what appeared to be a high-ranking skeleton commander, several hundred skeletons gathered, using skills to strengthen themselves and raising their spear tips, but…

With their charging bonus, the Cavalry of Chaos had become like speeding dump trucks. Before them, bone soldiers with wooden sticks tipped with small metal pieces were nothing more than styrofoam, no matter how enhanced they were.

Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!!!

Bodies shattered on impact, and even if a skull somehow survived, it was trampled under hooves.

After crushing more than half of the approximately 1,000 skeleton infantry in an instant, the Cavalry of Chaos broke through to the rear and began crushing the softer ranged units…

‘…Time for cleanup.’

Advancing toward the devastated skeleton soldiers and desert golems, Bjorn thought this as he began dealing with the stragglers.

Whoosh—KABOOM!!!

His blood sword, wrapped in an ominous black aura that seemed to pulse with chaos, felt more like a cursed blade than a divine weapon despite being created by a god.

The air pressure from each swing crushed skeletons, and the aura slashes exploded upon hitting the ground, blasting the area.

Unleashing his power as an advanced warrior—which he usually held back during his gladiator duties—Bjorn felt his stress melting away as he excitedly cut down everything in sight.

He decapitated four warrior mummies of mid-grade with a single stroke, pulverized animal-headed stone golems with his aura, and lower-grade skeletons and venomous insects were crushed just by the air pressure from his movements.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Experiencing this exhilarating feeling after so long, Bjorn laughed maniacally as he rampaged, and after a while, the remaining enemies were completely annihilated.

As he rested in the middle of the shattered remains of skeletons and golems, the 67 surviving Cavalry of Chaos rejoined him.

‘…Good. Let’s continue.’

He stood up and stretched, intending to continue exploring the dungeon, but…

“No, we’re done for today.”

The vampire messenger suddenly appeared beside him with those meaningful words, making Bjorn curious about the reason.

“…Why?”

Tensing up, wondering if something was wrong, Bjorn asked—but the answer was unexpected.

“The daily time limit is about to end. Soon… Ah, it just ended.”

“…Huh?”

Before Bjorn could express his confusion at the vampire’s words, he felt himself being pushed back as his vision began to fade.

In the next moment, Bjorn found himself back at the now-closed dungeon entrance with the vampire messenger.

If not for the Cavalry of Chaos he had summoned and the scattered treasures around them, it would have seemed as if they had never entered the dungeon at all.