Chapter 154

‘What the hell? They’re a group of guys trapped here?’

Blade couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at the new arrivals.

They all looked like they could handle themselves.

Just by looking at the thick lines of their bodies, which were visible beneath their armor, you could tell they were well-trained.

And they weren’t just physically fit.

They had the eyes of veterans, hardened by battle, which showed how much combat experience they had.

And…

‘Damn it…why is their equipment so good?’

Blade, the leader of the bandit gang who had terrorized the central continent, knew very well.

How terrible the equipment of the soldiers in the local territories of the small countries was.

Cheap leather armor, wooden shields, old spears and iron swords were all they had.

There weren’t many soldiers who had bows and arrows.

Their equipment wasn’t even comparable to his bandit gang.

That’s why he could toy with them and rampage through their territories as if they were his own home.

The central regular army was decent, but he could just run away if they moved.

Anyway, the equipment of Gwen’s group was a shock to Blade.

Full steel armor, helmets, and steel shields.

‘Damn, how much did all that cost?’

Seeing how much money they had spent on the most expensive parts, the rest was a given.

They were armed with spears, swords, bows, and arrows, all very well-equipped.

And they were all shiny and new, you could tell they were brand new equipment.

Blade had never seen soldiers with such incredible equipment in the central continent.

Not even the central regular army.

That was knightly equipment.

But…

‘There’s no way all those guys are knights.’

Knights were a high-class resource anywhere on the continent.

There’s no way they would have dozens of knights running around together.

That meant…

‘The Empire? Or the Kingdom? Either way, I’m screwed.’

The two superpowers, the Hyas Empire and the Parene Kingdom.

If it was their regular army, they could definitely afford that kind of equipment.

It was just a guess, but Blade was sure.

He knew how strong even the local military forces of those two countries were, because he wouldn’t dare to go near them.

Anyway…

‘If I can’t lure them in, I’m really screwed.’

Blade realized that he was in a real predicament.

He knew that there was no way to win against them in a direct confrontation, no matter how many people he had.

Blade smiled, even though his heart wasn’t in it.

It was a good thing he had the Infi-face mask.

“Heh, you must be the ones who got trapped here. It’s unfortunate, but I want to offer you my condolences.”

“Yes, that’s what happened. My name is Gwen. You seem to be the leader here…”

Gwen hid the fact that they had come from the 10th floor.

It was out of character for him, but he did it because of Max’s repeated warnings.

‘Don’t trust anyone you’ve never met before. You can’t tell who will be your enemy and who will be your ally. Especially, never reveal that we came from the 10th floor.’

The more he thought about it, the better the advice was.

The 10th floor was hell, so the other floors must be just as hellish.

It was a foolish thing to show any weakness in such a place.

As the leader of the 10th floor survivors, Gwen had been carefully observing everything from the beginning.

Especially the expressions and appearances of the people here.

‘Their malice is excessive.’

He understood why the faces of those who had survived in this hellish place were full of malice.

But it wasn’t just that, he could feel the malice of people who enjoyed killing.

It was Gwen’s insight, born from his experience in many battles.

And what made it even more suspicious was…

That the leader didn’t have any malice at all.

The leader of these malicious people was a normal person, to the point of being absurd?

There was nothing more suspicious than that.

“Heh, I’m just a humble man, but that’s right. My name is Bleim.”

Blade said, using a fake name.

“We’re all from different places, trapped here. You may know this, but this is a very dangerous place. That’s why we’re barely surviving, protecting ourselves by joining forces.”

“What do you mean by dangerous?”

“There are monsters everywhere, and even undead. Honestly, I’ve never seen a place as hellish as this.”

“Huh, is that so.”

Gwen frowned, thinking, “I’ve heard that.”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you that. But, believe it or not, I think God has given us a glimmer of hope.”

“Hope?”

“Yes, it’s a miracle that we’ve encountered you, Gwen, and your companions. If we join forces with you, wouldn’t we be able to live a little safer and more peacefully? And you guys seem special.”

“What do you mean?”

“Looking at your armor, you seem to be knights and soldiers who were also trapped here…Is my guess completely off the mark?”

“No, you have good insight. You’re exactly right. I’m a knight, and they’re my men.”

Gwen admitted readily.

It would only make things more suspicious if he hid something obvious.

“Ah, I see. Then where are you from…?”

“The Parene Kingdom.”

“Oh, you’re from the kingdom! That makes us feel even safer.”

“You’re flattering us.”

“No, no, please stay with us. We may be weak, but we have experience, food supplies, and various facilities that we’ve built, so we’ll definitely be helpful.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It will definitely be a good thing for both of us.”

Blade couldn’t remember the last time he had been so humble.

But it didn’t matter.

It was all an act, it was just a ploy to get them to their doom.

“Hmm…I can’t make this decision alone.”

“What? You’re clearly a knight…”

“That’s true, but I always make important decisions with my men. Especially my advisor.”

“Advisor?”

“Haha, this is my advisor. He’s a very talented man.”

Gwen pointed to Max, as if bragging.

This wasn’t an act, it was genuine.

‘…His clothes are different.’

Blade observed Max closely and thought.

Only the advisor and the two people around him were lightly armed, not fully armed.

Did that mean they were on the planning side, and wouldn’t be involved in direct combat?

But he doesn’t look very smart…

“Then I’ll go consult with them.”

Gwen’s words broke Blade’s thoughts.

“Ah, yes, please take your time.”

* * *

“What do you think? Personally, I get a strong sense of something fishy.”

I could feel Camian and Annette looking at me with surprised eyes, as Gwen said that.

It was understandable, Gwen, who had just had a direct conversation with the leader, was saying the same thing I had said earlier.

They were surprised by my absurd predictive ability.

But you guys, its just getting started, you’ll be surprised even more.

“The leader is right. He’s reeking of something bad.”

“Heh, you saw it too. I’m glad my eyes are still good.”

Gwen chuckled and continued.

“Then we should refuse.”

“No, that’s too bland. There’s no fun in that.”

I shook my head.

Gwen’s words were actually the best choice.

It’s important to avoid traps first.

But that meant we would have to fight on a terrain that wasn’t advantageous to us.

That’s why almost 90% of the residents of the 10th floor died and we barely managed to win.

But…

‘This time is different.’

I was confident.

Even if we fell for the enemy’s trap, we could take them down from the inside.

Then the bandit guys would collapse, without even being able to use the defense facilities they had built.

“Hmm? You agreed that something was fishy, didn’t you?”

Gwen tilted his head, looking confused.

Question marks were floating above Camian and Annette’s faces too.

“I definitely agreed. And I’m sure they’re going to do something dirty. Like, they’ll lure us in with a luxurious feast and then ambush us.”

“Knowing that, why…?”

“It’s easier to break things from the inside than from the outside. If you have enough power.”

“Break things from the inside…”

“That’s right. What do you say? I want to go inside, no matter what.”

“Heh, if the benefactor says so, then of course I’ll follow.”

Gwen nodded, as if there was no need to think about it any further.

“Okay.”

I chuckled.

“Then let’s get some things ready. That’ll be enough.”

* * *

“They can’t be torn apart, no matter what?”

Blade frowned.

“…Yes, boss.”

“Even if we offer them lodging first?”

“Yes, they’re just gathering in one place, completely on their own.”

“What kind of stubborn bastards are these!”

Bang!

Blade slammed his fist on the table and cursed.

He had wanted to tear them apart and slaughter them before they even entered the feast, but it wasn’t working at all.

“Damn it…they’re unnecessarily wary.”

If he had welcomed them and let them in, they would have relaxed their guard a little, but there was no sign of that.

They were the kingdom’s army, after all.

They were tough, enough to make you want to curse.

“But it seems like it’s just a natural state of alertness. None of them were looking at us with suspicious eyes.”

“That’s right. If they had, they wouldn’t have come in so willingly.”

Blade nodded and gathered his thoughts.

“There’s no way around it. We’ll lure them to the banquet hall as planned. We’ll finish them there.”

“You mean a surprise attack. But I wonder if that’ll be enough…”

The subordinate trailed off, looking anxious.

“Of course not. Do you think those guys will be taken down that easily?”

“Ye-Yes…Then what should we do…?”

“Prepare that.”

“You mean…?”

“Paralyzing mushrooms.”

Blade’s eyes lit up.

Paralyzing mushrooms were a unique type of poisonous mushroom that only grew here, and eating them caused a strong paralyzing effect.

They were also colorless, tasteless, and odorless, making them perfect for use as poison.

“Wow…Yes, boss.”

“Make sure everyone has enough antidote?”

“Of course.”

“Make everyone take it, without exception, before they enter the banquet hall.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Okay, get ready now.”

* * *

“Camian.”

“Yes?”

“Still doubtful?”

“No, I think it’s going to go as you said.”

“Oh, you’re sure now?”

“Thinking about it, it’s impossible for a soft-hearted person who would willingly welcome us, to lead a group that should be feared, and to be the leader in this hellish place.”

“Haha, you’re developing some insight.”

“I’m just a chick compared to you.”

“I know.”

I chuckled and continued.

“Then just do me a favor.”

“What is it?”

“They’re definitely going to offer us drinks and ask us to toast together.”

“You mean they’re going to poison us?”

“Of course. But it won’t be a poison that kills you instantly.”

“How are you so sure?”

Camian looked at me, confused.

“If they had such a great poison, they would have been trying to get rid of us from the beginning, wouldn’t they?”

“…”

Camian’s eyes widened in surprise.

He must have thought it was an incredible insight.

Sorry, it’s not insight, it’s just experience.

I’ve had experience dying from paralyzing poison.

“Anyway.”

I smiled and continued.

“When they offer us drinks, I’m going to act serious and say I’m going to test for poison, and then I’m going to chug the bottle of wine in front of the leader.”

“Ar-Are you crazy?”

Camian said, looking horrified.

He was going to drink poison willingly…

He looked like he couldn’t believe there was anyone in the world who would do that.

I smiled.

“Who’s crazy? I’m not going to die. And the poison will take a while to spread.”

“Even if that’s true, drinking poison…”

“Just be quiet and listen. This is important. I’m going to pretend to be paralyzed and have a seizure. I’m going to collapse.”

“What?!”

“It’s a great excuse. And this is what I need you to do.”

“…”

“They’ll be shocked by the unexpected situation. You have to yell as loud as you can, faster than anyone else. ‘These bastards! It’s poison!’ Then, without hesitation, you…”

I smiled maliciously and gestured to my neck.

“Take him out.”