Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Gil-Garna and the other two kings stood before the allied clans who stood at ready to march. The former noticed the atmosphere of the allied clans which was palpably tense, a far cry from the strong unity and determination with which they entered the dungeon first. Friction simmered beneath the surface, threatening to fracture the alliance any second.

Gil-Garna was perfectly aware of the reason and recognised that this was not a good sign for them. He had to do something to get them back to giving their all even if it meant he had to lie to them.

With a sigh, Gil-Garna clicked his tongue at the source of the discontent. The trials inside the dungeon had proven to be beyond his expectations and taken their toll on the allied clans, slowly chipping away at their strength sowing doubt and discord among their ranks.

If this was the demon's plan, then he must admit that the latter was quite the strategist. That being said, if the other party thought they could destroy them with just this, they were severely mistaken.

Taking a deep breath, Gil-Garna addressed the allied clans with a voice that rang out clear and commanding.

"My fellow clansmen and the king clans of the Ghastly Winding Forest. The moment to conquer the dungeon is near. I can tell that the demon is trying to use all of his means and powers in his hand to contain us on these floors. The trials are hard and the obstacles waiting for us in the upcoming floors might be even harder"

"However, he had forgotten one thing. We are nothing like the humans he is used to entertaining in his dungeon. We are the king clans of the Ghastly Winding Forest who are used to the laws of the jungle. No matter what obstacle lay in front of us, we had always overcome it with unyielding grit and strength"

"The demon might think that he is in control here; however, he couldn't be any more wrong. If anything, it is us who are in control. I can tell you all that the dungeon core is not far away. As proof, you all have seen and experienced for yourselves the increasing complexity of the floors. He has employed all means and tricks he could use to try to faze our morals and keep us from advancing any further"

"In short, he is panicking. He didn't expect us to invade his dungeon through that shortcut. This is enough to tell us that the floor where the dungeon core is located is not far. The demon is cunning, but he is not infallible, his every move betrays his desperation, and his fear of what lies ahead. As such, I command that you all continue giving your best. For our shared goals, and the day when the names of our clans is counted amongst the legendary clans in the entire world"

Gil-Garna spoke, his voice ringing with conviction. As he had hoped, his words rekindled the determination and fire amongst the allied clans. He could see resolve through their eyes.

The doubts that had clouded their minds began to dissipate, replaced by a renewed sense of purpose and goal. His words reminded them of the honour and glory that waited for them once they emerged victorious from all of this.

Compared to that, what was enduring a little bit of hardship?

In the end, with a loud roar from him, the allied clan began to march orderly and proceed towards the entrance to the next floor.

Observing everything from his standpoint, Gil-garna knew that the road ahead would not be easy but he was confident in the strength of the alliance and his own might and preparations that they would prevail.

And besides, what he said before, not everything was a lie. He did believe that the end was near, that the dungeon core was not far. The dungeon's increasing complexity was a sure sign that he was getting closer to his ultimate goal.

The myriad traps, illusions, formations and tricks they had encountered so far, each one more cunning and treacherous than the last, was something that one could only encounter in a high ranking dungeon.

From sprawling mirages shrouded in illusion and deadly traps to ruins, the dungeon had thrown every obstacle imaginable in their path.

Although he had to admit that it did manage to daunt him for a second to almost change his idea over this whole ordeal, it was only for a second when he cleared his mind and thought about it properly, a thread of logic arrived in his mind that hinted at the true nature of the dungeon.

Although he wasn't completely clear on the finer details of the dungeon and how it works, he did know that for everything there was a cost. It was the same for the dungeon too, the many traps, formations and monsters that they saw here, clearly came at a cost.

What's more, the cost had to be significant given the power and complexity of these traps. Furthermore, given the fact that the demon was utilising such mechanisms all around the floors when it was clear that they cost a ton of money, hinted at something.

And that was either he was panicking or that the dungeon core was near. It was natural to assume that one would protect the most important thing in their lair to the best of their ability.

And so, with their hearts set for victory, the allied clans marched into the stairway to the next floor completely unaware of what lay in their fate.

Gil-Garna's assumptions were logical and his preparations were enough to take down any intermediate tier dungeon. However, that was only for any other dungeon.

Dungeon Laplace was far different from all the other dungeons in the world and did not conform to any logic. Trying to make sense of the things that occurred here was like asking to be humiliated.

Gil-Garna's assumptions couldn't be any further from the truth.

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Sitting in his seat, while lazily glancing at the scene in front of him, Simon gave a wide grin. Unbeknownst to the intruders, a device that was carefully hidden was transmitting all of their voices and action back to the main floor of the dungeon. As a result of which, they could hear and see what the intruders were going to do next.

"That ogre king, I don't know whether to call him smart or an idiot. To think that out of all the things he could say, he would say that the dungeon core is near… If he is deliberately trying to fool his clan members to increase their morals, he is quite the character. Otherwise, he is just a fool like all the others who have been here before him"

Coleus commented, a look of intrigue in his eyes.

"He still dares to spout nonsense even after all this? Looks like the trap on those floors weren't enough…"

Maya grit her teeth clearly annoyed by the statement made by the ogre king.

It was not only her, many others in the room who revered Simon were angered by that statement. After all, the former not only slighted their lord, but also demeaned their home the dungeon.

"Calm down you all, it's only natural that the Ogre King is trying to put down the dungeon and its master, me. After all, when you are going against someone, you have to believe that you are superior to them to maintain the moral. The ogre king's assumptions are reasonable, in fact we should happy that our ruse worked after hearing his words"

That was right, the very fact that they believed they used a shortcut to come here and that the complexity of the floors was an indication of the demon panicking or the dungeon core being near, was absolutely great for them.

This was their plan from the very beginning anyways.

Simon's words calmed everyone down. He then next looked at the window depicting the scene on the 86th floor and muttered to himself—

"Fifteen floors more to go. Though after I'm done executing all of my plans, I wonder how far they will be able to reach. I hope they are able to help me test out the Faux Boss Areas".

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Time passed by and after a day and a half of intense struggle and many losses, the three allied clans were finally able to clear the 86th floor and proceed towards the 87th.

The subsequent floor just like the 85th, had its own environment, habitat, monsters and conditions for clearing. Of course, the very fact that they were placed lower than 85th floor meant that they were far more difficult to clear.

Not only were the floors bigger, but the complexity of the formations, traps, special areas, mutated monsters, Afflictions, [Scenarios] and everything else were far more dangerous and troublesome to deal with.

With the case of Surtana, the allied army learned their lesson and although they ignored the Special Areas which were obvious traps laid for them, they still suffered a loss from the many powerful mutated monsters and tricky magical traps.

With the case of Surtana, the allied army learned their lesson and although they ignored the Special Areas which were obvious traps laid for them, they still suffered a loss from the many powerful mutated monsters and tricky magical traps.

Even in cases where they had to dive inside the special areas, they did so in massive groups and pitted their numbers against it.

Even the direct subordinates of the three kings had to team up if they wanted to clear the special areas.

Anyways, after going through the gruelling number of challenges in the subsequent floors, even with their warring nature the allied clans became tired and their morals were starting to falter.