This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 233, Section 232: The Beginning of the War
Angus, a city nestled on the northern coast of the United Kingdom, has always enjoyed a peculiar tranquility.

It is neither a frontline fortress nor a resource-rich town.

Although nominally located on the border with the Hermit Empire, the majestic Red Ridge Mountains act as a natural barrier, keeping war and conflict at bay.

For nearly a century, even during the most tense years of the relationship between the kingdom and the empire, the residents of Angus Port could sleep peacefully in the salty sea breeze.

However, given the increasingly tense situation on the mainland, the lord of Angus Port has strengthened the monitoring and inspection of all ships coming and going at sea.

The order itself was not wrong, but as it was carried out at each level, it became a glittering source of wealth in the eyes of the dock guards.

Merchant ships, fishermen, and even small expedition boats that occasionally docked for supplies all became targets of their extortion.

A few silver coins can speed up customs inspections, while a few gold coins can make some less compliant goods go unnoticed.

The dock guards' pockets were bulging, but beneath the surface of busyness, the atmosphere at the port was tinged with a sense of oppressive slickness and greed.

Edwin was also a dock guard, but unlike his lucky colleagues, he was a lighthouse keeper on night watch.

The interior of the lighthouse, however, is cramped and damp, filled with the smells of lamp oil, sea salt, and aged stone walls.

Edwin leaned against the cold inner wall, his rough fingers unconsciously rubbing the empty purse at his waist.

"Damn lighthouse!" Edwin's voice, heavy with weariness and resentment, echoed in the cramped space. "Those dockworkers outside, they can make enough money for us to work for a month just by slipping through their fingers! And what about us? We're stuck guarding this damn rock, and besides that meager salary, we get nothing!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and suddenly slammed his fist against the wall: "My son, after the talent test a few days ago, they found out he has a talent for water magic, he's a natural at learning spells! But where am I going to get that damn tuition fee?"

A relatively young guard sitting on a wooden stool was wiping the glass cover of a lantern. He listened to Edwin's complaints, only occasionally giving a vague "hmm" or a short sigh.

He understood Edwin's frustration, but also felt that the complaints, like the sound of waves that rose every night, had become part of the lighthouse's background noise.

He's now more worried about the other person who went out to relieve himself and hasn't returned for half a day.

"Did that Bigeye Fish fall into the sea?" The young guard put down the rag, listened to the outside, and found it completely silent except for the sound of the wind and the waves crashing against the rocks.

Edwin waved his hand irritably: "Whatever! Maybe he's taking a nap in some sheltered corner! This damn job, even slacking off is so frustrating..."

The young guard grew increasingly uneasy. Although Bigeye Fish was sometimes carefree, it never left for so long without a reason.

"I'd better go out and take a look." He stood up and picked up the halberd leaning against the wall.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door, and the icy, salty sea breeze immediately rushed in, making him shiver.

The young guard squinted and looked around but couldn't see the Bigeye Fish.

He walked toward the edge of the platform, to the leeward corner where people usually relieved themselves, his footsteps making a soft sound on the stone slabs.

"Bigeye Fish?" he called in a low voice.

Just as he approached the edge of the shadow, something unexpected happened!

A dark shadow shot out from the shadows of the lighthouse's outer wall like a ghost, moving at an unimaginable speed!

The young guard caught a glimpse of a slippery scale in the corner of his eye, and then a sharp, icy pain shot through his throat.

He tried to shout, but could only let out a weak, hissing sound.

The halberd slipped from his hand and slammed against the stone slab with a piercing clang. He clutched his neck, which was gushing with heat, his eyes wide with disbelief, before collapsing limply to the ground.

Edwin, inside the lighthouse, jumped in surprise at the strange noise! ​​"What the hell?"

He stood up, rushed to the door, and yanked it open. The sight before him froze his blood instantly! The young guard lay in a pool of blood, his body still twitching slightly.

Beside the young guard's corpse stood a... a nightmarish creature!
It was a head taller than the tallest human, with a slender body covered in dark green, wet scales.

A thick, powerful snake tail trailed behind it, supporting its body.

On the triangular head, a pair of cold, vertical pupils, flashing with a cruel yellow light, were staring intently at Edwin.

In its hand it held a curved, strangely shaped dagger that gleamed with a ghostly blue light, the tip of which was still dripping with the blood of the young guard.

Snake people! Demons!
He turned and ran back, the snake-man warrior hissing as he gave chase!

Edwin braced himself against the wooden door, but the force behind him made him realize that he couldn't hold out for long.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! Why am I so unlucky?!"

At the critical moment of life and death, Edwin thought of his wife who nagged him all day long, and his child who was still immersed in his dream of becoming a mage.

He gave up holding back the wooden door and rushed toward the thick, unused rope diagonally opposite!

The snake-man rushed in, and before the dagger pierced his chest, Edwin used the last of his strength to pull the rope hanging down!
"clang--------!!!"

A loud, rapid, and penetrating bell rang out instantly, piercing the silent night sky of Angus Port!

Not long after the bell rang, several more equally tall snake-men silently emerged from the shadows outside the lighthouse.

The leader was more robust, with darker scales, almost dark green, and a prominent ring of dark red bone spurs around its neck.

It stared at the two guards lying in pools of blood and its kin who had just drawn their daggers, its cold, vertical pupils burning with furious flames.

"You idiot!" His voice was filled with disappointment and anger. "You made them sound the alarm! Because of you, the attack plan was ruined before it even got started!"

The snake-man warrior who had failed lowered his head in fear, hissing as he tried to explain, but was rudely interrupted by the leader.

The snake-man leader looked up toward the port, where lights were beginning to appear sporadically, and the sounds of chaotic voices and clashing metal could be faintly heard.

The other snake-man warriors gathered around, asking anxiously, "What do we do now?"

The snake-man leader took a deep breath, a ruthless glint flashing in his vertical pupils: "Those who cannot prove their value cannot survive in the Empire. This operation must succeed; failure is not an option!"

"Before these human swine can fully react, charge in! Pave the way with their blood and fear! Seize the dock!"

At the leader's command, a large number of snake people, armed with weapons, swam ashore from the edge of the dock.

The killings, which began after the unexpected alarm, unfolded in an even more frenzied and bloody manner.

Soon, chaos erupted in the dock area as snake-man warriors, with agility and strength surpassing that of ordinary human soldiers, launched a frenzied attack on the hastily responding guards and the awakened residents.

They set fire to houses and boats moored near the shore, creating even greater chaos.

The piercing screams, the clash of weapons, the sound of collapsing buildings, and the crackling of flames mingled together, turning half of Angus Port into a blood-red glow in the dead of night.

"Quick! Quick! Get everyone to the docks and kill all those demons!" Count Angus repeated this task, which he had given several times before. Suddenly attacked, he was completely panicked.

But when he looked up, he saw a scene of despair—

Several demon warships, like giant beasts emerging from the darkness, their ferocious silhouettes suddenly entered his field of vision, slowly sailing in under the glow of the dock firelight.

　6K tomorrow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)