I am the Demon King of the Dungeon!

"snort."

Scarlet Dream let out a soft hum, and a dark purple energy ball flew out of her hand, aiming directly at An Ruiwei in front of her.

"Divine Shield!"

An Ruiwei was unable to dodge in time, and holy light descended from the sky, forming an inverted golden bell.

The dark purple energy ball collided with the holy shield, emitting a piercing shriek, and the two forces fiercely battled at the point of contact.

The moment the Holy Shield vanished...

"Here you go!!"

An Ruiwei slashed horizontally with her longsword, the blade carrying a mixture of residual holy light and dark purple energy, transforming into a crescent moon interwoven with gold and purple, which cleaved straight into Scarlet Dream's chest.

Scarlet Dream was struck by a sword and sent flying backward, crashing into the wall of the hall, where spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface.

Meanwhile, the rest of the output poured out!

"Time Distortion!"

Seizing the opportunity, Eleanor immediately cast a team buff spell, greatly increasing her casting and attack speed.

The giant bear that Kalt had transformed into seemed to go berserk, its claws slashing furiously; Eleanor's arcane missiles rained down like a storm; Lolota summoned an army of countless imps, each one hurling fireballs at Scarlet Dream.

In the end, An Ruiwei pierced her heart with a sword.

The crimson dream's body shattered inch by inch, turning into countless dark purple specks of light that drifted away like fireflies.

The hall fell silent again.

The treasure chest rose from the ground, the lid popped open, and golden light illuminated the five tired faces.

[Dungeon Alert: Warning! Adventurer Party "Dawn" has cleared the 23rd floor!]

Current progress: Floor 23

Dungeon stability: 65% → 62%

……

The North, the Kingdom of Grasha.

The city of Handong is built in the center of the frozen wasteland. Its walls are made of a mixture of black iron and granite, and against the backdrop of the year-round snow, it looks like a steel behemoth in the white desert.

The city was warm as springtime, with hundreds of geothermal pipes drawing heat from the active volcano in the north of the city and laying it under the stone slabs of the streets and alleys. This melted the snow into trickles that flowed down the drainage ditches to the moat outside the city.

Merchants hawked their wares at the market, and the taverns were always packed with mercenaries and adventurers from all over.

Thanks to Arthas, the North remained bustling even amidst the shadow of war.

But today, the atmosphere in the throne room was as cold as the ice field outside the city. Legion Commander Bald sat at the other end of the long table, his obsidian prosthetic eye in his left eye gleaming with a cold, hard light.

King Otto von Grachaeus held the battle report between his index and middle fingers, the parchment trembling slightly between them.

"Two thousand seven hundred trolls..." Otto's voice wasn't loud, but carried the hoarseness unique to middle-aged men. "Two clans wiped out overnight?"

He slammed the battle report on the table, and the parchment slid across the long table and stopped in front of Baldr.

"Brother, you said a dark-haired youth walked into your tent, burned the troll messenger, and then said, 'Human wars should be resolved by humans themselves,' before leaving?"

Baldr paused for a moment, then picked up the battle report and read it again.

"Yes."

"What's his name?"

"have no idea."

"..."

Otto rose from his throne and walked to the map of the North hanging on the side wall. The map was densely marked with various symbols, including arrows, circles, and crosses.

"The Kingdom of Kada has dominated the mines for many years. The reason why Frost Axe King is holding Iron Tooth Pass so firmly, preferring to cover the rear rather than retreat, is to hold back our main force."

"Could he be waiting for that black-haired youth? If he really is from the Kingdom of Qatar, things will get complicated. That power is definitely legendary."

"Legendary?" Bald shook his head. "No, Karn is a legendary Arbiter, and Martha is a legendary Monk, but neither of them could wipe out two troll tribes overnight."

"Then who exactly is he...? If he were here, we wouldn't be able to attack the Kingdom of Qatar?"

Silence fell over the hall.

After a moment, Baldr picked up the glass in front of him and drank it all in one gulp. "No matter who he is, our plan cannot stop. We must get the Northern Mines."

Otto said worriedly, "What if that person again..."

"Don't worry." Baldr put down his glass, a strange light flashing in his single eye. "We have new allies."

"A new ally? Who is it?"

Baldr did not answer, but took out a badge from his pocket and placed it on the table. The badge was made of dark purple metal, with an image of an ouroboros engraved on the front. The snake's body was coiled in a figure-eight shape, and its head was biting its own tail.

The emblem of the Samigina Order.

"Bard! Are you insane?" Otto walked back to the long table, raising his voice. "The Samigina Order was wiped out thirty years ago by the kingdom and the Adventurers' Guild, and you actually want to cooperate with them?"

"The mine's production capacity is declining faster than we anticipated." Bald put the badge back into his pocket, his voice flat. "Without the coal crystals of the North, the Kingdom of Grasha won't survive the next winter, while the Samigina Order... they can provide what we need."

"What do you offer?"

"Our military strength is sufficient to contend with the unknown forces."

"you……"

Balder stood up and walked towards the side door of the hall.

"Come with me."

After a moment of silence, Otto decided to follow.

Outside the side gate is a downward spiral stone staircase, which serves as the training ground for the King's Guard. As the legion commander, Baldr holds military power over the entire Grasha.

The steps were worn smooth and shiny by countless footsteps, and torches were lit every few steps on the wall, casting long and slanted shadows of the two people onto the curved stone wall.

At the end of the stone steps was a heavy black iron door with three locks. Baldr took three keys from his waist and inserted them into the locks one by one. The iron door made a dull creak and slowly opened inward.

The space behind the door was surprisingly large, with a dome over twenty meters high, a floor paved with neat stone slabs, and walls inlaid with luminous crystals, illuminating the entire basement as if it were daytime.

In the basement, military formations were neatly arranged.

They are not human soldiers.

Rows of tall figures clad in black iron armor, each over two meters tall, covered in grayish-white bone-like shells, their heads devoid of facial features, consisting only of two thin slits emitting a ghostly green light.

They wielded various weapons: spears, battle axes, two-handed swords, shields, great axes, giant hammers...

Each gargoyle has an ouroboros brand engraved on its chest, making it look extremely spectacular.

"When...when were these delivered?" Otto's pupils contracted sharply, his fingers unconsciously gripping the hilt of his sword. "Why weren't you consulted with me?"

"The work of the Samigina Order." Bald walked up to the gargoyle, tapped its breastplate, producing a dull metallic sound, "They are all tireless, fearless, and unbetraying puppets."

"How's their combat strength?"

"Each one is equivalent to a Gold-level adventurer."

"Gold level?!"

"..." Otto remained silent for a long time, his gaze sweeping over the gargoyles. "Where are the Samigina Cult members now?"

"It's right in the royal city."

"Take me to see them."