Xin and Elaya’s troops flooded down the stairway, breaking apart to each travel one direction down another hall. This one didn’t last. Instead, the hallway broke into a four-way split. The army broke apart further until they each reached another four-way split, and then another one. My eyebrows creased. At first, this was at a level where our army was able to maintain its strength even after breaking up so many times. However, if the groups broke up too many more times, it’d start growing thin.
“Hahaha!” Gram’s voice echoed out across the dungeon. “My second level is a massive labyrinth! This is a maze that could rival any Great Dungeon! If you wish to get passed, even with an army, it could take a day or longer!”
“I found the exit!” Celeste’s voice rang out.
“Who the heck keeps doing that?” His voice sounded slightly panicked.
“Troops, progress!” I gave the order.
“Too overbearing! Look, maybe we can talk about this. Aren’t you worried about your teammates? Maybe we can agree? If you give me the sword and retreat, I’ll return your allies.”
“If they’re still alive, we’ll find them. If they’re dead, I’ll just resurrect them.”
I sent Celeste to go look for them now. If Gram had any more hidden exits, Elaya and Xin would just need to figure it out on their own. I brought up my map, and I could see that as my girls traveled through the dungeon, my map was expanding as well. The audio, the visuals, and the mapping must be because I was linked to his dungeon. In essence, during the battle, my senses that could be carried throughout my dungeon could now move into his through my generals.
“It looked like we’ve conquered 30% of his dungeon. He should only have ten floors then.”
This wasn’t that surprising, since it looked like he put the majority of his growth into that passage. As for why he did it, one could only guess. Perhaps it had to do with his unfinished business. Maybe, the curse came from someone’s inability to get through western Esmore mountains fast enough. It wasn’t really important. I wasn’t trying to solve the story at the moment.
“He’s made his move, Master. We’re encountering enemies!” Elaya declared.
“Master, he’s managed to transport some to the 1st level. He’s trying to break through to our dungeon.” Astria added.
“What are we encountering?”
“Goblins, Master. His lore is weak!”
“Astria, play defensively. Elaya, push forward. Xin, clean up.”
The girls all gave their confirmation and began the next phase of the attack. Elaya’s monsters were mostly four-legged monsters like wolves, so by nature, they were much faster than Xin. She was ideal for first-strike. Meanwhile, Xin’s troops were slower, but had more strategy and could mount a prolonged attack. In short, Elaya scattered the enemy, while Xin came from behind and attacked while they were trying to reorganize.
“Master, the mini-boss has appeared!” Astria cried out.
“You guys already are on the 5th floor?” I asked.
“No! He’s appeared on the 1st floor. He’s trying to charge through my girls.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just concentrate on keeping anyone else from coming. It’s time we did something.” I stood up.
“Master, do you mind if I do it?”
I was surprised to hear another voice come up. I turned back to see Faeyna looking on with a smile. Did she want to take on the miniboss?