The Outpost Knight Commander sent a swift messenger to report and request reinforcements from the Inner City Knight Commander.
The request was promptly approved, and the inner city troops were split into two groups.
The first group was assigned to support adventurers in assaulting the dungeon and securing the dungeon core as quickly as possible, with the King' s Royal Knights to provide backup later.
The second group was dispatched to assist the troops outside the city walls, preventing monsters from escaping into the forest.
*****
With the aid of the respected Laswin, Elda was carried to the zone managed by the [Resonant Magic] Guild.
Laswin requested a [Rank B] Healer and a doctor to treat and monitor her condition.
However, both the Healer and the doctor shook their heads, helpless.
The only solution was a [Rank S] Healer or an Elixir.
The Guild Leader possessed one Elixir but reserved it exclusively for guild members.
The Vice Guild Leader, still bitter that Lord Lera sacrificed their life for a slum girl, opposed admitting Elda and her sister into the guild.
He argued that taking them in would only create a burden, stating, "Our guild is neither a reformatory nor an orphanage."
The Vice Guild Leader further noted that, despite Lord Lera bequeathing all their assets to the guild, their loss was invaluable.
"Her older sister was saved by Lord Lera, and her younger sister has been found. Our duty to the Nehu family should end here," he declared.
Laswin, reminded of Lord Lera' s sacrifice, reluctantly agreed.
As a final act of aid, Laswin hired soldiers to escort Elda and Tiara to Calika, who was likely outside the city.
Since adventurers were barred from leaving the slums, paying the soldiers extra ensured they would lie on Elda' s behalf.
Laswin wrote a guild-sealed letter for the soldiers to present to the staff at the guild' s secondary branch.
The guild' s staff were ordinary people, often hired by large guilds for paperwork, cleaning, and miscellaneous tasks. As non-adventurers, they were exempt from slum restrictions, allowing major guilds to focus on combat without worrying about logistics.
With the letter, the staff would permit Tiara and the soldiers to proceed.
*****
Jaigia, a [Rank A] adventurer nicknamed the Bloodthirsty Beast, leader of the [Radiant Fang] Guild.
Through spies infiltrating various guilds, I learned that Calika' s younger sister was alive but unresponsive.
I decided Calika didn' t need two burdens dragging her down.
Between Tiara and Elda, Elda—who might miraculously recover—was not an option. If Calika found hope in caring for her sister, she' d become less submissive to me.
Tiara, frail and unlikely to survive, was the better choice.
To make Calika grieve and realize her powerlessness and lack of allies, I had to eliminate any ties that might tempt her to escape me.
Elda had to die.
I borrowed a cloak from the rear guard to conceal my identity, blending in with the adventurers like a mage.
Amid the chaos, with orders for adventurers and soldiers to attack the dungeon as fast as possible, no one noticed me.
I scanned for soldiers moving against the flow of adventurers and quickly found one.
I blocked their path, landed a precise punch to knock them out, and took Elda.
Using a disguised voice, I shouted for a Healer and immediately distanced myself from the soldier.
My plan was to rush to the front lines, use the steam as cover, and throw Elda to a monster.
But the attack order caused such a crowd that I couldn' t move at full speed.
Jumping would expose me, so I had to wait for the steam curtain.
The front lines were likely already clashing with the boiling starfish monsters.
Then, my plan collapsed. The steam curtain was rapidly blown away. Though it didn' t vanish entirely at a distance, it thinned significantly.
The culprit wasn' t an adventurer, magic soldier, or knight.
It was a beast—not from the sea dungeon.
Its shape and color revealed it as a Disease Carrier Slime.
How the hell did it get here?!
*****
Disease Carrier Slime
After feeding and evolving multiple times, a voice in its head recently urged it to choose an evolution path.
Trapped in a basin and tormented by fire magic for so long, it yearned to evolve faster.
It wanted to become stronger quickly, to become the ultimate King of Disease Carriers, fearless even against flames.
Thus, it gained an accelerated evolution form.
Its body expanded to fill every space, gaining some heat resistance.
Afterward, it lived idly, undisturbed.
It stayed inside because of one remaining food source it couldn' t consume.
In truth, Pivoda' s secret basement was in an area the army passed through, but due to orders to march quickly, no one searched the houses, so it remained undetected until now.
Normally, it would cling to this food source until starvation forced it out.
But then, boiling starfish monsters bombarded the house with scalding water bullets, scattering the debris that had blocked water from flooding the basement.
With the barrier gone, water flooded the basement. The heat seared its skin, and the boiling water felt like a slow death. In its pre-evolved form, it would' ve died long ago.
The Disease Carrier Slime, which loathed and was vulnerable to heat, could endure no more.
Choosing survival over food, it surged up the stairs from the basement.
It emerged near the center of both sides, slightly closer to the soldiers.
Its massive size drew everyone' s attention, stunning them with its sudden appearance.
Exposed to hot steam and relentless boiling water, the Disease Carrier Slime roared in agony, writhing in pain.
Its only thought: I don' t want to die. I must survive.
It unleashed a mist of disease-carrying spores around itself.
The mist swept away boiling water, steam, and food (humans) rapidly, replacing the area with a dense black mist it preferred.
But as the boiling water and steam returned, fear and rage consumed it.
The Disease Carrier Slime unleashed another, more violent burst of spores, this time firing small fragments of its body in all directions.
These fragments became smaller Disease Carrier Slimes. Some died quickly in the boiling water.
If they encountered monsters, they' d latch on, waiting for a human target before attacking.
If they found humans, they' d infiltrate their bodies, releasing pathogens and eating from within.
Once sated, they multiplied rapidly, causing their host' s body to swell and burst.
Pop!
The newborn Disease Carrier Slimes scattered to find new food, multiplying and sending some back to the main body.
Airborne pathogens caused nausea, diarrhea, headaches, fever, and collapse in those who inhaled them, making them easy prey.
*****
Soldiers and adventurers unaffected by the spores scattered in panic.
Screams for help and the sound of exploding bodies drove some to vomit from the horrific sight.
The front lines battled monsters, while the center fought to contain the Disease Carrier Slime.
Knights and high-ranking guild leaders ordered fire mages to bombard it relentlessly.
But the more pain it felt, the farther it launched its fragments.
*****
As the steam curtain faded and reinforcements pressed forward, despite brief halts from the Disease Carrier Slime, the final boss deemed this a threat.
It ordered monsters to attack the slums to block access to the dungeon.
The Mermaid Boss ceased her sea wave attacks and directed her minions to target the soldiers and adventurers at the front.
She unleashed over a hundred pearl orbs instantly.
The glossy white pearls crashed with deafening force, flattening those hit and sending nearby survivors flying from the shockwave.
The pearl attack, thought to be over, was just the beginning.
The giant pearls cracked like hatching eggs, and their contents broke free.
Out came about fifty small Mermen.
Upon contact with the air, they rapidly grew to the size of robust men.
Mermen, male merfolk with wide-mouthed fish faces and long, sharp claws, crawled across the battlefield like cockroaches, attacking with bites or slashes that tore gaping wounds.
Their saliva contained a stimulant causing profuse bleeding, making wounds gush uncontrollably.
Inner city reinforcements rushed to both fronts, retaliating with explosive arrows and destructive magic.
Mermen and smaller Disease Carrier Slimes were quickly culled.
After the pearl attack, the Mermaid opened her mouth wide, unleashing a sea wave infused with various monsters: Nagas, Shrimp Soldiers, Shark Men, Bloodthirsty Clams, and other deep-sea creatures from beyond the 20th floor.
Mumin swiftly erected an invisible barrier to halt the wave' s advance.
Unlike the turtle monsters, which crashed into the barrier, these monsters agilely redirected or leaped out of the wave, avoiding death.
[Naga Monsters]
Swift and evasive, they dodged attacks even at close range. Their immense strength could shatter shields of tanks without defensive skills, and their massive tails could whip enemies airborne.
Their tridents, resistant to both physical and magical attacks, had blades sharp enough to pierce or slice through thick armor and shields.
Nagas were a nightmare in close combat. Ethos had to use his Iron Fortress skill, rallying others to swarm and eliminate them quickly.
[Shrimp Soldier Monsters]
Clad in thick armor over already impenetrable shells, they walked on two legs, supported by their tails, wielding six long swords with their other limbs, slashing everything around them at high speed.
They fought effectively at close and mid-range, using their large claws to create supersonic air pressure attacks invisible to the eye. These attacks could crush bodies into craters.
Mumin countered by encasing them in invisible barriers with minimal movement space. When they used air pressure attacks, the force rebounded, shattering their claws. In pain and frenzy, their rapid sword swings struck the barriers, injuring themselves. Mumin then released the barriers for others to swarm.
[Shark Men Monsters]
Humanoid with shark skin and heads varying by species, they possessed strength surpassing Nagas. They could tear through anything like bread, rendering armor and shields useless. Their skin resisted all magic, even fire, unless sustained and intense.
Their most terrifying attack was their bite, which tore chunks of flesh, spilling organs.
Though vulnerable to sharp weapons, melee fighters feared engaging them. Archers played a key role, but Shark Men were durable enough to charge and kill their attackers before dying. It took over 20 archers firing from all directions to bring one down.
[Bloodthirsty Clam Monsters]
They moved by leaping forward, their thick shells impervious to most attacks. Only strength equivalent to five Shark Men could pry them open.
Their true body, hidden inside, was blind but had an acute sense of blood, detecting any living creature with circulating blood.
Clams attacked by closing in, snapping their shells shut around their target. Inside, hundreds of fangs stabbed from all sides, draining blood endlessly.
Once drained, they spat out desiccated corpses and fired blood bullets in a wide area, strong enough to pierce skin without armor or thick shields.
Tinoy handled them by tossing blood-soaked dry meat into their open mouths. Clams instinctively ate anything bloodied. Tinoy then used a skill to expand a small knife inside, prying the shell open, allowing mages or sharpshooters to target their fragile true body.
*****
Sea Dungeon Monster Comparison
For [Rank E] or [Rank D] adventurers, these monsters were certain death, regardless of numbers.
[Rank C] adventurers required a diverse team of 20–40 to take them down.
[Rank B] adventurers, with perfect coordination and role distribution, could defeat them with 5–10 members.
[Rank A] adventurers could be overwhelmed only by diverse monsters they were weak against, and only in large numbers.