Chapter 34: the sudden horde

Velvet and Brenda searched the corpses of the ratmen they had slain and found energy orbs. Because the orbs were so small, they didn’t even bother counting them and simply put them away. Having encountered no other items, they returned to the main group.

​Velvet addressed everyone, "Judging by the type of enemies we’ve encountered, it seems they are some sort of rodent species. Under the cover of night, they usually rely mostly on their hearing. Although they could rely on their sense of smell, the air here is already so musky that it provides perfect cover for us. The troublesome part, however, is their heightened hearing capabilities. Given our past formations, it seems we were just lucky to spot them ahead of time. If they manage to back into a corner and ambush us next time, it will put us at a severe disadvantage. So, we’re changing our strategy now. For this new formation, Lyra will scout ahead. I believe from your attire that you must have good footwork?"

​Lyra replied, "Yes, my combat style usually relies on rapid kitting for searching weakpoints, so I have very good footwork. I can perform the task easily."

​Velvet nodded. "Okay. Now the formation will stay mostly as it is, but Lyra will shift from the flank to the front as our scout."

​Because no one had any objections, the group agreed and continued moving forward. The new strategy proved to be effective almost immediately. After moving for just a few minutes, Lyra suddenly slipped back from the front line to relay information.

​"There’s a group of enemies ahead," Lyra reported softly. "Their numbers are slightly larger this time—there’s an additional one, making it a total of six."

​Hearing this, Velvet nodded and said, "We will do as we did before."

​Their plan remained unchanged: Velvet and Brenda stepped forward to engage the enemies while Matilda stayed behind to intercept any foes that managed to slip past. Just like last time, the fight went smoothly.they quickly finished off the enemies, and the group resumed their journey.

​Along the way, they successfully dispatched two more groups. Just as before, each new group had increased its numbers by one. After clearing the latest group, they moved forward and encountered a fork in the road—the pathway split into left and right routes. Both paths looked identical, offering no immediate clues as to where they led.

​The group decided to rest for a moment to regenerate their stamina. Velvet and Brenda were truly exhausted from the continuous fighting. Although each clash was resolved within minutes, it still consumed a vast amount of energy—especially for Brenda, who wore heavier armor.

​Since the decision-maker was still Smith, the entire group waited for his command. After a moment of thought, Smith ordered, "Since we are going to explore the whole dungeon, and it’s a one-time dungeon, we don’t want to miss anything. We will take the right side first. After we finish exploring the right side, we’ll return to explore the left. We can adapt our plans depending on the situation, but our first move is to head right."

​The party resumed their previous formation and entered the right-hand pathway. As they traveled down the corridor, a very bright light suddenly flared at the far end. Not wanting to act rashly, Lyra went ahead to scout.

​However, shortly after reaching the end of the corridor, Smith and the rest of the group saw Lyra retreating rapidly back toward them. At the exact same moment, a chaotic chorus of rat-like squeaking echoed from the other side. Judging by the sheer volume of the noise, a massive horde of ratmen was approaching—and they had already detected Lyra.

​Velvet knew the situation was unfavorable. Previously, they had only encountered Peak Novice-rank ratmen in small numbers. This time, they were facing a swarm, and there were likely Intermediate-rank ratmen leading them.

​Not wasting a single second, Velvet looked around and ordered, "Okay! Brenda, Matilda, summon your pawns! Form a defensive line right here!"

​Brenda immediately summoned her two pawns, both clad in medieval-style black half-armor. Each held a short sword in their right hand and a shield in their left, their heads protected by heavy helmets. Matilda also summoned her pawns, who were dressed in Viking-style attire like Matilda herself, though without the wolf mantles. One was a burly man wielding a shield and a one-handed axe; the other was a woman also wielding a one-hand axe and shield. Velvet summoned her own pawns as well.

​The pawns under Brenda and Matilda quickly formed a wall of defense, raising their shields high and interlocking them.

​Lyra was halfway back to Smith’s group when the first wave of ratmen burst through the end of the corridor. A total of twenty peak Novice-rank ratmen came charging out, led by five beginner Intermediate-rank ratmen. The Novice-rank ratmen wore the same tattered cloths as before and carried long spears. However, the five Intermediate-rank ratmen wore clean leather armor and metal helmets, wielding higher-quality spears.

​Judging by their rapid movement speed, the Intermediate-rank ratmen possessed a physical enhancement based on speed, allowing them to lead the charge and close the distance on Lyra rapidly.

​Seeing them closing in, Lyra instantly activated her Title to boost her speed. However, because she was only a Silver-ranked Titled queen gaining a immediate speed boost but her pursuers were true Intermediate-rank creatures, the distance between them didn’t widened. Still, the extra speed bought her just enough time to reach the safety of the group.

​As the chase reached its climax, the lead Intermediate-rank ratman pulled its arm back and thrust its long spear toward Lyra’s back. Luckily, Lyra had just reached the frontline where the pawns had raised their defense.

​Seeing how critical the situation was, Brenda shouted to her pawns, "Step forward and raise shields! Leave an opening for Lyra!"

​The two pawns stepped forward, raising their shields and opening a narrow gap between them. Lyra dove right through the opening. The chasing ratman couldn’t stop its momentum, and its long spear slammed directly into the interlocked shields. Although the pawns had activated their Titles to reach Peak Novice rank, the force of the strike pushed them back a step before they managed to stabilize their footing.

​With the ratman’s spear caught against the shield wall, Brenda saw her chance. She stepped forward, activated her Title, and selected an Attack and Defense boost. Drawing her greatsword from her back, she swung it in a wide arc, cleanly slicing the shaft of the ratman’s spear in half.

​Left disarmed and exposed, the Intermediate-rank ratman panicked. Velvet, ambushing from the flank, activated her Title for an Attack and Speed boost. With a swift stroke of her katana, she decapitated the disarmed ratman in a single blow.

​Seeing their companion fall so quickly, the remaining three Intermediate-rank ratmen tried to retreat to the safety of their group. But Brenda was already prepared. She instantly switched her Title boost to Attack and Speed. With a sudden burst of force from her legs, she lunged forward and executed a heavy horizontal slash, cutting two of the Intermediate-rank ratmen in half.

​The final Intermediate-rank ratman completely panicked and turned to flee. Velvet, unwilling to let easy prey escape, darted forward. Turning one’s back to an enemy in combat is a fatal mistake, and the ratman paid for it with its life as Velvet struck it down from behind.

​All the Intermediate-rank ratmen were dead. Velvet hadn’t expected the biggest threats—which she had carefully calculated tactical formations to overcome—to be eliminated so easily. She had anticipated a frantic, bloody fight to decapitate their leaders when surrounded by the other ratmen, but the threat was neutralized before it could even begin.

​With the leaders gone, the remaining twenty Novice-rank ratmen posed little danger. When the horde slammed headon into the shield line, their momentum was instantly halted.

​Brenda cleaved through the front lines with her greatsword, taking down three or four ratmen with every swing. Lyra, using the shield wall as cover, stepped out to cripple ratmen by stabbing them in the abdomen, hips, or shoulders. She refrained from killing them directly, leaving the final blows for Velvet and Brenda so they could gain points to level up—since Lyra was already at the Peak of Novice rank, waiting only for her Promotion Trial.Velvet moved like a whirlwind among the enemies alongside her dou Katanas, slaughtering ratmen with every step.

​Within a minutes, all the ratmen lay dead.

​After collecting the loot, they realized that despite their numbers, the ratmen didn’t drop anything of real value—only a few of energy orbs.

​Looking at the pile of corpses and remembering their encounters along the way, Smith suddenly realized something. His eyes widened, and he shouted excitedly, "Hey, Velvet! I think we’ve hit the jackpot this time! We need to hurry before anything unexpected happens!"

​Apollo and Alexander realized what Smith meant a second later, their expressions turning equally thrilled. Clearing the battlefield in a flash, the party broke into a run toward the end of the corridor where the horde had come from.