Chapter 61: the woman player

When Smith opened his eyes, he and his girls realized they were in an enclosed cave. Velvet and the others who had entered the portal first were standing directly ahead of him. The cave was narrow, but a source of light glowed a few meters further down the path.

​The Queens were lined up in front of Smith, with Magenta personally pushing his wheelchair along the path. Once they reached the front, Smith finally saw the source of the light—it came from a central campfire, where a group of people was gathered around a blazing bonfire.

​Smith quickly counted ten people in total: six women and four men. Five of the women wore full armor and carried cold weapons indicating they were Queens. The sixth woman, however, wore standard attire meaning she was a player. Smith was thoroughly surprised; this was the first female player he had ever encountered.

​Across the fire, the group watched Smith’s party emerge from the dark. In slaughterhouses, portals don’t teleported people randomly like standard dungeons did; instead, they usually appear directly at the exit, right where the dungeon core was kept. Seeing the arrival of a fellow player and rhe Queens behind, the female player knew that Smith and his companions were allies rather than enemies.

​Dropping her guard, she stood up and walked over to greet him. extending her hand towards Smith as gesture for a handshake, she introduced herself.

​"My name is Lily, and I am the leader of the team stationed at this slaughterhouse. Who might you be, my friend?"

​Smith extended his hand for a handshake, nodding in approval. For a woman to have the bravery to undergo the Awakening Trial was no small feat. Her leadership of the team was a clear testament to her exceptional willpower.

​"My name is Smith," he replied. "I was sent here on a mission."

​Lily nodded in understanding, but as she scanned Smith’s group, a look of confusion crossed her face. "Sorry to ask, but... where are the other players?"

​Smith froze for a moment before realizing why she was asking. In the earlier ranks most players commanded only one Queen—or at most, two. Smith, however, was accompanied by seven Queens and no other players.

​Shaking his head, Smith clarified, "There are no other players coming with me. These are all my Queens, so you don’t need to expect anyone else."

​Lily and her teammates gasped in shock. For a Novice-rank player to command seven Queens simultaneously was entirely unheard of.

​Quickly composing herself, Lily asked, "Alright then, Smith. But if I remember correctly, it isn’t time for our shift rotation yet."

​Smith nodded. "Yes, I’m not here to replace your shift. I have a separate mission to complete. May I ask what the current situation is in this slaughterhouse?"

​Lily didn’t pry into the specifics of his mission. Instead, she got straight to the point. "Our primary enemies here are the Snakemen. Although they rarely gather in massive hordes, you will usually find them roaming in groups of ten or more. Their average combat power is composed mostly of Novice-rank Snakemen, but every squad is led by at least one Intermediate-rank Snakeman."

​She paused before continuing, "The largest force we’ve encountered was a group of over twenty, led by ten Intermediate-rank Snakemen. We didn’t engage them head-on, so we avoided casualties. As for their total population, we honestly don’t know. We rarely venture far outside because we can’t risk being discovered. We focus on guarding the dungeon core and clearing small scout groups that wander too close. Whenever an enemy squad gets too close to pinpointing our location, we relocate the core—and the portal follows it. That’s how we’ve managed to survive."

​Though brief, the information was valuable. Smith didn’t want to waste any more time. "Thank you for the intel, Lily. We have to be on our way."

​With that, Smith signaled his Queens to head out. Lily and her team watched in silence as Smith’s party departed. They knew better than to pry; anyone capable of commanding seven Queens was far from ordinary.

​Smith and his group moved up an incline within the narrow cavern until a massive boulder blocked their path to the surface. Magenta stepped forward, effortlessly hauling the rock aside to clear the exit. One by one, the Queens filed out into the sunlight.

​Stepping outside, Smith surveyed their new surroundings. A blazing sun beat down from above, scorching a vast, desert-like landscape. Endless stretches of sand and jagged rock formations reached toward the horizon. While the sand wasn’t particularly deep, the lack of a straight sight made navigation tricky. Fortunately, large, towering rock structures stood scattered across the area like a stone forest, providing natural shade and line-of-sight protection.

​Once everyone was outside, Smith had the entrance blocked again to conceal the hideout. He wasn’t worried about suffocating Lily’s team; if they had survived this long, they clearly had a functional ventilation system.

​Stepping into the shadow of the rock forest, Smith made an announcement. "For now, I’m handing tactical command over to Velvet. She led your group previously, so I know she’s more than qualified."

​Velvet stepped forward with a confident smile. "Don’t worry, Smith. I’ve led these girls for a long time. It’ll be just like old times fighting together."

​The other Queens nodded in agreement. Though they were aware of the Snakemen threats from Lily’s warning, they still needed to scout the terrain themselves to form an optimal combat strategy.

​Velvet immediately began issuing orders. "Vesper, you take the lead and scout ahead. Even though it’s daytime and your stealth skills are hindered, you’re still our fastest and most agile mover."

​"Understood," Vesper replied, dashing ahead to clear a path.

​"Fiona, you stay with Smith," Velvet continued. "You have the only shield user here, so your priority is to protect him from any unexpected ambushes."

​Fiona nodded silently, stepping up to take over pushing Smith’s wheelchair from Magenta.

​"Astra, stay near Smith as our ranged backline," Velvet instructed. "Brenda and Magenta, you two will act as our frontline tanks. Valeria and I will form the flanking unit to initiate surprise assaults."

​With their combat formation set, the party pushed deeper into the rocky forest.

​The sweltering heat and harsh terrain made marching uncomfortable. The soft sand muffled their footsteps, but wearing heavy armor under the scorching sun was brutal. Nevertheless, they and pressed on, knowing that danger could lurk behind any formation of stone.

​Suddenly, Vespa froze near a jagged corner ahead. She crouched low and flashed a series of rapid hand signals back to the group.

​While Smith couldn’t decipher the tactical hand signs, Velvet instantly read them.

​"We have our first enemy contact ahead," Velvet whispered, her eyes narrowing. "Judging by Vespa’s signal, it’s a small group—not a major threat."

​Keeping low, the party used the massive rock pillars to block their line of sight, closing the distance to Vespa’s position undetected.