Chapter 65: situation change

Inside Slaughterhouse, the daytime temperature was blistering. The sun beat down so fiercely that the entire environment felt like a giant, scorching oven—the climate itself resembled a burning desert.

​Inside a rock shelter, Smith and his girls were sheltered beneath a foot-thick cliff overhang. The shelter was about ten meters deep, providing plenty of shade and solid natural ventilation. Unbothered by the brutal heat, Smith and the girls were dressed in ordinary clothing rather than armor. Sitting in a relaxed circle, they were eating, chatting, and laughing together. They looked nothing like a group stranded in an extremely dangerous Slaughterhouse were the snakemen could pop out anytime.

​Suddenly, their peaceful, picnic-like atmosphere was interrupted when a shadowy figure bolted into the shelter.

​Without reacting aggressively, the girls watched as the shadowy figure charged directly toward Smith before coming to a sudden halt. It was none other than Vesper.

​Before Vesper could even speak, Smith thrust a bottle of cool water into her hand. "Relax first," he said gently. "You’ve been out in the heat for too long. Drink this to cool down."

​Appreciating his kindness, Vesper didn’t refuse. She removed her mask, took a few gulps of water, and caught her breath. Exhausted and dehydrated from her rushed return, Smith’s care helped her quickly regain her composure.

​After a few moments, Vesper looked up, her eyes bright with excitement. "I found it!"

​Upon hearing those words, Smith went from shocked to thrilled. He turned around to share the news with the rest of the group—earlier, to avoid disturbing the group Vesper had gone to around the circle so Smith had turned his back to the picnic circle. But now as he turned back to announce the news he froze. The girls, who just moments ago were lounging in picnic mode, had already donned their armor and drawn their weapons, fully combat-ready. Seeing that they were even more eager than he was, Smith smiled and nodded. "Alright, lead the way."

​Without wasting a second, Vesper—how was already fully armored—led the way out of the rock shelter. Magenta took up her usual position, pushing Smith’s wheelchair right behind Vesper as the rest of the group followed.

​After navigating the terrain for several minutes and taking a sharp corner, they spotted their target: a massive horde of over 100 Snakemen gathered under another cliff overhang. Among them, more than 50 were intermediate-rank Snakemen. Shielded by the cliff’s deep shadow behind the horde was a large cave opening. Judging by their strict posture, the Snakemen were guarding the entrance, maintaining full alert and constantly scanning their surroundings.

​"That’s the place I was talking about," Vesper whispered, pointing toward the cave. "There is a very high probability that the second Dungeon Core is inside and as we had predicted there is no other group in a more than 500 meter radius from here."

​Everyone understood the significance. It had been over a week since they entered the Slaughterhouse. During that time, they had been balancing two goals: finding the Dungeon Core and farming aura points.

​At first, their hunting went smoothly. However, the Snakemen eventually caught on—their patrols were dying off at an alarming rate, and search parties never found a single human corpse left behind. Realizing an elusive threat was wiping them out, the Snakemen went on high alert. They increased their patrol groups from 10–20 scouts to heavily numbered squads of 50 and above.

​Paradoxically, larger groups made hunting even easier for Smith’s party, causing Snakeman casualty rates to skyrocket. Once the Snakemen realized the intruders held no fear of them, they adjusted their tactics again. Over the last few days, hunting had become grueling. The Snakemen stayed in massive formations and refused to fall for basic baiting tactics. The daily battles grew increasingly brutal—at one point, the party even sacrificed several Pawns to hold the line because of a sudden ambush by an another group of Snakemen, though the losses were negligible since Pawns were easily replaceable but the battle made them recuperate for the whole day.

​Overall, the relentless grinding had yielded massive rewards. Having slain thousands of Snakemen over the week, the girls had accumulated a substantial amount of points. Velvet, Magenta, and Brenda had each reached 16 Aura points, while the rest of the girls held 15 Aura points. Although thousands of kills might sound like it should yield even higher harvest but the points were divided among a large party. Nevertheless their growth rate was remarkably fast, especially considering they had even conducted several night raids.

​Looking at the massive gathering now, it was clear the Snakemen had changed strategies again. Since morning, Smith’s group hadn’t encountered a single wandering patrol. The enemy had consolidated their remaining forces in one place to make a definitive stand outside the cave.

​This gathering actually worked in the party’s favor—it meant they could wipe out the primary group in a single engagement and finish the mission early.

​As the team’s tactical organizer, Velvet immediately began analyzing the situation. "The Snakemen have shifted into a complete defensive turtle posture. They’ve gathered their main force here, but we don’t know how many more are inside the cave—there could be hundreds, or even a thousand, and they can call for reinforcements through the portal. We need to keep this fight as short as possible. Even if a second wave arrives, we must be able to disengage and retreat without getting trapped."

​Velvet looked around at the team. "The plan is simple: fight freely, but finish it fast and we can change the strategy depending on the situation."

​Without needing a complex formation, the party split into their established roles:Magenta and Fiona charged in front while Valeria and Velvet fanned out to the sides.

​Brenda and Vesper took up positions directly behind Magenta and Fiona and for Astra, their sole long-range fighter,she was positioned at the very back.

​All at once, the Queens summoned their Pawns, activated their Titles, and surged toward the Snakemen horde.

​Because their observation point was nearly 100 meters away from the cliff, a stealth attack was impossible. This was going to be a direct, head-on clash.

​The Snakemen heard the commotion immediately. Seeing the persistent enemy that had been tormenting them for a week finally reveal themselves, the enemy leader—a peak Intermediate-rank Snakeman wielding superior gear—raised his weapon. Instead of blindly ordering a charge, he issued commands for his troops to form tight ranks, raise their spears, and hold a firm defensive wall. In conventional warfare, the defending side held the advantage.

​However, he severely miscalculated.

​When Velvet saw the Snakemen holding their ground instead of rushing forward, she immediately shouted, "Deactivate Titles! Decelerate!"

​They instantly slowed their advance and held their position just outside the Snakemen’s range.

​The Snakeman leader was momentarily baffled. Why did they suddenly stop their charge? ℴ

​Before he could process it, high-pitched whistling sounds tore through the air.

​Sharp arrows rained down from a distance. The Snakemen standing along the outer edges of the shield wall began dropping one by one, pierced cleanly through their heads.

​By the time the Snakeman leader realized the enemy possessed elite archers, more than a couple of his underlings were already dead. While the casualties where small when you compare it to a hundred but remaining stationary meant his troops would simply be picked off like target practice. Because the party had thoroughly cleaned previous battlefields, the Snakemen had never known the group possessed a long-range archer until this very moment.

​Realizing holding the line was suicide, the Snakeman leader roared an order to attack.

​As the Snakeman formation broke defensive ranks and surged forward, Velvet smirked. This was precisely the outcome she had baited. When the enemy originally refused to charge, she had signaled Astra to open fire, forcing the Snakemen to abandon their defensive advantage.

​Transitioning from a tight defensive stance into a full sprint created chaos in the Snakemen’s ranks. During those disorganized seconds of charging, Astra and her summoned pawns unleashed continuous volleys, dropping another dozens Snakemen before the two sides even collided.

​Anxious and enraged, the Snakeman leader gritted his teeth and pushed forward through the barrage. Rather than sitting back and being picked off, taking casualties on the approach was a price he was willing to pay to force a melee brawl.