In the dungeon, due to the limitations of the environment and conditions, food was scarce. Most of the time, adventurers could only eat dry rations or simple food supplies, and meals were usually hasty affairs.
He stirred the meatballs in the pot while adding dried chili peppers brought from the surface and sour fruits gathered in the dungeon, similar to lemons.
This fruit had a hint of sourness, which, combined with the spiciness of the dried chili peppers, created a broth that exuded a sour and spicy flavor, stimulating everyone's taste buds and nasal passages.
"Hooray—!!!"
The surrounding adventurers instantly erupted in cheers, as if they had just won a fierce battle. The huge cheers even scared the monsters in the distance away.
"You idiot Amazon, don't steal my meat!"
Bert frowned, her tail standing up in anger.
As she spoke, she protected the ham in her bowl, afraid that Bert would take it away.
Bert unwilling to be outdone, reached out to try to snatch it, but Tiona nimbly dodged, easily avoiding him, her face full of smug smiles.
Anqi looked at Koroy and sighed helplessly, but her heart was secretly struggling: "How annoying... Because of her influence, I want to revert to that verbal tic again. No, I must resist... This matter, except for Shirou who already knows, must never be discovered by others."
Riveria looked at the young man who was serving meatball soup to everyone, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.
Finn said.
Riveria nodded slightly.
"For the next battle, we will be divided into groups."
"Raul, I'll trouble you to lead the members of the Second Army to build a defense line on the fiftieth floor and wait for our return."
Finn nodded, then turned his gaze to the other members.
For the battle on the fifty-first floor, he did not intend to let members below , other than Emiya and Lefiya, participate at the risk.
In addition to them, Raul at and Tione at would also temporarily stay on the fiftieth floor to protect the rear of the team.
Finn continued: "After we complete the mission on the fifty-first floor, we will reunite with everyone. At that time, we will still need you to support the front line."
"The team entering the fifty-first floor will be divided into two groups," Finn said.
"The first group will consist of me, Gareth, Bert, Lefiya, and Tiona."
The first group included four first-class adventurers, plus Lefiya at . The second group consisted of three first-class adventurers, one , plus a few adventurers.
From the name, one could see how powerful this monster was.
Its power was even stronger than the Labyrinth Isolated King Udaeus on the thirty-seventh floor.
Unlike ordinary monsters, [Cadmus]'s birth point was not random; they would be born in a specific location called the "Cadmus Spring."
Slaying two powerful dragons could yield more than 50 million Valis at once.
In this way, after deciding on the two teams, after half a day of shallow sleep and rest, the Loki Familia adventurers handed over the task of guarding the stronghold to Gareth and others, and then set off for the fifty-first floor.
The [Storm King] in her hand was entwined with agile magic power, and the blade was hidden in the air because it was wrapped in magic power, and only a blurred shadow could be seen.
Her figure brushed past the monster, and time seemed to stand still. A few seconds later, the monster's head was severed by a line of blood, falling to the ground with a thud, rolling several meters away.
But soon, she shook her head and said with some disappointment: "There's no drop, what a pity."
She then issued instructions to Emiya and Alicia: "Shirou, please support Ais and don't let her run too far. Alicia, keep up with her."
Alicia followed without hesitation, her orange-gold hair flying in the wind as she ran, and the ice-blue longsword reflecting a cold light, flickering with a cold brilliance.
Emiya and the others' mission objective was to slay the powerful dragons, but on the way to the spring, they constantly encountered swarms of monsters, and they had to clear these obstacles in order to proceed smoothly.
The walls were neither stone nor earth, but made of some kind of lead-black, hard material, exuding coldness and oppression.
The dome above flickered with a faint phosphorescence, illuminating the surrounding environment.
[Black Rhions]
They were bipedal rhinoceros monsters, about two meters tall, with two horns as hard as steel growing in front of their faces.
Their heavy defense allowed them to withstand most ordinary attacks, causing great trouble for the adventurers.
The sharpness of the [Storm King], coupled with Ais's superb swordsmanship and skills, complemented each other, and with the blessing of the [Avenger Princess], Ais's attack power reached an extraordinary realm.
A white light flashed, and an arrow accurately shot into the left eye of a Black Rhion. Although it could not be directly fatal, the pain caused the Black Rhion to go berserk, closing its eyes and starting to riot chaotically.
Ais did not waste this opportunity. She quickly launched an attack, waving the [Storm King] in her hand, the blade cutting through the air, bringing a sharp whistling sound.
"Ais, dodge."
Emiya calmly reminded her, and Ais, hearing his voice, almost without any hesitation, immediately nimbly flashed to the side, quickly leaving her original position.
Riveria's voice was like heavenly music, she sang softly, as if playing the prelude to the coming winter.
The structure of the passage became an amplifier for cold wind magic, and the storm quickly swept across the entire battlefield. Wherever the frost went, ice spread, freezing those black monsters one by one.
Only Alicia, standing in the center of the cold wind, was protected by three ice ribs, unscathed.
221
Chapter 221 Cadmus Subjugation Battle.
In the terrain of the fifty-first floor, the power of this magic became extremely terrifying.
The adventurers were assigned to protect the archer Emiya and Riveria, who was chanting magic, in the rear.
Due to the strong offensive on the front line, the monsters could hardly break through their line, so there were very few enemies that could threaten the rear.
A wall was instantly blasted to pieces, and earth and rocks splashed everywhere. Along with the flying rubble, a monster with two heads appeared from behind the broken wall—[Heteromorphic Lizard]
"Uppercut!"
Lunuva, wearing the pseudo-sacred gears [Scarlet Warhound Modified] and [Iron Hammer Serpent Ruin Modified] on her hands, swung both hands at the same time, attacking left and right, accurately hitting the two jaws of the two-headed monster.
Immediately afterwards, Anqi demonstrated the agility and nimbleness of a cat-person girl. She almost stepped on the shattered wall as if walking on flat ground, her body lightly somersaulting in the air, the long sword in her hand flashing with a cold light.
But now, with these carefully prepared dishes, it felt like a festival celebration, instantly invigorating their spirits.
Emiya squeezed the 'meat fruit,' which was actually Amazoness girl Tiona hammered into mincemeat with her [Fist Strike] development ability, into meatballs and simmered them in a large pot. The rich aroma gradually spread as the soup in the pot simmered.
"It's ready."
Emiya slightly lifted the lid of the pot. With the aroma rising with the steam, he smiled and said softly, "Everyone, you can start eating."
Everyone gathered around the large pot, eagerly picking up bowls and plates, eager to taste this sumptuous meal. During the expedition, they faced countless monsters and dangers, rarely having such relaxed and enjoyable moments.
Tiona retorted without backing down, "Huh? Bete, you've already eaten two bowls, haven't you? Don't be so selfish!"
"Aren't you the same? You're eating even more than me!"
"Yummy meow, this is really yummy meow," Krolloi sat next to Anki, nibbling on bread while praising with a face full of admiration, "Even the usually not-so-delicious bread has become delicious meow."
At the same time, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth walked out of the tent. Seeing their companions sitting together, each with a smile on their face, Finn sighed, "Everyone's morale has instantly been boosted to the limit."
"Let's go, let's go over there too."
"Yeah."
220
Chapter 220: Gushing Spring and Mighty Dragon.
Finn stood in front of everyone, explaining the upcoming plans and arrangements.
His gaze turned to Raul.
Raul immediately stood up straight and responded firmly, "Yes, Captain, I will definitely complete the mission."
Therefore, the supporters and the members of the second unit were all arranged to stay on the fiftieth floor to ensure safety.
"Tione, I'll leave the safety of this place to you next, and everyone is counting on you to take care of them."
Finn said to the girl.
Tione nodded quickly, excitedly saying, "Yes, Captain, I will definitely complete the mission!"
"Yeah, yeah, no problem!"
Finn smiled, then began assigning team members to enter the fifty-first floor and decided on the grouping method.
"The second group will be composed of Riveria, Emiya, Ais, and Alicia, and several members will also be acting with Riveria and the others."
The reason for dividing the team into two groups was because their next targets were two powerful dragon-type monsters.
[Mighty Dragon Cadmus]
In terms of potential ability alone, [Cadmus] is the strongest monster the Loki Familia has encountered in the dungeon so far, apart from the [Labyrinth Lone King].
And on the fifty-first floor, two such gushing springs have already been found.
Finn stood at the front of the team, pointing to the mark on the map, "The spring water of the Cadmus Spring is an extremely precious resource that can be used to make the highest quality healing potions. In addition, the magic stone and dropped items of the Mighty Dragon itself are also of very high value."
With a soft "Hah!", Ais suddenly sprinted forward, her speed so fast that it was almost impossible to see her movements clearly.
Ais moved forward as if gliding on the rocky ground, her steps light and swift, lunging straight at the wide-eyed monster in front of her.
"Third one."
Ais murmured in a low voice.
Ais didn't even look at the fallen monster's remains, her entire being driven by a hunting instinct, quickly aiming at the next target and continuing forward.
On the other side, Krolloi leisurely walked forward, skillfully tearing open the monster's body with a dagger and taking out the magic stone.
Riveria stood in the back, watching the direction Ais went, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Understood."
Emiya quickly nodded in response, picked up his bow, and an arrow was instantly nocked on the string like lightning, aiming in the direction Ais was running.
Silver light flashed, and the arrow, like the glow of the moon, cut through the air and flew accurately towards the target.
Their current location was the fifty-first floor of the dungeon.
Unlike the usual labyrinth levels, the fifty-first floor had an extremely rare true labyrinth structure.
Flat walls, floors, and ceilings, countless regular underground passages crisscrossed, forming forks, corners, and intersections.
In the straight passages of this floor, they were facing a group of large monsters with black, metallic skin.
The [Black Rhinos], known for their durability, possessed thick hides like high-grade armor, making them particularly tough when facing attacks.
However, even the rhino monsters with durability that even first-class adventurers found troublesome could not withstand the slashes of [Sword Princess] Ais.
Ais ran lightly, keenly searching for the weak points in these monsters' armor.
The [Black Rhinos]' armor was indestructible, but not invulnerable. The connections between the armor plates were their weak points, such as the line of connection below the neck, or their eyes.
Its loss of control only made the other monsters' formations chaotic, giving Ais more room to maneuver.
Alicia followed closely behind, wielding her longsword, and the ice-blue blade brought up a chilling sword wind. She quickly repelled the monsters trying to get close, clearing obstacles around Ais.
"-- Omen of the end, white snow. Facing the twilight, stir up a gale, sealed light, frozen earth. Blizzards in the sky, three winters -- My name is Alf!
The incantation completed, the magic [Fimbulvetr of Ecstasy] was activated, and three gusts of cold wind swept out from her center.
Their movements instantly froze, and their painful roars were stuck in their throats. Their entire bodies were gradually covered in ice, turning into lifelike ice sculptures.
"This is, the power of a first-class adventurer..."
Anki and other girls subconsciously clenched their hands.
If there were only a few monsters, Ais, Alicia, and Emiya would take care of them; but when a large number of monsters gathered, they would suppress them first, and then Riveria would cast the cold wind magic [Fimbulvetr of Ecstasy] for a large-scale sweep.
However, accidents often happen when you least expect them.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted beside them.
However, facing this suddenly born monster, Riveria's expression did not waver at all, as if the monster's existence was not even in her eyes.
She continued to chant, unwavering, like an ancient tree unmoved in the center of a storm, as stable as a rock.
"Boom!"
The huge force directly hit the target, and the monster's head was lifted up by the heavy blow, and the roar in its mouth stopped abruptly. The violent impact force caused the monster's two heads to suddenly lift up, temporarily losing the ability to move.
She slashed down with a knife, the target being the position between the two heads of the two-headed lizard.
The sharp blade cut in accurately. Although the girl's strength was not enough to cut the monster in two completely, her goal was extremely clear—she was aiming at the location of the magic stone in the middle of the monster's body.
