CH 86.2

Chapter 86.2 – The Great Cave Siege

And yet, they are stronger than the knights who trained for a long time because they use guns and cannons which she found discouraging.

This is probably what his excellency Viscount Ortholet meant to Knight Dross when he said “Times have changed”.

「Ah, yeah, I get it. I don’t really care about that, quack. I’m asking whether the imperial army is coming or not.」

「Of course they are coming. The undefeated warlord said so.」

「State Secretary Lyle is indeed capable but there’s something about that man that I don’t like….」

「Ah, the enemies are here, oneechan!」

The knights of Rastoir are wearing matching helmets. They entered the entrance of the cave, destroying ogres and goblins on their way.

Behind the horse-riding knights with big barbarian swords, spear-wielding mercenaries on foot follow.

Those troops are already on their way to rush into the great cave.

The army in the cave’s hidden room are preparing to intercept them.

「I already told you I’m not your older sister!」

「It’s not the time for that, neechan. Come on guys, get ready!」

At Mars’ command, the volunteer army scattered to their own positions.

The Oracle’s Great Cave has0 hidden rooms for maintenance and a hidden passageway connecting them.

If you surprise them from there, you can also unilaterally intercept enemies entering the dungeon.

In normal dungeon management, this is one of those forbidden moves that should never be done but since it’s war, it can’t be helped.

Oracle’s lament that “It’s the end of the world” is likely to be heard.

Incidentally, according to Oracle, the reason why hidden maintenance rooms and passageways can’t be used for offense is because if their existence is discovered by adventurers and are blocked, it would be a fatal blow to dungeon management.

Hidden rooms are meaningful only because they are hidden.

Therefore, this strategy is only an emergency measure.

Now, the question was whether the enemy would be lured into the dungeon but that problem seemed to have been cleared up.

The knights dismounted from their horses and the spear-wielding mercenaries entered the cave without care.

They are already familiar with fighting monsters so for them, this is a daily occurrence.

They never thought that the enemy, whom they had underestimated as a small army, would be using the dungeon for a siege.

Therefore, the knights of Rastoir, who were lured to the big room at the back of the underground floor of the Oracle’s great cave, could hardly resist the volunteer army who suddenly appeared from what they thought was a wall and was shot.

「Well, if we’re talking about close combat, we’re talking about shotgun!」

Captain Mars smiled proudly as he stroked his gun.

The first squad had been given a new weapon, the shotgun, because they were expected to fight a hard battle.

As the captain, that made him proud.

Normally, they can only shoot once per reload but the shotgun can load up to six to nine shells per reload.

Although the effective distance is reduced, the ability to kill in close combat is greatly improved.

「Captain’s bullets hardly hit anything.」

When a subordinate said that, Mars shouted “shut up!” with a red face.

The volunteer army started laughing with their hands on their stomachs. It was a usual scene for them, looking like they were having a good time even on the battlefield.

「The honorable knights are the pitiful ones.」

Knight Dross did not join their fun. With a sorrowful look on her face, she slits the neck of an enemy knight who was barely alive.

Rather than being bathed with iron balls without even knowing how they died, they would at least prefer to die with a sword like a true knight.

「Quack, stop playing around, the next batch is here!」

「Neesan is horrible.」

A platoon of enemy knights and mercenaries came into the large room.

Mars and the others quickly go behind the enemies through a hidden door that looks like a wall.

As the imperial knights curiously rubbed the wall where the volunteer army had disappeared, another squad appeared from a different hidden door that shot and killed them.

In a narrow cave, a large army had to be divided into small groups, and the siege army who knew all the hidden passages had an overwhelming geographical advantage.

It was no longer a battle but a one-sided shooting and killing that would continue until the imperial forces gave up.