Lewd Dungeon Master: This Orc Is Too Damn OP!-Chapter 241: Come On Then, I Ordered Chicken

The plan was perfect.

When I sealed off the corridor the enemy was moving through, Shaitan and I had talked through two possibilities and worked out our approach. This operation was a plan where my idea and Shaitan’s idea came together into one: killing two birds with one stone.

[Put up a wall to stop the enemy from advancing.]

[If we can wall off the front, seal off the retreat too.]

False walls stacked into an earthen barrier up front, and the entire passage collapsing behind them. The enemy would be left to wither in the middle of the straight-shot corridor.

Thanks to Lune’s flawless execution, we’d successfully trapped the enemy in the long straight corridor, and now they were stuck at a crossroads with exactly two choices.

One: break through the fully collapsed tunnel.

Two: bust through the breakable wall and come at us head-on.

The first option would take considerable time, but there was no other route up to dungeon floor 1.

’Solomon’s magic system is absolute.’

No matter how connected basement 1 and floor 1 were, as long as a magical barrier sealed the boundary, physically punching through the ceiling to get up there was impossible.

’So they have to come through here.’

The only way up to floor 1 was the staircase inside the final intercept room, and we were guarding it.

Hard to say what kind of person the enemy commander was, but I was curious which choice they’d go with.

"Lune, what’s the enemy doing?"

"...Looks like they’re breaking through the walls and coming."

"Figured. From what you said, sounds like a hothead."

Based on what Lune described about the enemy commander (the penguin girl), she was the type to smash through walls and charge the second they were clear. Our legion had to hold at high alert in front of the pit of hell we’d set up for the penguin and the cockatrices, waiting.

"Come on then. Feels like I ordered chicken and I’m just sitting here waiting for delivery."

Thirty minutes.

"...Well, thirty minutes isn’t always doable. If anything, thirty minutes would be fast. Heh."

One hour.

"...Taking longer than I thought."

Without Lune’s hearing, there was no real way to gauge how fast the enemy was breaking through.

’After getting hit from above and below in the rear, they’re definitely playing it careful.’

The moment the Flare Panteras below or the ceiling slimes got anywhere close, Furcas started stabbing the floor and ceiling with the scythe. No point wasting scouts unnecessarily; I had to read the enemy’s advance speed through Furcas’s position alone.

’Slow, but they’re still coming our way.’

All I could confirm was that the enemy was closing in.

I had no way to know how they were breaking through the walls, what abilities they were using, or what the cockatrices’ combat level actually was, and that uncertainty had me on edge. I needed some way to find out.

"This is exactly why cloaking units exist as scouts."

"Cloaking?"

"Stealth units. Things that move around invisible, basically. Like a banshee?"

Since visible scouts get eliminated on the spot, scouting in ways the enemy can’t counter was something I already practiced. Just like I’d sent Andras and the harpy unit for aerial recon against the subjugation force, I knew better than anyone how important intel was.

’But it doesn’t work so well in a dungeon.’

I’d done everything I could to track enemy movement through the ceiling and underground, but at the end of the day they were in the same enclosed space, so nothing was truly invincible.

Feeling that limitation firsthand really drove home the need to diversify my scouting options. Especially in a closed-off space like a dungeon; special measures were a must.

"Lune, how do elves handle scouting?"

"Us? We ask the wind spirits. But that’s impossible in a dungeon. Spirits can’t survive in an environment like this."

"Too bad... I really need to get an actual banshee."

How nice would it be to have incorporeal beings that could pass right through dungeon walls? Either way, for now I had to keep tracking the enemy’s movement using the Flare Panteras and the slimes.

"Let’s see... still in the middle of the 1st intercept room?"

Whether I’d built too many walls or the enemy was just doing this to drive me up the wall, the fact that they were taking their sweet time smashing through them on the straight-shot course was making my blood boil.

"Master, should we go ahead and knock down a few walls to hurry things along?"

"Hmm... honestly I want to just get in their faces and throw down, but let’s play it safe instead of gambling. Either way, the longer they drag this out, the worse it is for them."

I was genuinely grateful for all the time the enemy was throwing away.

"Just wait... we’re about to score big real soon."

Time was absolutely on our side.

***

[At that moment: Spica Castle, General Store "Avalon."]

The Ras Company’s general store was ready to open for the day, same as always.

Stocking sales had been moving in pretty solid volume, but since they’d capped the daily sell amount, even assuming word of mouth kept bringing in more customers, they had enough stockings to last three or four days easy.

So there was no pressing need to head back to Ras Vegas or the dungeon. But the person in charge of the company’s Spica Castle outpost (Meri) had decided a return to the dungeon was necessary.

"I think we need to go back to the dungeon."

"Hold it. That’ll raise suspicions."

Gray had to stop Meri from packing up and leaving on the spot.

"There are still people asleep at the inn. If you disappear all of a sudden, people will get suspicious."

"They’re probably all knocked out anyway. Drained dry and too exhausted to get up. The succubi also need to get back to the dungeon and convert the energy into magic stones."

Overnight, Avalon had received a whole lot of visitors, starting from the lord right on down, and the fairies had guided willing guests underground and into the dream world. The succubi who’d crossed over through the underground passage had used dreams to harvest energy from the humans the fairies had put to sleep.

"Ugh, if only a portal had been set up already, we could’ve been back in no time..."

"Gremory said she can’t come. Still, at least we’re getting some word of the situation."

If a portal had been in place, the succubi could’ve harvested energy without physically crossing over through a portal into the dungeon. And then both the succubi and Meri could’ve taken part in the seizure battle between the Legion of Wrath and the Halphas Legion.

"I didn’t think something like this would blow up in a single day. Think the enemy somehow found out about our plans in advance?"

"That’s a stretch."

But the portal still wasn’t set up, and thanks to the sudden outbreak of war, the succubi had ended up stuck in Spica Castle. Not a huge deal in itself, but not being able to get real-time updates from the dungeon was a serious headache.

"Hey, you said you got a message from an orc rider underground earlier, right? What did dad say?"

"...Shaitan passed along the message."

’We’ve been attacked, but don’t worry and keep focusing on business.’ That was the whole of it.

Messages were getting through every two hours or so via orc riders galloping underground, but the fact that active combat was still ongoing in real time was impossible for Meri not to worry about.

"...I just can’t leave it alone. I think we need to help."

"Help how?"

"The way our legion originally planned."

Meri lifted a bundle packed full of magic stones. The energy the succubi had harvested was still stored inside their bodies, but the magic stones earned through trade for the stockings were holding their mana fully intact.

"I should be sending these to dad’s dungeon every day. It’s not like we’re using the magic stones here for anything."

"And if someone demands we hand them over?"

"Isn’t that exactly why you’re here?"

"Fair enough. ...What power do I have to stop you anyway? Everything’s already ready to go."

Gray pointed to the hidden door of the underground passage that ran from Avalon out past the walls of Spica Castle. Lime and the slime dragons were waiting there for Meri. Meri climbed up onto one of the slime dragons.

"I’ll be back in a bit. Going with Lime."

"Hey. You can’t just leave when you’re the one in charge."

"I’ll be right back. Just to where the portal is."

Meri crouched low on the slime dragon’s back, pressing down as flat as possible.

"Shouldn’t happen, but if anyone asks for me... tell them I went out late to get stocking materials and I’m running behind."

"...That’s a weird thing for me to have to say... Geez."

Meri didn’t even look back; just rode off with the slime unit. Gray scratched her head and headed back into the room connected to the secret passage. Inside the storeroom, a fairy in a formal outfit was trying to lift a box full of stockings.

"Oh my. Sir Gray, where’s the mage?"

"...Looks like she popped back to headquarters for a bit."

"Oh, I see. So the magic stones go straight there? That’s a relief; they were honestly a pain to manage here. And it’ll help the legion too."

"Glad to hear it, then."

The magic stones earned from stocking sales. Low-grade at best, but even a little supply of magic stones could tip the scales enough to win the war against the Halphas forces.

"Heheh, then we’ll go do our own fighting."

The fairy woman straightened her outfit and headed off. Just yesterday she’d been drinking with three men and leading them underground, and now here she was dressed modestly and buttoned-up. Gray couldn’t help but swallow hard.

The fairy was wearing a bunny girl outfit underneath, with a shirt thrown over the top. Gray pushed down the heat rising in her lower half and steadied herself.

"...I really miss Harpuia."

Gray clicked her tongue and headed upstairs. The first floor was buzzing with opening preparations, and a fairy who’d been suddenly roped into writing receipts in Meri’s absence was scrambling to learn the manual on the fly.

"It’s time to open; want me to do it?"

"Thank you, please!"

Gray listened to the birds chirping outside and opened the general store’s front door. The street beyond was already packed with customers, and Gray’s soldiers had them lined up in an orderly queue...

"Oh. Sir Gray, don’t tell me you spent the night here too?"

Standing beyond the door she’d just opened was a woman with sparkling eyes, face lit up with barely contained excitement. Gray didn’t recognize her for a split second.

"...My Lord?"

The lord (Virginia Virgo) had shown up dressed to the nines, the kind of look she’d save for high society in the capital. She laughed softly and brought a white-gloved hand to her lips.

The dress, designed to evoke pale pink flowers, called someone specific to mind the moment you saw it. Below the dress, the Baroness’s black stockings were impossible to miss. The Baroness cleared her throat and glanced at Gray.

"Ahem. I know it’s rather forward of me, especially this early in the morning... Is Miss Meri inside? If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d love to... perhaps have breakfast together."

"At this hour...?"

The sun hadn’t been up all that long. From what Gray remembered, this should’ve been around the time the Baroness would normally just be waking up.

"Indeed. I wanted to have a chat with Miss Meri... I found myself waking up before dawn on my own."

And yet here the Baroness was, having clearly spent at least an hour getting herself completely done up.

"Is she inside? Would you show me in?"

Baroness Virgo’s expression was full of anticipation, and Gray’s mouth went bone dry.

***

"We’re almost there..."

Furcas stood in front of the final wall with the skull balanced on the penguin’s beak. The penguin had broken through thirteen walls and was now standing in front of the barrier leading to the 2nd intercept room, pushing a flipper through.

"Here we go. I can smell orcs. More than one; strong."

Crackle, crackle!

The wall was instantly soaked and then frozen solid. Furcas felt a wave of relief that this was the last one, and the penguin threw a punch into the frozen wall.

CRASH!

The frozen earth wall shattered like a pane of glass and scattered everywhere. The penguin felt a rush of satisfaction at the wide-open space ahead.

"Welcome! What’s your name?!"

On the other side of the passage, an orc in a black robe stood with both arms spread wide in greeting. The penguin stared silently down at the floor for a long moment, then picked up Furcas’s skull from the top of its beak.

"Something’s up with the floor, huh?"

Roll, roll.

The penguin gently tossed Furcas’s skull forward. The head didn’t just hit the floor; it dropped even deeper.

"Your High—"

WHOOOOSH!

The moment Furcas’s skull hit the ground, the floor erupted into flame. A fire column roared up from the deep cavity below, and Furcas’s skull began to slow-cook in the fire pit.

"...."

The orc’s expression went rigid. The penguin clacked its beak toward the orc.

"The hell are you pulling here?"

"...Damn it."

The hell pit the orc had so ambitiously prepared ended up just roasting Pale Rider Furcas’s skull.