The winter environment was designed to resemble ancient ruins.

Set against a snowy mountain backdrop, the first room wasn’t particularly spacious, but it was large enough to manifest natural phenomena.

A heavy rumble echoed through the space.

As proof, a massive avalanche was currently sweeping across the monitor.

Even an A-rank Hero would find it impossible to overcome the sheer force of nature.

"Ahahaha! Merry Christmas, you bastards!"

"Hah. I think he’s getting crazier by the minute. How did I end up serving a man like this?"

"I can hear you, brat!"

"Ouch!"

The slender girl puffed out her cheeks after receiving a flick to the forehead.

She was the mage who had been triggering the explosions all along—Hendy, once a member of Balak’s Main Force.

"Ugh. You’re so mean, you demon!"

"That’s right. Master is too mean. To hit a woman, of all things. You’re disqualified as a man! Kuma kuma!"

"Tsk. What would a lecherous bear like you know?" Taehyun clicked his tongue.

Even the Keeper Kuma Kuma, who had been summoned alongside her, chimed in, but Taehyun remained unfazed.

Instead, he simply enjoyed the situation, pinching and pulling the cursing Hendy’s cheeks.

Eventually, she burst into fake tears and threw herself into Arin’s arms, rubbing her face against the homunculus while complaining.

"Aww. Arin, please scold that bad Dungeon Master for me."

"...Arin?"

Arin looked flustered by the sudden familiarity.

Watching the two of them with a pleased expression, Taehyun refocused on the screen.

"Damn it. Is everyone okay?!"

"Y-yeah, I think we somehow survived."

"The Duke is alive over there too!"

As the dungeon soldiers retreated, the survivors revealed themselves one by one on the monitor.

Among them were the most troublesome targets, Darun Solodos and Cliff, but Taehyun was still somewhat satisfied.

’That leaves fifteen survivors. They have no food, and their stress levels have skyrocketed, so they won’t be a problem.’

Their lives were already in the palm of his hand.

Taehyun watched them slowly exit the room and repositioned his soldiers.

Then, just as the bastards used a camping item, he launched a surprise attack.

"These absolute bastards. They won’t even give us a single moment to rest!"

A sharp hiss pierced the air.

A deafening roar followed.

The soldiers spearheading the ambush were the highly cost-effective Werewolves and Lizardmen.

Although they fell victim to Darun’s sword the moment they rushed in, it didn’t matter.

Taehyun continued this relentless war of attrition, day and night.

[Mercenary Kurz has contracted a disease.]

[Soldier Will has contracted a disease.]

[Mercenary Abyss has contracted a disease.]

Finally, the invaders contracted illnesses and began groaning in pain.

Suffering from chills and stuffy noses, their progress naturally slowed. Eventually, they were forced to set up camp yet again right before the third room.

Darun, who possessed relatively high immunity, found himself held back by the sick men.

In the end, he permitted the use of an Exclusive Item, and they activated a buff. However, the atmosphere had already turned hostile.

"Hah. It’s too late to let us use an Exclusive Item now. What are we going to do? We’re all going to die!"

"You’re so damn selfish. We followed you holding onto a sliver of hope, but now we’re just full of regret. I’ll curse you for the rest of my life, Duke Darun Solodos!"

"The Duke is one thing, but Cliff is a problem too. If we had just abandoned the request and run away in the first place, it wouldn’t have come to this."

Everyone except for Darun and Cliff shared the same sentiment.

No longer afraid of dying, the men argued back and refused orders as a united front.

Only then did Darun realize the severity of the situation. He naturally shifted the blame onto Cliff, but the mercenary leader was just as troubled.

Taehyun curled the corners of his mouth while watching the screen and dispatched another member of his Main Force.

"Ohohoho. It’s finally my turn. I’ll enjoy this to my heart’s content." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Whew. I-I’ll do my best too."

Two women appeared in the hallway alongside nearly half of the soldiers.

"Shall I start draining a few of their items now?"

Exclusive Items were already grasped in Taehyun’s hands.

---

Most Exclusive Items had a set limit on their number of uses.

Fortunately, camping items could be used generously depending on how many were brought, but even that supply had reached its limit.

’We rested too often because of minor illnesses. To be in this situation when we can’t even expect a resupply... It’s miserable.’

Even his longtime mercenary comrades were resenting him.

Darun was also a target of that resentment, of course, but Cliff had absolutely no way to calm his men down.

If things escalated, the furious duke’s blade could easily turn toward them.

’It might not be a bad idea to just abandon those bastards and leave.’

His judgment momentarily leaned toward his survival instincts, but he quickly shook his head.

They were a useless bunch to begin with, but rather than abandoning them...

’It’d be better to use them as meat shields.’

Treating them as sacrificial lambs would be the most appropriate course of action.

With that thought, Cliff pulled out all their remaining food.

"I hear your complaints. If that’s how it is, let’s just clear the final room of the dungeon today and part ways for good."

"Hey. Are you kidding me right now? Who gave you the right to take the food—"

"Your Grace, there is no other way now," Cliff interrupted, turning to Darun. "Please, listen to my request just this once. If we use all our Exclusive Items, we’ll have more than enough power to clear the dungeon in a single day. I’m begging you, please grant me permission."

Darun fell silent.

From a submissive stance to an even more desperate one.

When someone pleaded so desperately with a half-resigned heart, any human, regardless of their personality, was bound to waver.

Especially since they were in this situation because of Darun’s own arrogance. If the duke was human, it was only right for him to swallow his pride this once.

"Damn it. Do whatever you want."

"Thank you."

Finally, an opportunity presented itself.

Cliff cracked a smile while his head was bowed to the ground, then quickly stood up.

He then gave the soldiers and mercenaries, who were staring blankly at the exchange, a choice.

"Make your choice. Will you stay here and get killed by the Dungeon Master, or will you follow me and save your lives? If you choose the former, I will consider it as you forfeiting your share of the food."

"...That’s a question you didn’t even need to ask in the first place. Damn it."

"If we can really break through in a day, I’ll trust you this once."

It was human instinct to cling to basic necessities.

Since he had framed it as their final, desperate option, they couldn’t help but be swayed.

Only then did Cliff pack the food away and gather his belongings.

But at that moment...

"Wait a minute. I haven’t liked this for a while now. Why do you get to manage all the food? Since we agreed to follow you, shouldn’t you distribute the rations to us?"

One tactless mercenary stubbornly brought up the food again.

The others, who had been staying quiet, were swept up in the atmosphere and quickly changed their attitudes.

’These absolute bastards. Right until the very end!’

Just as Darun was about to grip the hilt of his sword, monsters came swarming in from the opposite hallway.

Cliff, spotting them first, broke out in a cold sweat and drew his bow.

"Block them first!"

"T-Those guys are buffed! Plus, there are over a hundred of them!"

"Shoot your arrows instead of worrying about that crap!"

The bodies of the dungeon soldiers were connected by five-colored strings of light.

Their movements were drastically faster than before.

"Annoying pests. I’ll dispose of you all at on—"

"Ufufu. Will it really be that easy?"

The moment his drawn sword was about to sweep in all directions, the blade’s trajectory was forcibly altered with a loud clang.

A blue-haired woman raised her shield in an alluring posture.

"I shall be your opponent. Ohohoho."

"How dare you!"

"Ah! You’re so intense. I’m starting to like you even more."

Despite taking consecutive strikes from the Mad Dog’s sword, she wore a captivating smile.

Blood was already pooling and dripping from the corners of her mouth, but the woman continued to block his path as if she felt no pain.

With Darun tied down by the Main Force soldier, the remaining mercenaries and soldiers were going crazy with panic.

’Ugh. It can’t be helped. For now, I need to cut off their buff!’

He was already prepared with a counter item.

Cliff used the Effect Reversal Card without hesitation.

The five-colored strings of light vanished in an instant.

At the same time, the soldiers’ buffs naturally turned into debuffs.

’It worked. Fortunately, no counter came. We’ll sever the Dungeon Master’s forces just like this!’

Although they were at the same B-rank level, the experienced mercenaries had their own specialized skills.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Damn it. Die, you bastards!"

"Move out of the way! My spell is ready!"

Although casualties were mounting, the number of monsters was sharply decreasing after a fierce close-quarters battle.

Riding that momentum, Cliff aimed at the robed mage in the rear.

"You’ve been getting on my nerves for a while now. You’re a Main Force soldier too!"

"E-Eeeek?!"

"What?!"

Contrary to his expectations, the mage flinched in terror.

At that moment, a return circle unfolded around the dungeon soldiers.

---

[Cliff has used the Effect Reversal Card.]

Taehyun had somewhat expected them to use an Exclusive Item.

Since monsters enhanced by buffs were attacking, they would have felt even more compelled to use it.

Unfortunately for them, he hadn’t used a buff item in the first place.

[Angelina is casting Strong Taunt.]

First, he tied down Darun using Angelina, whose health and defense increased the more she took hits.

[Eclat is casting Miracle Melody.]

He had simply deceived them by buffing the soldiers with the five-colored light phenomenon from the angel Eclat.

The actual buff item was still perfectly intact in Taehyun’s hand.

And then.

"You’ve been getting on my nerves for a while now. You’re a Main Force soldier too!"

"E-Eeeek?!"

The moment Cliff dug into the rear, Taehyun threw out his bait by using a return item.

’Now. The soldiers I sent out here number nearly a hundred. Since countless soldiers died on their way to the dungeon, he must have roughly figured out that I don’t have many troops left. What will you do now, Cliff?’

It was truly an irresistible bait.

Taehyun’s lips curled into a smirk as he watched Cliff finally pull out an item.

"Of course you would. Humans are naturally faithful to their instincts."

"Did you think I’d let you go so easily!"

"Right, exactly."

The effect of the return circle was instantly neutralized.

[Cliff has used Item Block.]

Similar to Information Manipulation, it was a new raid-exclusive item added in this world.

For Cliff, it was likely his hidden trump card.

However...

[Item Nullification has been used.]

"Oops. What a shame. My hand slipped."

Taehyun was the one who had been aiming for this exact situation all along.

The fading return circle emitted light once again, and the party could only stare blankly at the escaping soldiers.

But the disaster didn’t end there.

While everyone was distracted by the countered items, the Gnolls had stealthily circled around to the rear.

The Gnolls barked excitedly.

"Good boy. Nice catch!"

The food sacks, which the invaders hadn’t had time to secure due to the unexpected ambush, were snatched right into the Gnolls’ paws.

Taehyun flashed a twisted smile as he watched the enemy’s final rations being teleported away alongside his soldiers.

"Checkmate."

It was the Demonic King’s declaration, signaling the beginning of their suffering.