Dungeon Maker

Chapter 144: Homecoming (1)

The southern and northern parts of the demon world were hugely different, like night and day. Unlike the southern area called an abandoned land, the northern part always played an important role in the history of demons.

First, the land there was fertile. Even without special magical measures, they could do farming without any problem.

There were rich underground resources, and transportation of goods on sea routes was brisk thanks to the three rivers that led to the deep sea, one of the three major seas of the demon world.

However, it wasn’t because of this alone that the northern part was called “the blessed land”. That was not the most important reason.

There was a powerful flow of mana in the north. Since it was more powerful than any other area of ​​the demon world, some even called it the “great flow.”

Perhaps, thanks to the powerful flow of mana, those in the north were often superior to those in other regions within the same race. It was because some were born with more mana than others.

Those in the north were strong. They lived longer, and even their reproduction rate was faster than that of those in other areas.

And there was one family that had dominated the northern part for a long time.

That family was very special. Even in the long history of the demon world, there was no other family that could pair with that family.

Originally, the Seven Deadly Sins couldn’t be inherited from generation to generation.

Regardless of the current kings but also the previous ones, it was common that the house of the Seven Deadly Sins changed with the emergence of a new king.

But this family was an exception.

Since the Seven Deadly Sins emerged, this family had never lost the title as the Sin of Pride until now. The master of this house always reigned in the north as the King of Pride of the day. Even before the great King of Greed emerged thousands of years ago, his ancestors were the King of Pride. Even now, more than a thousand years later, they maintained that privilege.

The dungeon of the King of Pride was the oldest dungeon in the demon world. The weight of the accumulated years surpassed the Labyrinth of Greed. All those born and raised in the north grew up, watching the dungeon of the King of Pride.

The King of Pride was someone who reigned over the people. The first King of Pride thought that looking down on the earth from the sky befitted him. Therefore, his dungeon was not built underground. Built on the ground, the dungeon stretched toward the sky.

The tower of Pride was the tallest skyscraper in the demon world.

At that time, the King of Pride was on the top floor of the skyscraper. In his place while facing the sky, he thought about the worldly affairs.

He was young. Over a hundred years had passed since he took over as the king, but since he was born with such a powerful mana, he had no sign of aging.

He was tall and his eyes were confident. He had gray hair and a strong build, with three eyes on his forehead.

Wearing a pitch-black cloak adorned with black bird feathers, he grinned on the throne made of dozens of wings. He looked at the pieces on the chessboard again.

The King of Fury was demonstrating force beyond the sea. But he didn’t care. The King of Fury was the weakest of the six kings, contrary to popular rumors. That ridiculous peace-seeker wouldn’t dare cross the sea.

Like it or not, the King of Violence was a dragon. He was the guardian of the treasure.

He usually crouched in his own nest, and he didn’t bother to provoke a war first.

The rest of the kings were like him. So, the King of Pride was convinced they wouldn’t make the provocations.

“It was too long.”

A false peace under the name of balance was no longer needed. Now, he needed destruction for a new beginning.

The King of Pride made up his mind. He exercised psychokinesis to move the pieces of the chessboard.

It wasn’t just the pieces that moved at that moment. The troops in the north crossed the border.

He started a war.

***

Yong-ho’s battle with Embrio was over. But it didn’t mean the war was over.

There were lots of things Yong-ho had to take care of everywhere.

The immediate problem was how to handle the remnants of Embrio’s army.

Almost all those soldiers under Embrio’s command survived and left the battlefield.

The troops of the House of Mammon didn’t even dare to chase them.

Although they won, the damage was too great. Oros was killed, and more than two-thirds of the troops of the Free City, who followed Oros, were also killed with only two hundred surviving.

Most of the Free City soldiers complained of extreme stress and fatigue. Therefore, it was impossible to have them pursue their enemies.

Embrio’s soldiers dispersed in all directions. Most of them fled to the west, but there were quite a few who ran away deep into the south. Of course, nobody thought they would capture the dungeon of the House of Mammon or occupy the Free City.

However, their existence itself was a headache for the south. It was necessary to subdue them sooner or later by defeating them or absorbing them into the south.

Even Lotus, the Demon King of Wild Animals, who accompanied Embrio on this battle, also survived and escaped.

It was okay if he ran to the west or north, but if he penetrated into the south, it was a different issue. Lotus was the master of a house with power. He was far from an ordinary remnant.

The northern and eastern regions were also troublesome.

In the north, there were several house masters who had surrendered to Embrio.

Since they had been waiting in the north to stop the provocations by the east, it was difficult to judge how they would act after Embrio’s defeat.

Currently, the biggest source of trouble was those in the east.

They initially tried to fish in troubled water while Embrio was fighting with the House of Mammon. Now that Embrio was gone, it would be nothing strange if they attacked the south instead of the north. Of course, it was more likely that they would march into the ownerless north instead of attacking the south.

This was the bigger problem in a sense.

The immediate problems were more annoying and challenging.

For example, problems such as the reorganization of the House of Randolt, collection of the Bone Dragon’s bones, the return to the House of Mammon, calming down the popular uneasiness in the Free City, and the restoration of dungeon spirits.

Out of these headaches, the last one made it even more difficult for Yong-ho to handle things efficiently. Basically, he was short-handed for lots of work.

Half a day passed after the battle with Embrio was over.

Yong-ho was perching on the bed of the Demon King’s room in the deepest part of the House of Randolt. His outside wounds were healed thanks to another evolution through furthering physical strength, but that was it. His whole body ached.

But he couldn’t fall asleep easily. It wasn’t just “cosmetic problems” that the House of Mammon faced today.

What was the demon that Embrio defeated at the last minute?

What did Embrio’s will mean?

Yong-ho didn’t take Embrio’s essence and that of the demon that surged from the ground, for they were totally destroyed. It seemed to be the effect of the magic that Embrio activated for the last time.

Beware of the six kings.

Watch out for the King of Gluttony.

Tigrius, the least injured among the dungeon spirits, couldn’t give counsel to Yong-ho because he was so busy with taking care of the aftermath of the battle. Ophelia, who usually served as an advisor to Yong-ho whenever problems like this happened, was also a patient now.

Yong-ho gave up asking for their advice. It seemed that the best policy, for now, was to take a rest. It was foolish to just worry because there were so many problems.

‘Well, I took care of the bigger problems anyway.’

Actually, he was done with moving the wounded soldiers into the dungeon of the House of Randolt. Since most of the spaces of the house were fortified, most of the wounded soldiers had to lie down in the aisles or gathering places, but it was inevitable.

‘Sure, that’s the way I should do right now.’

Letting out a long breath, he turned his gaze to the side. He was faced with something he had to solve now.

Catalina was sitting at the end of the bed quietly. Her long ears and tails were drooping on the floor. Even after the battle, she worked tirelessly until now. She was exhausted because she shared all her mana with Yong-ho.

However, she might have another reason for letting her ears droop like that.

He gulped before he knew it. The sound of him gulping was heard unusually loud. Yong-ho took a deep breath again.

Even though he did so several times, he couldn’t calm down his pounding heart. Rather, his heart was beating more rapidly now. So, he said, pretending to be calm as much as possible, “Catalina.”

“Uh, uh, yeah! Master!” she said, flinching a little bit. But she was looking down at the floor.

He clenched his teeth, which was really bad for his heart. He felt like his face was blushing.

But he had to speak. So, he opened his mouth again, though stutteringly.

“You know... I mean what you said to me during the battle.”

Catalina slowly turned her head and looked at him.