第２０６掘：本職 (Part1)
**Dungeon 206: Professional Work**
Side: Yuki
Good grief, what a mess!
To think Seraria’s labor and a defensive battle would happen at the same time!
Since there hasn’t been any word from her, she must have been trying to spare us from unnecessary worry. I really have to thank Milly for that.
"So, Yuki-san, what are you going to do? It’s not that we can’t defeat 120,000 enemies on our own, but..."
"It would take too much time. ...Should we just wipe them all out? That would be easy."
"Kaya, don't say such scary things! And besides, that’s a bad idea for all sorts of reasons!"
As Kaya said, it would be simple to just annihilate them. But as Tori warned, if we did that, the magical energy would flood back into the mana-depleted land all at once, potentially causing unpredictable disasters. We also need information on the Magic Sword Users. Furthermore, there’s no telling how the Holy Kingdom of Enaria would react to reports of a total massacre. If they retaliated with a massive army, it would lead to a final showdown with Zilba, and if they were cowed into submission, Zilba might gain momentum and start attacking, which would only drag us into more trouble.
"Yuki-san, what do you intend to do? If we fight as we are, our true strength as a mercenary group will inevitably be exposed. Even if we weren't just repelling them in coordination with other armies like in the defensive battle, if we repel, annihilate, or capture them with fewer than 50 people, our 'normal'—or rather, the overwhelming firepower of Weed, modeled after Earth—will be revealed. There is a high probability that this would drastically change the situation in this New Continent. That would be a problem, wouldn't it?"
Shera had been thinking about it too; she was concerned about the outcome of this battle. She was right. If we used our modern arsenal—which is essentially "over-technology" in this world—to wipe out or force a retreat of 120,000 soldiers, it’s certain that not only Zilba and Enaria, but every faction on the New Continent would start investigating us. We would likely end up marked by every nation, leaving us unable to move freely. In fact, we’d end up in a situation where we’d have to deal with every country, just like we do in Weed. That would defeat the purpose of being mercenaries.
Well, perhaps a mercenary group would welcome such a rise to fame, but our goal is to investigate the cause of the mana depletion on the New Continent. As long as we don't know the source, we shouldn't take actions that restrict our mobility. If a specific country were intentionally causing it, such self-promotion might be viable, but if the cause is something else, dealing with every nation is a waste of time.
"Um, Onii-chan, I don't really get it, but I want to go to Seraria-oneechan quickly."
"I also want to go to Seraria-onesama quickly!"
The two little ones seemed to be thinking less about the strategy and more about wanting to be there for Seraria’s birth, just like me. Seeing them worry about family like that was heartwarming.
"Yuki, it's fine to be warmed by them, but... what are you really going to do? Whether we use modern weapons or magic bombardment backed by our high stats, the result won't change much."
Labyris’s words snapped me out of my soft mood. I can't afford to dawdle; if I don't finish this quickly, I’ll be late to see Seraria and my child.
"You're right. As Tori, Shera, and Labyris said, I want to avoid brute-forcing this for the sake of future developments. So..."
I reached into my Item Box and pulled *that* out.
"Eh... wait a minute, Yuki-san. That is..."
Ria, standing next to me, looked genuinely surprised as she stared at what I was holding.
"Are you planning on taking out a Dungeon Core in a place like this?"
Jessica finally named the item I was holding. Yes, it was a Dungeon Core. Which meant...
"I’ve already told Luna to stop the mana circulation in the dungeon. While I’m a bit worried about the mana diffusion caused by acquiring the land through DP, unlike the demi-human village, this is just a clean, flat grassland. It’s easy to observe. Zargis and the research team have been saying they wanted more observation sites anyway."
"Um, even so, that won't stop 120,000 enemies, and I don't think they'll just walk into a dungeon..."
Riel replied, looking uncomfortable.
"You're right, Riel. An army marching to attack a city wouldn't just walk into a dungeon. But what if the dungeon was the only route available?"
As I said that, everyone caught on. Jessica pressed her temples and spoke.
"You intend to perform terrain modification all the way to the surface... You'll surround the 120,000 enemies with walls or trap them in a pit they can't climb out of, and then place the dungeon entrance there."
"Exactly. We just need to corner them into a situation where entering the dungeon is their only option."
"But a dungeon that can handle 120,000 people... Oh, is it that one everyone was working on?"
Riel found the answer herself. Of course, we had already considered using dungeons as a strategy to protect Weed. We were just repurposing it.
"Ah, I remember you mentioning that. Jessica and I participated—well, we weren't there when Weed was first built, but was that the dungeon you all designed for dealing with large armies?"
"I had completely forgotten about it until now."
"There’s no one trying to pick a fight with Weed over there, so it was just a design we kept on file."
Ria hadn't been involved in the construction, but she knew the story. Kaya and Tori seemed to have remembered it thanks to Riel’s comment.
"So, will that be able to handle an army of 120,000, allow for the observation you want, and let us evaluate their combat strength? And how do you intend to report this to the Zilba side?"
Jessica asked sharply, checking for any flaws.
"That won't be a problem. It’s a 'spec-breaking' dungeon designed to handle Weed being attacked by multiple nations at once. Let me put it this way: it could handle Roschur, Gartz, Litea, and the Demon King’s country all at the same time. Naturally, surveillance is easy, and we can deploy countless monsters from summoning circles, dispatch our own powerful monster army, and utilize numerous traps."
When Labyris said that, Jessica’s face went visibly pale. Well, it was a declaration that we could handle anything. And that was against four major powers equal to or greater than the Zilba Empire.
"Of course, the Zilba side, the Enaria side, and the other countries watching this battle will likely see the appearance of the dungeon as a mere natural disaster. In this New Continent, where dungeons are said to be nothing more than ruins, they won't suspect a thing. They might realize it’s our doing on the continent where Weed is, but they’ll have no clue about this one."
Labyris read my thoughts from the hand I was holding and said with a smile.