"About thirty goblins down, and none escaped," Bor reported on their initial push.
No injuries so far, but they've only entered the cave system.
"Set up a perimeter. Nobody passes this point," Konrad barked in response, selecting a platoon's worth of men. "Two dozen stay at this entrance of the chamber. This'll be our fallback line."
That point was impossible to flank.
Like a checkpoint before delving deeper or reaching the surface.
Since the last time they've been here, the beasts have dug new passages and collapsed old ones.
They had to adjust their plans to accommodate them, but the strategy stayed the same.
"Scout ahead, and the main force will follow," Konrad gave the order. "Guards remaining—keep your eyes open, and anyone in trouble—you'll retreat here. Don't let goblins overwhelm you."
He might've set his sights on a fake fight with a dragon, but couldn't underestimate these beasts.
The corpses didn't disappear.
They were real, natural-born and cunning monsters, not the cheap dungeon copies. Those swarmed their enemies without care for their safety or a single thought.
But these? They were smart, and he used up his ace in his sleeve already.
Well, there was always the nuclear option.
Either he or Maple could've burned the whole mine down, but his men needed the practice.
'So, guess I'll make myself comfortable for now,' the dragon yawned via telepathy. 'I'm in the last chamber on the rightmost path. It'll take a while for you to reach it like that.'
Konrad let out a sigh before focusing his thoughts on the response.
'I'd assume our little incursion's over once I start fighting you, so let's leave that for last,' he argued. 'I do want this mine up and running after this, so—what about our future battlefield?'
'This chamber seems depleted, could collapse it,' Maple claimed. 'Walls scraped bare and all.'
While he could hear her thoughts, Konrad couldn't see with her eyes.
But he had to trust her on that assessment, focusing on the next goblin ambush instead.
"A dozen from the left," the veteran knight announced, his advance party already engaged.
If they had some archers with them, the fight would've been over before it even started. But they tried to handle things as they would during the tournament, and those rules were dumb.
"Kade, if you're there, try to flank them. The rest of you, forward!" Konrad yelled, sword drawn.
The champions took up the front rows.
Their armor was almost impenetrable against the goblin projectiles. The tribesmen who weren't in the scouting squads advanced behind them with spears.
The Blood Moons protected the flanks, trying to envelop the monsters.
Welf's light adamantite armor kept them safe but still mobile. They moved through new side tunnels—though Konrad didn't trust the goblin's work to hold.
"Retreat at the first signs of a collapse," he warned them. "They can't escape, so take your time."
Things went much smoother now that they brought adequate numbers.
Well, back then, they had five hundred tribesmen waiting outside, but he didn't want to risk them. Not with the power play between him and his twin brother ongoing.
Now, it was his personal guard, his commands, and his responsibility.
They came armed and prepared, and the goblins were soon on the back foot.
"It's easier than expected," Bor claimed, cleaning his blade as he spat on the floor. "Should we split our forces and clear two chambers at once? We could catch 'em off-guard like that."
"No," Konrad rejected outright. "They still have numbers, even greater than we'd thought."
At least if he could believe Maple's estimate.
"Let's take things slow and play it safe. I'd rather keep at it all day than lose a single soldier."
The tribesman didn't argue, nodding along.
"Aye, you're the boss." Then, with a wink, he added, "Wouldn't want to steal your show, either."
Whatever Welf told him about the upcoming fake battle with Maple, he seemed to be looking forward to it. As long as he kept his mouth shut, Konrad was fine with that, but—
Could he trust his men?
He had to. Loyalty was the one thing he valued the most. But how could he measure it?
And even if loyal, they could've still been dumb enough to let things slip and cause him trouble.
Like a certain dragon whose idiotic actions got him in this place to begin with.
'Ouch, I said I'm sorry,' Maple moaned into his thoughts.
For some reason, his mental block was ineffective inside the caves. He could still feel the mana from the seal resonate, weeks after he broke it. But, well, they had to stay in contact anyway.
Except—she'd abuse this connection in the most annoying ways.
'The offer still stands,' the dragon murmured. 'I'll collapse the only entry, and you could do whatever you want with me, as an apology. Make me yours, humiliate me—anything.'
'It's not a punishment when you're into it, you dirty leaf,' Konrad tried his best to scold her.
It wasn't that easy when he was already hard, despite his best efforts.
He had to avoid eye contact with Lily, too, who seemed bored with nobody to heal so far.
"Wouldn't mind if it were a threesome," she whispered, having read the conversation from his head. "And you bet I'd give her a punishment she wouldn't like. But I should stay with yer men."
Konrad felt nothing but gratitude—and shame, his face turning all red again.
"Here they come," Bor's warning brought him back to the present and more pressing matters.
"Oh, that's a big one," the demoness smirked, too, her chin pointing towards a hidden passage.
Not that far behind them, five dozen goblins poured into the chamber.
They screamed, trying to intimidate them by throwing stones at their rearguard.
It didn't do much, but the men-at-arms finally suffered their first light injuries.
"Good thing I said to stick together," Konrad gritted out, fighting the urge to use his magic and retaliate. "Regroup and push them back," he yelled instead. "There might be more coming."
His commanders were right about the side passages.
They couldn't split into enough groups to cover them all. He couldn't even see this one before it was too late. And, well, he was also distracted.
Maple's sigh echoed so loud in his head that his ears began to ring.
'It's not fair,' the dragon complained like a spoiled teenager. 'You guys can have all the fun fighting over there, while I'm here, bored to death and waiting—'
Why did her thoughts feel louder than his own?
"Argh," Konrad groaned as his blade disappeared in a goblin's chest. "Sometimes I wish I could kill her for real. The blocking spell can't keep her out of my head anymore."
"Too many distractions," Lily chuckled behind him.
She seemed unfazed by the swarming monsters, trusting him to hold them back.
"Cosmic and otherwise," her voice stayed casual, too, as she continued. "Annoying, but it's the best environment for you to practice. And hey, if you're serious—I can kill her any time."
She winked, though Konrad almost missed it, fighting for his life in a chaotic melee.
Even that didn't let him miss Maple's reaction, though.
'Fine, I'll be quiet, I promise,' she pleaded, but of course, that was a big fat lie.