It had been 48 hours since the two units had entered the dungeon.
Having reached the fifth level, Roland and his team passed the magic circle of return and headed directly to the sixth level.
However, Arik''s troops were soon in pursuit.
Roland''s unit had been protecting the front, but Arik''s unit was always right behind them and dived through the magic circle.
(d*mn. (Is this the pressure of the lead unit?)
Monica frowned at the pressure that was greater than she had imagined.
Her nerves were slowly being worn down, heavier and longer than when Sebasta had been chasing her.
Such was the feeling.
Arik''s troops, they aren''t worn out at all."
Euphine came up to Roland and whispered in his ear.
We''re in the lead," she said. That''s because we''re in the lead, and Arik''s group, which is coming in later, will encounter fewer monsters.
But even so, I don''t see any wear and tear on your weaponry.
That''s how skillful Arik''s troops are.
(Even so, it''s tough to be chased like this. I''d like to take a break somewhere.)
Yuffine couldn''t help but feel weak in her heart.
Arik''s unit was also growing impatient and frustrated.
Tch. They don''t seem to be handing over the top leadership.
Arik''s second-in-command spilled.
We''re running as fast as we can!
Relax. We''ve only just finished the fifth level."
Alik said in a soothing tone.
From the sixth level, there are some troublesome monsters. From the sixth level, we can no longer move at high speed by simple force alone.
(Then there would be a difference in terms of troop operations.)
On the sixth level, there were two paths to the sanctuary. Both were single paths of equal length.
(A single road? If so, the advantage of "Hawkeye" would disappear.)
Roland makes this judgment after hearing the report from Monica.
Roland. There is a fork in the road. Which way do you want to go?"
The road split into two, one to the right and the other to the left.
The road divided into right and left. Let''s go left here.
Roland and the others run into the left road.
Arik and the others chose the right road.
They chose a different path than we did, didn''t they?
Euphine gives Roland an earful.
They''re going to try to set us up on this level."
(That''s the quintessential Arik, isn''t it? He knows where the game is played.)
As they were advancing through the dungeon, Monica''s "Hawkeye" caught sight of an enemy shadow.
It is the shadow of the enemy. Thirty skeletons (skeleton lances) with spears and five vampires!
(From here on out, I''m going to need some support magic to avoid attrition.)
Shakuma. Did you hear that?"
Roland asked Shakuma beside him.
''Yes, sir. Attack mages forward!"
Shakuma gave his instructions before Roland could tell him what to do.
Currently, Roland and his group were moving in two columns that could move fast along the dungeon path. The warrior (Warrior) at the front of the line pulled back, and the attacking mage in the back came out to the front of the line.
(Okay. Shakuma''s guy. You know what I''m talking about. Skeletons are weak against offensive magic! (Normally, the attacking mage is supposed to stay in the back, but in the case of skeletons, the attacking mage is in the front.)
A skeleton lance waited at the end of the road, spear at the ready.
They were neatly formed in a 15-row flanking formation.
The archers were at the rear. Please deal with the vampires. Let''s go! Attack Granted!"
Shakuma chants, and the attacking mages are enveloped in red light.
"Take that, ''fire magic''!"
Blast magic!
Monica also released "Skewer.
The attack magic, with more destructive power than usual, blew away the skeleton lances in the center five rows.
The skeletons that were hit by the attack magic were scattered into four pieces in the air and disintegrated.
Roland and the others run through the hole in the formation and pass the Skeleton Lance troops as they are.
The Skeleton Lances rushed to make up the hole in the formation, but their movements were too slow.
Skeleton Lance was strong in hand-to-hand combat, but his agility was low.
Lelio and the other archers responded to the flying vampires (vampires are flying units).
(Since a while ago, Monica has been taking out the enemy by herself. We should at least do the anti-aircraft shooting ourselves.)
Lelio fired an arrow and shot down one of the attacking vampires.
It is the shadow of the enemy again. This time, 20 life-size miniature golems!
Shakuma!
Yes, sir. This time, shield squad, please step forward!"
At the end of the road, ten rows of miniature golems blocked the way.
As soon as the mini-golems saw Roland and the others, they charged straight at them in one fluid motion.
The mini golem could be defeated by destroying its head core, but once it started moving, it had the property of continuing to move even if its core was destroyed.
Therefore, even if the attacking mage defeated it, there was a risk that the two would end up fighting each other.
I''m going to go. "Give me defense!"
The shield team is enveloped in blue light.
It catches the mini golem''s rush and makes it move away.
（Good. I think we can pass this point unscathed.)
That''s brilliant, Shakuma.
Yes, sir." I feel good.
Shakuma said as he drank a potion that restored his magical powers.
Roland takes a look at Shakuma''s status appraisal.
Magic: 90-100
(No disturbance in status. He does not have the habit of being distraught once the battle starts. (You''ve really grown up.)
I''m going to go to the office and see what I can do. Keep it up, will you?"
Yes, sir. I''m on it."
Several times after that, we encountered a mixed force of ghouls, goblins, orcs, zombie archers, skeleton lances, and mini-golems, but with Shakuma''s command and support magic, we broke through with minimal wear and tear and no slowdown in our marching speed.
(So far, thanks to Shakuma''s support magic, they have been able to advance almost without stopping. With this, no matter how many of Arik''s troops they are, they shouldn''t be able to get ahead of us ......, right?)
Yufineh told herself as she continued through the dungeon.
After a while, Roland and his team came to a high point with a panoramic view of the surroundings.
A little lower down, they saw another path through the dungeon.
There, they saw Arik''s group marching.
"That''s the ...... Arik Squadron!"
Monica said in astonishment.
No way. They''re lining up.
Euphine, too, looked shocked.
Why? We''ve been running at full speed without slowing down to this point. ......"
There should be no difference in marching speed between ours and Arik''s. Yet Arik''s army is going faster than ours. Why?"
Shakuma, too, seemed unconvinced.
（At last! I guess I''m really coming into my own.)
Roland looks sideways at Arik.
''Everyone''s still good with the potions, right? I''ll just plow through like this."
Arik, too, recognized Roland and the others.
(Finally, we''re in line, huh? (We''re finally lined up. We''re so close to overtaking them.)
The two roads eventually turned off in different directions, and each other''s units were out of sight again.
Roland and his team had entered the mine.
Here, ghost hats blocked the way of the adventurers.
The ghost hat did not attack the body directly, but it did attack the soul.
Like normal physical strength, they could recover, but their armor could not prevent their attacks, nor could they evade them, as they appeared out of nowhere and attacked.
In other words, recovery magic was absolutely necessary.
So that''s where I come in."
Yuffine said, clutching her new wand.
As soon as you take damage," she said, "raise your hands and yell out. Don''t hesitate. Call Yuffine for help.
Immediately one of the warriors (Warrior) screams out.
''Hi, ughhhh. Help me.
Single recovery magic!
As Yuffine points her wand, a magic circle moves under the Warrior''s feet.
He quickly bleeds and recovers.
The Ghost Hut is fed attack magic to ward off the Ghost Hut (Ghost types cannot be defeated by swords or bows, only magic works).
But then someone screams again.
''This time it''s this way! Recover."
Help me, too."
Soon there were screams everywhere.
Everyone! Form a circle formation around Yuffine!"
Wide Area Recovery Magic!"
When Yuffine cast the spell, 30 magic circles spread out in a circle with Yuffine at the center.
In other words, they spread out without bias under the feet of the adventurers.
(I see. (I see. With this wand, it is possible to fix the place where the magic circle first appears.)
Yuffine sees the recovery magic circle and realizes the effectiveness of the new wand.
(Indeed, with this, if a circular formation is made by a troop, the entire troop can be restored with only minor adjustments. (Indeed, with this, if the troops form a circular formation, they can heal the entire troop with just a minor adjustment.)
The group proceeded through the ghost nest under the blessing of Yuffine''s recovery magic.
Suddenly, Marina slumped to the ground.
Marina! What''s wrong?"
Roland ran up to Marina.
''Whew! My feet hurt. I can''t walk in this dark and gloomy place anymore.
You''re an adventurer! Don''t be so pouty."
As usual, Yuffine poked Marina with her cane.
Marina, however, was cowering in place and would not move.
I''m so tired. I''ve been giving Monica''s ''skewer'' for a long time. I''m at my limit. Let''s take a break.
I don''t have time for this. You saw Arik''s unit catching up to us, didn''t you? If we don''t do something, they will overtake us. We have to speed up!
I don''t understand why you would say that.
I had no choice. I''ll carry you on my back. (I haven''t done anything but check your status since a while ago.
What?" Captain. You''ll carry me? Yay!
Marina takes advantage of this and jumps on Roland''s back.
Yuffine stares at her bitterly.
（d*mn. He''s a rookie, but he''s having so much fun. And he''s getting a ride from the captain. (I''ll give him a good squeeze after ......)
Roland checked Marina''s status.
(She doesn''t seem to be running out of energy. She was just spoiled.)
Roland was relieved for now.
Next, he shifted his gaze to Rick and Lelio.
(Marina is involved in the operation of "Skewer," so it''s okay, but Rick still has no kills, and Lelio has only one vampire baby ......?)
Roland also checks the status of Rick and Lelio.
He found a slight disturbance in their status.
(All three are following along well, considering that this is their first time exploring the dungeon. (All three of them are following along well, considering it is their first time to explore a dungeon. (Compared to the members who have already conquered the dungeon, they are still mentally unstable.)
Roland analyzed the three men''s sluggishness as such.
Rick was impatient as he marched.
（d*mn, I haven''t killed a single monster yet. Marina is operating "Skewer" and Lelio has killed one vampire. It''s time for me to show some results. It''s time for me to show some results, or I''ll be in the wrong place with my commander.)
Exit!
One of the members of the team shouted.
Soon the blue sky came into Roland''s view as well.
Having thus passed through the tunnels and successfully cleared the ghost''s nest, Roland and his team were once again in an open area.
Then they saw another road and Arik''s team below them again.
Arik and his group were far ahead of Roland and his group.
They''ve passed us?
Monica rolls her eyes in surprise.
She said, "Oh no. ....... We''re going as fast as we can, too. ...... Why?
Yuffine, too, muttered with an unaccountable look on her face.
In this hierarchy, Arik and the others reach the transfer magic circle before us.
In the seventh level, Roland and his team moved from the position of being chased to that of being pursued for the first time.
However, thanks to this, they were able to watch Arik''s fighting style carefully.
While Roland and his men were changing their formation in detail depending on the type of monster and the type of dungeon, Arik and his men were always advancing in the same formation.
Arik was always in the lead, and if a skeleton or ghoul came, Arik would unleash his attack magic, and if a mini-golem came, Arik would use his support magic to get through.
If a ghost came, Arik would cover the tail end of the troop with recovery magic.
In this way, they were able to advance much faster than Roland and the others because they avoided the time loss of changing ranks.
I can''t believe it. He''s doing everything by himself, from attacking to supporting and recovering?
Yuffine said in amazement.
Gunnu. So this is the power of Alik, the all-powerful mage. ......
Shakuma growled.
''Mr. Roland, what do we do ......?''
Monica asks with a tearful look on her face.
Everyone needs to settle down. We still have a long way to go. Even Alik must be feeling the pressure of leading. And even Alik will eventually exhaust his magical power if he continues to be in charge of all the magic all by himself. The chance will surely come."
As Arik''s troops were advancing through the dungeon, they heard a ground shaking that shook the earth.
This earth-shaking ...... no way!"
Arik''s second-in-command said in surprise.
Looking in the direction of the earth tremor, he saw five tower golems waiting for Roland and the others on their way.
We haven''t even reached the tenth level, and suddenly there are tower golems!
(Chance!)
While his men panicked, Arik gloated.
(Even Roland''s troops would have no choice but to break formation and deploy in front of the tower golem. ) If this were to happen, they would have to take their time and fight slowly, losing more and more time. If we do well, we can pull them apart at once here.)
Don''t panic, everyone. Rather, this is an opportunity. Take this opportunity to draw them away from you. ......"
Captain Arik ...... that, Roland''s troops ......
What?
Roland and his men were in their normal marching formation, two columns abreast, and were ramming into the tower golem.
(Nonsense. (This is ridiculous. To charge into a golem without deploying your troops is suicide. Roland''s guy, he''s crazy, isn''t he?)
A lone armor-clad Warrior jumped out of Roland''s unit.
It was Rick.
Rick put his hands on the tower golem''s torso and not only stopped it, but pushed it back.
Ohhhhhhhh!"
The tower golem tried to grab Rick with its large palms, but its fingers slipped and it could not grab Rick.
(I see. So this is the effect of the oil from the "Armored Lizard.")
Rick kept pushing and pushing.
Finally, the tower golem stumbled to its feet and fell.
The fall of one of the tower golems left a gap in the enemy line.
Roland and his team quickly moved through the gap and passed the tower golem, overtaking Arik and his team again to take the lead.
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