Dungeon War Begins!

Why are the portals to the Zane Dungeon closed?!

The ancient city on the ground was crowded with adventurers, as well as many ordinary people. They had all gotten up early to stay inside as long as possible in order to collect more materials to earn money.

As a result, the dungeon was closed, and everyone was filled with doubt as the cold wind blew in the early morning. They felt frustrated, angry but had nowhere to vent their anger.

Some pessimists immediately began shouting that this was a sign that the Zane Dungeon was about to go berserk again.

But the panic-inducing rumors were nipped in the bud before they could spread, and a young man with radiant blond hair stood on the high platform.

"It's Leon," he said using amplification magic.

"Don't worry, this is normal. The dungeon always has those days."

This is nothing unusual for people with a broad knowledge base. Every year, the portals to a few dungeons close, sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for several months. After they reopen, they are able to accept adventurers as usual.

While reassuring the adventurers, Leon frowned and pondered other things.

Historically, there have been instances where dungeons were closed for months, only to reopen with drastically changed content, almost like a completely different dungeon. There have also been instances where dungeons were closed for years before reopening.

These situations have not occurred in nearly a century, leading to a lack of familiarity with them.

However, what if a similar situation occurs in the Zane Dungeon?

This wasn't him being overly pessimistic; rather, there had been far too many unusual events occurring in this underground city.

The first underground city to mutate in a century, and the only underground city to go berserk in recent years.

A dungeon that records the history of an unknown era, a dungeon that recreates legendary heroes.

The various accolades surrounding him have shrouded Sain in mystery.

People want to unravel its mystery, but the deeper they explore, the more they discover, making them wonder if the knowledge within is endless.

If the content of the Zane Dungeon changes after it reopens, should we be happy or worried?

Leon had many thoughts on his mind, but the most urgent task was to evacuate the crowd. More and more people were gathering here, and a stampede would be disastrous.

First, persuade the crowd to return to Bede City. As for when they can come back, that's up to fate.

Whether adventurers or ordinary people, those gathered here were all somewhat disheartened. They all depended on Sain for their livelihood, and who could bear being locked up for more than ten days?

Leon showed no outward reaction, but his eyes flickered as he looked at the portal, praying that Sion would reopen it as soon as possible.

Because--

"I feel uncomfortable if I don't go inside for a day," he muttered to himself.

However, they forgot that he was still using amplification magic.

Suddenly being stared at by everyone with strange looks, Leon couldn't help but give an awkward smile.

He thought of all sorts of things, but there was one thing he didn't think of.

The Zane Dungeon will reopen soon.

Bede City.

News of the closure of the Zane Dungeon quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Upon hearing the news, the people in the tavern who had just woken up from their hangovers immediately ordered a huge amount of beer and started gossiping enthusiastically.

From her seat at the very back, Si Telan wiped the food crumbs from the corner of her mouth and walked out of the tavern.

"Sigh, I was planning to go to the dungeon to relax," she sighed, "But I didn't expect it to be closed."

She wandered aimlessly through the streets. Even at three in the morning, Bede City was not quiet, since this was the time when the dungeon was open and many people were rushing to get in.

All cities built upon underground cities will eventually be assimilated by the "clock" of the underground cities, and this place is no exception.

As she walked, she stopped in front of a shop and softly read the words on the signboard.

"Ma Lei Da Magic Item Shop"

The name was very familiar, but Si Telan showed little emotion.

She had known about the store for a long time, but had never been inside.

She first heard about this shop from Leon, and at the time she was even fantasizing about meeting the kind brother who had helped her.

However, I heard that the store manager here is a young man with black hair and black eyes. He looks gentle, kind and amiable, and doesn't seem to have any bad intentions.

Moreover, he was thin and didn't look like a battle-hardened Warrior at all.

This isn't the Ma Lei Da she was thinking of; it's probably just a coincidence of names.

When will she meet that person again?

The prop shop door was open, and she glanced inside but didn't see anyone.

That's strange. I remember hearing from others that the store manager is in here almost all day.

Si Telan said to herself:

"Maybe something urgent happened."

In the Zane Dungeon, Gong Qiying did indeed encounter some "urgent matters".

Because today is the day to begin the war against the Calamity Nest Dungeon.

He had been waiting for this day for so long.

His pent-up Spirit Power was stirring restlessly; he had an urge to unleash an entire Farron Undead Legion to give the Dungeon Lord of this world a small shock from the Sunlight King of Cinder.

In the end, the frugality and diligence ingrained in his bones suppressed this thought.

The Calamity Nest Dungeon are converging and about to merge.

Once a battle breaks out between dungeons, it will create an independent space.

In this space, centered around the challenged dungeon, the challenger can pull a small portion of their own dungeon over and merge with it.

This small section is the challengers' base.

The defeat can be attributed to several factors, including the capture of a base, the extermination of monsters, the depletion of Spirit Power, and the death of the city lord. The same principle applies to the challenged party.

Both sides exhausted their imaginations to manipulate monsters on the battlefield, all in order to achieve victory.

Compared to Jia Nage, the lord of the Calamity Nest Dungeon who only has a small base, Gong Qiying can mobilize the area of Zane Dungeon that is connected to it.

When an enemy dungeon merges with one's own, a certain rule will divide the usable area of one's own dungeon according to the size of the enemy dungeon's base, which is generally two to three times the size of the enemy's area.

Thus, the bases for both sides were divided.

Since it was unknown where the enemy base would crash into, he didn't change the structure of the underground city much, except for putting up a lot of protective measures for the city lord's room.

His tactics were very simple, which can be summarized in three words: block the enemy's home.

The units in the Calamity Nest Dungeon are insects that grow stronger over time and through battles. To deal with these, you can't give them time to develop from the start; you have to block their base and start killing them.

Even tactics like blocking someone's doorstep require some finesse.

You can't send low-level monsters up, otherwise they'll still evolve even after being swallowed by the bugs. You have to choose C Rank or even B-level monsters, and preferably ones with wide-area damage skills, so that you don't easily let any bugs escape.

However, taking into account the Chimera Bug nature of consuming anything, Gong Qiying devised an even more insidious and lower-cost tactic.

The core of this tactic is the adventurer, or rather, the "fellow traveler".

He opened the "Synergies" module, but scrolled directly to the bottom. The ones at the back were all weaklings with extremely low affinity and poor combat strength.

What does Gong Qiying want these people for?

Just then, he saw a purple landmass floating in the void—no, it was landmass covered by a purple Fungal Carpet.

This is the base of the Calamity Nest Dungeon, and Jia Nage is inside!

Observing through binoculars, it was densely covered with insects, like a surging ocean.

And it drifted towards Farron Keep!

[The fusion of the Calamity Nest Dungeon is complete]

Even in the city lord's room, Gong Qiying could still feel the tremors from the impact.

From his perspective, Farron Keep bordered the base of the Calamity Nest Dungeon, but an invisible barrier separated the filthy Swamp and the purple Fungal Carpet, preventing them from encroaching on each other's territory.

The insects roared and tried to rush in, but were blocked by the barrier, which meant that it was not yet time to start the war.

Gong Qiying felt his location change, and when he came to his senses, he had been Creature Swap to the Farron Keep.

The Farron Undead Legion stood before him, frozen in place like robots without power.

"I see. I will be Creature Swap to the 'base' designated by the rules."

He smiled; it seemed that the previous reinforcement work on the city lord's room had been in vain.

You have received a call request from Jia Nage, the lord of the Calamity Nest Dungeon.

Gong Qiying raised an eyebrow, wondering what the giant worm on the other side wanted to do. Could it be trying to persuade him to surrender? Or was it the classic pre-battle trash talk?

Out of curiosity, he answered the call.

The Crystal Ball displayed a giant praying mantis, its ferocious body making it the perfect subject for a child's nightmare.

This guy uses words that are impossible to write down; they're extremely vulgar.

He can even swear!

"Clatter".

Gong Qiying tapped the Crystal Ball and decisively turned off the image.

"As expected of a dungeon that grew up alongside the demons, their insults are really vulgar."

He had actually thought the other party would have some profound insights, and even guessed that Jia Nage might offer him irresistible surrender terms to tempt him, but it turned out to be just trash talk, like a wrestling match before the fight.

This performance is just too pathetic.

You have received a call request from Jia Nage, the lord of the Calamity Nest Dungeon.

"Reject."

You received it.

"Reject."

Jia Nage relentlessly sent harassing messages, refusing to give up no matter how much I refused.

If he had grown up on Earth, he would probably have been a master of online bullying.

Inside the Calamity Nest Dungeon, Jia Nage was furiously poking at the City Lord Panel. Every time his call request was rejected, he felt a sense of powerlessness, like punching cotton.

"Coward!"

Jia Nage was enraged, its massive body trembling uncontrollably. The Dungeon Lord living in human territory was far too impolite!

Before they fight each other, they always use passion to fuel their emotions and hurl insults at each other. That's the rule; that's how the demon race does it.

"Vulgar, rude, human beings."

Jia Nage was trying to console itself with the self-deceptive mentality of Ah Q when suddenly—

You have received a call request from Godwyn, the Dungeon Lord.

"Have you come to terms with it?"

Jia Nage, with a look that said, "This kid finally got it," cleared his throat, composed himself, and clicked on the application.

He's going to become the king of trash talk!

[Trash, trash, useless, furious trash]

However, a piece of cardboard completely blocked the screen, with sarcastic lines written on it that he could understand.

Jia Nage was stunned.

Jia Nage is furious!

"You—"

The call has been closed.

I'm going to kill you!

"Whee."

Gong Qiying smiled contentedly. It was a pity that Jia Nage was not in his dungeon, otherwise he should have been able to receive the other party's Spirit Power.

He must be furious right now.

The phrase "Trash Fish Trash Fish" isn't particularly offensive, but what is truly offensive is Gong Qiying's act of hanging up the call before Jia Nage could even speak.

This behavior is generally referred to as a hit-and-run on the internet.

Clearly, this tactic, which is utterly weak on the internet, is still a bit ahead of its time to deal with the innocent natives of this other world. Gong Qiying noticed that the insects on the other side had become frenzied.

These insects are in their basic form. Apart from their large numbers, they have no advantages and their combat power is not high. They are just average and can only evolve by devouring other creatures.

Why did Jia Nage create so many basic forms of Chimera Bug? Is it planning to evolve by devouring the monsters of Sien?

How could we possibly let him succeed?

Compared to the imminent attack in the Calamity Nest Dungeon, Gong Qiying remained quiet.

Not even a single monster could be seen.

Is someone brewing up some Ultimate Skill? But it doesn't seem like it.

This calm and tranquil situation only made Jia Nage more perplexed.

"Victory will surely be mine."

He muttered to himself, guessing that the other side must have learned about the characteristics of the Chimera Bug, which was why they dared not send monsters to fight.

He looked toward the Fortress deep in the Swamp, concluding that Gong Qiying must be trying to use the buildings to wage a defensive battle against him.

"Madness."

Jia Nage's lips parted in a frightening smile.

"You thought I had no way to evolve? You were so wrong."

The battle is about to begin.

A notification from the dungeon appeared before the two city lords.

Gong Qiying sat on the Shrine, propping his face up with one hand, looking on with an expression of anticipation.

Jia Nage were sharpening their knives, laughing hysterically.

The Farron Keep was calm and still; not even a single Curse Frog could be seen.

The land of the Fungal Carpet was in a frenzy, with insects surging like waves.

[Battle begins!]

The instant it opened, countless streams of light suddenly landed on the territory of the Calamity Nest Dungeon, transforming into demons, or rather, [Synergies] belonging to the Calamity Nest Dungeon.

"Hmm?" Gong Qiying pulled the Crystal Ball closer to himself, feeling somewhat surprised.

He thought that the Allies were the ultimate weapon against the dungeon, but he didn't expect the other side to release it so quickly.

Could it be that he guessed wrong?

Suddenly, screams of agony erupted from the Fungal Carpet; the swarm was going berserk.

It's actually devouring those who share its will!?