POV: Godfrey
My vision swirls as the spell activates. I feel my body being ripped from where I stand as my sense of balance goes haywire. A sense of nausea hits me as I land on a soft surface. Forcing the vomit back down my throat, I quickly scan my surrounding.
What the... ‘Echolocation’ clearly showed me that there should’ve been a separate level around 100 metres under the entrance...
“Alex, are you sure you teleported us downwards?!”
“I’m sure did! I wouldn’t screw up something so elementary. There’s no chance this is an illusion spell either, the mana levels in the air are too stable.”
A lush forest envelops us in its greens and browns and with another quick survey, it would seem that all of my unit came through safely, but some weren’t as good at holding their stomachs. Dozens of fully trained knights were seen gripping on the sides of trees, vomiting out their lunch. It would certainly be a spectacle to be seen if it was in a different situation, but now was not the time.
“We’re setting camp here. Pitch up and do what’s necessary to build camp.” Despite being worn out, at that order, the knights started to collect the sticks and large leafs necessary for primitive housing.
“Godfrey, I really don’t think that this is a good idea! We really need to move on and survey our current situation!”
The knights paused. Even if it was an order directly from their captain, they couldn't just ignore the words from their vice captain.
“Alex… Look around, do you think that our soldiers are able to do that?”
Alex skims his vision around the environment, to see 300 of our knights, sweating like pigs. Their panting could be heard from miles away and blood now stained their once pristine armour. Having had to have run for 2 weeks straight from a dragon no less, any normal human would’ve broken down days ago. With an indescribable expression on his face, Alex turned around.
“I guess that’s what we’re doing then…”
The knights got back to building camp, as Alex and I went around surveying the area for potential hostile monsters.
“Alex are there any sign of life around us?”
“That's what's so confusing. In this sort of dense forest, there’s bound to be some sort of life, but I can’t sense anything, not even tiny bugs. It’s almost as if the whole thing just came into existence… But this sort of thing proves that we’re in the dungeon, there's definitely no place like this on the surface.”
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“That kind of stuff only comes from legends, who’s ever heard of a dungeon this big forming so pure that monsters don’t even form.”
As the church explained it, dungeons came from a slow buildup of mana deep under the surface of the planet that grew and grew in density, until the whole thing explodes, letting out an extraordinary amount of pure mana. This then forms into its physical form. Monsters are explained as shards broken off from the forming of the dungeon that rejoins with the dungeon when killed.
Smaller scale dungeons have been seen forming without spawning any monsters, but that only occurred because of how the little amount of mana involved was able to remain 100% efficient, not breaking off into shards when forming. The larger the dungeon, the more mana that it required, and with that increased required mana came a lower mana efficiency rate. For a dungeon that spans multiple levels, each the size of a regular dungeon, to be able to reach 100% efficiency was unthinkable, let alone unheard of.
“Let’s move back, they should’ve finished setting camp by now…”
Without noticing, 20 minutes had past whilst I was in deep thought and the time had come to move back towards the camp. We arrived in less than half a minute to the sight of our primitive camps. Having left our camping supply back with the horses, the knights were forced to create tents with what was around us. Sticks were set up against each other with a blanket large leaves entwined with each other placed on top for a basic tent with soft leaves and foliage put under for cushioning. Having done their work, the knights had taken off their heavy armour and sat in the shade of their shoddily made tents.
Clapping loudly, I grab the attention of the knights.
“Men… I have an apology to make-”
“Godfrey that apology can wait! There’s a large life form coming towards us from the west. Judging by its size and speed, I’m certain it’s the dragon! He somehow found his way towards us!”
“Men put your armour back on and get ready for battle.”
The knights scrambled to their feets and grabbed onto their equipment. With their sweaty hands however, they lost their grip on the metal plating, taking them multiple times longer than they usually would have.
With my men like this, we’re not gonna be able to run, this is our last stand.
I beckon one of the youngest soldiers towards me. “I want you to take the prince and get out of here, we’ll keep the dragon here for as long as possible.”
A confused expression filled his face, a defiant expression replacing it as quickly as it came, when he realized what was being asked of him. “With all due respect sir, even though I’m younger than the rest of them I can fight just as well! Please let me fight with you!”
My face softens up and my lips turn themselves into a gentle smile. “I’m entrusting this last order to you precisely because you're just as good and because you’re young, I need you to serve our lord for longer than us old farts can.”
A complicated expression fills the young knight’s face as he nods and runs off towards the prince. Grabbing the bundle of rags, he sprints into the safety of the trees.
“This is not our final battleground men! We will fight and we may be slaughtered but we shall not die! Our bodies may be ruptured apart by the jaws of the beast but we will not die! Our arms may be torn off, our legs broken and our heads bitten off, but we will not die! For we will live forever in the progress of our country!”
A roar more fierce than a beast's, rings through the air as all 300 knights readied their hearts for combat.
A slight whistle was heard in response to this.
“Using ‘Iron heart’ like that really had a devastating effect. They should be able to fight without any fear now.” What was said was drowned out by the roaring of the crowd, but it reached my well trained ears.
“If I could lighten the heavy load on these men, even by a little bit, I would give up my life.” I said in a simple reply.
“Ready your weapons!”