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“Any abnormalities in your Shield?”

“No issues here.”

“All right, cool.”

Brooklyn Kantjelucia and Master Babenberg flew through the air, covered by their respective Shields, heading south towards the Royal Capital. Though they maintained some distance between each other, the two were acting in tandem.

Previously, Brooklyn had brazenly thrown a wine glass at Master Babenberg, but after the Orbis incident, she swiftly retracted her words and offered an apology, followed by a proposal for cooperation.

House Babenberg, bound by their duty to protect the Royal Capital, readily accepted Brooklyn Kantjelucia’s apology. Nevertheless, when House Kantjelucia proposed that House Babenberg also set their Shields up around the Royal Capital, Master Babenberg could not help but be taken aback.

House Kantjelucia had historically safeguarded the Royal Capital by themselves, a point of pride for their household. They had single-handedly defended the capital from countless monster assaults of all sizes. The Shields surrounding the Royal Capital were not just the work of Brooklyn alone but a collaborative effort of various family members, a testament to their tenacity.

Yet Brooklyn was willing to discard that pride and history, proposing to House Babenberg to also contribute to the Shields around the Royal Capital.

It was easy to imagine the backlash Brooklyn had faced from her household for this proposal. The current head of House Babenberg had dealt with a similar situation. He had suggested cooperation with Explorers after the appearance of the God’s Dungeon but had been met with opposition from practically everyone — his father, mother, and brothers, who labeled it a disgrace to the family name. Nevertheless, he had spent time persuading them and managed to convince them of the current arrangement.

Likewise, Brooklyn must have persuaded members of House Kantjelucia. Though she might appear callous to the common folk, she held a certain respect for her fellow nobles. Shouldering the burden of potentially initiating a dark chapter in House Kantjelucia’s history, she proposed that House Babenberg added to the defensive power of House Kantjelucia, whose Shields had protected the Royal Capital for generations.

Both House Babenberg and House Kantjelucia had already had their Shields breached in some way. Thus, Brooklyn must have concluded that without the combined efforts of both households, the Royal Capital could not be protected. Master Babenberg had been making efforts to garner support for cooperation with House Kantjelucia among the King and other nobles, but in the end, a successful arrangement came in the most unexpected of ways.

The cooperation between the two households, both with a history of using Shield magic, was welcomed by other nobles and praised as the strongest defense. Furthermore, tensions with Explorers had eased, and a sense of unity within the organization was beginning to emerge.

And here, gazing upon the gigantic monster known as the Elder Bone Tortoise, which could already be seen from this far of a distance, Brooklyn twisted her noble visage into a determined grimace.

“The size of that thing will be a pain to deal with.”

“Fortunately, there are plenty of Explorers with experience battling gigantic monsters. As long as we have our Shields, there should be no problem.”

“Gigantic monsters… like the Mount Golem? Is it really THAT big?”

“I have not seen it directly, so I can’t give an exact measurement… But from what I saw through God’s Pedestals, it’s comparable in size. When Ealdred Crow’s Summoner brings out the Mount Golem, we can compare them then.”

“The Summoner… Rook, was it?”

Recalling the only man who, despite his childlike appearance, had a modicum of manners, Brooklyn made no effort to hide her disdain. She had previously despised Explorers for their sudden shift from relying on the nobility’s magic to revolutionizing their approach upon gaining new abilities, and as such did not actually want to rely on their strength.

However, she knew deep down that their capabilities were indispensable if she were to kill Orbis, who had inflicted severe injuries upon her and humiliated her aristocratic pride by destroying even her prized Execution Room. Hence, Brooklyn had stopped merely paying lip service to cooperation and started earnestly engaging in discussions with the Explorers.

“We’ve been generous enough to lend them such a large supply of Magic Stones. They’d better produce some results.”

“Things would have been dicey in the previous Stampede without their Eidolons. The military power they bring to the table will likely be more than worth the Magic Stones we entrusted them with.”

“Well, I’m not going to expect more than the Stones’ market price. I was just being nice to him because he was the one guy who knew his manners.”

House Babenberg had been in talks with Tsutomu and Christia of the Labyrinth Conquerors from the start, but after the Orbis attack, Brooklyn had also personally met with Weiss, Leon, and Rook.

Weiss barely said anything, while Leon immediately tried to charm her with saccharine words. Brooklyn had entertained thoughts of disposing of both of them, so Rook left an impression as the only one with whom she had a decent conversation.

“…The Explorers have taken kindly to the cooperative actions of House Kantjelucia. Your direct meetings with their leaders must have made a significant impact. Despite how they may seem, many Explorers are people of duty and compassion.”

“Yeah, right… a bunch of criminals and rebels, having a sense of duty and compassion? Very funny. Well, they’ll probably be useful, if the knights from the front lines were speaking the truth… but I still think mercenaries are more trustworthy.”

Brooklyn shrugged dismissively, her gaze shifting away to a direction where the Elder Bone Tortoise could not be seen.

“And that old man just has to be running late when he’s needed most… Actually, you know what, it’d be a relief if that lunatic with his insane martial arts kicked the bucket now.”

“He must be facing some interference from the enemy. And regardless of your opinion of him, his combat strength would be a boon to our forces. To defend the Royal Capital, you should utilize everything at your disposal.”

“No need to tell me.”

With an irritated expression, Brooklyn averted her eyes and continued south, leaving Master Babenberg looking somewhat relieved before following after her.

And as they arrived at the gathering place where Explorers, knights, and musicians had convened, they spotted two figures atop the Elder Bone Tortoise.

“Orbis…!”

“And that’s the transforming monster…”

Brooklyn glared at Orbis standing atop the Elder Bone Tortoise, her fury plain to see, while Master Babenberg beside her observed Meena with a stoic expression. Wrapped in bandages from head to toe, she resembled a mummy.

“Babenberg, Kantjelucia,” Christia said to them as soon as she noticed their arrival, “The enemy is preparing something — likely to breach the Shields. We’ll assemble a force of about a dozen and sortie. When we leave, open a section of Shields for us to get through.”

“All right.”

Master Babenberg proceeded to observe the gathering of those with unique skills. As knights and the Labyrinth Conquerors double-checked and loaded up their magic-powered weapons, a magnificent performance began from behind.

The Minstrels, armed with various instruments, began to play, and through their incorporated skills, everyone in the vicinity received boosts to their abilities. The music also served as a signal to the Explorers, indicating the impending Stampede battle, naturally raising their morale.

“<<Summon — Mount Golem>>.”

While the Explorers prepared for battle, the Summoners of Ealdred Crow began their summoning using large quantities of Magic Stones. As Rook raised a staff as tall as himself, light particles rose from the array of Magic Stones arranged on the ground. Soon after, the head of the Mount Golem emerged from the earth.

With careful movements, Rook slowly brought the Mount Golem to its feet to avoid causing damage to the surroundings. Its size was so unrealistically colossal that it could be mistaken for a monster straight out of a myth. Finally getting to see the Mount Golem with their own eyes, the Labyrinth Conquerors marveled, and the knights found themselves awestruck.

Brooklyn, also seeing the Mount Golem for the first time, wore a surprised expression.

“…The Explorers fought THAT and WON?”

“Yes, all the Clan Leaders you have personally met have defeated the Mount Golem at least once, each time within a team of five. That was how they proceeded to the next layer.”

“……”

The Mount Golem may not quite match the Elder Bone Tortoise in size, but it was large enough to engage the latter head-on. Seeing Rook casually sitting on the Mount Golem’s shoulder, Brooklyn shivered as if feeling a chill.

Brooklyn had received information about Dungeon City from time to time, and as such, she was aware of the existence of monsters such as Mount Golem and Winter General. However, seeing was truly believing — with a Mount Golem right in front of her, she had to admit that it was much more than she had ever imagined.

“The frontline units are starting to come together. Master Brooklyn, I’ll leave the reinforcement of the Shields to you. I’ll assist the Explorers.”

“…Got it,” Brooklyn responded, still feeling overwhelmed by the Mount Golem.

She then looked at the Explorers preparing to go outside, her eyes filled with suspicion.

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