Records of Dungeon Travel

#88. Two-Timing

“What is this…”

Seeing the Taurus and the Ursus growling wildly as they glared at each other, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but smirk. It was because they were like little children whining for him to take their side instead.

But he couldn’t keep smiling forever. It might have been funny at the moment, but this was still a war waged by two Deep Floor Dukes. A bloody war was imminent, and as a result, tens of thousands of summons would inevitably be torn to shreds.

These guys were the instigators of the terrible war. Just because the situation looked childish and funny now didn’t change the fact that they were the key players of this war.

In fact, the troops of the Naga’s Labyrinth, including the Vampires that had been deployed just in case, were left frozen by their fierce momentum.

“What to do about this…”

Despite clearly knowing what they wanted, Kim Jin-Woo feigned ignorance in their presence. As he did so, the envoys from both sides became more frustrated and desperate.

The Ursus, with whom Kim Jin-Woo had a secret agreement, seemed to have a relatively easier time, but the Taurus representative was restless and struggled to force an answer out of Kim Jin-Woo.

“They are saying that if you cannot help them, then they hope that at the very least, you will not get involved in the war.” The imp girl, who hadn’t left the Grand Labyrinth ever since the first encounter with the white bears, looked at them warily while interpreting the words of the Taurus.

“They’re causing so much havoc right in front of my labyrinth; how can they ask me to sit still?” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

The two labyrinths, who had been fighting a fair distance away from the Grand Labyrinth early into the war, had begun encroaching upon Kim Jin-Woo’s territory, and the stench of blood crept ever closer to his labyrinth.

The labyrinths to the north and south were at war, and with the Grand Labyrinth being in between them, that was an expected result.

“I apologize for that. But since the white bears are holding out in the area, it’s not as if we can avoid them and bring the war somewhere else,” the Taurus explained.

“That goes the same for you too! Aren’t you the bastards who are running rampantly across the Underworld!?” the Ursus replied. It was a fierce roar, uncharacteristic of the usually calm white bears.

If Kim Jin-Woo left the situation as is, the fierce slander would go on for a while. Having been forced to watch the two sides argue for a long time, he eventually got irritated, which quickly changed the mood.

“You’re both creating such havoc practically in the front yard of my labyrinth, so I can’t simply close my eyes and feign ignorance toward your acts of atrocity,” he said coldly.

It was a rather arrogant and overbearing statement, but neither envoys complained. Given that they were already struggling to defeat the other party despite employing their full strength, from their point of view, it was best not to piss off the person who had recently defeated the powerful Satyrs.

“So, let me make a suggestion to you guys,” Kim Jin-Woo said after giving the situation some thought.

Considering the powers of the two Dukes, the war would be rather evenly matched. The Taurus and the Ursus clan, who must have been at odds for quite some time, were still unable to bring their conflict to a conclusion, and the war was likely to end only after countless clashes.

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t want the war to end that way. But neither did he want one side to enjoy an overwhelming victory. Looking back on the rapid growth he had achieved after absorbing Luyang’s power, if one of them emerged the victor, they would walk away with tremendous gains. It would do the Grand Labyrinth no good to have such a labyrinth in its vicinity.

Thus, he made a suggestion. “There’s a suitable area located between your labyrinths, a relatively long distance away. How about deciding the victor there?”

Because he spoke if he were an observer or a mediator, depending on how one perceived his suggestion, Kim Jin-Woo’s suggestion might have sounded wildly arrogant.

However, the two clans accepted without hesitation, because it was a rather heavy burden to continue wreaking havoc in the front yard of the being who had defeated the Satyrs. Now that they had been provided a battlefield where they could fight to their hearts’ content, they were rather pleased with the suggestion.

After that, Kim Jin-Woo granted them each a private audience. The envoys from both sides respectively asked him for his support and promised numerous rewards.

The Ursus offered to share all the loot fairly and to maintain close cooperation in the future, while the Taurus promised to hand over down gems and other assorted treasures right away.

Neither side’s offer was detrimental. Considering the situation and the fact that the involved parties were Dukes, both of their proposals were rather considerable. Nothing else, not even their pride and material losses, seemed to matter to either party, so long as they could destroy their opponent’s labyrinth.

Kim Jin-Woo was very pleased with the outcome, and he was happy with their proposals.

After both envoys left, Angela spoke to Kim Jin-Woo. “Hmm, I can’t figure it out.”

“What is it that you can’t figure out?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out which side Master will support,” Angela replied.

Kim Jin-Woo could understand why she was confused, because he had given a positive response to both sides.

“Well,” Angela mused and voiced her thoughts. “The proposal presented by the Taurus is pretty good, considering our labyrinth’s lack of finances right now. But the Ursus’ proposal is equally attractive. The biggest jackpot always depends on the outcome of a battle. Either way, we have nothing to lose.” However, Kim Jin-Woo simply nodded in response.

“Ah, I can’t stand it, it’s so frustrating. Can’t you just honestly tell me your thoughts?” Angela, who had been speculating about Kim Jin-Woo’s final decision, finally vented her frustration.

“Angela, even though they’re cautious of me right now, I don’t think they’ve fully acknowledged my power. For example, they’ve only sent envoys so far, and I’ve yet to see even a single hair of their masters,” Kim Jin-Woo finally said.

If they had truly recognized the Grand Labyrinth as a powerful opponent, the Dukes would have tried to persuade him directly. However, they had tried to wrap up the situation by sending mere envoys instead.

“They’re probably thinking that as long as they win this war, they’ll be able to easily crush me,” he continued.

“But aren’t the Ursus already in a secret agreement with the Black Merchants? I’m sure we were told that they were rather trustworthy…” Angela began.

Kim Jin-Woo laughed and remarked, “Secret agreement, huh? Trustworthy? What nonsense.”

Did the word “trust” even have a place in the Underworld anymore? The Ancient Underworld where ‘honor’ and ‘loyalty’ had once actually stood for something no longer existed, and the only ones left in the Underworld were savages that only sought to kill one another.

The two Dukes were on top of the food chain. How long would the two apex predators remain satiated after defeating their opponent?

The Dukes Kim Jin-Woo knew would never be satisfied. They would very easily forsake such secret agreements and hunt the agreement partners as new prey. And when that time came, the Grand Labyrinth would be exposed to grave danger.

The summons of the Grand Labyrinth would be unable to withstand the white bears or the bulls, and the two Dukes, who had never shown themselves, would never expose themselves as easily as the mad Luyang.

If such a situation were to play out, Kim Jin-Woo had no answers to overcome it. Thus, he intended to prevent such a situation from happening in the first place.

“How…” Angela still didn’t understand his intentions, and she curiously looked at her master.

“It’s simple.” Kim Jin-Woo grinned. “We simply have to make them all lose.”

The two sides would be too busy going at each other to watch their own backs.

Just as it would be too late for captured prey by the time hunters showed up with their nets and spears, they wouldn’t be able to react while they were too busy going for each other’s throats. After all, any opening would result in a finishing blow from the other party.

“So, I’m going to scale up this war.” Kim Jin-Woo smiled confidently, as if he had his own plan in mind.

***

“What do you mean…” The envoy of the Ursus clan could not hide his bewilderment, rattling his huge snout.

“Wise envoy of the Ursus clan. Think about it,” Kim Jin-Woo began. “A single battle won’t make much difference anyway; what would one single victory truly bring you? Your bitter war won’t end in a single battle after all.”

The white bear’s eyes widened at the lengthy explanation. No matter how wide the Underworld had expanded after the earthquake, there was no battlefield big enough to accommodate tens of thousands of troops for a single fight.

Even if the war could be won in the end, it would only result in the loss of the enemy’s troops. Moreover, as long as the master was alive and well, the wealthy Dukes could easily replenish their lost summons and send them out to the battlefield.

That was exactly the main reason why the war between the Ursus and Taurus had been never-ending.

“In that case, isn’t it better to take this war to the next level?” Kim Jin-Woo continued.

Even if the Dukes were loaded with down gems, there would be an extent that not even the Dukes could recover from. Kim Jin-Woo revealed his plans to draw out a large number of Taurus troops and annihilate them in one go.

“So, I’ll pretend to be on the side of the Taurus in the beginning. Once they think they’ve gained an ally and start becoming arrogant and cocky, you’ll present a false defeat to the Taurus.”

When the triumphant Taurus started lusting for even grander victories, that was when this long drawn-out war would finally come to an end.

“And when they finally try to drive their momentum forward to end the war, I’ll return to stand on your side,” Kim Jin-Woo concluded.

The Ursus didn’t immediately give a definite answer. They were desperate to end the war, but they didn’t have a sense of how much damage they would have to deal to the Taurus in order to comfortably execute an all-out offensive.

After meeting his master, the Ursus envoy returned and answered that they would accept Kim Jin-Woo’s proposal. However, he added, “We simply hope you’re not some kind of jackal who will piggyback on the winner.” His words weren’t pretty, which isn’t surprising, considering that the plan involved widespread bloodshed of his own clanmates.

After negotiating with the Ursus’ envoy, Kim Jin-Woo also arranged a secret agreement with the Taurus. The only difference in his proposal to the Taurus when compared to the one with the Ursus was that this time, he agreed to help the Taurus from the beginning.

The Taurus, greatly satisfied with the negotiations, sent the promised down gems and treasures to the Grand Labyrinth, and Kim Jin-Woo sent the envoys back with a smile on his face.

A few days later…

The agreed-on battlefield had been set up quite a distance from the Grand Labyrinth. It was the largest empty plain formed after the last earthquake, making it the most suitable location for a large-scale battle.

“This should prove satisfactory, right?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

The Ursus and Taurus both nodded with satisfaction. They weren’t fools, and they had too much to lose to fight in close proximity to the Grand Labyrinth.

“Then start the battle whenever you like,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

The bulls and white bears stared at each other.

“Whoa, this is what I learned about ‘two-timing’. Master, you’re such a bad boy. I wonder how much despair they’ll feel when they find out later that they’ve been deceived,” Angela remarked, talking about some nonsense she had probably picked up from a television drama.

Kim Jin-Woo responded naturally, “This isn’t two-timing. I’ve never dated either of them in the first place.”

Angela had an ecstatic look upon hearing her master’s blunt and shameless answer. She was looking forward to the festivities her master had prepared. After all, she was a Vampire. There was no party more ecstatic to her than a festival of blood.

“Looks like they’re starting soon,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

Each of the five thousand white bears and bulls roared at each other, signaling the start of the battle.