“We’ll meet up with them first and talk after.”
Hearing Red’s suggestion, Mason and Tos both reined in their wandering thoughts and closely followed behind him.
Guided with precision by the Bloodtracking Hunter Spider, the three of them quickly arrived at the Scarlet Legion’s temporary camp.
However, the scene before their eyes was far more shocking than the cold images relayed by the Mechanical Spider.
What assaulted them was an almost suffocating, frozen sense of death.
The air was thick with the reek of blood, a sharp medicinal powder, and the sweet, metallic scent of fresh blood, all blending into a nauseating, foul stench.
Groans, suppressed sobs, and weary gasps wove together, forming a heavy chorus of lament.
On makeshift stretchers and the cold ground lay countless wounded wrapped in bloodstained bandages, their faces etched with pain and the numbness of those who had survived calamity.
Most jarring of all were the five or six human-shaped forms lying quietly not far away, completely covered by stark white cloth.
Beneath the white cloth, all traces of life had vanished.
Only patches of dark red blood marred the cloth’s surface.
Just the sight of it brought a crushing pressure to Red’s heart, making even breathing difficult for a moment.
He was no stranger to the cruelty of the Dungeon, but to confront these cold remains directly—the weight of death was still unbearably heavy.
“Stop right there! Who goes there?!”
Two Scarlet Legion guards on watch spotted the approaching trio. Instantly on alert, they tightened their grip on their weapons and barked a challenge.
Yet when their eyes passed over Tos’s familiar face, and then caught sight of Red and Mason behind him, their tense expressions immediately melted.
“It’s Tos! Tos is back! And he’s brought reinforcements!!”
One guard was so excited that his voice cracked, almost shouting the words!
At that shout, everyone in the camp turned their attention their way.
Brian also heard the commotion outside and immediately lifted the flap of the largest central tent to come out.
Seeing the dust-covered Tos, Red, and Mason by his side, a look of surprise flashed across Brian’s face, and then he strode over with long steps.
“What brings you all here?”
Brian’s voice carried clear surprise, and… even a hint of barely perceptible confusion.
“?”
That simple question hit the three like a bucket of cold water.
Red, Tos, and Mason were instantly frozen in place, staring at each other in utter shock.
“Brian…”
Tos began, face full of disbelief.
“Wasn’t it you… Wasn’t it you who called us here with the emergency ‘999 Signal’?”
At those words, Brian’s surprise solidified.
His eyes flashed with keen light, immediately sensing something was wrong.
He quickly stepped forward and, in a voice only the three could hear, said softly,
“Let’s talk inside!”
He gave a meaningful look toward the tent.
The three instantly understood, suppressing their doubts and shock as they followed Brian into the relatively intact Command Tent.
When all four were inside, Brian pulled down the flap and set up an extra Isolation Barrier.
After confirming no one else was around, he finally turned to Red and the others.
“We did encounter danger, but to tell you the truth… I never sent out a distress signal.”
“But I really did receive your message.”
Tos took from his pocket a Communicator Crystal unique to the Scarlet Legion and set it before Brian.
Red and Mason also leaned in, and just as Tos said, the Communicator Crystal showed a genuine distress call from Brian.
But…
Brian himself knew nothing about it.
Didn’t this mean… this might actually be a trap?
Thinking of the grievous casualties and the stifling atmosphere outside, Red didn’t hesitate and went straight to the point:
“Brian, first tell us—what exactly happened to you all?”
“Alright…”
Brian took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the heaviness in his chest.
His eyes turned sharp and grave, and he began to explain clearly and methodically.
“Our mission was to probe deeper into the Second Floor Twenty-Eight for a preliminary exploration. On our return, at the Second Floor Twenty-Seven…”
He paused, recalling that horrifying scene in his mind, and slowly said, “We ran into a… monster.”
“It stood nearly four meters tall, its form twisted and hideous, radiating a soul-chilling aura of evil. Its strength… was far beyond anything we imagined.”
Brian’s fists clenched unconsciously, knuckles turning white.
“It was like a completely crazed Beast. As soon as it spotted us, it charged without hesitation.”
“The noise of battle drew a nearby pack of Beasts, and we were trapped, beset on all sides, forced to fight our way out…”
His voice grew lower, his body trembling with unspeakable pain.
“Hera, to protect our flank, was bitten through the abdomen by that demon’s massive jaws, gravely wounded. Though we managed to staunch the bleeding, she’s still unconscious even now.”
“The rest, during our breakout and retreat—some were injured, some died. Our original plan was to retreat to the Teleportation Array on the Twenty-Seventh Floor to return to the surface, but for some reason, the Array… wouldn’t activate. It was completely unresponsive.”
“With no other choice, we set up camp here in this relatively safer spot to rest. For now, we have enough medicine, but clean bandages are running out. If we can’t get back to the surface, those gravely wounded brothers… might not last much longer.”
“Bandages…”
At this, Red wanted to say he could make more, but the words caught in his throat as he remembered Rit’s warning.
He absolutely could not reveal this ability to create things out of thin air.
After a moment’s thought, Red chose another explanation.
“I just happened to stock up on a lot of bandages. Let me give you some first.”
Red’s words left Brian momentarily dazed, then he broke into hearty laughter and said, “It could only be you! If you can sort out all those messes with the Dawnblade, of course you wouldn’t forget bandages at a time like this!”
“But… I probably didn’t bring a huge amount,”
As Red spoke, he turned sideways, cleverly blocking most of Tos and Mason’s view with his body.
He reached for his Space Pouch at his waist—at least, that’s how it looked—while a faint glow flickered within as his mana quietly surged.
A dozen seconds later, he produced a large bundle of fresh, snow-white bandages exuding a medicinal scent, seemingly out of thin air.
“These should cover your urgent needs, right?”
“Enough! More than enough!”
Seeing the bandages in Red’s hand, Brian’s frustration at having been played evaporated instantly.
Grabbing the bandages, he rushed out of the tent in a hurry.
With Brian gone, only Red, Tos, and Mason remained inside.
The heavy tent flap fell, shutting out the chaos of the outside and leaving a somber silence.
Mason adjusted his glasses, analyzing calmly.
“Obviously, we’ve been set up. That ‘999 Signal’ was a carefully laid trap.”
Tos scratched his head in puzzlement.
“But the Scarlet Legion hasn’t provoked anyone, right?”
Listening to them, Red took a deep breath and slowly began,
“I might have a clue. The other day, I noticed people from the Black Church had somehow made their way into the Second Floor Twenty-Seven. Now that I think about it, their target… was probably me.”
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