Earth Dungeon 71.2

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Chapter 71.2. Takeda's Army

They gathered Goblin corpses, removed their cores, and set them on fire as a precaution against disease. They could either dispose of them in a manhole where the sewer slimes would take care of them, or by other means.

Katsuyori, who had been on reconnaissance, returned on horseback.

"Old man, the rainbow is appearing on the ground."

"Has Sakimori already cleared it? His dungeon captures are still impressively fast."

This time, they had come to conquer dungeons that had appeared in the aftermath of a typhoon. However, this was the last one. Before this, Sakimori had destroyed 3 dungeons and had raised his skill, [Purification], to level 2. He had distributed the other skills to Katsuyori and Ooki since they were mainly stat boosts.

"Alright, folks! Our president has conquered the dungeon! Let's head for the core retrieval!"

"Woohoo! Been waiting for this!"

"This capture was quick too, huh?"

"We better keep it a secret from our moms."

A life-and-death battle. No matter how much support they had from Shadow Tigers and Shadow Snakes, there were moments when they faced death. The sense of liberation and the bonuses waiting for them afterward made everyone cheer and start running. Katsuyori smiled wryly, and the Shadow Tigers discreetly guarded their sides.

"Katsuyori, do you think those Tigers are getting smarter day by day?"

"No, I think every time the president rebuilds them, they become smarter. Initially, they could only follow simple instructions, but now they act on their own."

"They're quite dependable."

The president of our company can single-handedly take on an army, and that reliability brought a smile to my face. In the abandoned town, power was everything, and everyone had faith in Sakimori's overwhelming strength.

They had faith, but it didn't necessarily mean they had become more morally upright.

Amid the ruined buildings and broken-down shops in the abandoned town, there was an empty space with a lone figure standing on it.

He wore all-black attire, a mask covering his face, and a hood that revealed only sharp, knife-like eyes. Even from a distance, you could feel an unsettling presence.

This man was Amano Sakimori, the one who had established a company in the abandoned town and created a market. Shingen was one of its executives.

"Hey, have you already cleaned up?"

When Shingen called out, Sakimori slowly turned to face him. He seemed somewhat tired, but considering he cleared dungeons solo and looked this way afterward, it was nothing short of superhuman.

"Well, Goblin dungeons are more like routine work, aren't they? And these equipments, they're definitely strong. Goblin King is no match for me anymore."

"It's become too strong. In the past, we had to prepare for death if we encountered it."

"Level 3 skills are amazing, aren't they? Anyway, I'll leave the core retrieval to you. Collect them however you want. I've already confirmed with Numata where to sell them, so when he arrives, hand them over. Well then, I'm off."

Shingen couldn't help but chuckle at Sakimori's remark about clearing Goblin dungeons being routine work. But with such impressive equipment, there was no denying his strength. Goblin King was no longer a formidable opponent.

"Indeed, but even with Level 3 skills, it's not something just anyone can conquer easily. Anyway, rest well." 

Shingen said as Sakimori left. It seemed Sakimori was tired.

As Sakimori walked away, Shingen called out to the waiting group.

"It's the president's orders! Let's all gather the cores!"

Cores get scattered across the open space, the result of conquering dungeons. When a dungeon got conquered, any monsters except the ones defeated would die—or rather, revert to their core form.

There were nearly 5,000 cores in total. They began picking them up as if they were gathering chestnuts. Nobody complained. After all, the reward was 10 D-class cores, which meant 30,000 yen—a staggering daily income.

...Even so, it didn't make them morally upright. They were the faces of the abandoned town, after all. Until recently, they were a bunch of people who would risk their lives to scavenge leftover food from trash cans, they'd fight over slightly better clothes or shoes to turn into some decent money.

Shingen looked around and walked among his subordinates. He noticed that the shadow tiger occasionally pointed its paw at a certain man.

"Hey!"

With a sigh, he approached and kicked the man's back hard, causing him to stumble and fall face-first into the dirt.

"Are you okay? Feeling unwell? Want to take a day off from work today? Hm?"

With a deep voice, he grabbed the fallen man's shoulder.

"I-I'm f-fine. I'll put them in the bag properly."

The man hastily took the cores from his pocket and placed them in a sack.

"Alright, alright. The reward for this job is exceptional, you know? If you ever feel like quitting. Just say so. There are plenty of others who want to do this job, so we'll have to distribute admission tickets."

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry. I'm fine now. I feel better."

"That's good. There won't be a next time."

With a stern look, Shingen let go of the man's shoulder. The man turned pale, trembling, and started picking the cores diligently this time. It had been a way of life in the abandoned town for over 10 years. It was normal for people to have sticky fingers, but they needed to change their habits while preventing them.

It would be challenging, though. By the way, Shingen delivers his morality lesson with fists and kicks.

If they messed up again... unfortunately, they would become missing persons. The rules in the abandoned town were that strict.

To improve this kind of behavior, they had to work hard. Despite his age, Shingen was determined to work and make a difference.

When he returned, Numata would be there, he remembered. Busy, busy.