As soon as Shia heard that the next dungeon to invade was called [Valley of the Bull], she cheered.
“Beef baaackkk!!”
Beef. One of Shia’s favorite foods. In fact, the first thing she ate when coming to Earth was beef, and the very first meal Yeonhwa treated her to was also beef.
Shia had a strong connection with beef. In a way, her connection with Yeonhwa may have started because of beef.
Beef is right.
Beef is delicious.
People who buy beef are good people.
To Shia, that was the truth.
But….
Kaboom!
“Creeeaaam!!!”
Shia was once again flung out of the train.
But this time, it wasn’t because Shia carelessly stuck her head out of the Hunter Train window. When the invasion of the dungeon began, the dungeon’s mechanism activated, forcing all S-grade hunters off the train.
This Valley of the Bull dungeon had a mechanism that dropped any being with a mana level above a certain criterion to a random location within the dungeon.
Since the Hunter Train was running an A-grade hunter reconnaissance team, they were unaware of this mechanism. As a result, all S-grade hunters, including Menelapie and Shia, were struck by this unexpected event while sitting quietly on the train.
Some S-grade hunters even ended up falling into the dungeon without their gear or clothes while they were having a private time or bathing when the dungeon’s mechanism activated.
Still, they were S-grade, so it wasn’t a huge deal.
Anyway, unlike the Blood Swamp and the Green City, the [Valley of the Bull] had a very bright and hot sun shining down, with a very ordinary valley and natural scenery—nothing bizarre or strange.
But, is it really a dungeon after all?
Muoooaaarrr!!!
3,000 Minotaurs rushed in as a formidable army, causing human beings to feel their knees buckle in fear.
“Frontline hunters, activate shields!”
“Barrier activate!”
“Don’t die! Hold until the S-grade hunters kill the boss!!”
“When is that?!”
“I don’t know, damn it!”
Kaboom!!!
Wham!
“Ahhh!”
“My hand, damnit…!”
“Ugh, it’s so heavy!”
“Hold on!”
Spiked Shield
Reflective Shield
Reverse Barrier
Anti-Gravity Engage
The Minotaur warriors, unable to break through the frontline hunters’ shields, were flipped over or counter-attacked and killed, but the overwhelming momentum of the 3,000 Minotaurs did not decrease at all.
In fact, many of them got even more excited and manic at the sight of their kin’s blood.
Muoooaaarrr!!!
Crashh!!
“What craziness…! These little bastards are breaking through the spikes!”
“Cut them!”
“It’s fine to be injured! But if you’re going to die, back off! Isia Hunter from Korea can heal, so if you don’t die, you’ll be okay somehow!”
“Parry!”
The Hunter Train invaded the A-grade [Valley of the Bull] dungeon after the Green City.
Although it was only an A-grade in danger, the actual danger was much worse than dungeons featuring S-grade monsters.
The reason was the sheer number of Minotaurs and the anomalous formation of troops they formed.
The danger level of a dungeon is usually determined by the boss’s danger level.
However, the Valley of the Bull was a dungeon of barbarism and bloodshed formed by the alliance of various Minotaur clans, where all the Minotaurs present were A-grade and the number of them clashing with the hunters was 3,000.
Considering that a single Minotaur usually appears as a boss in B-grade dungeons, a massive Minotaur the size of a building charging in formation would make even A-grade hunters pee their pants.
The 300,000 variant slimes in the Blood Swamp were scary, but the visible, enormous violence of 3,000 Minotaurs brought about immense psychological pressure.
Expecting there could be another Minotaur clan army nearby only added to their horror.
Muoooaaarrr!!!
Die! Weaklings!
Mercy for the weak? None!!!!
Muoooaaarrr!!!
Ka-baam!
Thump!
The tremendous shock was overwhelming, as the frontline hunters felt their bones cracking and their muscles screaming in real-time, yet they were seasoned hunters.
As soon as they understood that their own breach would lead to the death of the teammates behind and to the sides, not a single person could fall back.
“Block it!!! If we break through, the rear will die!!!!”
“Assassin hunters, chop off their horns!”
“Attack!”
In the case of variant slimes, they could be easily dealt with if abilities like fire and lightning were present.
The Hunter Train had over 300 Awakened Ones and S-grade hunters from the beginning, so the threat of the variant slimes likely felt lower than that of the Minotaur army.
But in the [Valley of the Bull], there were no S-grade hunters. Only A-grade hunters and civilians, and agents onboard the train.
And without S-grade, it was the responsibility of the A-grade hunters to protect everyone.
Muoooaaarrr!
Boom!
Bang!
Phew!
Rumble!
“Guhhh…!”
“Ughhh…!”
“This is so damn heavy.”
With no place to run, the hunters had to secure and fend off the charging Minotaurs continuously.
As a result, the valley quickly filled with blood, dust, and signs of destruction.
Even though the hunters were somehow holding on, gaps were starting to appear in the frontline as more and more frontline warriors were injured and fell back.
“What the hell? When are the S-grade coming?!”
“Boss mob insurgency isn’t going to end quickly! Hold on!”
Moreover, the Minotaurs in this area, unlike mere beasts, had a bit of intelligence, exhibiting a certain understanding of tactics and strategy, showing meanness by skipping over the frontline hunters to target those in the rear.
Undead Living!
“Evade!”
“Eh?”
At that moment, the necromancer hunter in the rear widened her eyes as a Minotaur suddenly appeared right in front of her.
A Minotaur that had climbed to the very end of the valley completely ignored the frontline and maneuvered to attack the rear hunters.
‘Ah…’
Feeling death at the sight of the Minotaur before her, the A-grade necromancer female hunter realized she was in danger.
All her summoned undead were supporting the frontline, and even if she tried to resummon now, the Minotaur would reach her much quicker.
No matter how A-grade hunters might be, rear attack or support hunters could not withstand a frontal collision with a Minotaur.
The moment she even brushed against one, all the bones would shatter, and it would be so severe that she wouldn’t even be able to find her corpse afterward.
Even if Shia could perform the miracle of great healing, it would be impossible to revive someone once their soul had departed.
“Kyaaa, Kyaaaak!”
Mu, Muoaarrr!!!! Oh…?
“… Huh?”
However, that horrifying scenario did not come to pass.
The Minotaur that was about to charge into the female hunter suddenly realized that its legs and arms were frozen, and it was not moving at all.
Muoo?!
After fearing extreme pain and shock, the female hunter opened her eyes, which she had shut tight, and…
“Whoa, this beef is huge.”
She saw a beautiful young girl standing barefoot on the frozen Minotaur’s head.
Teresa Kaitlyn.
The doll witch, known as the worst black witch in Shia’s former world.
Due to certain circumstances, she was currently in the form of a young girl wearing a lustful dress and was looking down at the Minotaur as she clenched her hand tightly.
“Eh, ehhh…?”
“Hey, if you’re awake, move aside.”
“Yes, yes!!”
The A-grade necromancer hunter realized that Teresa had saved her and immediately stepped back from the Minotaur.
Recognizing that the frontline hunters were desperately blocking the charge of the monster even as she was scared and crouching down, she began to summon her undead vigorously again.
Meanwhile, Teresa sat slowly on the shoulder of the Minotaur she had stopped with an alluring gesture.
Like a child having fun with a new toy, Teresa’s legs wiggled playfully.
“Ha, my body can’t create mana, so I didn’t get caught up in the dungeon’s mechanism.”
Teresa sighed.
Although it was troublesome that she and the other S-grade hunters had been separated from the main force of the Hunter Train due to the dungeon mechanism, unlike those two, she was not treated as a danger by the dungeon, and thus the mechanism did not activate.
‘That squid girl and the mermaid are here, but someone has to ensure Shia’s mother is safe, so it’s better that I remain.’
It was slightly irritating but, in a sense, it was a good thing.
Originally, Teresa had no intention of getting involved in the hunters’ fight.
She had boarded the Hunter Train not as a hunter but closer to a civilian, simply along for the ride like Shia’s mother, Yoonjeong.
However, perhaps due to being around Shia, seeing lives that could be saved come dangerously close to death moved her to act without thinking.
‘Ha, I probably wouldn’t have cared about anything other than Shia before…’
It seems I’ve been influenced too much.
Muoooaaarrr!
“Ah, I forgot.”
As the deafening roar pierced her ears, Teresa looked down at the enraged Minotaur, demanding her to let go of it.
It seemed the Minotaur realized that Teresa sitting on its shoulder was the one who had stopped it.
However, there wasn’t even a trace of mana emanating from Teresa’s body.
If there had been abundant life force or dangerous mana like the other hunters, the Minotaur would have been somewhat intimidated, but currently, Teresa posed no threat even to the monster’s senses.
‘A body that can’t generate mana, so the dungeon mechanism didn’t activate. I guess its puny brain has also realized that it doesn’t need to be scared of me.’
But while Teresa may currently be in a weak form unable to create mana, the great cursed artifact made by the dark witch was not diminished.
As Teresa lightly clenched her fingers, the Minotaur felt the pressure binding it intensify.
Mu, Grrrr!!!
No, it wasn’t just the pressure that was intensifying.
Something was digging into its rock-hard skin and muscles.
It was thread.
A thin, purple-hued thread.
The thread was the crystallization of the cursed artifact made by Teresa—Magic Thread.
It was the thread used to control the dolls and could manifest in any location across time and space, exclusively utilized by Teresa.
It poses no problem to use without mana, and only Teresa understood how to utilize it.
And the Magic Thread was not solely used for controlling dolls.
“Actually, its original purpose is to control living beings.”
Plop!
Bloop!
Uu, Mu, Ugh!!!
Before they knew it, Teresa’s purple magic threads pierced through the Minotaur’s entire body, placing all its movements and muscles under her control.
Even the muscles screaming in agony were dominated by the magic thread, so the Minotaur was sealed from an adrenaline-fueled scream.
“Hmm, nice. It’s not quite like my dolls, but it’ll do!”
As soon as Teresa recognized she had seized control of the Minotaur’s body, she snapped her fingers.
Snap!
“Well then, shall we have some fun in a while?”
Doll-like figures are not my type…!
