Chapter 72 The Minotaur goes berserk!
The brief assignment was completed, and the vanguard once again began their return journey.
Everyone successfully passed through the empty kiln at the deepest part of the 17th floor. It was clear that the Floor Boss, Goliath, had not yet respawned.
However, just as Ais and the others disappeared into the other end of the kiln, heavy breathing sounds came from several tunnels, breaking the silence.
One after another, Minotaurs with ferocious expressions emerged.
Their bloodshot, red beast eyes stared intently at everyone, exuding a frantic aura, clearly in a state of excitement.
After Arthur saw the monsters' appearance, a sneer of disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth. He was the first to turn his head and shout to the rear.
"There's a large group of Minotaurs blocking the way. Should we break through or annihilate them all?"
Riveria, who was in charge of the central army, looked at Raul, who was a bit flustered not far away, and reminded him.
"Raul, what are you still standing there for? Finn specifically told you to learn how to command. Hurry up and give the order!"
"Ah! Yes—yes!"
Raul suddenly straightened his back, took two deep breaths, and, feigning composure, loudly commanded the front.
"Attention, everyone, focus on defending against the Minotaurs' charge! Cadres, please assist as well. We must clear these obstacles as quickly as possible!"
Upon receiving the order, Ais and the others bravely rushed to the front, slaughtering the monsters with overwhelming force.
Just as the first-class adventurers swiftly dealt with more than half of the monsters, those Minotaurs, who should have been berserk, suddenly sobered up.
"Moo-ooh—!!!"
They let out terrified wails one after another, turned around, and fled in a panic along the tunnels they came from, staging a mass escape.
The sudden change caught Ais and the others at the very front by surprise. Arthur even spat heavily on the ground and cursed.
"Damn it! Can't you just die obediently? This joke has gone too far!"
"Hey, old woman, what do we do now?"
The situation was urgent, and Riveria had no time to scold the outspoken werewolf. She immediately commanded loudly.
"Cadres, pursue immediately! We absolutely cannot let these out-of-control Minotaurs harm adventurers from other Familias!"
"Understood."
"Got it!"
"Aren't they monsters? How can they flee from battle!"
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry and chase!"
Arthur looked at Ais and the others, who had left the main group and were rushing to other floors, and shook his head helplessly.
"Sure enough, I knew that bad premonition wouldn't appear for no reason."
Minotaurs are elite monsters born on the seventeenth floor. Lower-level adventurers would be no match for them without a team.
Furthermore, their current panicked escape method means they are very likely to rush directly to the upper floors with single-digit numbers.
And the adventurers active there are mostly true rookies who have just started, probably not even qualified to be Minotaur fodder.
If, due to the Loki Familia's negligence, a large number of casualties among other Familia members were to occur…
The consequences, just thinking about them, made one's scalp tingle.
"Please, I hope there are no more complications."
About a quarter of an hour after Arthur and the others waited, Ais and a few others successfully returned to the main group.
Arthur stated that all the fleeing Minotaurs had been annihilated, and apart from a few inexperienced rookies who were startled into weak legs, no substantial casualties occurred.
Thus, after this final twist, the Loki Familia finally returned to the surface.
...
The discussions of the vendors on both sides of the street gradually faded into the distance, and the Twilight Manor, with its overlapping buildings and magnificent aura, finally came into everyone's sight again.
The remaining low-level members, seeing the main force returning from afar, immediately pushed open the heavy main door and loudly called for help.
"It's the cadres!"
"The expeditionary force is back!"
"Inside, quickly come out and help! The Captain and the others are back!"
The shouts, one after another, echoed inside the Twilight Manor, instantly making the originally somewhat deserted hall boil with activity.
However, before Arthur and the others could step through the main door, a swaying vermillion figure, like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, rushed towards the female members with open arms—
It was Loki!
"Is everyone safe? I missed you all so much at home! Uh..."
Loki, mid-pounce, suddenly had the collar of her back grabbed, almost choking her with her own forward momentum, and immediately let out a comical dry retch.
Arthur lifted Loki, who looked like a lecherous old man, in front of him and greeted her with a smile.
"Yo, Loki. Two weeks no see, your incorrigible behavior is really consistently on display."
Loki, suspended in mid-air, futilely kicked her short legs, protesting with a face full of indignation.
"Presumptuous! I am a god! Your great Lord God! You stinky brat are too disrespectful!"
"Quickly put me down, I want to go and cuddle with the lovely girls!"
Arthur turned his head to the side, only to see all the female members keeping their distance from Loki.
Their eyes practically regarded her as a walking source of trouble.
"Restrain yourself. All day long you think about taking advantage of girls. Be careful, you might be collectively ostracized by everyone in the Familia."
Loki, in her impotent rage, sighed heavily, realizing that she would have no chance to get close to those beautiful things today.
Her gaze swept over the tired faces of the main force members, and a rare hint of solemnity appeared in her usually mischievous eyes.
"Look at all of you, looking so downcast. It seems this expedition didn't go very smoothly."
Finn took two steps forward and explained in a deep voice.
"I will report the details to you later. For now, let's arrange for the wounded to be treated and rested."
Arthur opportunely put Loki back on the ground and asked with his head down.
"How are the Regeneration Pods I asked the Hephaestus Familia to build? There are quite a few wounded from this expedition."
Hearing that the situation was serious enough to require Regeneration Pods for recovery, Loki's eyes narrowed into thin crescent moons, and she answered seriously.
"Currently, only five have been rushed out, and they are all placed in the medical room."
"However, each activation consumes a magic stone worth 200,000 Valis."
Arthur and Finn exchanged glances, both with normal expressions, clearly not bothered by such a small treatment cost.
A lean camel is still bigger than a horse.
Even though the Loki Familia's expedition this time was not a triumphant return, with many weapons and armor damaged and a large consumption of healing potions.
However, the drop materials from the previous Black Rhinoceros and Strong Dragon were enough to compensate for these losses, not to mention the colorful magic stones from many new types of monsters, so finances were not an issue.
It should be known that a single All-Purpose Potion on the market costs as much as 500,000 Valis, and it cannot heal severe injuries like missing limbs.
In comparison, the recovery effect of the Regeneration Pods is almost miraculous, and a mere 200,000 Valis for treatment is hardly worth mentioning.
Subsequently, Finn arranged for the remaining members to count and sort the spoils of war, while the main force members went to bathe and rest.
Because Arthur was the provider of the Regeneration Pod blueprints, he was assigned an additional task.
He was responsible for observing the operation of the Regeneration Pods to ensure that no accidents occurred during the treatment process.
When the last batch of severely wounded had also recovered completely from the Regeneration Pods, Arthur, bathed in the clear moonlight, walked through the high-altitude corridor, preparing to find Loki to update his status.
When he walked all the way to Loki's living room, he found Tiona and Tione, the two sisters, standing at the door.
The two quickly noticed Young Arthur approaching and raised their hands to greet him.
"Oh, Young Arthur, are you also updating your status so late?"
"Tiona, when Finn assigned tasks earlier, were you spacing out again?"
Then, Arthur glanced at the brand new parchment in the sisters' hands and chuckled lightly.
"How is it, did you level up?"
Tiona giggled, feigning regret as she explained.
"It's not that easy to level up. It's just that my magic value is a small step higher than last time."
Tione raised her hand to her forehead, mercilessly exposing her silly sister's insincere words.
"If you're really not satisfied, then first put away that silly grin on your face that you can't even hide."
After hearing the sisters' answers, Arthur nodded knowingly, then said half-jokingly.
"Then I'll go in first. Maybe after this expedition, I'll be able to successfully level up."
The conversation between the two sisters abruptly stopped. They simultaneously cast their gazes at Young Arthur's disappearing back behind the door, their tone a bit stiff.
"Could it be... that Arthur was right?"
"No... it can't be, right?"