"Your Majesty! We were utterly trashed by the Overlord! Our soldiers barely left scratches on his dungeon races' army, leaving us scared witless! Most of our forces have been killed while the rest were forced to go throughout the world to speak tales of the Overlord's strength!" The general returned and immediately reported the news to the emperor.
He didn't follow any procedures but kicked away all royal guards that wanted to stop him. He even bared his sword against them, cutting a few soldiers who were too bold to stop him.
Once he barged into the throne room, the general stumbled on the red carpet and rolled his way toward the emperor.
At last, his eyes rose, and he knelt, his body shivering no end, "The Overlord will come soon to wipe us from the map. This is the end of our empire! We will become his slaves! Haha! Hahahaha!"
All royalties and the very emperor himself contorted their faces uglily.
Their hands clenched tightly, but no sound filled the room as the general's crazy laughter eclipsed all. He was so scared of the Overlord that he just accepted his death or slavery.
Whatever the Overlord had prepared for them, he would accept without even thinking of any retaliation.
That was not only the general's mindset but all soldiers who had returned to the capital.
They witnessed the one-sided massacre! No one would blame them other than the emperor and his royal family!
The Emperor stood up. Bright golden armor crawled its way across his whole body, donning him in a superhero outfit that reeked off with royal beaming. He took slow and overbearing steps toward the fallen general in that attire.
"We will fight to the very end," The Emperor declared in a hoarse and domineering voice, "You will stand up for us and sacrifice your life for the Hard Steel Empire!"
Anyone could guess what The Emperor was doing.
That man was trying to overwrite the general's mind. Standing before the fallen with back straight, royal red cape floating behind his back, and eyes profoundly piercing the general, the emperor continued to exude such a royal aura.
To no avail...
That was nothing in comparison to Minato.
The moment the Overlord grasped the general's head, that man felt like he understood what it meant to be the resident of the low world. He saw the gap between someone with the strength to rule the low world and between the Overlord whose seat belonged at the top.
That gap was deep within the general's heart, absorbing the royal aura coming from the emperor.
In short, all eluded the general, and his crazy laughter continued, "If the Overlord wants me to move on my four and bark, then I will do so! Hahaha! You can't force me to not, The Emperor!"
To such a demented reply, The Emperor bit his lips. He lifted his sword, then cleft the general's head off his body.
The maddened head rolled on the royal carpet. His blood was barely visible with how red it was.
A silence ensued...
That silence was oddly similar to Tuto's during his talk with a comrade.
Naturally, The Emperor and the rest still believed in that group. However, their scouts actively reported the Majestic Ice Kingdom's movements.
The dungeon races belonging to the Overlord kept helping them.
It meant that Tuto and his buddies... had already died.
While The Emperor and his royal family struggled to maintain their composure and stop their souls from getting gnawed by the Overlord's fear, the royal dungeon also went through a small change.
Less and fewer dungeon raiders visited their lands.
The cooperation with the royal family allowed them to cope well with the hatred. It was good to have dungeon raiders and royalties working together with the race as it was like tripling their overall strength.
The Dungeon Race in The Volcano Royal Dungeon was known as Volcano Lizards. They were from the medium world, and they were a pretty strong race whose strength lied in runes!
Runes increased physical strength and defenses. One also could be pretty versatile with them.
For example, Minato's wife could use her high speed to create clones. It was indeed a mysterious concept!
"Are you saying that the Overlord appeared in this world?" Volcano Lizard's Representative, Veronica, questioned the bold dungeon raider.
He was bold because he's entered the royal dungeon despite the royalty banning it for some time.
Everyone guessed the reason for the ban.
That man smiled, "I have proof."
He fished out a magic circle that had recorded Minato's spectacle. That overbearing attitude and how he casually tainted low women left Veronica amazed.
Her eyes dilated, and respect shone within those, "Our Master has finally arrived."
The dungeon raider nodded, "That's true! Give me at least one piece of their popular armor before this dungeon disappears, and the Hard Steel Empire gets wiped out off the map! No! Just give me one of your treasures!"
Veronica stood with arms crossed beneath her abundant chest, "There's no need for us to work with low born anymore. What we will give you is a free leave from our dungeon. You have one minute to fuck off, human."
The leader of those volcano lizards was known to be quite unfriendly. She always spoke with a sharp voice and looked down on many, even the emperor himself. It was part of her nature.
However, Veronica was well aware that exactly this cold attitude allowed her to have mutual cooperation with the humans from the low world.
If she were to show even a shred of weakness, those royalties would dare to impregnate their women and take them outside alongside their techniques.
A few volcano lizard women actually wanted to try to escape their confined lives in this way as the outer world didn't lack volcanoes to use their techniques.
That was when Veronica strictly enslaved them and gave them even worse life in their dungeon! Those women spent days and nights working with runes and magic written circles!
After all, the truth behind the magic written circles was simple.
Those were imitations of runes.
And Volcano Lizards were strong and knowledgeable enough to see through it.