~ Third Person POV ~

“Holy… This Dungeon is rigged as hell…”

The Hunters the soldiers brought over were paling at the sight of dozens of traps laid around the poison swamp. The soldiers paled at how many traps were highlighted by the Hunter who was their main trap disabler.

“Those… are a lot of traps…” the commanding officer mumbled a response as he eyed the entire poison swamp area with a critical eye. “Forget mid C-rank, this is probably a low B-rank Dungeon.”

The soldiers who heard this declaration shivered in fright. They were not paid enough to do this. Some of them had the mind to desert and find a way of life, away from all those religious fanatics.

Sadly, they knew that if they deserted, those that would be harmed would not only be them, but also their families living in their hometown.

So, without anything they could do, the unsatisfied soldiers reluctantly complied with advancing their march through the perilous Dungeon.

The group of a dozen men marched through the muddy ground, their slim walkways making it impossible for all of them to go through at once. All of them were tense, their shields raised up in case anything decided to go their way.

“Woah, stop!” The Hunter in the lead halted in his tracks, and the rest of the soldiers followed suit. “This is one nasty trap…”

“What is it?” The commanding officer approached the Hunter who was examining the so-called, nasty trap.

“This right here,” the Hunter showed the commanding officer the trap. At first, it seemed like an ordinary, muddy ground, but upon closer inspection, there were a few oddities, “It looks like a pitfall, a mighty huge one, at that.”

“… That is indeed, concerning,” the commanding officer looked concerned at the fact that there was a trap that seemed that it would only trigger when a certain amount of weight was reached. “Are there any other ways around it?”

“If you want to go through the poison, then sure,” the Hunter replied with a bit of sweat dripping from his brow. “Otherwise, this is the only way forward.”

“… I see,” the commanding officer took one more good look at the trap, before directing his gaze towards a common soldier. “You, walk to the other side of this pitfall trap.”

“W-wha…?” The soldier looked stun, giving the commanding officer the ‘Are you fucking serious?’ face.

“That is an order, soldier,” the commanding officer slowly unsheathed the sword strapped to his waist and glared at the soldier. “Or do you want to be charged with defying orders from a superior?”

The soldier shivered, both in rage and anxiousness, but because if he defied orders now, there was a good chance he would be killed on the spot, and if he did get away, he would be hunted down by his faction for desertion.

Seeing no way out of his predicament, the soldier steeled himself for his possible death and trudged forward. He slowly tested the trap with his foot, then planted both of his feet on top of the trap. The trap looked about 4 meters in length and width.

He slowly walked forward, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. He was sure he would die a few moments later, and there was nothing he could do about it.

His boots sunk into the mud, a trail of muddy footprints trailing behind him. It was a few seconds later that he found himself back on steady ground. He looked back, his gaze focused on the face of his commanding officer, which held no emotion.

“It seems that a single person can move through without triggering it,” he remarked while scratching his chin. “Hunter, you’re next.”

The Hunter anxiously nodded as he cautiously made his way through the obvious pitfall trap. He succeeded, and heaved a sigh of relief as he planted his legs on the stable, muddy ground next to the soldier.

The commanding officer glanced at the covered pitfall trap and saw that it wasn’t getting loose. He smirked a little bit before addressing the rest of the waiting soldiers.

“Everybody, single file. Only one is allowed to traverse at a time. Is that understood?” The soldiers saluted and readied themselves for the tightrope walk of a lifetime. The commanding officer nodded, and took the first step.

It was midway through his trek that he heard a whistling in the air. Recognizing the noise, he deftly brought his shield up and blocked an arrow that was supposed to hit his head. Witnessing the scene, the soldiers tense up.

There was an enemy.

The commanding officer bit his lip and quickly, but cautiously, made his way towards the stable ground. Once he was there, he perused all around him, looking for any threats. Seeing none at the moment, he brought his gaze back to the nervous, waiting soldiers.

“All of you! Double time!” His yell brought the soldiers out of their minds. “Move! Move! And check your surroundings!”

The soldiers raised their shields up, ready for any incoming ranged attacks. The frontmost soldier quickly stepped foot on the covered pitfall trap, hoping to dear Phoemis that he wouldn’t trigger it, resulting in his death.

The next to traverse the trap were the two remaining Hunters. Not wasting any time, one of them quickly moved to the other side. The last one also did the same.

One by one, the soldiers traversed the trap, their shields all the while raised, not letting their guards down. It was until the 27th soldier did another whistling enter their ears. Only this time, there were more than just one.

The soldier panicked, and in his confusion, raised his shield and blocked an arrow aimed for his head. Another arrow, however, cleanly pierced through his unprotected back, causing him to stumble on the pitfall trap.

The mud covering the pitfall trap shook, and the pitfall trap triggered, sending the soldier down to his doom.

“AAAGGHHHH!!!!!” His scream terrified the soldiers and Hunters by the sheer intensity of his voice. His screams went to a gurgle before going to complete silence. The commanding officer took a quick peek, only to witness the soldier skewered by sharpened, wooden spikes. He also took note of how deep the hole was.

“Shit. All of you! Retreat and guard the entrance! Also, form another group to relay a message that this Dungeon is far more dangerous than we thought!” His commands relayed; the soldiers left behind ran to the exit as fast as possible, their weapons drawn in case any monster decided to surprise them.

“How about all of you,” the commanding officer then addressed the soldiers and Hunters who were stuck with him. “Push forward? Or find another way and retreat?”

“I suggest we push forward and gather more information before leaving,” the lead Hunter said before looking around the poison swamp. “It’s clear that we won’t be able to clear this Dungeon without skilled Hunters.”

“… Your words ring true. Very well, that shall be our task for now..” Agreeing with the lead Hunter, the remaining soldiers pushed onward.