Dungeon Overlord (OLD Version) Chapter 14 - Aftermath (Patreon)

Even though this world was primitive by any standards, one had to admit that the news traveled fast around here...

Like really, really fast, and soon enough, and soon enough, probably half of Westeros heard about the catastrophic losses of the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers in the mysterious place in the God's Eye. 

Everyone around every single corner of Westeros had already heard about the devastating defeat of the armies of the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers. The fact that almost fifteen thousand men have perished in the God's Eye spread like wildfire across the Westeros.

Aneoyn ranged from the Lords in their lofty castles, which were surrounded by luxury and opulentness, to the lowest peasants, who didn't even have anything to eat. This was in fact shocking news, and many at first dismissed it as just mere rumors, but as time passed, more and more news spread across Westeros.

It seemed that the Ironborn were unable to suppress the news as much as they were trying to do, but they were also failing spectacularly. Even with the execution of a few former soldiers, Knights, and even some of the Nobles, people didn't really stop spreading the rumors.

There were rumors about these monsters and mysterious structures that appeared on the God's Eye Isle, the Isle of Faces. Rather, many people survived the last battle, when the Ironborn sent most of the Riverlandese men to their deaths, and they were talking.

They talked a lot, and many of them managed to smuggle out some magical items, which confirmed the rumors' credibility to a greater degree. These were either the Knights of the Riverlands who were smart enough to escape during the chaos after they obtained the weapon or the structure that was aptly named "Dungeon."

During the battles and everything that was happening on the battlefield, many of the Riverlandese Knights took their magical weapons and loot from the Dungeon and escaped as far as they could.

Some headed towards the Kingdom of Reach, some towards the Vale, some to the Kingdom of Rock and some to the Kingdom of Winter. Through this, the rumors were spreading, and they were getting confirmation, but because the power of the magically enchanted weapons was far more than evidence.

Even the arrogant Maesters who typically dismissed the existence of Magic as something that was just superstition found themselves bewildered by the confrontation with the facts that Magic indeed existed.

Not only the Knights of the Riveralnds escaped, but also some of the Ironborn Captains, those who were smart enough to realize how fucked up the situation had become. Those who knew something else aside from whoring, drinking, and raiding immediately realized that the Kingdom lost many of their good Ironborn men and a good chunk of collaborators.

Surprisingly enough, as if by some divine intervention or something else, many of the older noble houses of the Riverlands didn't send their men outright when King Harren ordered for the army to be assembled and attack the Isle of Faces.

Most of their men arrived at the Harrenhal too late, after the battle had been concluded, and subsequently disappeared to where they came from immediately after they got the results. 

With the death of a few thousand Ironborn, the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers was facing a rather precarious situation. The Ironborns managed to rule the entire Kingdom only because of the two things.

They had permanently stationed their own in the Riverlands, which kept most of the Riverlandese in check. Another thing was the existence of the collaborator lords because while they hated the Ironborns to the core, some Lords saw them as nothing more than just business partners and means of preserving their power.

So it wasn't really surprising that there were rather a lot of Lords who were working with the Ironborn out of their free will and were essentially collaborators and traitors for the other Lords of the Riverlands. 

But now, a large part of the Ironborn soldiers that were permanently stationed in the Riverland parts of the Kingdom lay dead in the Dungeon and Isle of Faces was a bunch of decomposing corpses.

Together with them were the soldiers, knights, and levies of several of the nobles who were on the side of the Ironborn. If one was smart enough or even had an average level of intelligence, they could see that the rule of the Ironborn was severely weakened and was shaky at best.

Outright before the civil war at worst.

So, several of the Ironborn Captains that got their hands on some of the Magicall-enhanced weapons and armor took their men and ships and sailed out of Westeros and became pirates on their full time.

Thus, the news about the Fate of the "Sentenced Army", as it was mockingly called, spread to the Free Cities of Westeros. Many in the Free Cities of Braavos, Penos, Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr have already heard about the possible return of Magic.

Obviously, this also attracted the attention of many adventures, swords, and people who looked to make a lot of money decided to go to Westeros and try their luck in the Dungeon in hopes of obtaining some Magical Gear.

And this was just the part of the aftermath.

The greatest threat to the continuous rule of the Ironborn over the Riverlands actually came right now from the outside. It was no brainer to know, that the Ironborns were very popular across... 

Well, everywhere, ranging from the Westeros to the Essos.

For most, they were nothing more than just over-glorified pirates who were sometimes even more barbaric than ordinary pirates. Even right now, just several weeks after the fiasco that happened at the God's Eye, the Kingdom of Rock, Kingdom of Winter, and Kingdom of Vale of Arryn were already preparing to strike towards the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers.

The Ironborn were raiding, plundering, murdering, and raping along the coasts of the Rock, North, Vale, and Rech for a long time. And now, when they were especially vulnerable, it was the prime time to hit them as hard as possible.

And that wasn't mentioning the fallen Dragonlords that were living in the Dragonstone for the last century after the Doom of the Valyria. For many, the Kingdom of the Isles and the River was ripe for picking apart due to lack of protection.

If the civil war indeed erupted, then even better because they could attack the Ironborn and support the local Riverlandese Nobility that was fighting against the Ironborn.

***

Several Weeks Later, Unnamed Dungeon, Isle of Faces, God's Eye, Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers

With that being done, all of the Dungeon Echoes that he had gathered were consumed to upgrade the Dungeon. With the Magic Gathering Crystals being added to the arsenal of the Dungeon, the density of Magic in the Dungeon increased noticeably.

However, though, it won't be enough to make a difference in the aspect of leveling up because to Level Up to Level 4 would require a bit more effort than just increased density of Magic in the Dungeon.

That alone was rather insufficient.

Reaching Level 4 was considered rather a milestone because Level 4 was apparently the true Supernatural Level, where one could slaughter hundreds of ordinary Level 3 is as easy as breathing fresh air.

That was because the beings in Level 4 were incomparably stronger, and if one reached this Level, they would most usually develop various Supernatural Abilities that gave them various very high offensive capabilities and combat prowess.

He knew that the chances of reaching Level 4 in this world were rather low because Planetos was still, in the end, a Low Magical World, but Archaon still hoped to reach Level 4 in this world.

Mainly because he wanted to be at Level 4 before he reached the new world so he could exploit the next world right away from the start. While that was still perhaps even a few decades or a century away, he wanted to be prepared.

The next world would obviously be much more powerful than this one because the ASOIAF was something that was akin to a starting world for Archaon so that he could grow stronger for more powerful worlds.

For worlds where his Dungeon could truly shine and where he could start disrupting the Fate and harvest the Fate for his Patron. In fact, he was rather glad that the first world he was sent to was the ASOIAF world, where he could grow considerably stronger without much fear of being killed.

Even right now, as a peak Level 3 being, there were not many people in this world that could actually threaten him. Aside from some mythical figures that were shrouded in obscurity and god knows what, like the Night King or the Red God.

However, he was also planning to kill both of them to complete the Quest. 

Right now, before the people start swarming the Dungeon, there will be some time of relative peace in the Dungeon. Because of the impending war that was brewing in Westeros due to the drastic weakening of the House Hoare, Archaon knew that in a few months or perhaps a year or two, a war would break out.

Either the civil war or the more standard one, but the time of the Hoaeres has ended, rather prematurely, it seemed. It would be a good thing for Archaon, rather unplanned, but indeed very pleasant, because it would allow him to harvest some more Fate for his Patron God.

Thus, because nothing of interest would be happening in the upcoming time, he planned to travel a bit around Westeros or perhaps to the Essos if it was possible. The topic of the Companion was still summoned to the Essos, and it was right now in the Essos.

To make things more annoying, Archaon didn't know whom his Patron God summoned to this world together with him, but if he dared to guess, then he would say that it was most probably either someone from the Dark Souls or the Bloodborne.

He hoped that it was either Lady Maria or Ciaran...

Both of them seemed to be hot and were powerful as heck. Not to mention, it would be rather ironic because in regard to Lady Maria, Archaon got Template of the Gehrman the First Hunter, and in regard to Ciaran, his two other companions were two members of the Four Knights of Gwyn.

With Ciaran on the board, it would be three members out of the four. However, it seemed that he would need to go out and search for the summoned Companion by himself because being summoned to the Essos prevented them from meeting.

And it would take some time before the rumors of the Dungeon spread across the entirety of the Essos because he didn't even know where exactly in the Essos the last Companion was summoned to, which represented another kind of obstacle.

Archaon already planned the journey in his mind as he would go through the Riverlands to the area that would be known as the Crownlands, and then he would either head first to the Dragonstone or straight away to the Essos. 

Though, at the same time, he was rather curious about the last surviving Dragonlords and pondered how much he could disrupt the Fate of the world if he either killed them all or helped them to forge a Kingdom that would be built on the strong pillars and not crumble like the house of cards like it did in the cannon.

He would probably decide on the spot how to deal with the situation as both possible outcomes had their pros and cons, though logically speaking, if there was something like a Correction Force in this world, then sooner or later, somebody else would conquer the Westeros and establish the Seven Kingdoms.

But now, those were the topics for a later date. After he returned from the Essos, preferably with the last Companion that his Patron God summoned for him to this world, he planned to release another wave of the monsterphilia during the time, when the war in the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers erupted so he could swallow the Harrenhal in one easy go and also farm some Dungeon Echoes if possible at that.

That would take some time, but the Dark Iron Dwarves that he had bought with the usage of the Dungeon Echoes already created a small village in the 2nd Layer of the Dungeon, the Cavern of Bureoza, as they deemed to be the most suitable for the time being.

The Layers of the Dungeon were very extensive, and they were like entire miniature worlds in them and there was a lot of natural resources for the inhabitants of the Dungeon to exploit. 

And what was best, with the increasing Magic in the Dungeon, the resources that were consumed were regenerating slowly. For example, if the Dark Iron Dwarves mined some iron ore in the Cavern of Bureoza, then depending on the amount of Magic, it would regenerate in a few years.

Because everything was so seethed in the Magic, as long as they didn't extinguish the entire vein of the ore, the ore would absorb more and more Magic from the environment and start expanding further until it would be completely regenerated.

So there was no fear of draining up the natural resources of the Dungeon at all because sooner or later, the Dungeon would recover on its own. Of course, as long as the Dungeon had access to Magic, then it would be recovered over and over, so technically speaking, the Dungeon represented the endless supply of resources as long as there was Magic.

When he had prepared everything for his journey to the Essos and around, he summoned Ornstein, Artorias, and Yihi, though the last one wasn't really keen on participating in the meeting because it was rather boring and she wanted to play with bees.

Unfortunately, the mischievous Dungeon Fairy, there wasn't really a choice because she was a most essential person in the entire Dungeon. Without her presence, nothing could really happen in the Dungeon, and Archaon needed to discuss some things with her too about the future.

He would be away from the Dungeon for a few months most probably, so Yihi needed to be informed about this so she could eventually prepare for that and make necessary preparations for his departure.

Archaon planned to leave Artorias behind at the Dungeon as his powers were better suited to guard the Dungeon. At the same time, it was rather fitting that Ornstein would be common with him as the leader of the Four Knights of Gwyn.

Simultaneously, Ornstein was the best choice because he was Dragonslayer, and if something went wrong and got into a conflict with the Targaryens, then the Dragonslayer would be able to kill their Wyverns effortlessly.

With his Lightning Magic and mastery over the Halbert coupled with the physical capabilities at the limit of Level 3, it should be easy enough to kill even some of the strongest of the Wyverns rather easily.

Compared to the True Dragons that were slayed by Ornstein for him to earn the title of Dragonslayer, killing the Wyverns wasn't really something particularly difficult.

Both of the Knights soon enough arrived at the Throne Room of the Dungeon as Archaon was sitting on his throne and contemplating something while they are waiting for Yihi. 

Soon enough, the Dungeon Fairy arrived at the Throne Room with a rather dejected expression because when Archaon called for her, she was just playing with her bees, so coming here meant that she was forced to cut her fun short. 

"Now I thank you for arriving as soon as possible. There is a certain announcement that I wish to make that pertains to the future directions of our development at the Dungeon. Because of the recent Monsterphilia and destruction of the human armies of the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers, there would be a certain time of peace for the Dungeon before the human kingdoms would squabble between each other and sooner or later would attack the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers and take it apart one by one."

Archaon stated that in the near future, the Dungeon would be without many visitors as everyone would be too busy fighting amongst each other, rather than paying attention to the Dungeon.

Right now, the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers was the prize that everyone would want to grab a piece of. 

"Right now, it appears that there is one Companion summoned by my Patron God, and apparently, the Companion was summoned to the Essos, so I have decided to travel to the Essos during the time of peace in the Dungeon. I have decided to travel to the Essos through the Dragonstone to meet the last Dragonlords of ancient Valyria and then continue to the Essos. For the duration of my absence, Artorias would be in charge of the Dungeon and all defenses together with Yihi, while I will be taking Ornstein with me on the journey to the Essos."

Archaon knew that Ornstein's extravagant golden armor and weapons would attract tons of attention, but with the power that the Captain of the Four Knights of Gwyn wielded, he wasn't really fearing anything. 

One lighting spell cast by him would be enough to kill almost anyone in this world, as his mastery over the Lightning Magic was extremely high for the standards of this world.

According to what he remembered from the lore of the ASOIAF, then even the remaining Magicians, Sorcerers, and Warlocks barely had any kind of mastery over the Magic Arts, though his knowledge of the topic came mostly from the events of the canon that was still three hundred years from now.

It was still very possible that right now, there would be more skilled Magic Users present in the world.