The Peacock was a Raider-exclusive summon. It possessed its own vision, allowing it to scout or serve as a substitute for certain items. However, its exorbitant price meant it was typically only used by A-rank parties or higher.

Taehyun had heard of them, of course. A summon so expensive that an ordinary B-rank Raider couldn't even dream of owning one. He knew they existed, but he hadn't anticipated one being used against him, not even by a raider backed by the powerful Peyton Ducal family.

'I considered the possibility, but to use a Peacock as a proxy for a vision battle… He's betting everything on this raid.'

The Silent Forest was a natural ambush point. By deploying his soldiers in advance, he should have been able to strike first with Vision Priority. Junhyun had predicted this and sent in the Peacock to completely divert the target of the system's vision clash. As a result, Taehyun's forces had won a meaningless victory against the summon, failing to negate the raiders' Vision Expansion scroll. They had been spotted first, torn apart, and two of his most crucial units were now out of the fight.

"It's no good," Riel said, her hands glowing with healing light. "The wounds are too deep. Mid-grade potions alone won't save them. I'll have to continuously cast my healing skills directly on the injuries."

Unlike the battle-hardened Grai, Raviz and Roquin were not physically resilient. Though their injuries were classified as 'moderate,' their condition was far more severe. Riel carefully removed their upper garments, leaving them half-naked as she began her work. The sight made Taehyun's face flush, but he forced himself not to look away, grinding his teeth as he stared at his wounded commanders.

They were his most versatile assets. Losing them was a greater blow than losing a hundred B-rank soldiers.

"Riel, how long until they're fully recovered?"

"This is different from Sir Grai's case. I estimate it will take about two days."

"…I see."

He would have to face the raiders without Raviz and Roquin. Mederia, Grai, and Angelina remained, but the absence of his two specialists was a massive handicap. Worse, Riel would be tied up healing them, leaving him with only two Supporters.

Taehyun returned to the Master Room and reviewed his remaining items. With Location Transfer and Vision Priority gone, he had to win with what was left. He had lost the second round in the forest. Now, the battle would be for the dungeon itself.

[Item Nullification]

[Buff Item x 5]

[Effect Reversal Card]

[True Identity]

[Information Camouflage]

[Information Manipulation]

[Disguise Item]

'Pardon is off the table, and the identities of four of them are revealed. The timing of my Nullification and Effect Reversal Card will be critical.'

He took a deep, steadying breath. First, he needed to review the enemy combatants.

[Deriman/Shield User]

[Shape/Storm Archer]

[Chieftain/Mana Spearman]

[Ruach/Assassin]

Shape and Ruach had already used their one-shot skills. Deriman's identity was exposed, but that was expected for a shield user. The real threats were the unknown one-shot skills of the others and the identities of the raiders who remained hidden.

[Stress Level]

[Deriman/20]

[Shape/10]

[Chieftain/10]

[Ruach/10]

'That bastard Junhyun. He's managed their stress levels perfectly.'

He had checked just in case, but their camping had kept their stress low. He wanted to use Deshkar to hit them just before they entered, but he'd already used his movement and return items. With Raviz injured, he couldn't even use a summoning circle. His original plan—to use Raviz to pin them down and Roquin's Far Away to split their forces—had been shattered before it could even begin. He had been completely outplayed in the Silent Forest.

Next, Taehyun checked his remaining forces.

[A-rank Soldier x 1]

[B-rank Soldier x 281]

[C-rank Soldier x 859]

With Deshkar and his siege units unavailable, he had just over a thousand soldiers left.

'I've gotten weak. Focusing on other Dungeon Masters and low-level raiders made me forget the most important rule. I can't just rely on my main units.'

The first principle of defense was to think like a raider. If he just threw his forces at them, he'd be read and countered. He'd gained an edge on the Arid Plains by seeing through the Pardon gambit, but that advantage was gone. The man who had held the high ground was now backed into a corner.

'Back to basics. Just like when I stopped Sebastian's first raid.'

Back then, the lucky acquisition of the Minotaurs and the fortress had given him an edge that was quickly overturned. But he had still won. This was no different. If he used everything at his disposal, he could stop them.

He calmly began deploying his soldiers, his thoughts fixed on Junhyun.

'You pushed me to my limits back then. This time will be no different. I'll show you just how much I've grown.'

---

On Day 3, the raid party was finally entering the dungeon, suggesting they had camped again after exiting the forest.

[A ?-rank raid party has entered Balak.]

Taehyun watched them on the screen, calculating. Balak now had 25 rooms. Based on their schedule, they would likely camp twice more. With Junhyun's Pardon neutralized, Taehyun's first priority was to force him to burn his Effect Reversal Card.

He began by activating Breath of Death.

[B-rank Dungeon Master's unique skill 'Breath of Death' has been cast.]

[200 of Balak's Crystal Sphere mana has been consumed.]

'Even if he doesn't use the card, it's fine. Any skill that can remove debuffs will likely be a one-shot ability. I just need to force one of them to use it.'

A malevolent aura seeped into every corner of the dungeon. The raiders paused, sensing the change. A moment later, a raider at the rear of the group cast a skill.

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Ryurik casts Warm Embrace.]

[The effects of all debuffs on the raid party are halved.]

[Warm Embrace uses remaining: 1/2]

It was a Priest skill with two charges. They intended to weather the debuff instead of removing it. It was a slight deviation from his plan, but Taehyun was satisfied. Halving the effect didn't change the fact that their health and stamina would continuously drain. They had one charge left. They would have to time their movements carefully for the duration of Breath of Death.

'They'll camp periodically to offset the drain and use their second charge when the time is right.'

He had successfully slowed their advance. Now, he just had to figure out when they would use their radar.

'They brought a Peacock; there's no way they didn't bring a high-grade radar.'

A high-grade radar covered eight rooms from its point of activation. In a typical 24-room B-rank dungeon, the optimal time to use it would be around the 12th or 13th room. But Junhyun would likely wait until after the 15th.

'He knows I've expanded my territory. He'll assume I have more than 24 rooms.'

A smirk played on Taehyun's lips. The raiders could clear rooms at their leisure until they reached the fourteenth. If he could pressure them enough before then, force them to burn their skills, the opportunity to counterattack would be his.

[A ?-rank raid party has cast Radar Detection Net.]

[The detection net will be active for a certain period.]

[Any beings that enter the detection net's range will be automatically detected.]

They had activated their radar, a precaution against ambushes in the dense forest environment of his dungeon.

'They'll limit their movement to conserve stamina. I'll strike after their camping protection item wears off.'

Based on their pace, the radar would expire around the fifth room. Taehyun held his soldiers back, deploying them starting from the sixth room as he watched and waited.

---

[You have entered the fourth room of Balak.]

They were already in the fourth room, and all they had encountered were a few low-level sticky traps. Not a single soldier had appeared.

Deriman tilted his head. "Isn't this a little too easy? I know we're using the radar, but shouldn't he be the one feeling the pressure?"

"No," Junhyun said calmly. "This guy is the type to grow even calmer when he's cornered. He'll start his attack the moment our radar net expires."

"Hmm. Seems like you're overthinking it, but you're the boss. Hey, hunting trap up ahead."

Deriman pointed it out, and the raider on his left moved to disarm it. But Junhyun held up a hand, stopping him.

"Hey. Don't do anything without my command. I told you not to reveal your class yet."

"…I'm a Bounty Hunter," the raider retorted. "Disarming traps is what I do. Are you really going to stop me from doing my job—the one thing that lowers my stress and earns me points?"

A Bounty Hunter. A thief-class specialization that leveled up by disabling traps and installations. He had tolerated Junhyun's orders until now, but in a B-rank dungeon, he needed to rack up performance points.

"We still have one charge of Warm Embrace left, so what's the big deal? At this pace, the dungeon's debuff will wear off eventually. It doesn't matter if my class is revealed."

"…So you're going to ignore a direct order from your raid leader?"

"Let's be honest. We're only here for the Zen. Except for a couple of you, the rest of us are just mercenaries. I don't see why I need to follow your orders on every little thing once we're inside."

Ignoring Junhyun completely, the Bounty Hunter, Kino, stepped forward and disarmed the trap.

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Kino has disarmed the Hunting Trap.]

[Kino's stress level decreases by 2.]

[Kino's performance points increase by 70.]

'These bastards. The moment things get a little easier, they start doing whatever they want.'

Except for Deriman and Shape, the entire party had been hired with Zen. They had followed his orders perfectly up until they entered the dungeon, but now that the pressure was off, they were getting sloppy, revealing information without a second thought.

'No, it's not because things are easier. This is simply the limit of an alliance held together by money.'

They were skilled, no doubt about it. But that skill came with pride and stubbornness. It was impossible to perfectly control a group of mercenaries like this.

'I have to accept this. I never expected loyalty from this group anyway.'

Junhyun calmly suppressed his anger. He had never wanted a party bound by trust. The Bounty Hunter was exposed, but as Kino had pointed out, their situation was still comfortable.

Junhyun led the raiders into the next room.

---

[A Bounty Hunter has disarmed the Hunting Trap.]

[The Bounty Hunter's stress level decreases by 2.]

[The Bounty Hunter's performance points increase by 70.]

The party in the fourth room had revealed their Bounty Hunter. Or rather, one of them had acted on his own, defying orders. While his full identity remained hidden, Taehyun now knew exactly who the Bounty Hunter was.

A low chuckle rumbled in his chest.

"Master Taehyun? Why are you laughing? Has something turned in our favor?" Kinjo asked.

"Those fools just exposed their Bounty Hunter."

"Huh? But what difference does that make in our current situation?" Kinjo asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Kinjo, why do you think they brought a Bounty Hunter in the first place?"

"Umm… to get through traps and installations smoothly?"

"Exactly. A party this focused on raw firepower would struggle to get through my traps without taking damage. Junhyun brought him along to counter that. Now, think, Kinjo. There are still twenty rooms left. And if their Save a Comrade Coin is nullified, it's gone for good. What do you think will happen if their only Bounty Hunter is taken out?"

"Hiek!" Kinjo's eyes widened in realization. "It'll be much harder for them to clear the rooms! Even if they succeed, it will take them far longer!"

"Precisely. Their advance will grind to a halt. No matter how many camping items they've brought, they will eventually run out. They're feeling comfortable now, relying on Warm Embrace and the dwindling duration of Breath of Death, but that won't last. Once their Bounty Hunter is dead and they're hit with something unexpected, they'll start to panic."

"Wh-what do you have planned, Master?"

"You'll see. Starting from the fifteenth room, they will know true despair."

Taehyun smiled, his gaze fixed on Junhyun's image on the screen.

'That's right. Your own raid party was your undoing last time, too. I'm going to make you live through that failure all over again.'

His eyes shifted, landing on the mana level of his Crystal Sphere.

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