Since she was here, Uscfrea gave NSLICE-00P a rundown of her territory. NSLICE-00P could observe the situation in the Otter Burrow at any time, but the dungeon only covered a small fraction of the territory, so the tour was still informative. In fact, Uscfrea quietly avoided any of the dungeon-related matters due to Princess Caecila joining the group.

The Princess was still very impressed.

With the support of the people of Utrad, the Dobhar civilization advanced at lightning speed. The beach was full of Dobhar training under the command of veteran centurions. Limitaenei and architecti cooperated with Dobhar shamans to reshape the sandy beach into a stone port. At the top of the cliff, a small city now extended from the old Legion keep as the Imperials set up shelter, while Wulver and former Exploratores scouted the surrounding area.

And while it was not part of the tour, NSLICE-00P could also see how Uscfrea was leveraging the Otter Burrow. The Otter Burrow’s territory continued to expand over the Dobhar settlement, and was now moving up towards the Legion Keep at the top of the cliff. Uscfrea had added several dungeon rooms here and there, mainly to produce resources. There was a boneyard where the Dobhar could scavenge to make their harpoons, a cove leading to an underwater area with constantly respawning sealife to fish, and a kelp forest where the Dobhar harvested various seaplants. Uscfrea had also set up a more traditional dungeon slightly away from the Dobhar settlement, where young Dobhar were training in real combat.

And, in a secret room near the dungeon core itself, a trusted group of now Contracted Dobhar practiced firing with flintlock pistols. It appeared that even though the cyborg-related items were too technologically outdated for NSLICE-00P, Uscfrea was greatly curious about the new weapons. Well, at the moment they were only experimenting with the most basic items and hadn’t seen fit to bring them out into the open, it remained to be seen if the Cyborg-affinity would unlock more advanced options.

Over the course of the tour, NSLICE-00P noticed a flash of light.

“MY QUEEN!”

A young Dobhar rushed through the halls of the Dobhar settlement and jumped towards NSLICE-00P. Or rather, a young Sacred Otterkin, given the streaks of golden and silver fur on her body and the glowing gem in her forehead. The young Aldreda tried to jump up NSLICE-00P’s leg, but couldn’t get a grip on her armor. NSLICE-00P responded by catching her, and the young Sacred Otterkin embraced the cyborg’s arm and nuzzled her head against it.

Her mother, Aethelu, came running down the hall before she stopped, and then smiled and bowed.

“My Queen, welcome home. We are most pleased to see you.”

It turned out the young Aldreda was growing up well. The Dobhar had been worried when she had continued to absorb mana, much as a monster, and they had to give her some levels far earlier than a normal pup. But fortunately, beyond her quick growth and mana absorption, Aldreda acted like any other Dobhar pup.

Well, save for one, very apparent characteristic…

Princess Caecila and her entourage had frozen solid.

“Um, Petronia, Typheras, is that…a Dobhar pup with Holy mana?”

Petronia rubbed her chin.

“Um, it appears like that, Your Highness. I…am not sure. I have never heard of a Dobhar hero before…much less one that is practically an infant.”

“Right. So…um…”

Typheras shrugged.

“Maybe we’re mistaken? She just has fancy fur and she’s hugging NSLICE-00P, right? Maybe we’re getting the mana mixed up.”

“My Queen, My Queen! Look at what I can do!”

“Observation: Unit Aldreda’s magical capabilities beyond expected parameters. Updating potential combat effectiveness calculation.”

Princess Caecila grew even more still.

“Oh. She just cast a Holy spell. Of course.”

Petronia nodded.

“Your Highness, I believe it wise to maintain strong relations with Her Majesty NSLICE-00P.”

Once they had toured the area, NSLICE-00P and friends bid farewell to Turannia once again. Estrith bowed before Uscfrea once again, and then they climbed aboard the airship and returned to Corvanus.

A group of soldiers was patrolling through the halls of the fortress guarding Velus’s Pass, mostly checking the basement for monster rats. The wards could detect a monster that slipped into the fortress, but couldn’t catch a normal rat already inside that absorbed enough mana to become a monster, and normal rats always seemed to find a way inside.

But as they were walking, they heard hissing and crackling noises. They glanced at one another and then ran towards the noise. It was coming from a small room off to the side of the basement. They felt a wave of mana pass over them as they approached.

They threw open the door and gaped.

Right there, in the middle of the fortress guarding the way into the Imperial Heartland, was a dungeon entrance. And judging by the crackling lightning and waves of mana it was throwing off, not a stable one.

This scene repeated itself in the Silver Gorge and the Gap of Vindex. It happened again in the Dwarven hold of Dhor Thoram. It happened again in the cities of Viridi Pabulum, Mestaynga, and Durocobrivis. All across cities, Legion fortresses, and allied settlements in the Imperial Heartland.

One even appeared under Elteno, the former capital and birthplace of the Empire itself.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

And of course…where there are dungeons, there are monsters…

Emperor Lucius convened his council in Corvanus. They gathered in the Legion Keep, standing around a large table in a war room. The council included the leaders of the three major factions of the Senate, Consul Noxisius, Magister Militum Verrucosis, and Aedile Hortensus, along with Magister Exploratores Appius, Magister Arcanum Cnaeus, and Magister Peditum Ausonius. There was also the Grandmaster of the Imperial Knights and numerous Legion personnel.

The Emperor grimaced.

“How did this happen?”

Magister Exploratores Appius shrugged.

“Cult.”

Magster Militum Verrucosis raised an eyebrow.

“Really, Appius? Your answer to this situation is to spout conspiracy theories?”

Magister Exploratores Appius shrugged again.

“I don’t see any other viable explanation for a wave of corrupted dungeons spontaneously appearing under every major settlement and fortification in the province at the exact same time. It’s either a one in a million cosmic fluke, a test sent to us by the Aesdes themselves, or it's an intentional attack. Take your pick which you believe.”

Consul Noxisius crossed his arms.

“And if it was the doing of a cult, was it not your job to warn us of such things?”

Magister Exploratores Appius just stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just a little busy with the rebellion stripping away all my eyes and ears north of Velus’s Pass. Maybe if the Exploratores budget was updated in the last few centuries, I might have a bit more leeway to investigate ‘conspiracy theories,’ as Magister Verrucosis put it.”

Emperor Lucius held back a sigh.

“Magister Peditum, what is the situation so far?”

Magister Peditum Ausonius stepped forward.

“The only good news is that these corrupted dungeons seem fairly small, since they popped out of nowhere. The Legion keeps are all holding, Velus’s Pass is already conducting a counter assault. But until the keeps clear their dungeons, the Legions are tied up.”

Consul Noxisius frowned.

“So we’re just going to let corrupted dungeons run rampant in the cities? Do you understand what the consequences of that will be?”

Aedile Hortensus nodded.

“Not to mention all of our allies requesting support. I’d imagine it would be costly if we snubbed the dwarves, for example.”

Magister Militum Verrucosis scoffed.

“My troops can handle this. A few small dungeons are nothing.”

Aedile Hortensus nodded.

“But of course. I do wonder how many people will die while they do, however.”

Magister Militum Verrucosis scowled.

“You dare question the might of the Legion? I’d like to see you handle this! Why don’t you try and bribe the dungeon, huh?”

Aedile Hortensus smiled and held up his hands.

“Of course, I would not presume to interfere with military matters, good Magister. I simply believe we should consider the costs imposed should our response be…delayed.”

Emperor Lucius turned to the Grandmaster.

“Grandmaster, what of the Knights?”

The Grandmaster frowned and crossed his arms.

“We’ve dispatched everyone in the province, and I’ve reached out to all the private orders. We can handle Viridi Pabulum and Mestaynga but Elteno will have to wait.”

Consul Noxisius shook his head.

“That’s not good enough. Elteno may lack in strategic value but if we let the birthplace of the Empire burn to the ground, we will lose all our support among both the people and the other Courts.”

Aedile Hortensus rubbed his chin.

“We can’t call back the legions from Utrad?”

Magister Peditum Ausonius shook his head.

“We could, but these are corrupted dungeons we’re talking about. They would grow much stronger in the time it takes those forces to return, and the damage dealt in the meantime could be catastrophic.”

Consul Noxisius turned to Magister Arcanum Cnaeus.

“What of the Imperial Academy? The support of the mages would enable the Legion to take on the threat, wouldn’t it?”

Magister Arcanum Cnaeus shook his head.

“There’s one under the Imperial Academy too, and my request for reinforcements has already been denied. I don’t believe I need to inform you what occurs if a dungeon gains access to the resources of the Academy. Until our dungeon is dealt with, the faculty of the Academy are needed at home.”

Emperor Lucius rubbed his chin.

“Then what about…the Queen of the Dobhar?”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Magister Militum Verrucosis scoffed and shook his head.

“I refuse. My Legions can handle this. We don’t need her.”

Magister Peditum Ausonius cleared his throat.

“Sir, I must point out she has cooperated with the Legion. I feel bringing her in would be a boon for a troops’ morale.”

Consul Noxisius rubbed his chin.

“Putting aside our current dilemma, she has already resolved several major situations for us and received a great deal of our resources in exchange. If we continue to rely on her any further, we will start to appear quite weak to the other Courts…and everyone else too. It would not be wise to have her solve all of our problems.”

Aedile Hortensus shrugged.

“I’m not sure I agree…but I do think we need to consider what we would need to pay her. You aren’t going to give her everything in the Treasury, are you, Your Majesty?”

Emperor Lucius heaved a sigh, and his shoulders slumped.

“Then…we have no choice but to deploy the Imperial Guard, and the legions of Corvanus.”

Magister Militum Verrucosis grinned.

“I will lead them personally, and see to it that this crisis is put to an end.”

Aedile Hortensus frowned.

“Is that wise? That would leave us entirely exposed, wouldn’t it? How do we know another dungeon won’t appear in Corvanus?”

Emperor Lucius shook his head.

“If this council is not willing to employ the Queen of the Dobhar, then I do not see any other choice.”

Consul Noxisius nodded.

“I concur. And in the worst case, we could hire her to protect the capital. If we truly cannot handle this ourselves, then so be it. But let us first make every effort to solve Imperial problems with Imperial means.”

Magister Militum Verrucosis smirked.

“Besides, is that not what the Magister Exploratores is for?”

Magister Exploratores Appius threw up his hands.

“Of course. Sure. Blame it on me when something happens because you were scared of the Queen of the Dobhar showing you up, why don’t you?”

Emperor Lucius sighed, and then nodded his head.

“Nothing for it. Let’s deploy the guard then, and pray to the Aesdes that we truly don’t need the Queen of the Dobhar’s help.”

And so the Legions of the Northern Court and every knight order that would heed their call set out to strike down the great evil that assaulted the Empire.

Well, none of that mattered to NSLICE-00P. She had just touched down in Corvanus, and word of the crisis had not yet reached the public, so she simply made her way home, unaware of the wider events.

As she returned to the guest villa, one of the attendants approached her.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, we have received a delivery for you.”

“Acknowledged.”

The attendant handed her a letter and a scroll. Ateia glanced over her shoulder.

“What is it, Seero?”

NSLICE-00P opened the letter and read over it.

“Answer: Consul Noxisius has requested a meeting with this unit in order to offer a formal apology for the actions of his subordinate unit.”

Ateia tilted her head.

“Um, that’s good, I guess?”

“That stuck up jerk apologizing to a foreigner? It’s a miracle from the Aesdes.”

The group turned around to see Agedia approach. Ateia nodded.

“So…you think Seero should go?”

Agedia took a deep breath.

“…yes, if I’m honest. This is a serious olive branch by the leader of a major faction. If you reject it…that’s a declaration of hostility. So if you either want to engage with Noxisius or to stay as uninvolved as possible, then you should accept this gesture. Well, if you do want to start a fight with the traditionalist faction then do what you want.”

NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered, but she came to a decision fairly quickly. She took Agedia’s recommendation into account, as avoiding unintentional hostility was desirable. But ultimately, all of that ended up irrelevant.

“Analysis: Benefits to primary directive identified. Additional contact determined as desirable.”

Because alongside his letter, Consul Noxisius had sent NSLICE-00P a scroll on spatial magic.