"No way... is this a hidden territory?!" the Vice Leader exclaimed in shock. While it could be a hidden dungeon, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a hidden territory.
Greed surged within him. Hidden territories were known to offer far greater rewards than ordinary ones.
If the Chief clears this hidden territory, he'll claim all the treasure and power for himself! And I'll be stuck in the same place forever!
Consumed by his inferiority complex toward Ahmad, the Vice Leader couldn't stand idly by.
"Five rookies! You stay here and keep watch! The rest of you, follow the Chief into the quicksand!"
"Vice Leader! Are you out of your mind?!"
"This is a hidden territory! A hidden territory where we can obtain treasure and power! Anyone who doesn't want to come, stay here! I won't hold it against you!"
With those words, the Vice Leader plunged into the quicksand.
The bandits exchanged glances before a few began to follow suit. However, twenty of them remained rooted to the spot, merely staring at the shifting sands.
Most of these reluctant bandits were recent recruits to the Mud Hand Bandit Gang, still wary of Ahmad and the Vice Leader.
The remaining bandits huddled together for a private discussion.
"Three days. We wait here for exactly three days. If they don't emerge by then, we return to the hideout. And... we surrender to the back alleys."
You have entered the Underground Pyramid of the 8,111th District.
This is a hidden territory.
Conquering the Pyramid will grant you control over the 8,111th District.
The Golden Mask is watching you.
The Cycle of Life and Death is watching you.
I pushed myself up from the ground, brushing sand off my clothes and face as I quickly scanned my surroundings. The vast space was surreal, with sand cascading down the ceiling and walls like a mystical waterfall.
A colossal pyramid loomed before me, yet despite the absence of sunlight, the area was as bright as midday.
Conquer the pyramid to gain dominion... How kind of them to reveal the territory's dominion conditions so readily.
Most territories kept their dominion conditions secret, forcing conquerors to investigate them as a standard procedure. However, a few rare territories, like the 8,111th District before me, openly disclosed their dominion conditions.
"Cough, cough!"
Kasha, hidden beneath the cloth, cleared her throat. I snapped back to attention.
Now's not the time for this.
I sprinted toward the Pyramid, knowing the Bandit Gang would be hot on my heels any moment.
After what they did to my sister abducting and brutalizing her they'd be fools not to chase me.
Thud!
A quick glance behind revealed Ahmad, the red-haired man, sprawled on the ground.
Ahmad immediately scrambled to his feet, glaring at me and bellowing, "Heavenly Demon!!!"
"My ears are ringing! Speak softer I can hear you just fine. Turn down the volume a bit."
"Release Kasha now! Immediately!"
"Kasha's with me, remember?"
I tossed the black cloth aside as I ran.
"Ah! Hng! Ah! Ugh!"
The violent motion of my sprint sent shockwaves through Kasha, who was clinging to my body. Her body bucked and writhed as she ground my cock against her pussy.
"Demon Lord!!"
Ahmad's eyes rolled back as he began chasing me with all his might.
Demonic Heavenly Art: Heavenly Demon Step.
My legs moved swiftly, Ahmad couldn't catch up. The distance between us only widened.
Soon, I reached the entrance of the Pyramid.
Kang Myungjin's original request wasn't to conquer the Pyramid, just to retrieve an item... Well, my stats have improved anyway...
I glanced back. Other bandits were emerging one by one, dropping to the ground. The height was only about 2 meters, not particularly dangerous.
With these guys as bait, I should be able to conquer it.
More importantly, I knew the strategy for conquering this Territory.
"Hngh! Aaaah! O-Oppaah!!"
Kasha, pressed tight against me, panted heavily.
"Oppa? Are you calling me?"
"Shut up!"
A voice stopped Ahmad as he charged into the Pyramid.
"Chief! Calm down! Calm down!"
It was the Vice Leader.
Having worked together for a long time, his voice managed to halt Ahmad, who was consumed by rage.
"This is a hidden territory! Beyond this point is practically a dungeon! If you rush in recklessly, you'll fall into traps and die! You know we can't play into his schemes if we want to save Kasha! And do you really think Kasha is some damsel who'll be crying over getting dragged around? I guarantee she won't give a damn..."
"Alright, alright, let's hurry up."
"Anyway, Chief, don't wander off inside this pyramid. You're the strongest among us... without you, we're all dead meat."
Ahmad and the Vice Leader moved deeper into the pyramid.
The Vice Leader touched his bulging eyes with his hand. Colored stones lay scattered across the floor: red, blue, and yellow, along with plain gray ones.
There's a pattern! This is clearly a trap!
But the Vice Leader wasn't a trap expert. He could only recognize the presence of a trap. If he were a true expert, he wouldn't be wasting his time as a bandit.
The Vice Leader didn't warn the other bandits about the trap.
A careless bandit stepped forward, his foot landing squarely on a blue stone. A hole opened in the right wall, and an arrow shot out. So silent and cleverly positioned was the trap that the bandit had no time to react before the arrow struck him, killing him instantly.
The Vice Leader rushed to the bandit's corpse.
"Lot! Damn it! Too late! And it was a poisoned arrow!"
The Vice Leader slammed his fist against the wall in fury.
It was all an act.
Inwardly, he rejoiced at the bandit's death.
Good riddance. The fewer of us there are, the more we can take for ourselves!
Bandits could always be replaced later. This world was harsh; with a little coaxing, turning a man with a tragic past into a bandit was child's play.
The traps are more dangerous than I thought... but at my level, I can barely avoid them. Of course, I can't step forward myself... I'll have to subtly push my subordinates in.
But the Vice Leader's leisurely thoughts were cut short. Something had sprung out from ahead.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Mummies undead monsters, withered corpses wrapped in rotting bandages emerged.
"Mummies, of all things!" Ahmad swung his scimitar. Sword qi flew out, cleaving the mummy in two. Yet his expression didn't relax. The bisected mummy was slowly regenerating, and behind it, over ten more mummies materialized.
"F-form ranks!" the Vice Leader shouted, and the battle began.
I sprinted through the Pyramid's corridors without hesitation.
"Ah! Haa! Aah!"
Kasha reacted violently to my relentless pace, and I felt exhilarated. The sensation of running while cumming inside her was something you had to experience to understand.
Knowing the strategy made the corridor's traps trivial. All I needed was focus to avoid tripping.
Thud! Thud!
Screeeech.
Whenever a mummy appeared, I swung my fist.
The mummies, struck by my punches, flew into the walls and collapsed to the floor. Their withered arms and legs broke off, but they slowly regenerated.
Inside the Pyramid, even burning a mummy to death won't kill it. You need special powers to truly destroy them.
I regretted not having the Subduing Demon Gauntlet before it became the Ten Thousand Man Kill. With its immense Anti-Magic, it could have significantly slowed the Mummies' regeneration, even if it couldn't kill them outright.
If there were Anti-Magic even greater than the Subduing Demon Gauntlet, we might have been able to kill those Mummy bastards...
I forced myself to ignore my lingering attachment to the gauntlet and focused on running.
A fork in the path appeared.
Left.
Another fork.
Left again.
In this pyramid, sticking to the left path would lead me to the summit, not by the shortest route, but reliably.
We should have enough time. It'll take the bandits a while to figure out the traps' rules.
I emerged into a vast chamber, its ceiling soaring over ten meters high and its floor spanning more than eighty pyeong (approximately 264 square meters). Considering the pyramid's exterior dimensions, this scale seemed improbable, but I didn't dwell on it.
It's probably just Space Expansion Magic or some kind of spatial barrier at work. This is a world where gods exist; I shouldn't be surprised by such trivialities.
"The Riddle-Loving Cat (Fake) welcomes you."
A monstrous creature sat squarely in the center of the chamber: a lion's body with a child's face, bird wings sprouting from its back, and a serpent's tail. It stood six meters tall, an imposing figure.
The infamous Sphinx a counterfeit, of course.
"Kyahahaha! A human after so long, nyang! Welcome, nyang! I am the Sphinx! If you wish to pass, you must solve three riddles I pose, nyang!"
"Ugh... this is such a hassle."
"So you want to fight me, Nyang?!"
The Sphinx extended its forepaw, its sharp claws gleaming. A powerful aura emanated from the creature. I felt I could win in a fight, but I decided to take the easier route.
"Fine. I just need to solve your riddles, right?"
"First to answer three riddles correctly wins, Nyang! But if you get three wrong, you'll have to fight me, Nyang!"
"What? Best two out of three is the standard for this kind of thing."
"This is my standard, Nyang!"
I really wanted to smash its head in.
"But what about that female? Is she a participant? Riddle battles are one-on-one, Nyang!"
"She's with me. She's not competing, so just wait a minute."
"With you?"
The Sphinx repeated the words, clearly confused, but I ignored it.
I untied the leather straps and gently lowered Kasha to the ground.
"Ugh..."
Kasha trembled, still dazed from stepping on a pressure plate during her frantic escape, but her eyes were open and focused on me; she was fully awake.
When I withdrew my cock from her cunt, I felt a sense of emptiness. Glancing down, I saw my cock coated in sticky fluid. Despite having ejaculated dozens of times, it remained throbbing and erect, as if still wanting more. A surge of pride washed over me.
"Ready, nyang?"
"Yeah. But don't you think my cock looks pretty impressive?"
"I wouldn't know, nyang. Aren't all human genitals pretty much the same, nyang?"
"...Could you stop saying 'nyang' all the time?"
It might be cute if a beautiful woman said it, but hearing some monster kid say it after every sentence just gives me the creeps.
"It's part of my identity, nyang. I can't stop, nyang."
"Ah, is that so, nyang? I understand, nyang."
"...Why are you mimicking my speech pattern, nyang?"
"To piss you off, nyang."
"...First question, nyang. What goes in as one and comes out as two, nyang?"
This question differed from the original work. Then again, the circumstances were different now compared to when I first arrived.
I crossed my arms and pondered. For the record, I was completely naked except for my shoes.
"Ten~ Nine~ Eight~ Seven~"
Snap.
I snapped my fingers.
"Correct! Twins, nyang!"
"...Nyang? Why do you think so, nyang?"
"Semen enters a single pussy hole and comes out as twins, becoming two, nyang. Ah, from this perspective, semen could also be the answer, nyang."
"...Wrong, nyang. Next question, nyang. What bubbles when pushed, nyang?"
"Ten~"
"Correct! Vaginal fluid! Nyang!"
Among the women I'd been with, some would foam with vaginal fluid when I thrust into them.
"Wrong, Nyang! Do you even think? I'll give you an easier one this time, Nyang. What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening, Nyang?"
Hmm.
This feels familiar... like I've heard it somewhere before.
"Ten~"
"Correct! Sex! Nyang!"
"...Why, Nyang?!"
"Morning: doggy style! Noon: missionary! Evening: scissor position! Nyang!"
"...I'll give you one more chance, Nyang. Think deeply this time, Nyang."
"I'm not falling for your tricks, Nyang. The answer is sex, Nyang."
"Wrong, Nyang."
The Sphinx rose from its seated position. I twitched my eyebrow.
"Wait. Wrong? I don't understand. What's the answer?"
"You don't even know that, Nyang? You're a Human, Nyang. Isn't it famous among you Humans?"
"Human...? No. I can't make sense of this. If it were a man, maybe, but a Human...?"
"The answer is a man, Nyang? Why is that?"
"In the morning, it lies in bed on four legs. At noon, it stands on two legs. In the evening, it sits on three legs."
"...So you're one of those lazy guys who wakes up at noon, Nyang. But why three legs in the evening?"
"..."
I silently pointed between my legs.
"..."
The Sphinx wordlessly raised its forepaw.