Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

"My father?"

Fanen looked at Uffie, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

Ever since fighting against the parasitic soldiers of the Warrior Country in the Capital, he had sensed something was amiss. Perhaps his father really had some connection with the Warrior Country, but he never had the chance to ask.

"Did he... fail in a power struggle and escape to the Great Noble of the Red out of fear of being killed? Are you here to take us back to inherit a title?" Isha exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"You've been reading too many novels..." Fanen patted her head, looking helpless.

Uffie just smiled at the scene and said:

"It seems you are indeed interested. Let's go, find a place where I can explain it to you."

The group then headed towards Fanen's residence.

However, halfway there, a commotion suddenly erupted on the streets. It sounded like two groups shouting at each other. Although they hadn't started fighting, the clatter of metal armor rang out, making one feel as if they were on a small battlefield.

The people around quickly ran over to watch the excitement, asking each other as they ran:

"Which side do you support?"

"The Dungeon connects to the Yanor Kingdom; it'll be more convenient for us to go there in the future. I choose the Yanor Kingdom!"

"But I've heard that the Warrior Country is the most generous to its vassal states. Also, haven't you noticed that the people we've encountered from the Yanor Kingdom lately are a bit... strange, both in character and behavior?"

Frowning, Uffie muttered, "Here we go again," and walked towards the source of the noise.

There, several soldiers from the Warrior Country, dressed in armor with dragon motifs, were exchanging insults with a few adventurers from the Yanor Kingdom. The atmosphere was getting heated, and it looked like they were about to start fighting.

The arguments were the usual kind, like which nation was more powerful, or pointless discussions like "Our country's whatever can crush your country's whatever." You'd think a bunch of kids were arguing if not for the age difference.

"Stop!"

Uffie shouted, stopping both sides. Inwardly shaking her head, she scolded the soldiers while deliberately not being too kind to the adventurers—she couldn't show favoritism, after all.

She had seen the adventurers reaching for a pot of dung, and if she hadn't intervened, things would have gotten messy.

It wasn't a major conflict to begin with, and after she forcefully intervened, both sides exchanged a few harsh words before dispersing.

The onlookers weren't disappointed by the absence of a fight, knowing that such scenes could happen again at any time and that Uffie alone couldn't stop them.

The reason, of course, was the ongoing strife between the Warrior Country and the Yanor Kingdom.

The Warrior Country had already sent more troops to clean up the mess. After all, their soldiers had suffered losses due to parasites, and King Banto couldn't sit back and do nothing.

Although the parasites had been dealt with by the time the troops arrived, some still remained stationed there, as the Warrior Country was genuinely considering whether to annex Red as a vassal. However, most people felt it wasn't worth it, thinking Red people would just drive up the food prices!

Originally, King Banto was planning to abandon Red, but then the Sain Dungeon suddenly opened for adventurers, leading to an influx of adventurers from the Yanor Kingdom into Red, along with a rescue team selected from the Yanor Kingdom's military.

Ainz III had sent the rescue team with the pure intention of humanitarian aid, but unexpectedly, they clashed with the Warrior Country's troops as soon as they arrived.

Two previously hostile nations' military forces meeting on the territory of a small country... so many things could happen in between.

But the final outcome was that neither side withdrew; instead, they established a presence there, creating a Cold War-like standoff.

If the Yanor Kingdom had not intervened, Banto would have given up on Red, but with the Yanor Kingdom's involvement, Banto couldn't just leave Red empty-handed if only for the sake of face.

He decided to take Red as a vassal!

However, at the same time, the Yanor Kingdom also wanted to annoy their adversary and declared their intention to take Red as a vassal too.

The situation became notably awkward.

Now, both sides are heavily wooing the Red people with benefits, advocating how wonderful their respective countries are, even democratically allowing the Red people to choose which nation to affiliate themselves with, claiming it to be very humane.

The longstanding dream of the Red people had come true, and they were receiving double benefits, eating out of two nations' aid at the same time!

Currently, both Ainz III and Banto are remaining quite calm. Although their respective armies have arrived, they are just stationed there, not infringing on each other. Everyone knows that starting a war over Red isn't a wise choice.

The Yanor Kingdom's forces, under strict control and self-discipline, truly manage not to leave their posts unless necessary. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Warrior Country. Despite the prohibitions, many soldiers roam the city every day.

Naturally, soldiers wandering around inevitably run into another constantly wandering group—the adventurers.

Given that the current adventurers are almost all from the Yanor Kingdom, conflicts and disputes between the two sides are inevitable.

"Which general's troops are these, with such lax discipline?" Fanen curiously asked.