Swemer sharpened his spear on a hard rock while saying, “I once thought the strongest weapon was a spear, because it has the longest range among melee weapons and it’s easy to use. I became a spearman not long after, and I poked holes in the stomachs of several bastards who only knew how to swing a sword. Now, though, I realize I was wrong. The strongest weapon in the world is the tongue.”

Hawk smirked and said, “There’s a common saying among us deep-sea treasure hunters. You’re more likely to be stabbed in the back by a tongue than a sword.”

While carrying a backpack filled with magic scrolls, Harpoon said, “To think he would be able to convince the phoenix with a few words when I had to use more than twelve blizzard magic scrolls… Is that guy a negotiator or what?”

The men prepared to leave while stealing glances at Kang Yoon-Soo, who was sitting on the ground. A few hours had already passed since he started preaching.

“It was at that moment that the Mad God Urnokra shouted, ‘You look like your father’s dick!’ The followers could not hide their amazement and awe at Urnokra’s courage, to curse directly in the face of the Demon Lord,” Kang Yoon-Soo preached.

The phoenix stood still and did not attack or show any hostility toward Kang Yoon-Soo, clearly absorbed in the sermon.

Danesh crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow, saying, “I have no idea what rubbish he’s spouting. How does it make any sense for the phoenix to be convinced by that crap?”

“I have no idea, but it doesn’t seem as if that guy is just blabbering to me,” Hekal, the blind swordmaster said while laughing. He added, “Nobody can fool the ears of a blind man. That young man is purposely speaking in a tone the phoenix likes. He seems to be well aware that large birds tend to be more receptive to low and deep voices. I‘m certain he learned oration from an expert, judging by the fact that he even put thought into his tone.”

Danesh scoffed and asked, “How does that even make sense? Do large birds really have a certain tone they like?”

“The woman you keep looking for in your dreams seems to have a nice voice as well,” Hekal replied.

“I should just keep quiet…” Danesh muttered with a grimace.

Ramel sheathed his greatsword and asked, “Do you really believe that guy can save us…?”

“Who knows? It’s hard to tell in this hellish environment, but it feels as if I’ll have to go all out after a long hiatus,” Recifer replied while filling his sleeves with rusty daggers.

It was at that moment that Kang Yoon-Soo’s sermon concluded. As he stood up, the large burning bird slowly approached him.

“Kyaaaahk!” The phoenix cried out, then rubbed its head on Kang Yoon-Soo. As it was showing affection, the phoenix’s flames were not hot; rather, they were comfortably warm and even healed Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo patted the phoenix’s head while thinking, ‘We meet again.’

The phoenix standing before him was the one he had fought alongside in the trial; there, it had swept Rawelkan’s undead legion and turned the tide of battle. Of course, what had happened in the trial did not affect reality, so the phoenix had no recollection of Kang Yoon-Soo.

‘The phoenix in the trial was only a juvenile, but this one is different,’ he thought.

The phoenix before him had lived for centuries and was a fully-fledged adult. It would have provided a significant boost to their combat power if it became an ally, but the chances of that happening were close to zero.

‘That’s because it’s completely surrendered to the Dragon of Destruction,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The most powerful dragon on the continent, the Dragon of Destruction, was so mighty that it could even force an immortal phoenix into submission and turn it into a subordinate. Kang Yoon-Soo might have made the phoenix cease hostilities toward them, but it would be difficult to call it an ally.

‘It’ll turn a blind eye to us escaping, but it won’t try to fight against the Dragon of Destruction,’ he thought.

That was because there was a limit to how much he could convince the immortal bird with words.

Phoenixes were innately susceptible to being influenced by preaching. The phoenix in the trial had been especially vulnerable, as it was still a juvenile. It had been so completely brainwashed by religion that it committed suicide upon receiving a single command from Kang Yoon-Soo.

However, that phoenix had already grown up to become an adult, and it was smart enough to not be so easily brainwashed. In fact, it was possible that the phoenix would help them at the start but suddenly switch sides and help the Dragon of Destruction during the battle.

‘It’s a shame, but I can’t recruit it as an ally,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He plucked a few fiery feathers from the phoenix, as they had powerful healing capabilities and also increased the fire resistance of the bearer.

“Kyaaahk!” The phoenix cried loudly as Kang Yoon-Soo kept plucking its feathers. It would certainly turn hostile toward them if he continued to do so past a certain point.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo stopped plucking its feathers when he had enough. He turned around and told the men, “The phoenix has given up on watching over you, so you can now leave this place.”

The men seemed skeptical. Danesh was the first to speak up, asking, “How can we trust you? That phoenix has been watching over us for more than a decade. Would it really give up like that just because you said a few words?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied, then walked over to the steel door and grabbed its doorknob. A powerful flame would normally have swept him away by then, but the phoenix did not even make a sound and just quietly stood there.

“I-It’s true!”

“We can finally get out of here!”

Just as the men were about to rejoice, however, Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “You could leave this instant, but there’s a restriction placed on all of you. That restriction won’t be lifted unless the Dragon of Destruction dies.”

“Restriction? What are you talking about?” Danesh grumbled.

“A tattoo was engraved on each of you when you were abducted,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

It was exactly as he said. All of the men had been tattooed with a strange-looking red symbol while they were under the influence of the drug used to abduct them. The tattoos were all in different places; some of the men had it on their chins, while others had it on their backs or shoulders.

“A restriction spell has been cast on the tattoo, and not even an Archmage would be able to dispel it,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Who the hell are you, that you know every single detail about what’s going on?” one of the men asked.

“Like I said, I came here to save you guys, which is why I came here prepared with all manner of knowledge,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied, leaving the men astounded.

Then, he raised one finger and said, “First, your friends and comrades aboveground will have no recollection of you.”

It would be impossible to return their friends’ and comrades’ memories of them if they did not kill the Dragon of Destruction. However, the men did not seem to be bothered at all as they responded.

“Well, I can always make new friends.”

“I only had enemies around me, so I’ll actually be thankful if they can’t remember anything about me.”

“I borrowed a huge sum of money from this guy before getting abducted, so it’ll actually be a relief if he doesn’t remember me since I won’t have to repay him.”

They were men who had experienced all sorts of things in life. The first restriction was not a big deal for them, as they had not breathed the outside air for decades.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised a second finger and said, “Second, your families won’t have any recollection of you.”

The reactions from the men were mixed this time, but some of them smirked and walked toward the steel door.

“This is the first time I’m actually thankful for being born as an orphan. I plan to meet a nice woman and make my own family when I get out of here.”

“My family sold me off as a slave when I was young. They probably won’t even remember me, seeing as it’s been so long, so I’d rather just escape from this damn hellhole.”

However, Kang Yoon-Soo’s next words suddenly stopped the men in their tracks. He said, “You should listen until the end.”

“What is it this time?” the men grumbled.

“Third, you’ll never be able to do it,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied, raising a third finger.

Silence filled the entire area for a moment. Afterward, someone asked hesitantly, “What do you mean, we’ll never be able to do it…?”

“Sex,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The men’s faces all fell.

“What the… Friends, family, and sex? What’s the connection? That’s just too random…” Swemer said.

“Why would someone place a restriction on something so important…?” Hawk asked seriously.

“The Dragon of Destruction considers men’s libido very important. It concluded that decreased libido would increase work efficiency,” Kang Yoon-Soo began. He continued, “Above all, though, the Dragon of Destruction hates it when humans procreate. It might permit you to escape this place, but it would never allow you to procreate—ever.”

It was then that Hekal suddenly retorted, “Ha! Dragons are mighty and haughty creatures. Why would a creature like a dragon even care if humans procreate or not?”

Kang Yoon-Soo gave a short and direct answer. “That’s just how the Dragon of Destruction is.”

“What do you mean, that’s just how it is?” Hekal asked.

“It hates the thought of anything other than itself mating,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“…”

The men were at a loss for words.

Recifer, who had been silently observing the entire situation until then, slowly said, “I’m thankful that you freed us from the phoenix, but it’s just too difficult for me to trust what you said just now. Is there a way for us to check whether those restrictions were really placed on us or not?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. He then walked toward Recifer and touched the tattoo on his shoulder. The patterns on it were very complicated.

‘I won’t be able to dispel it, but I can show them what this tattoo is capable of,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he worked on the tattoo as much as he could. He would not be able to remove the restrictions placed on them, but he could at least reveal their details.

[Top-Tier Restriction Magic]

1. The target’s friends outside Kolod Abandoned Mine will not be able to remember them.

2. The target’s family outside Kolod Abandoned Mine will not be able to remember them.

3. The target will never be able to have sex ever again.

[The target will be ripped to shreds the moment they go against the third restriction.]

Kang Yoon-Soo showed the messages that popped up on his wrist device to the men. As they read it, their faces fell even more. Thus, Kang Yoon-Soo repeated once again, “The only way you’ll be able to obtain true freedom is to kill the Dragon of Destruction.”

The men finally realized that what the young man in front of them had just said was reality, and they raged and lamented.

“Didn’t I tell you? The thing that locked us up in here is a pervert!”

“It’s definitely a vicious and cruel being. Why the hell would it place a restriction on that?!”

“Damn it, I won’t be able to continue living unless I kill that dragon.”

“I’ll become the first person on the continent to cut the Dragon of Destruction’s cock off, then!”

“I’d rather just kill the Dragon of Destruction, at this rate! This is revenge for locking me up for decades!”

As the men burned with killing intent, Ramel, who had recently entered the mine, raised his hand and asked, “If sex is restricted… What about self-gratification?”

It was then that Harpoon shook his head and replied, “That’s alright. I tried it in secret.”

Swemer scratched his head and asked, “What do you mean by self-gratification?”

Harpoon replied, “Masturbation.”

“…”

The entire area fell silent once again.

***

Meanwhile, the ogres were tearing through the bloody meat of live animals. It was not that they did not know how to use fire, but they loved the fresh taste of living creatures desperately squirming in their mouths.

The ogre covered in scars squinted while chewing a bone, then shouted, “Kar naro dol!”

The twelve ogres threw their meals away and stood up while raising their hammers.

Many creatures were rushing through the mineshaft, and their footsteps were so intense that they made the entire area tremble slightly.

The ogres gripped their large hammers and hid behind a rock wall. It would be illogical for them to belt out a battle cry just because there were invaders rushing toward them. Thus, they planned to ambush the intruders the moment they rushed past.

At that moment…

“Raku nar mol!” The ogre standing farthest at the back suddenly shouted, before it vomited blood and collapsed.

The remaining ogres looked behind them, and saw a fleeting shadow. The owner of the shadow was none other than Recifer, who had discreetly circled around and ambushed the ogres from behind while they were distracted by the footsteps heading toward them!

“Kar no kuro dol!”

Just as the ogres were about to swing their hammers against the invader, a man suddenly flew toward them. The ogres scowled when they noticed the puny human approaching them, but that same puny human drew a spear and pierced the heavy armor of one of their number.

“Kor… Heuk! Heuk…!” As the spear penetrated through the armor and into the ogre’s heart, it coughed out blood as it tried its best to remain on its feet.

However, the man unleashed a barrage of attacks with his spear, and the ogre eventually fell over and died. Swemer swung his bloody spear and said, “It was wearing some pretty good armor. I can still feel the ecstasy from stabbing it. Next! Bring it on!”

Forty men appeared from behind Swemer, charging simultaneously at the ogres. However, even though they had been hit first, the ogres were unfazed and rushed forward to meet the intruders.

As the men fought, Kang Yoon-Soo hid behind the crowd and only appeared to deal the final blow. The ogres fought as hard as they could, but they were ripped apart like wet tissue.

The fire in the men’s eyes was rekindled as the battle drew to a close.

“Let’s kill the Dragon of Destruction and retake our freedom!”

“Cheers to our one true freedom!”

The men who had been locked up for decades were beginning to regain their old strength.