Reincarnated as a Dungeon Master, I Became Unstoppable by Doting on My Monsters—My Gorgeous Monsters Have Started to Conquer the World on Their Own!

The time rewinds a bit.

While Yuuto was taking a history lesson inside the temple, the 13 monsters were waiting outside, per Yuuto’s orders.

“…It seems like the use of skills is restricted after all.”

Biondetta Gavanes… a parasitic wasp monster, possesses a wide range of auditory skills as general skills and less unique skills.

However, those skills, expected to help understand Yuuto’s situation, seemed disabled.

“Isn’t it because the residence of the gods is a non-combat area? It smells fishy, though.”

Her analysis after hearing Biondetta’s report turned out to be correct.

At the time, they didn’t know that their skills, created by the dungeon, were easily sealed by Nanaya, the dungeon goddess.

…The strength of unique monsters lies in their special skills, and hand-to-hand combat, where the difference in stats becomes evident, tends to be disadvantageous for them, who are of D-rank.

Therefore, their vigilance was at its maximum, and everyone had unknowingly begun preparing for battle.

“…Looks like we can’t afford to call it fishy. Something’s coming.”

Hazel said, glaring down the corridor.

She could see ten female priests with large aprons on their faces running out of the temple, holding some ostentatious chains.

“Their rank is around B. They don’t appear to be pure monsters, so be cautious.”

Upon hearing this, the 13 monsters immediately formed a formation. Those with combat skills that relied on skills and non-combatants who showed their true worth in the dungeon retreated to the back. In front of them, the five physical fighters formed a line to shield them.

Saryu, Rozina, Angeline, Ridwina, and Anima were the five who had the power to potentially defeat higher-ranked opponents even without using skills.

The reason for the lack of confidence in the expression “could potentially defeat” is that successfully surprising a stronger opponent is essential for victory.

“What is your purpose, esteemed priests of Goddess Nanaya?! Please put away those ominous chains if you intend to come any closer.”

Despite her warning, the ten priests ran emotionlessly, spreading out to surround the thirteen monsters, chains extended in both hands.

This was a textbook formation for group combat, allowing each to cover for the other and an unmistakable signal that the battle had begun.

“Blessed Spear Blanket,” “Great Tree of Night,” “Mansion’s Gutter.”

As the priests began chanting, everything they wore, including the chains, glowed blue.

“Hey, isn’t it unfair that only you get to use skills?” Rosarosa barked, and the five in front assumed complete battle stances.

“That chant and glow indicate a magical barrier… I’ll step back.”

More of a combat maniac than a warrior, she usually had a good grasp of valuable skills and chants in battle.

Knowing she couldn’t compete against a magical barrier blocking most physical attacks, she retreated… There was no regret. She didn’t want to be a burden, and there were things she could do from the back.

“Angeline, Ridwina, move forward!” Margarita, the apprentice commander, shouted, and two humanoid monsters leaped out.

“Understood.”

“Roger.”

Angeline, expressionless, obeyed the command while Ridwina grinned as if enjoying the fight.

Human-sized Angeline elegantly raised her white sword, matching her porcelain armor.

Next to her, Ridwina, a unique monster of the demon tribe called Ucobaku, took a fighting pose and began to step lightly. Her large, round eyes took up half of her head.

However, Ridwina was dressed in a maid outfit, and the weapon on her back was a mop.

With that battle cry, the brains of the priests and the two monsters began to work at high speed for their first confrontation.

Angeline and Ridwina thought. The combat-capable members were two against 10, and there was no way out.

In that case, they had no choice but to believe in the possibility of catching the enemy off guard, even if only slightly.

They made the same decision and charged at full speed towards the priests at both ends.

However, more is needed to solve the problem. In human-to-human combat, it’s rare for someone at a significant disadvantage to go on the offensive immediately. While they might catch the opponent off guard, many monsters believe in striking first to win.

The priests considered them to be of that sort.

…The difference in status also manifests in agility. The priests on both sides, who were prepared for the charge, stepped forward and observed the two’s actions with ease.

The priests paid attention to the longsword in Angeline’s hand and the mop on Ridwina’s back. Given their B-rank toughness, they judged that they could easily block these weapons.

What they needed to prepare for was a full-force first attack. Especially if a swordsman like Angeline were to charge and thrust, they could get hurt.

Conversely, if they could handle that well, they could surround and restrain them as a group. That was the battle plan they had in mind.

…Had the priests’ goal not been captured, the outcome might already have been decided. If they could freely use attack magic, they could have dealt with Angeline and Ridwina before they got close.

However, they were loyal priests of Goddess Nanaya. Therefore, even in this overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, they couldn’t go all out, sensing something ominous that only these two were challenging them.

The first move of the priest facing Angeline was a low sweep. It was intended to block Angeline’s first attack with her sword reliably and to prevent accidentally killing her due to her lowly status.

“Thank you.”

However, what the priest heard was Angeline’s mutter.

…The priests accompanying Goddess Nanaya had been granted excellent skills to guard the goddess. One of them was a magical barrier that repelled attacks.

That’s why they didn’t know.

In combat, an item called “acting ability” never appears in the status.

From the beginning, Angeline had been walking in a manner that invited a sweep, just like a typical swordsman would. Her posture was low like a Satsuma warrior putting all his strength into the first strike.

(TL|N: “Satsuma warrior” refers to samurai from the Satsuma Domain, which was a powerful and influential domain in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1867). The Satsuma samurai were known for their martial prowess, loyalty, and significant role in the Meiji Restoration.)

It was one of her tactics when dealing with humanoid beings above her.

The 13 monsters, who had always been the weak ones in the forest, had prepared several tricks for surviving against stronger opponents. Moreover, their Dungeon Master, Yuuto, was more adept at self-defense techniques against brutes rather than combat tactics.

This technique was born from faithfully following Yuuto’s teachings that acting ability is also crucial for protecting oneself when learning swordsmanship and self-defense. Angeline never intended to stake her comrades’ fate on a first attack she could miss.

Thus, while keeping a low posture to protect her weak points, Angeline caught the priest’s sweeping kick with her foot, barely touching the ground.

The sweep, which should have been decided when the entire weight was on the front foot during the step-in, only moved Angeline’s relaxed leg sideways.

…Angeline’s posture at that time was undoubtedly impossible. If you stand on one leg wide open, you will fall on the leg, floating in the air.

However, Angeline maintained her posture by “completely entrusting her leg to the leg the opponent swept.”

It was a technique made possible by her innate physical talent and a certain natural calmness that allowed her to execute techniques on the battlefield successfully.

The priest thought he had completely cut off the “all-out first strike by the swordsman,” but because Angeline was utterly relaxed, his swinging leg continued to rotate, causing a momentary stiffness.

Seizing that opportunity, Angeline rotated in the direction she had been swept.

She had already relaxed the hand holding the sword as part of her act, and like a crash-test dummy being flung by a truck, she spun around and grabbed the confused priest’s hands with both of hers.

Upon closer inspection, Angeline was gripping only the priest’s little fingers with both hands… a pinky catch. It’s an effective but rarely used technique on the battlefield due to its high difficulty level, and Angeline successfully executed it.

Angeline’s rotation could be considered a second surprise attack. The priest, who had been aiming for an unscathed capture, couldn’t instantly decide where to attack the spinning Angeline.

And so, Angeline, while delicately controlling so as not to break the priest’s little finger, twisted the priest’s hand behind him like an arresting technique and used it as a shield to prevent attacks from other priests.

This is one of the techniques passed down in Japanese practical jujutsu… Pain creates reflexes. No matter the difference in status, if you catch the little finger at the point where you can exert the most force, you can’t act due to the pain… Of course, if you act, you’ll naturally break your finger.

The priest is a creature that feels pain to the extent of a human and was thus controlled under the unique Japanese martial arts situation of “it doesn’t hurt if you don’t move. If you move, intense pain runs through you.”

Angeline glanced at Ridwina and saw that she had pinned a priest, who had overwhelmingly higher status, to the floor by locking his shoulder joint.

… “Aikido from such a bulky demon,” thought Angeline, but in the world of monsters, body size is just one indicator. Instead, a large body might effectively surprise the opponent when using such soft techniques. She thought of such things as well.

The priests never would have imagined that Angeline and Ridwina, who are generally forceful monsters but have been humanoid since G-rank, had been practicing martial arts every day for ten years.

Thus, the two successfully restrained the two priests.

…Well, up to this point, the plan had worked perfectly, but what was born was just a stalemate.

At that point, Angeline looked at Margarita.

“…Do you think we can negotiate?”

At least, we’re in a situation where we can talk to the other party. She said, full of hope.

Margarita is in charge of negotiations but under the circumstances of “We’re not just being attacked, we’ve subdued two of them! But if we continue like this, we’ll lose, and if the other party gets serious, we’ll be annihilated, and Yuuto will be left behind in the temple!” there’s no way to advance the talks advantageously.

It would be impossible for any negotiator.

After all, there are probably still priests waiting in the back…

To at least not waste the two’s combat, Margarita, with a face filled with a certain kind of resignation, gave an order to Ridwina.

“Ridwina, pluck and swallow the tentacles of the priest you’re holding down.”

“Sure, sure.”

Ridwina, without any refusal, plucked the antennae from the face of the mantis-like priest she had pinned down and swallowed it from below with her fingers.

…No matter the rank difference, antennae are delicate, after all. When the antennae were easily plucked with a “snap,” the priest, who should be able to speak human language, let out a bug-like “Gyii” at that moment.

Then, Margarita, who had given such an order, raised both her hands in resignation and said,

“We have no chance of winning here, so we fully surrender. Please, take us wherever you’d like.”