[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun":3,"chapter-the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-173":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},630193,871,"Chapter 173: Trapped","the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-173",173,"\u003Cp>Fear had been an underlying emotion for everyone alive in this day and age, and the father-son duo thought they knew fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, apparently, there was still dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The creature’s eyes glowed with an unnatural light, its gaze locking onto Talen and Kael as if sensing their intrusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast was stalking them—an odd sensation considering that the beast was one giant tortoise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It moved sluggishly but with an ominous inevitability, each step causing the lake to bubble and hiss as it exuded pools of acidic corruption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything, it should be whatused to bea lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because frankly, no one would classify that as one, considering the current conditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For had they touched that still body of liquid, their mechas would’ve started corroding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kael, run!\" Talen shouted, drawing his blade—a relic from his younger days as a mecha pilot. But even as he spoke, he knew escape was futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sludgeborn Tortoise was slow, but its territory was its prison—and no one who entered ever left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael hesitated, his eyes wide with fear but also defiance. \"We can’t leave without the Jade Vine!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talen cursed under his breath but nodded. \"Stay close to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast let out a guttural roar that echoed against the jagged peaks, the tentacles on its back lashing out with terrifying speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Goddammit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One wrapped around the arm of Talen’s mecha, its slimy grip threatening to burn through the metal frame like acid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talen slashed at it with his blade, severing the appendage, but another quickly replaced it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael darted to the side, narrowly avoiding a tentacle that smashed into the ground where he originally stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eldest son felt like he had used all his luck just for that one moment and hoped he wouldn’t need to pull another one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the creature’s acidic wallow expanded, the air grew thick with the stench of decay, turning the lake’s remnants into a bubbling swamp that threatened to trap their feet if they landed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talen fought valiantly—or as valiantly as an insect could fight off a stone golem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His blade flashed as he hacked at the tentacles and dodged the snapping maws that emerged from the creature’s shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Kael scrambled toward the Jade Vine, the mecha’s hands reaching for the glowing tendrils even as the ground threatened to pull him under or corrode him off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then it happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tentacle coiled around Kael’s leg, dragging him toward one of the gaping maws on the tortoise’s shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father!\" he cried out, panic in his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talen roared in fury, lunging toward his caught son, driving the blade into the tentacle to free the tangled mecha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was a sacrifice that left him vulnerable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another tentacle lashed out, wrapping around his torso and pulling him toward the monstrous shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kael! Take the Vine and run!\" Talen shouted through their comms, his voice strained as his mecha struggled against the creature’s grip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not leaving you!\" Kael yelled back as his long-held-back tears began to stream down his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast let out another roar as it dragged Talen closer to its shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gaping maws opened wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth that looked ready to digest anything they could touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael’s mind raced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grabbed his dagger and hurled it at the beast’s eye. The creature flinched, momentarily loosening its grip on his Father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seizing the opportunity, Talen slashed at the tentacle holding him and managed to break free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their reprieve was short-lived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground beneath what they thought was safe gave way entirely, sinking into a bubbling mire created by the beast’s acidic wallow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had to flee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the tortoise was relentless, and it was then they realized that what they saw wasn’t its full size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their escape forced the corrupted tortoise to pull out its limbs to move, causing a sudden shift in the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Large trees and parts of the peaks fell on their escaping mechas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were trapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their only consolation was how it buried them away from the beast’s clutches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sludgeborn Tortoise circled the area slowly, its glowing eyes watching out for traces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they were using mechanical mechas, which could hide their presence amidst the aggressive corruption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their hearts thundered as they prayed not to be spotted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything but life support functions were turned off, and all they could console themselves with was the Jade Vine that Kael managed to grab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talen sank into the cockpit of his mecha, his heart breaking at the thought of the worst-case scenarios.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll find a way out,\" The father promised, though he wasn’t sure he believed it himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael nodded weakly but refused to let go of the bundle of Jade Vine he had managed to grab during the chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was then that they lost contact with their family back in Planet Nova, which marked the start of Theo’s search for a way to help his likely troubled family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But all that Theo could tell the DG members was that his brother was still alive as his sister-in-law’s contract was still enforced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a contract that felt reassuring but threatening, like a stark reminder of what they could lose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*DING!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anxious student who even asked for a leave of absence suddenly got a ping asking for confirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his father’s sword, which he used even before being forced to switch to a manually operated mecha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And fighters should never let go of their weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theo’s knees went weak as his entire body turned limp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The poor boy would’ve likely fainted had he not scrolled past the photo sent over by Kyle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[We’ve found traces of fighting but no mecha wreckage. And as for the Jade Vine? I think we’ve found some.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they really did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Luca finished his massive cleaning operations, they were surprised to find strands of stray Jade Vines beneath the land that caved in with this enormous crater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for that alone, Luca was glad that they decided to check out the area that stood out when they flew over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just that, inside Luca’s sea of consciousness, one little system had been so bothered by a giant indicator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this a bug?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t this one single indicator of corruption?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then how come it looked bigger than that mountain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>D-29 was confused and couldn’t report because it wasn’t sure about this finding. But this confusion wouldn’t be for much longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sadly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1077,"2026-06-02T06:16:21.519Z",1,"novelbin.me","5b9cba9b5953d00922af226ecb0836c819e3f8a3bc163f42b6affd2af3cbf13d","the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-311","the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-310",1073,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-cover.jpg"]