Conquering His Cold Heart

"Code black huh." Frost repeated the warning with a heavy frown before finding a safe place to teleport back to the private space.

Code black was one of the warning codes he established to quickly identify the type of problem the dungeon was facing. Code black was fairly high on the list of importance and quite frankly both a situation Frost both despised and loved at the same time.

Code black referred to acts of evil against or within the dungeon i.e. torturing his monsters for fun, abusing their superior power to slaughter far weaker enemies, bandit behaviours such as attacking and killing fellow adventurers in order to steal their quarry and or just for the sheer thrills.

He condoned the occasional bullying (lack of killing) but groups that entered the dungeon for the sole purpose of hunting his other customers was a no go in his books and needed to dealt with to the extreme i.e. all offenders being transferred to the dungeon's prison.

Frost teleported into the private space to gain a more detailed report. Luckily the kids were in the middle of training and Daki was currently working her ass off in her personal forge meaning he could display his evil side openly.

"Khuno give the details."

"Yes milord." Khuno thus proceeded to enlighten Frost about the situation.

"Bandits masquerading as adventurers…seems the prison is going to gain more occupants." The dungeon's prison was a cold dark place with very poor facilities that restrained and imprisoned anyone Frost deemed a criminal. The offenders would be whisked away by his monsters never to see the light of day again.

They would spend the rest of their pitiful lives behind bars, locked in cages to serve as bountiful nourishment for the dungeon. Lesser offenders would simply starve to death in a couple of weeks, left alone without any from of contact whereas those who really pushed Frost's buttons would see themselves tortured as he kept them alive with meals and the occasional healing.

So far only Barren from the Sanguine snakes received such advanced treatment, but a few came close.

The current group were of E-rank strength and composed of three full adventuring parties i.e. 18 people. The three parties entered the dungeon independently masquerading as regular adventurers with nothing to do with one another but once they entered the second floor they'd mysteriously link up and start their true plans.

Word had already spread about how bountiful the Dungeon of Niflheim was thus attracting waves and waves of adventurers and merchants alike. It was to be expected that less savoury characters would also like a slice of the juicy pie.

These three teams were proficient in banditry, hunting down people rather than monsters for their hard earned spoils. Working within a monster lair or in this case a dungeon helped to hide their tracks, as the dead were quickly devoured, and their deaths usually attributed to the monster lair rather than foul play.

Of course people weren't stupid, if such attacks happened too often they'd quickly wise up. Therefore bandits had a limited window, their targets had to be financially worth the risk.

Finally after two long days of preparation the large group finally laid eyes upon their targets. A mighty upper D-rank party that successfully made it to the fabled floor of peace was ascending the floors to sell their rich bounty. They were the bandits high value target and were completely in the dark about the ambush awaiting them.

Not only were they outnumbered 3 to 1 the adventurers were sure to be in less than pristine condition and weighed down but their own loot.

The ambush went off perfectly, the 18 bandits attacked them without warning, quickly injuring two of their targets before swarming the rest before they could conjure up a decent formation.

Within 15 minutes the group of six adventurers were dead, their blood dyeing the frozen ground beneath while the 13 remaining bandits revelled in their victory, adorning their hard worn spoils and celebrating the upcoming payday.

The monster materials could be sold anywhere but the pilfered equipment would need to go through a fence, a black market dealer who didn't give a rat's ass where the sellers got the merchandise. The plan was already set in motion and buyers lined up, all they needed to do was leave the dungeon without drawing attention to themselves.

Unfortunately they never suspected that the entire dungeon was under constant watch. Their actions and movements were already known, and the watcher did not approve.

"Drag them all to the prison" Frost declared their sentence with a cold expression.

"As you wish milord."

"Wait!"

"Milord?"

"Actually on second thought I'll handle it personally. It's been a while since I've gotten to let loose." An evil smirk adorned his lips as he imagined the agony he was going to wreak upon them.

Khuno similarly smiled in an evil manner, his eyes glinting with expectation.d

"Understood, Milord will take out the trash personally." Like a good subordinate he facilitated his lord's wishes. The area around the bandits was thus inconspicuously made bereft of monsters and even other adventurers due to some skilled manoeuvres. Frost would get to enjoy his meal without interruption.

"Hahahahaha I can't believe we managed to take them down so easily!" A bandit disguised adventurer roared with glee as he searched one of the six bodies, revelling in how easy the takedown was. Sure they lost 5 from their group but that just meant the split would go 13 ways instead of 18 plus those that died were all rookies, hardly a loss to their aggregate power.

"Hahahahaha we'll get to live like kings for weeks with this much loot." Another bandit was no less joyful as she pilfered a robe from one of the dead adventurers.

"Damn this girl had good taste, a little tight around the chest but I can make it work hahahahaha." All 13 bandits were in a great mood but despite their celebration none of them truly let their guards down, constantly keeping an eye on the surrounding for possible interruptions.

They were experienced in their work, professionals rather than amateurs thus the lack of monsters and even sounds in the area was eventually noticed by the scouts.

"Somethings wrong boss, it's too quiet." They'd been scoping out the area for the past two days and knew the likelihood of coming across the indigenous monsters. With the strong scent of blood in the air and the sounds of combat there should have been multiple monsters scouting the area for food but instead there was silence, an eery silence.

The bandit boss was fiery looking woman with long curly hair and a stature that would put most men to shame. She was currently supervising the pilfering, making sure none of her subordinates dared to cheat her but she couldn't ignore the words of her scouts as doing so was a sure way to lose their heads.

"Abule take Jackson and check the perimeter, everyone else speed up the pilfering. I want us filled to the brim with loot and out of here within the next 5 minutes."

"Got it boss."

"Damn I wanted to take it easy after fighting."

"Shush do you want the boss to tan your hide."

"Maybe I do."  A female bandit licked her lips in response as she glanced at her boss with lust. The boss was sure to hold a grand celebration once they escaped the dungeon, she could make her move then and there. She was always frisky after fruitful jobs after all.

Abule and Jackson quickly followed their boss's command and inspected the extended perimeter, being very cautious in their actions unfortunately no matter how careful they were they were only E-rank.

Schwing!

Before Jackson even knew what hit him a razor sharp glaive severed his head from his body, decapitating him in an instant. Blood gushed from the open neck like a burst dam. His body then crashed against the ground alerting Abule who was looking in another direction.

"ENEMY!!!" Abule managed to roar out a warning to his comrades before a large bolt of ice flew through the air and pierced through his chest like he was made of butter. Two bandits down, eleven to go.

Abule's loud warning alerting the remaining bandits who wasted no time at all getting into formation. Unlike their quarry they knew how to react to unexpected situations.

"Huddle up, vanguard at the front, rearguards in the centre!" The bandit boss skilfully commanded her teams like an experienced military commander, perhaps previously she was a soldier but that was then, and this was now.

The group heard the sounds of steps calmly coming towards them, lightly crushing the snow underneath. It seemed to be a single set but instead of being relieved the bandit boss only felt more danger the closer they got.

Eventually a handsome young man revealed himself, an elf adorned in white and blue robes and wielding a beautiful glaive covered in ruby red blood.

"Well, well bandits in my territory. I hope you're prepared for what's about to happen because I really despise people who hunt my valuable customers." Frost said with an evil looking smirk that sent chills down the bandit boss's spine. Her muscular arms formed goosebumps and her heart froze in fear, her mind screaming danger at the sight of the young elf.

"….Fuck!"