The earth shook as Pudge led a group of nine Inashi into the depths of the city. They’d already passed a half-dozen layers, each of which had been broken up into at least ten floors, but he sensed that they still had a long way to go before they reached their destination.

Before he could rescue his brothers and sisters who’d been enslaved by the wicked Imperium.

Over the course of the war, he had grown increasingly furious with what he had seen. Every conquered town, every victory for the forces of the Crimson Tower, and each defeated enemy had been accompanied by droves of slain beastkin. They had not died in battle, but rather, they had been executed by their uncaring masters in an attempt to both deny them freedom and prevent them from joining forces with all the others rescued from enslavement.

The first few times Pudge had seen mass graves, he had been enraged, and he had taken those emotions out on the Radiant Host. Or even the run-of-the-mill citizens of the Imperium. What few had remained behind in each of the conquered cities had been complicit in the slaughter, and Pudge had ensured that they’d paid for their grievous actions.

But after a handful of such instances, he’d begun to grow numb to it. It still infuriated him. Instead of erupting with that fury, though, he found himself seething. That anger and frustration boiled beneath the surface, building pressure with every dead beastkin body he saw until he felt ready to explode.

And now, they had reached Eldoria. The crown jewel of the Imperium. The seat of the Radiant Host. And the knights and others like them could no longer run and hide. They were cornered, and Pudge intended to make each and every one of them pay for what they had done.

Rationally, he was well aware that they hadn’t all had a hand in the deaths of so many, but just as logically, he knew that they weren’t ignorant of what was going on beneath their noses. Even if they hadn’t participated, they knew. Through inaction, they gave those practices their tacit approval. And they deserved to be punished for that.

However, before he could make good on that personal vow, Pudge had a job to do. According to every report he’d seen, there were thousands, if not millions, of beastkin still alive, and they were all trapped in the lower reaches of Eldoria. The wealthy and powerful citizens of the Imperium lived on the surface, and with each level beneath the ground, the status of the residents decreased.

And at the very bottom, there were the slaves. Most were beastkin, but there were a fair few political dissidents, criminals, and other races among them as well. Pudge was set upon freeing them, and not just to right a wrong. That was most of it, but he was also charged with breaking their shackles so they could join the fight above. The kobold armies could defeat the Imperium alone, but doing so would doubtless create untold casualties. So, adding millions of freed slaves to the mix might help with that.

In addition, Pudge also wanted to give them the chance to take vengeance on their former masters. If he’d been in their situation, that was what he would have wanted. So, before he could join the battle proper, he had a job to do.

That was why he found himself trotting through the corridors – they were as wide as the streets above and far more spread out – on a mission to reach the bottom. But there was still a long way to go before he and his Inashi got to that point.

So, they trotted along, and though Pudge and the small, corruption-attuned kobolds were all cloaked in dense stealth, he could still feel them. Part of that came from the fact that he’d been working with them for months, but it also was because he’d developed his own corruption attunement. Because of that, he could sense their presence via the increased concentration of demonic energy.

The citizens of the Imperium were not so lucky.

Pudge and the Inashi spared no one as they swept through one floor after another. The kills were swift and brutal, but they also didn’t allow themselves to be sidetracked. Instead, they took the shortest route possible, leaving a wake of bodies behind.

Technically, they didn’t need to kill anyone. They could have passed by undetected. But even though Pudge had mastered his fury, he couldn’t deny himself vengeance when it presented itself so willingly.

And the Inashi were always hungry for violence.

The little kobolds were bloodthirsty in a cold and calculating way that probably should have unnerved Pudge. Yet, they treated him like an extension of Zeke, who they practically worshiped. So, he knew he had nothing to fear from the little creatures. They weren’t family – not like Talia, Zeke, Sasha, Tucker, or even Adara – but they were stalwart allies who would do whatever needed to be done.

So, they had his trust, even if they were a little discomforting.

One thing that was undeniable was that they were incredibly efficient killers. They had begun their lives as rangers. Many had been extremely skilled even before Zeke had gifted them their new attunements. Even back then, they could move silently, track prey unerringly, and kill their quarry without issue. And the attunements had given them a deadly sharpness that, from Pudge’s perspective, was unmatched.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

In a lot of ways, they weren’t so different from Pudge himself. Certainly, he’d risen on his own merits, ascending and fighting tooth and nail for every step of progression. However, Pudge was honest enough with himself to acknowledge that he would have been nothing without his brother’s influence. Not only had Zeke saved his life so long ago, but he’d also given him countless opportunities, which he’d used to garner a host of advantages.

So, he felt a kinship with the Inashi, who had benefited greatly from Zeke’s influence as well.

Gradually, they made their way through the complex, steadily descending from one floor to the next. As they did, the décor grew shabbier and shabbier, and the well-fitted walls became rougher. Every now and again, they’d pass a stretch that someone had tried to maintain properly. But for the most part, it was obvious that they’d crossed some invisible line, beyond which was true poverty.

Oddly enough, the residents were almost universally human. They were dirty, malnourished, and clearly afraid. Most of them huddled in their homes – which had been carved into the walls – cowering with every rumble from above. Pudge had no idea what was going on up there, but through their bond, he could feel that Zeke was agitated. Not afraid. Not truly in danger. Just a little frustrated.

But that was not uncommon. Something had happened in the fight against Micayne, and much of Zeke’s power had been locked away. He’d grown immeasurably stronger as well, and in a way that Pudge didn’t quite understand. However, that had come at the price of his skills being locked away. Ever since then, Zeke had been incredibly frustrated.

So, despite the rumbles that felt more like earthquakes, Pudge was not afraid.

The lower caste of the Imperium could not say the same thing, though. So, rather than simply slaughter them, Pudge and the Inashi passed them by as they made their way deeper and deeper. By the time they reached their destination, the corridors had become rough-hewn tunnels that were so low that Pudge was forced into a crouch. The Inashi could remain upright, but even their short stature was nearly too much to easily accommodate.

Of course, they were creatures who’d evolved in the caverns beneath Min Ferilik, so they had no issues with tight spaces.

Finally, Pudge heard something that set his blood to boiling. He knew he was close to their destination, so he didn’t need to infer much to know what the screams of pain signified. So, he pushed himself to pick up speed, and soon enough, they burst free of the tunnel and into a large cavern.

It was clearly meant as some sort of commercial hub, with many stores cut into the walls. Some sported colorful awnings, though many of those had been set aflame or ripped from their frames and trampled beneath a thousand feet. The center of the cavern sported a large well, but it was mostly obscured by the crowd of beastkin.

Pudge recognized the collars they all wore, and he seethed at the injustice. More importantly, his eyes locked onto a group of fifty knights, each one nearing the peak in terms of levels. They cut quite the set of imposing figures, with their gilded armor, shining weapons, and arrogant demeanors.

A sword flashed, and Pudge raced ahead. Using [Shadowfire Evisceration], he threw himself forward with as much speed as he could muster. The world slowed, and an arc of corruption spread out around him. He paid it no mind as he covered the ground between him and the knights in the blink of an eye. He knocked the sword aside, and even as it fell in slow motion, he rammed his [Hellfire] encased claw through the knight’s breastplate.

The metal parted, and his fiery claws dug through the man’s chest. Even as time returned to normal, the knight’s blood boiled, and a cacophony of noise echoed through the large cavern.

The man let out a gurgling scream as his sword hit the ground, digging a deep trench upon impact. The slave that had been his target was blasted away by the wind of Pudge’s passage, though he could only hope that she was unharmed. It couldn’t matter – not at the moment.

Because Pudge’s fury could finally be unleashed.

He followed that first attack by sweeping to the side, dropping to all fours, then leaping onto another knight. The man tried to brace himself, but Pudge was far too large and much too mighty for that. He hit the man with the full force of his weight, knocking the knight to the ground before savaging him with his fire-wreathed claws.

Screams erupted all around Pudge, but he didn’t pay it any mind. Instead, he focused every ounce of his mind on ripping the knight to pieces. The smell of charred flesh and melted metal filled the air as he dug through the breastplate and tore through his organs.

Only when the man’s screams died did Pudge look up, and a scene of carnage greeted him. The Inashi were very good at their jobs, and when Pudge had acted, they’d followed his lead, falling upon the other knights with similar savagery. Most of those knights lay dead, but one had taken one look at the slaughter before choosing to flee.

He only got a few steps before Pudge caught up to him. He died quickly, but not well.

Finally, Pudge glanced around, and he saw a mass of terrified slaves. He had no idea how many were there, but it had to be thousands.

“My name is Pudge Blackwood, and I represent the Crimson Tower. We are here to free you,” he announced, standing to his full height. “What you do with that freedom is your prerogative, but if you wish it, you will have a place in the Crimson Tower. You will have food, shelter, and opportunity there.”

“We…we will not be slaves?” asked one woman. She was a foxkin, if Pudge could trust his judgement.

“No. There are no slaves in the Crimson Tower,” he said. With that, Pudge stepped forward, wrapped his claws around the collar at her neck, then tore it free. “You will never be slaves again.”

She rubbed her neck. “There are others,” the foxkin woman stated. “Many, many others. Will you save them as well?”

“We are here to save everyone,” he responded.

“I…I will help. I think we all will.”

“Good,” he said approvingly. “But first, we must remove your collars.”

After that, he and the Inashi proceeded to do just that. It progressed quickly enough, largely because, once the slaves were freed, they could help. And soon enough, Pudge, the Inashi, and the now-freed slaves were hunting through the tunnels, ready to free slaves and kill knights of the Radiant Host.

For Pudge, he wasn’t certain which he cared about more.