“I beg you, Archimedes. I would not ask this of you if there were any other way.” Snips pleaded towards the vampiric raven, clacking his claws in the language of monsters. He was desperate to enter the battle, but knew he would be at risk of not delivering a single blow from his position on the ground.

“It is undignified. I can understand how this tactic was used in desperation, but to ask it of me is another matter entirely.” The raven scoffed as he looked down at the glittering eyestalks of the Brave Warrior. They already had a strained relationship because of how the two of them first met, and Archimedes found this conversation an insult to his decorum as a gentleman. He was of course abstaining from the battle to preserve his strength, should he need to leave the dungeon and find a new home.

“Coward! You hide behind pride while our allies put their lives on the line for us. I ask this of you because there is no other that can lift me. The amount of fairies it would take to haul my carapace in the air would detract too much from battle. You stand here on the back line, watching as soldiers fight and die for the dungeon, and yet you do nothing.” The lobster would have spat if there was any way for him, clacking his claws at a furious pace as he demanded action.

Archimedes sighed, covering his face with his wing for a moment before returning it to his side and ruffling his own feathers. “If i do this for you, you allow me to eat one of the rock lobsters without complaint.” Archimedes said firmly, wanting a more substantial meal if he was going to be wasting his own energy for this hair-brained plan. It also didn’t help that the dungeon had yet to build him a spawner, which meant he could not afford to perish in this battle. He did not survive the maddening hunger over his time in the wild to be done in by a rotten corpse.

“Deal. The gray one has been trying to poke my shell and cause dents.” He grumbled as he accepted the fact that one of his kin would need to experience the draining of life and then a respawn after the battle was over. It was well worth the sacrifice if Snips could employ his superior combat abilities against someone’s head. It had worked so well in his first battle against the Ghoul, and he has been searching for a similar high ever since.

With the deal in place, Archimedes bounced off of the ground and onto the back of the gilded lobster that was trying to be a war general. The sharp talons of the vampiric bird put the soft malleable golden shell at risk, but Archimedes made no movement to deal a killing blow. With the curved tips of the claws latching under shell plates, he flapped hard enough to pull them both into the air. “By the dungeon! You are so heavy!” He squawked in rage as he brought them over the battlefield. The two of them now able to see the newly named Glut in an all out brawl with one of the special zombies. “Which… one!?” Archimedes gasped as he felt his strength flagging from him, his body still not fully healed from its weakened state.

Snips scanned the battlefield with his eyestalks, able to see that the dragonborn zombies were already thoroughly engaged with the soldier fey and their new commander. The lobster made a mental note to congratulate the woman on her newly acquired name and title. He turned his attention away from her and noticed that there was a particularly intelligent zombie that was bobbing and weaving around the attacks made by the fairies. That clever attitude meant that he could easily avoid the battle entirely, and head straight for the undefended core.

“There! Send me towards the green dragonborn with the glowing blue eyes!” He shouted before he was tossed at a much greater height than the first time he attempted this maneuver. He had not thought of what it might do to himself if he were to hit the ground at such a high speed. Neither did he have time to act as his claws pointed downward at the dragonborn. The combination of his weight times velocity as well as area of attack gave him the perfect move to deal with the intelligent undead.

The lobster landed against the chest of the zombie, his claws sinking into flesh and piercing the lungs of the corpse. The weight of the lobster slammed into the mobile cadaver, bringing it to the ground with flailing arms and inhuman noises of bestial hunger. Snips cursed himself for the terrible aim, knowing that he should have angled up in order to pierce the brain. While it would have been easy to blame that damnable bird, he was the one who gave the order for the drop. Snips dragged his claws out of the sternum, clacking them together with anger as coagulated blood and viscera dripped from the lucre rich appendages.

The zombie reached up and slammed its clawed hands against the golden lobster, leaving deep dents into the carapace. Snips chittered in pain, forcing forward against the rough brown rags that had once been a modest outfit. His claws raised forward, his spindly legs digging against flesh and fabric to propel him into the face of the dragonborn. Snips’ left claw slammed under the beast’s jaw, sharpened carapace sliding through the fetid meat of the disgusting creature. A gush of thick aged blood poured from what was left of the carotid artery. The other claw was suddenly gripped by the undead, being squeezed with unnatural force

The glowing eyes of the corpse glowed brighter as words escaped its mouth, working beyond the fluid-filled lungs that gushed through the holes made in its chest. “Honor. Decays. As well.” It rasped as it used a fear based skill on Snips, attempting to demoralize the higher tier creature. As the ghostly eyes glowed with a ferocity that other zombies lacked, it dawned on Snips that this was one of the special zombies.

[Passive] Bravery Incarnate Activated!

Brave are those who charge into the heart of danger!

All fear effects resisted

Snips felt the ability wash over him, turning the fear of the zombie away without a moment of hesitation. He was the warrior of the Red dungeon, and he would not be cowed by some lowly rotter! “On-guard you foul beast! You miasmic misanthrope! This is your end!” He shouted before a special was activated.

Honored Ravager

Unleash the fury of your bloodline! Honor!

Deal double damage to an opponent that has challenged your defenses.

“For the glory of Red! For the honor of the dungeon! For the pride of the kingdom!” He shouted in almost manic glee as he charged forth and slammed the claw further into the zombie’s skull. The round balls of eye at the end of stalks glowed red, embracing the righteous fury of his creator, it clear that it was a rage meant to destroy those that dare dissent. A flash of blue escaped the zombie’s eyes as more congealed blood spurt from the wound, before the corpse went limp and was allowed its final rest. Snips gave a small bow to the fallen foe, mentally frowning as he realized that in the fervor of his attack, the zombie had managed to disconnect the claw it had been holding.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

He reached up and grabbed the damaged claw, yanking it off and throwing the useless limb to the ground. He turned though as he felt a presence, something that had been within the zombie he had just vanquished. Floating out the stomach of the corpse, a shapeless blue form arose before flying through air at another zombie. Within moments, Snips could see the zombie’s remaining eye glow with that same ethereal light. His opponent was not vanquished, but by the blessing of Red, he wasn’t either.

Special Unlocked! Free as a Bird

And lord knows I won’t change!

Once every five minutes, the user is able to use a [Force] empowered leap to attack an opponent.

Requirements: As a creature without the [Fly] tag, deal more than fifteen damage with an aerial based attack.

Snips would sing to the heavens his joy if only he had a mouth capable of doing so. Instead, he clacked his claw wildly in the air, showing his appreciation for the wonderful world he had the pleasure of living in. He scuttled towards the zombie that the spirit of the Haunted Corpse had run off to, planning on bringing down the enemy time and time again. He was a Brave Warrior after all, and that meant he would never stop in his eternal quest for the glory and safety of the dungeon. “To arms my friends! To arms to protect our home!” He clawed at the air with his singular weapon, receiving chittering applause from the crawdad army that had just arrived on scene.

====

Lotus was near shaking as she watched the battle unfold, hanging in the back as any leader or spellcaster should do. The confidence of her plan had led her to believe that any monsters brought into the dungeon could be quickly dispatched by herself. That was before she had realized that the majority of undead were naturally immune to [Poison] tagged attacks. She still had her minor chain [Electric] attack, but that only did so much compared to actual melee damage that those attending were capable of doing. It was only until she gazed up at the swarm of fairies that she realized they had not begun their volley from the sky. They were waiting for orders, and she was the only leadership ally not currently in use.

She fluttered her dragonfly wings, the ruffles of her dress billowing around her form as she could tell that it was time to actually participate. Taking to the air she surveyed the battle for a long moment, considering everything before she would take her own offensive against the sprawling mob. Arabella was taking care of the largest grouping of zombies that had been heading right for the entrance into the narrower parts of the dungeon. Glut was going blade to brawn against one of the randomly generated special zombies. It looked like he was really giving it his all, despite the natural lazy nature of the slime. Snips was leading his crawdads and the trailing lobsters towards the grouping of four dwarven zombies that had been about to backup the dragonborn front line. It was gruesome to see dozens of claws ripping chunks of flesh out of a still moving body. A small thought crossed her mind if this was how the process of decay would look like if it was sped up.

She shook herself from the distracting thoughts before turning her attention back towards the fight. The elven and human squads had joined forces, making one big sallow skinned mass that was only being distracted by the cloud of fairies. The problem with that was the lack of leadership meant none of them were taking the initiative to throw out attacks at the enemies. Instead it was distracting dives that made the rotters attempt to grab the flying prey right out of the air. Her eyes glanced for a second towards the lone zombie in the back of the group. It was still milling about near the entrance to the garden, moving its hands now and again while whispering. She could only assume that it was another random spawn, but without it performing any aggressive actions she chose to ignore it.

She fanned out her arms as she fluttered towards the swarm of fairies, locking them in as the units directly under her control. Suddenly the fairies stopped their dive bomb tactics and formed around her in a cloud of multicolored bodies in scanty dress. While she herself had reservations about the way that the tiny fairies dressed, it was all for the sake of their abilities. A spell caster needed full motion to move, and mortals were more likely to make deals with almost naked girls and tiny hunky guys.

All of the fairies had the [Poison] tag as an additional feature thanks to being part of her [Lair], but she was more interested in what they were able to do with their spawned affinities. She had seen how Arabella was turning zombies to shreds with what the princess had considered an objectively useless affinity. That was the whole point of her soldiers, that any with a useless affinity would become a melee attacker. Now she was reconsidering that approach, realizing that there could be so much more done with the unique affinities that the system had afforded her fae.

“All magical attacks on the humans! They are naturally weaker in magical resistances than elves!” She called out to the fairies, making sure that they had their orders. The fae swarm became a roiling cloud of prismatic colors, before suddenly sprays of magic began to pour down upon the horde like a kaleidoscopic thunderstorm. Vines grew from below and held fast the ankles and feet of the undead, spikes of earth stabbing into the restrained limbs now that the targets were easier. Jets of water, bolts of electricity, even the occasional unique affinity such as ink or molasses sprayed from the hands of fae that looked to be giving it their all in this battle.

She spared a glance around from her contingent to the others and felt herself beaming with pride. Snips’ crustaceans had managed to render the dwarves to nothing but bones, and Arabella’s company was finishing off the last of the dragonborn with a swift strike to the head. With her fairies bringing about the end to the last remaining mob, she couldn’t help but get overconfident in her delight. “This is child’s play! We are those of the Red Dungeon! Fight on! Fight until there is nothing left!” She shouted to the heavens, only to feel a weight wash over her as a notification appeared.

The Gods are Laughing

You have tempted fate, and thus caused an adjustment to the current encounter.

Her eyes widened in shock before she glanced around, trying to find the thing that had managed to change on the battlefield due to her arrogance. At first it seemed like nothing had happened, just the simple notification meant to keep her humble. That was when she heard the chanting of something, words far more clear than the whispers that they had been moments ago. She turned her head, eyes widening in horror as her pristine regal face lost its confidence. A small prayer went through her mind, hoping that she had not managed to doom the entire dungeon with her zealousness.

The now Adept Necromancer was standing tall as he spoke words of power, staff glowing in the light of day as he waved it out towards the battlefield. All of the leadership were alerted to an enemy leader activating a skill. Those divine beings which had brought down this malevolence would see the leaders of Red’s forces pause for just a moment when the alert passed over their vision.

Restless Dead

None may know peace until the deed is done.

All dead and undead components will activate to follow the skill user’s next command.

Command

Merge