Through bated breath, a rush of anger and newfound adrenaline returned to Kayd.

Come out already you varmint bastard!

“What’s the plan captain?” Ikari asked. Ishmael took out her hatchet, standing at the front, confident and ready.

“We do what we do best, fight.” She replied in a cold tone.

“Ranged and supports move behind.” She ordered. Ikari and Lia both moved behind Kayd and the rest who joined up with Ishmael. A rising noise of rat squeaks began emerging from the tunnel.

Another horde!? These things fight like those northern barbarians before. No tactic and all attack.

He sighed.

At least they’re easy to take out now

They waited for the last of the den with raised weapons and rebirthed determination. They were closer to ending their journey here and leaving this nightmare of a den.

“Stick close here, got it Mian?”

“Yeah yeah, not like we can go anywhere far in this chamber,” Mian responded in a spiteful tone.

Brown and black vermin of different sizes poured out from the hole, heading straight towards them.

Unlike past rats, they looked more new or at least a bit cleaner. Sharp nails and teeth ready to maim and tear anything in their way.

Kayd took a step back, getting into position with a raised sword.

The ground ahead was barely visible, only a wave of brown and black could be seen.

Kayd and the line of fellow allies swung their weapons in sync as the first line of rats came into range. A slew of cut limbs and blood followed.

Many more joined in the fight, undeterred and uncaring for their safety. Kayd slashed through the vermin like a knife through butter.

Beside him, the others pushed back and forth against the rats, sustaining slashes and even bites, cutting them down with different speeds and intensities. The sound of squeals and shrieks filled the atmosphere quickly, and the chamber had descended into some form of a fighting pit.

Iahmael hacked away at the foe, handling one after the other with terrifying efficiency and high speed. A rat managed to slip through and bite her forearm, but without missing a beat she cleaved its skull and pushed it back.

“Come on then! I killed ya before! I can kill ya all again!” She spouted, goading more to come to her, her confidence turned to a blind desire to kill more. She was a few steps in front of the line, acting as the tip of the spear in the fight.

Next to her, rats were flung around and left in pieces by Quellin. He remained emotionless and stoic with his helmet covering most of his face, but through it, Kayd knew he was calm and collected amidst the violence.

With each swing, a dozen or so vermin were killed. The claws and teeth only managed to dent and scar his armor. He swung methodically and repetitively, remaining in position despite the growing number of rats pouring out.

“Captain Ishmael, I suggest to remain in place.” He coldly spoke through the violence with no sign of fatigue.

“Yeah Ish, stick together!” Mian laughed for a moment and spoke with a mocking tone, but the short spurt of joy dissipated. He fought with his team, rugged in their defense they slashed and hacked away like a collaborative effort, knowing who attacks what, almost precise, even with the obvious lack of efficiency compared to the others.

“They’re pouring out! This place feels like a giant anthill.” Ikari fired away into the dense sea of rats, hitting a few before they could reach the team.

They moved back and forth, pushing the rats back and taking more of them down, only to return to their original position. Blood from both sides spilled onto the ground, followed by clumps of flesh and bone. They screamed in primal rage, out of fear or out of anger, continuing on in the hopes of getting out of this hell.

From the line, Quellin, in the middle of his methodical attacks, was bitten in the forearm by a rat. But rather than clamping down, the vermin pulled him back, dragging him away from the line and into the pile of living and dead rats.

“You are not getting another member of my crew you putrid bastards!” Ishmael yelled out and rushed to Quellin’s aid, surprising Kayd and the others. Cuts, scratches, and bites rapidly appeared across her body, but she did not care.

She’s crazy! But we can’t leave a man behind, especially a military man

Kayd’s first step to join in and aid them was stopped as Ishmael raised her hand, gesturing for him to stop.

“Don’t join in! I can handle this! Fill in for both of us in the line!” Her thinking and order were quick even amidst the ongoing battle.

Kayd obeyed her order, filling in the gaps where Quellin and Ishmael once stood. Rapidly switching and mixing a variety of moves and techniques he could remember at that moment, Kayd cut down as many as he could, making sure not a single rat could pass through him.

He cocked his body left and right repeatedly, slashing in all directions in front of him. The only thing he could think of now were the rats and his movement.

Through the rat thicket, Kayd could catch a glimpse of Ishmael’s clothes, trying to move back to the line.

She managed to survive that!?

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Kayd grabbed at the clothing and pulled it back quickly, getting the two out of the rat horde. They fell on their backs just behind Kayd and the others.

“You’re rather strong for a greenhorn.” Ishmael laughed, getting up from the ground and wiping blood off her face. Kayd too was shocked by the sudden spurt of strength.

The flood of rats from the hole slowed, what was once a dozens a minute dwindled to a few a minute.

Through labored breaths and heavily broken bodies, the last of the rats was cut down by the team.

Piles upon piles of rat corpses lay in front of them, to their fortune, they hadn’t lost a single ally in the fight and managed to survive it.

A small laugh grew from them, realizing they had won a small victory for now. Lia tended to their wounds, using bandages and herbs to treat any scratches and bites left on their bodies, rushing as fast as she could.

“You really are fast with that thing,” Ikari smirked at Kayd.

“Just practice, it isn’t even my greatest speed.” He chuckled.

While getting patched up, the ground shook again, and the footsteps echoing from the tunnel were far louder than before.

After a few steps, the snout of the creature came into view, illuminated under the blue moss. Soon the rest of its body was illuminated.

The rat was almost the same size as the tunnel, with it were two rat kings.

Thick brown fur adorned its body alongside many split arrows embedded into it, one resembling something launched from a ballista. Its claws were pristine and sharp, as long as an entire person. Its teeth share similar traits.

It stopped just at the edge of the tunnel entrance, letting the two rat kings move in first.

“That looks like our target…The rat empress.” Ishmael spoke.

“Oh gods no….” Mian quivered in fear, they fought one king and it took a few lives to kill, now two!?

Come on…Focus, first the damn horde now this!?

At a loss for words or reaction, Kayd only watched in horror.

The rat kings slowly crept their way towards the team. Ishmael remained at the front, her eyes wide and her face retaining a scornful expression.

“Plans, Ishmael?” Mian asked, the rest of his team began to move back, remembering what just happened earlier.

Ishmael remained silent, simply analyzing the threat.

We only managed to kill one, and it took bombs to kill just one, now we need to kill two AND a queen!?

Kayd quietly cursed to himself, like many times before he was annoyed and shocked by what the world had thrown at them so far.

Through it, he anchored himself further with why he went here.

If I can’t handle this first journey, do I really deserve titles?

He chuckled for a moment, holding up his sword with an exhausted, motivated arm and mind.

Damn, I handled years of beasts and barbarians but feel fear from this?

His grip tightened, and the fear went away, no sense of worry was left anymore in his mind of the threat in front of him.

Every beast and foe only gets stronger anyway, that’s how fighting is, just become greater than them constantly…And I proved to be able to do just that time and time again.

“Kayd, you and I will try making the two rat kings clump against each other to blow both up with the bombs,” Ishmael ordered, taking out a few of the last bombs she had.

Kayd looked at them as they continued creeping up. Studying them, recalling their previous battle.

“Understood,” Kayd grabbed the bundle of bombs.

“Because of the past battle sticking close may make us better targets, it may be better if we disperse Captain.” Ishmael nodded in agreement.

“Alright then, all of you move around them and don’t clump up, distract them if possible.” Ishmael walked next to Kayd, close enough for Kayd to see the years of experience covering her face, from scars to her determined eyes.

Mian walked forward with the two, confusing them.

“That thing killed my teammates, and I’ll be damned to let it kill more again.” Ishmael quietly sighed but appreciated his aid. The three stood side by side, a looming threat in front of them, and the others just out of harm’s way. The stage was set.

Each held onto the last of their explosives, determined to make each one count.

Kayd felt the warm air from his nose hitting his mouth, being the only thing that distracted his focus on the rat kings.

I need to target the heads, but also to make them get close to one another. If not, then I can just focus on one and take them out on their own.

From the tunnel, a handful of small rats came out in support of the rat kings, seemingly the last of their now-dead horde.

A thundering roar from the rat empress caused the entire area to shake and signaled for the rat kings to attack.

Once done, the two rats began running toward the team large claws crashing against the stone.

“Split up but try getting close and personal with them!” Ishmael yelled at the top of her lungs just as the two were about to lunge at them.

Kayd dove to the side, narrowly evading one of the rat’s attacks. It crashed into the ground next to its fellow allies, creating a small crater beneath them and destroying the rock floor.

Kayd slashed at the smaller rats that managed to reach him, momentarily losing focus on the rat kings. Ishmael and Mian found themselves handling the other half of the rats, hastily cutting them down to get back to fighting the rat king.

Kayd cut down six before a rapid stomping from behind stopped his attacks. By instinct, he dove out of the way, fast enough that he managed to dodge another of the rat's attacks.

Rather than another person to add to their pile of corpses and bones, the rat crashed into the remaining rats, killing all of them.

Huh, I did not intend to do that…

Kayd chuckled for a moment. The rat got up from the ground, its mouth and the bottom of its body covered in rat blood, but it didn’t seem to care for what just happened, simply staring at Kayd with bared teeth.

Kayd changed his posture and stance, waiting for the creature to make its first move.

“Lunge again, I dare you.” He mocked the creature.

The rat king suddenly leaped towards Kayd, who remained steadfast, preparing for the right moment to move and strike.

He remained still while the rat’s claw was mere inches away from his face.

The right moment…