Slash, decapitate, eviscerate!

Kayd repeated the three words in his head, in the middle of a fight against more of the vermin, cutting them down quicker than before.

Around him, the soldiers spread out to cover as much ground as possible, facing rats emerging from tunnels while others blew up any holes they could find to prevent more from coming in. Archers converged at the center, providing cover fire for the frontline soldiers.

Even after the first attack, they were still battle-ready, not weary or fearful, simply moving forward like mindless monsters.

“Show no mercy to these things! Kill as many as possible and carve a hole into this damn den!” Ishmael screamed, cleaving at vermin coming in from the front alongside Evelin’s soldiers. They were wasting time, they needed to end this entire thing before more people would die.

“Captain Ishmael, do you still remember how you got to the empress here?” Kayd questioned her in the middle of cutting off a rat’s head.

“Yeah, I can lead the way as long as the paths remain the same, but the route right now is full of rats.”

“Can we take a different route?” Kayd asked, Ishmael paused to think for a moment, eyeing the path ahead and recalling memories of the past.

“There might be, but the rats would flood those areas as well, we can just push through this den until we reach the Empress.” Her response disappointed Kayd.

Damnit, no way forward other than shredding through this horde of rats, we just need to make it as fast as possible.

The army began pushing forward, cutting down countless rats as they continued their march. Kayd’s team remained at the front, with Evelin just behind them protected by the wall of shields.

The march was slow but steady, the lines of soldiers had not fallen yet, and they were practically walking on dead rats rather than the stone floor.

Along the way, the sound of explosions rang out as soldiers searched the area for more tunnels, sealing them before another rat group could come in.

The tunnel was vast, similar to the second den, the ceiling and walls were hard to see. Without the algae, they were practically wandering onward hoping they were reaching closer to the queen.

—-----

Minutes passed and they reached the first split in the road. Two large tunnels led to different directions with rats both pouring out from them.

She was right, they’re literally flooding from everywhere. We can’t pinpoint where the hell they’re coming from.

A loud roar came from one of the tunnels though, and out emerged a group of rat kings, trampling on their own kin.

They were immediately bombarded by dynamite, cutting down their numbers. But through the smoke, more ran through, getting closer to the frontline.

Crap, the shield wall-

The rushing rat kings pushed Kayd and the others back, they broke through the first line, goring and tossing soldiers around. A volley of dynamites quickly took them out, but the damage was already done. Rats started to move in through the gaps, destroying the cohesion the army had.

“We need to find the head of those rats at once! Or we’ll get another attack like that!” Evelin yelled.

We’re trying woman!

“This den has far more rats than before, not to mention we seem to not even be a quarter of the way in.” Ishmael muttered.

“You recognize this part of the den?” Kayd asked.

“Yes, if I can recall, the tunnel where the rat kings came from seems to be the right path!”

“Alright then, we’ll start moving through it.” Evelin relayed a multitude of orders to her soldiers, who quickly obeyed. They pushed forward once more, continuing the bloodshed of rats and going through one of the tunnels while the other was strapped with dynamite.

“Wait, what are they doing? They’ll collapse the tunnel!”

“Relax Kayd, this den is very durable, it would take more than a few sticks of bombs to collapse the entire thing.” Ishmael laughed.

Well, that’s a relief then.

“Stand clear!”

—---

The ground was at an angle, descending further down while navigating through more and more tunnels.

As they went on, the tunnel became tighter but became more jagged. It was no longer a straight path ahead, with constant twists and turns and a growing number of forks in the road.

They moved onward, sealing a dozen or so paths and a hundred smaller holes, keeping a stable formation but losing soldiers along the way.

On the move, rats began falling from above, either crushing soldiers and dying from archer fire or landing and causing havoc inside the formation.

“Damn this place, the rats are coming from the tunnels in the ceiling.” Eveline cursed.

“Move forward! Faster! Onward!” The soldiers yelled in unison before charging onward, pushing against the rats, cutting them down hastily with spear and sword. The sudden rush had practically squished the soldiers together.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“By the looks of it, we’re halfway down, possibly further given how long it has been.”

“Doesn’t matter, we just need to gain more ground and take the right way ahead, keep guiding us!”

—---

The air only smelled of blood and smoke, the ever-tightening tunnels were a nightmare to go through, essentially sandwiching everyone against each other, making combat far harder.

From above and the front, rats continued pouring forth, and in greater numbers. More rat kings rushed in, getting blown up in the process and using up more of their supply of explosives.

The rats wreaked havoc on the frontline, which was filled with soldiers in wounds or bloodied and heavily damaged armor, fighting desperately. The rats slowly picked them off as the second line tried moving forward to replace them.

Kayd and the team found themselves with these wounded soldiers, aiding them in moving back to a safer position in the formation.

Keep slashing, keep decapitating….

Kayd had repeated the same three words, keeping his focus on the rats and nothing else, he only felt hatred for the vermin, they wouldn’t stop coming, and the Empress of them all was still not in sight.

Further down, a terrible problem had afflicted everyone. Ishmael was now confused by the layout, unsure of which tunnels lead to where, or where they were going, the only thing she could rely on now was that one seemed to descend further down than the other. Their movement was delayed, forcing Kayd to witness more soldiers get torn apart and their supply to get smaller

“We moved through so many tunnels and blew up so many paths, and we still aren’t near that bastard!” Kayd exclaimed, Ishmael could feel his anger, the fatigue of constant battle was getting on them, any longer and they’d simply be torn apart due to being tired.

Past the endless cuts and slashes, Kayd realized that the rats were bigger in size than before.

The deeper we go, the bigger they get. We need to kill this damn empress already.

The army was getting picked off like a carcass, the large rats practically slashed through or grabbed individual soldiers to eat.

Some soldiers couldn’t take the endless horde anymore, tossing explosives at the front and near their comrades in a bid to kill more rats.

“This is going nowhere, we’re getting bogged down,” Evelin remarked.

“I’m trying to recall the pathways, these rats make it more complex.” Ishmael retorted, cleaving a rat’s head after speaking.

Kayd looked ahead, as the team marched, they approached yet another set of tunnels that diverged.

From one of them though was a group of rat kings, which the soldiers quickly took them out with their remaining explosives.

They’re all coming from a single route, odd………

—---

“We’re getting nowhere, our forces are getting picked off and there’s no sign of getting closer to the head of these rats.” Evelin spouted, her head bloodied and her arms tired.

“They made more tunnels, far more than what I have seen the last time I was here,” Ishmael responded, sighing in annoyance.

Rat kings normally stay near the queen…And the ones right now seem to come from specific tunnels…

His eyes widened, getting an idea that could get them through.

“Captain Ishmael, we might need to follow the paths that rat kings come from.” He relayed to Ishmael, she was skeptical at first but started thinking about it.

“Bigger rats tended to be near the queen when I cleared dens before, maybe it's the same with them. This better work.”

She explained to Evelin the new plan, with no other option and the constant flow of rats, they had no choice but to follow and hope it works.

Through the tunnels and descending further down the cursed den, they only took the paths where rat kings emerged from.

—----

It didn't take long to see that Kayd’s idea bore fruit. In the distance from the straight path, a glowing light could be seen, similar to what Kayd and the others saw in the water filled tunnel of the last den.

“That looks like the chamber, charge onward!” Evelin was now excited at the prospect that they found the chamber, where that bastard lay.

The soldiers charged on with momentum unseen before, shouting and laughing as they did, cutting down or throwing explosives at any rat in their way.

It took only a short time to reach the light. Evelin, the overseer, and Ishmael’s team entered the chamber.

The rat screams soon died down, and so did the fighting. Everything returned to silence.

Did we kill them all?

The chamber was the largest they’d seen so far, it was smooth in texture as if hollowed out by someone. The area was strangely well lit in a blue hue, unlike other dens which were lit up by torch or algae.

At the center was a similar circle platform that raised a few inches from the ground. Intricate designs were etched onto it, along with the floor around it.

Rats also have a knack for making things look beautiful huh?

“Where is that thing?” Evelin questioned. The way in was too tight for everyone to pass through, only allowing a few soldiers through at a time.

“Are you sure this is the right spot?”

“Yes, I'm certain.” They fanned out, looking around for any sign of the rat.

Where is she?

They aimlessly searched around, finding no signs of anything alive being there. The walls lacked bored tunnels for rats to go through.

“It seems your idea failed Forest Ilk.” Evelin sighed.

“Wait, why did the rats stop attacking us?”

A loud bang alerted them, and in a moment, the pathway they came through began to collapse as rocks piled up on it, sealing them inside.

Evelin approached the debris, hoping to hear word of the remaining soldiers.

“Princess, what are your orders now?” With a groan, she replied.

“Fall back as fast as possible, spending any more time here is a death trap.”

She kicked the rocks, knocking some down, all the while gritting her teeth.

“We’re stuck here. And with no way out!” She yelled.

“What caused the collapse?” Kayd asked.

“Beats me, want to bet it's because of the explosives?” Ikari responded.

Only a handful of soldiers accompanied them in the desolate chamber with no clear way out.

We can just dig our way out but-

The floor began to rumble, and from the center, the circle started to crack and fall apart. Until.

Bursting out from the center, a long slender tail, serrated and pointed at the tip like a spear.

“What is that!?” Kayd exclaimed. Everyone fell to the ground as the ground cracked even further until smaller bits fell, revealing a dark abyss beneath.

“Get back, get back!” Scurrying away back to Evelin to protect her, the tail aimed at one of the fleeing soldiers, as if it could see him.

It darted forward in a split second, impaling the man and raising itself straight upwards.

After a few seconds, the tail descended down the hole, but not before causing the platform to shake again, to crack further, and finally.

Shatter

The entire group fell into the dark below, seeing the tail and the soldier disappear into it.