Chapter 364: Dug Down Deep
Nikolai grunted through the pain as he did his best to keep himself upright. The surprise attack was obviously expected, but he didn’t think that they would be this coordinated with things. Ahmed finally made his move after being idle and playing safe for so many years. His wayward minister had truly planned everything down to the last detail, but there was still one thing that he didn’t take into account.
Gritting his teeth, he relied solely on his own power to keep himself alive. There was nothing that could kill him. At least, nothing that didn’t have enough power to wipe out an entire kingdom. He was just that strong, and there was nothing anybody could ever do to remove that from him.
Indeed, all he had to do was simply bide his time and let whatever attack this was to pass. Based on what he was hearing happening above him, the entire building itself was falling apart. Surely, by then, whatever was stopping him from contacting Mineah through their bond would fall as well.
At least, that was what he thought would happen. Unknown to him, some kind of demonic insect had somehow magically made its way underground with him, biting him in the ankle before he even realized what was happening.
"Any second now," he muttered to himself, his muscles bulging as he used the slab of rock above him as a shield. "They can’t keep this up forever."
Minutes ticked by, and the carnage above eventually settled down as the entire building finally stopped collapsing. He could only assume that Ahmed and his men were still out there somewhere, however, and there was no way that he’d be able to make it outside without being discovered if he didn’t do something.
Still, he should try contacting Mineah now...
"The building should be destroyed and whatever magic it had with it," he muttered to himself as he let himself think. "I should be able to talk to Mine now..."
Closing his eyes, he concentrated to do his usual thing to contact his wife through their bond. However, after a few seconds of nothing, he realized that he couldn’t contact her for some reason. Blinking, he tried again. And again. And again. Eventually, it was clear that there was no way for him to contact her.