Chapter 208: [Chapter - 208]
[Reward Obtained]
[Item: Stormfang Longsword]
[A well-balanced combat sword forged from stormsteel. The blade carries a natural affinity with wind and lightning mana, allowing faster strikes and sharper penetration.]
Leo looked at the sword thoughtfully.
"Hmmm..." He tilted his head, "Not bad."
"Belladonna could use a new blade."
Suddenly, the entire interface of the System violently shifted.
The calming blue hue vanished, replaced by a glaring, strobing crimson red.
[WARNING!]
[Status: MILDLY CRITICAL]
[The Zarthian Vanguard has entered the Auravale Sewer Tunnels.]
Leo's eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen in front of him.
'The sewer tunnels?' Leo thought. The sewer network that was just below Auravale was a labyrinth that overflowed with a thick, putrid stench of ammonia, rotting waste, and stagnant water drifted up from the depths, reeking of decades of undisturbed filth.
'Such a disgusting way to slip in,' Leo shook his head. He would never want to be in a situation where he would end up in a septic tank.
But then all jokes aside, he decided to piece it together instantly.
The sewer tunnels were unmapped, collapsing maze filled with poisonous gas pockets and dead ends.
A Zarthian beast is usually a massive, eight-foot-tall barbarian. He could never navigate those tunnels alone. They would get stuck and get lost.
Unless they had a guide, or some help.
"Caelum and Aliana," Leo whispered, his lips pulling back into a feral, ruthless grin, "Are the escaped Dargan rats coming back home?"
Those Necromancer guys hadn't just saved the dethroned the nobles from the dregs. Are they now making their move? Things are starting to get interesting. The big players are starting to join the fray.
Leo looked down at his status screen one last time.
[HP: 27000 / 27000]
He was fully loaded. His bloodline was pumping liquid fire through his veins. His inventory was packed with new toys. He was done playing the defensive role, and play the safe game by hoarding.
Leo turned around, his shadow stretching across the crushed flowers of the garden like a towering, horned beast in the moonlight.
"Aiva," Leo commanded, his voice dark, echoing with the promise of absolute slaughter, "I guess we need to stop the girls from "cultivating". The rats are finally in the walls, and I am hungry for some EXP."
DING!
But just then he thought about returning to his room, another system notification sounded in his head. The crimson warning screen was replaced by a saffron screen.
[EMERGENCY QUEST: The Pest Control]
[Objective: Locate and eliminate the 9 Zarthian Beastkin infiltrators currently navigating the Auravale sewer system. Don't take help from anybody else. It needs to be a Solo mission.]
[Reward: 15,000 EXP, 500 SP, 1x Random Epic Item Box.]
Leo stared at the translucent text. The blistering heat of the Bloodline Potency Pill was still thrumming wildly through his veins, making his skin feel like it was vibrating.
He cracked his neck, the joints popping loudly in the quiet night. He needed to burn this energy off. He needed to kill something, or he was going to tear his own skin off.
"You sure know how to play your cards, Aiva," Leo muttered, as he grinned looking at the notification.
[What do you mean master?]
Aiva asked, sounding innocent.
[Master, there are nine elite Zarthian scouts under the city. You sure you want to handle them alone? What if you end up dead?]
"As if you care?" Leo flicked away the screen and started walking towards the heavy iron gates of the garden, "And this is for the best."
"Seraphine just got her core put back together. Belladonna needs her beauty sleep. I am not waking my women up for a few rats."
"Shadow is most likely still torn between me and Ryana."
"So I will just take care of the trash myself."
As he walked out of the iron gates, the two Blackfang guards, who had been standing thirty feet away trembling in fear, immediately dropped to their knees.
They didn't dare look up. Leo's Draconic aura was radiating pure, unfiltered violence. They pressed their foreheads against the cobblestones, praying the Warlord would just walk past them.
Leo ignored them completely. He stalked past the kneeling men, his boots hitting the stone with heavy, purposeful thuds. He headed straight for the main gates and out of the Lord's mansion.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the pristine, scrubbed streets of Auravale.
The sewers were a sprawling, unmapped labyrinth of crumbling brick, arched tunnels, and rushing black water. The stench was absolute. It was a thick, suffocating wall of ammonia, rotting food, and raw human faeces.
"Mother of rot," a female voice hissed in the darkness, "These humans eat pure garbage. I can feel the acid burning my scales."
A squad of nine massive figures waded through the waist-deep muck.
They were Zarthian Beastkin, an elite reconnaissance squad handpicked by Elder Baez himself.
At the front of the pack waded Gartok. He was a Gorilla Beastkin, standing nearly seven feet tall even while hunched over in the tunnel.
His massive, silver-haired back brushed the brick ceiling, and his arms were thicker than tree trunks. He didn't bother complaining about the smell. He just pushed forward, his yellow eyes piercing the gloom.
Behind him, there were two Lizard Beastkin, their bodies covered in thick, dark green scales. Their long, forked tongues flicked out constantly, tasting the foul air.
Flanking them were two Dog Beastkin twin brothers resembling massive, bipedal hounds with coarse grey fur and jaws that could snap a man's femur in half.
Bringing up the rear were four Snake Beastkin. Two were male, their bodies thick and corded with muscle, their lower halves merging into thick serpentine tails that dragged through the sludge.
The other two were female. Sila and Vasha. They wore tight, revealing leather armour that clung to their scaly, feminine curves.
"My beautiful scales are going to smell like human piss for a month," Sila complained, holding her nose as a lump of unidentifiable grey matter floated past her waist.
"Stop whining, you overgrown worm," one of the Lizardmen, Rask, spat. He kicked a floating rat out of his way, "I don't even know why we are down here sneaking around in shit. We should just kick a grate open, climb up to the Keep, and drag this boy Lord back to the Warchief by his hair."
"I heard the boy is a weakling," the other Lizardman agreed, a nasty, guttural chuckle vibrating in his throat, "The scouts say he hides behind a human bitch with a big sword. He just stands in the back and takes the glory."
"Oh, I hope so," Vasha, the second snake female, purred. She ran a forked tongue over her fangs. "I love breaking the arrogant ones. Maybe I will bite his little human cock off while he squeals for his women to save him."
"We could take the women, too," Rask grunted, rubbing his scaled crotch, "The Warchief won't care if we have a little fun with the Usurper's whores before we burn the place down."
SMASH.
The sound of flesh hitting brick echoed like a cannon blast down the tunnel.
Gartok, the Gorilla leader, had spun around with terrifying speed.
His massive, leathery hand wrapped entirely around Rask's scaled throat.
He lifted the Lizardman completely out of the muck and slammed him against the curved brick wall of the sewer, cracking the mortar.
Rask choked, his clawed hands frantically tearing at Gartok's massive, immovable arm.
"Listen to me, you brainless, cold-blooded fuck," Gartok growled, his voice a deep, vibrating bass that shook the tunnel. He leaned in, bearing massive, yellowed fangs.
"I know that it is hard for your breed to think with that small brain of yours."
"So why don't you all do a favour and let me do the thinking?"
"And if that's a problem..." Gartok's gaze slowly turned towards the flowing sewage besides them.
"I can always leave you here for eternity."