Chapter 38: Dungeon war II
The second phase began the moment the first hyena crossed the threshold.
Tolu waited until it was almost completely inside.
Then he pulled the rope.
A sharp snap echoed through the chamber.
The ground beneath the hyena shifted.
Its front legs dropped into a concealed trench, and before it could recover, sharpened stakes shot upward from the side.
The creature twisted violently.
One stake pierced its shoulder.
Another caught its hind leg.
It howled.
The rest of the pack immediately stopped.
Tolu’s eyes widened.
"They’re learning."
The hyenas stared at their fallen companion.
For a moment, none of them moved.
Then one stepped toward the trapped creature.
Tolu pulled another rope.
A second mechanism activated.
A heavy wooden beam swung across the passage and slammed into the approaching hyena.
The creature was thrown sideways.
Ore released an arrow.
It struck the hyena in the chest.
The beast staggered.
A Mirefang burst from the darkness and finished it.
Tolu raised his voice.
"Now!"
The surviving Mirefangs charged.
The chamber erupted again.
Hyenas rushed forward.
Mirefangs met them head-on.
The difference this time was the battlefield.
The enemy couldn’t spread out properly.
They couldn’t surround the Mirefangs.
They couldn’t use their numbers.
Every few steps there was another obstacle.
A rope.
A trench.
A pit.
A loose section of floor.
A concealed stake.
The dungeon itself had become hostile.
One hyena leapt over a trench.
The moment it landed, the ground beneath it collapsed.
It fell into a deep pit.
A second later, Razor Leaches swarmed over it.
The creature screamed.
It thrashed wildly.
Its claws dug into the earth.
It tried biting the creatures attached to its legs, but there were too many.
It couldn’t remove them.
Blood began running down its legs.
Its movements became weaker.
Two Mirefangs appeared at the edge of the pit.
They attacked.
The hyena’s screams eventually stopped.
Another group tried to move around the pit.
Ore fired.
One arrow struck a hyena in the eye.
It collapsed.
Another arrow hit the next creature in the neck.
Tolu watched Ore carefully. "Don’t waste them."
"I know." She reached for another arrow.
Then stopped.
Her quiver was nearly empty.
She looked inside. "Three."
Tolu’s expression tightened. "Three arrows?"
"Three."
He nodded. "Save them."
"For what?"
"The worst."
A sudden crash interrupted them.
An Ironback Boar smashed through the wall of a narrow passage.
Tolu’s heart jumped.
The creature had ignored the main route entirely.
It had simply destroyed the obstacle.
It charged.
"Move!"
Tolu and Ore threw themselves aside.
The boar rushed between them.
Behind it came another.
Then another.
The creatures were tearing apart the dungeon.
Wood splintered.
Rocks fell.
Ropes snapped.
One of the boars stepped directly onto a pressure trigger.
A row of poisoned spikes fired from the wall.
Several struck its thick hide.
The poison began working.
The boar staggered.
But it didn’t stop.
It continued charging.
Tolu watched in disbelief.
"That poison isn’t enough."
The boar slammed into a wooden support.
The entire structure collapsed.
Dust filled the chamber.
Tolu coughed.
"Ore!"
"I’m here!"
He could barely see her.
Then a Mirefang leapt through the dust.
Its claws caught the boar across the face.
The boar screamed.
Another Mirefang attacked from behind.
Together, they brought the creature down.
Tolu stared.
The Mirefangs were exhausted.
Some were limping.
Others were bleeding heavily.
But they continued fighting.
A hyena lunged toward one of the injured Mirefangs.
Tolu pulled another rope.
A weighted stone dropped from above.
It crushed the hyena beneath it.
The trap had worked.
But the mechanism broke immediately afterward.
Tolu stared at the ruined device. "One less."
Ore looked around."How many do we have left?"
Tolu didn’t answer immediately. He was counting. Then his expression fell. "Almost none."
They had spent the entire day preparing.
And in less than an hour, most of it was gone.
The dungeon had changed completely.
The neat trenches were filled with dirt and blood.
The ropes had been cut or broken.
The wooden supports had collapsed.
The pits had been exposed.
The poisoned spikes had been triggered.
The Razor Leaches had been used.
Their arrows were almost gone.
Their barricades no longer existed.
But the enemy had paid for every step.
The once-formidable pack had been reduced drastically.
Tolu looked toward the entrance.
Bodies were scattered throughout the chambers.
Hyenas lay motionless among shattered wood and broken stone.
Several Ironback Boars had fallen.
The Razorclaw Lizards were almost nowhere to be seen.
The dungeon had survived the assault.
But so had the enemy.
Ore approached him.
"How many?"
Tolu stared at the battlefield.
"I don’t know."
He swallowed.
"But most of them are dead."
"That’s good."
Tolu shook his head.
"Not yet."
Ore looked at him.
"Why?"
He pointed deeper into the dungeon.
"We haven’t seen the strongest one."
The words had barely left his mouth when a low sound came from the entrance.
Not a howl.
Not a growl.
Something deeper.
Something that seemed to vibrate through the stone itself.
Every surviving creature stopped.
The remaining hyenas backed away.
Even the Mirefangs hesitated.
Tolu’s blood ran cold.
A shadow appeared beyond the ruined entrance.
Slowly, something stepped into the dungeon.
It was larger than the Dire Hyenas.
Much larger.
Its body was covered in dark, coarse fur.
Its shoulders were broad.
Its jaws were enormous.
Old scars crossed its face and neck.
Its eyes moved across the battlefield.
It didn’t rush.
It didn’t roar.
It simply looked.
At the dead.
At the traps.
At the surviving Mirefangs.
Then its gaze moved toward the deeper chambers.
Toward the Dungeon Heart.
Tolu felt his stomach drop.
Ore whispered, "That’s..."
Tolu nodded. "The Level Two creature."
The Gravehide Hyena took another step forward.
Behind it, the surviving creatures began moving again.
Not toward the Mirefangs.
Toward their leader.
Tolu tightened his grip around his sword.
Almost everything they had prepared was gone.
Most of the enemy troops were dead.
But so was most of their arsenal.
And the strongest creature hadn’t even entered the battlefield yet.
The Gravehide Hyena slowly lifted its head.
The Gravehide Hyena stood at the entrance of the ruined chamber.
For several seconds, it did nothing.
It simply watched.
Tolu could feel its eyes moving across the battlefield.
The dead hyenas.
The broken barricades.
The shattered traps.
The wounded Mirefangs.
The blood covering the floor.
Then the creature lowered its head.
A deep growl rolled through the dungeon.
It wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
The remaining Dire Hyenas immediately reacted.
One growled back.
Then another.
The pack began moving.
Tolu’s eyes widened. "It’s commanding them."
Ore raised her bow. "How?"
"I don’t know."
The Gravehide Hyena growled again.
This time, three surviving hyenas charged.
"Get ready!"
Tolu raised his sword.
The first hyena rushed through the passage.
Tolu waited.
Closer.
Closer.
He could hear its claws scraping against the stone.
When it was only a few steps away, he pulled one of the remaining ropes.
Nothing happened.
Tolu’s heart sank.
The mechanism had already been destroyed.
The hyena lunged.
He barely moved aside.
Its claws tore through his shirt and scratched his side.
Tolu stumbled.
Pain shot through him.
He swung his sword blindly. The blade caught the creature across the ribs.
It recoiled.
Ore fired.
Her arrow struck it in the neck.
The hyena collapsed.
Tolu didn’t even have time to breathe.
The second one was already on him.
He raised his sword.
Claws crashed against the blade.
The impact nearly knocked him backward.
The creature snapped at his face.
Tolu twisted away.
Its teeth closed on his shoulder instead.
He cried out.
He could feel the pressure of its jaws through the fabric.
"Tolu!" Ore fired.
The arrow struck the hyena’s side.
It released him.
Tolu dropped to one knee.
He looked down.
Blood was running from his shoulder.
"I’m still alive, don’t worry I’m not dying so soon." he muttered.
Ore rushed toward him. "You’re bleeding a lot."
"We’ll take care of that later for now our goal is to survive this dungeon war."
He grabbed the arrow that had fallen from the dead hyena beside him.
The shaft was still intact.
Tolu picked it up.
The arrowhead was already coated in blood.
He looked at it.
Then at the approaching hyena.
He had no idea whether the poison on it was still useful.
He didn’t care.
He threw the arrow.
It struck the creature in the eye.
The hyena stumbled.
Tolu charged.
He drove his sword into its chest.
The creature fell.
He immediately pulled the sword free.
"Two."
Ore stared at him. "You just used a dead body’s arrow."
"We’re running out of options."
Another growl echoed through the dungeon.
The Gravehide Hyena was still standing.
It watched the two dead creatures without reacting.
Then it growled again.
The remaining hyenas attacked.
Three came from the left.
Two from the right.
Tolu’s face changed. "They’re surrounding us."
Ore backed against the wall. "There’s nowhere to go."