Chapter 682: The Brats and the Beast
William rushed down the cramped tunnel, his arms brushing against moldy, jagged stones. The sharp pain made him curse, but he would have anyway.
The horrid stench of decomposition, the heavy air, the thickening poisonous mana that rushed to his circuits—they were too much to handle for his old bones. But he couldn’t slow down.
Not when his predecessors had guarded the sealed entrance from their last failed subjugation two thousand years ago. Only cruel death awaited them in the mountain’s depths. No, it would be worse than that...
Each attempt had led the enraged beast to their village. Like a reaper at death’s service, it made it a mission to wipe out any living beings under rivers of dark venoms. The order’s only salvation had been to leave the mountain altogether until it calmed down. That’s why they had narrowed the tunnel to hinder the beast. That’s why he would buy his family precious seconds to escape.
SCREECH
Just as he thought about those he had to protect, the tunnel’s walls trembled and the ground quaked.
His battle-hardened instincts awakened instantly. He waved his staff, a green mana barrier forming around him. Rubble crashed on it with dull pangs as he clutched the slippery walls for support. But reacting and the implications were two different things.
"Oh, no..." Blood drained from his face, and his heart pounded against his ribs in a painful litany of dread. "Those brats provoked the beast."
Ignoring the burning scratches accumulating, he fought against the trembling ground and rushed down the winding path until it branched into a cavern twice the size of their town.
Sweat-soaked hair plastered to his forehead, he panted and scanned the cavern. It was the first time he witnessed the basin of dense purplish venom at the center. Its sparkle illuminated the room, and the stench loosened his grip on his staff.
He recoiled, shocked that a single whiff forced a numb sensation to course through his muscles. At least there was no doubt in his mind. He stood before the heart of the poisonous mana. Now, the beast.