173 The One Reborn (1/2)

Moving closer and closer to the entrance, the group of ratmen did not seem particularly happy to not notice anything wrong. It was not their first try at killing that damned undead, only that it always ended in a brutal failure. Even recently, with the help of those that shouldn't be disturbed, it was still not a success, only having slightly injured the powerful lich. But compared to the past, it was still relatively good news, except that the ones that were called to help should not have failed. Making a lot of demons highly uncomfortable.

”Remember, no undead!” Grabbing its weapons, the leaders looked at the ten other ratmen that were beside him. Even if his order seemed highly obvious, concerning who they were supposed to kill, it was also something his deceased peers paid their lives for.Even now, he and another one were part of a previous attempt, and they knew far well how dangerous even the most little skeleton could become after some time passed.

Gazing at the dark tunnel that was going deeper into the small mountain, no sounds could be heard from it. Even if they had superior visions in the dark compared to the humans, they were still restricted if no light was present. Grabbing a very small metal cube, each of them infused a very small amount of mana, barely lightening their own bodies. However, anything more important and they would be spotted immediately.

Grabbing a rock under its foot, the leader of the ratmen threw it in the air a few times and grabbed it accurately, while starring at a single point in the tunnel. Behind him, his subordinates collected dozens of those little stones, barely smaller than their own hands. Seeing them nod after harvesting enough of those, he stopped throwing the projectile in his claws. Breathing as silently as he could, he began to march into the darkness.

Behind him, the discreet assassins followed, and the previously silent tunnel did not change at all, besides shadows moving inside it. Barely a few steps inside it, and the leader accurately threw his rock at a random place that was no different from the rest of it. In fact, for a random bystander, what he hit was just the stone ceiling. But unlike the expected sound of his projectile bouncing off the stone, it was more like a skull being broken.

Picking up their speed, no ratmen even looked at the undead corpse that fell to the ground. As the leader and the assassin behind him repeatedly destroyed all the skeletons that were crawling on the walls and the ceiling, the rest of the group provided them with more ammunition. Finally leaving the tunnel of death, they reached the first room that caused so many problems in the past.

Compared to the outside world, it was completely filled with undead. In the local region, almost no roaming zombie or skeleton could be spotted, making some wonders where the hell they have gone. The answer was, in this very place. By now, even if they killed every sentry, they will still be spotted by the enormous horde of undead waiting from them.

Slashing down the ones preventing them from reaching the cave, they did not continue their progress on the ground but immediately jumped above them, to reach the wall above them.If they dared to face such a large amount of enemies by themselves, they would be tired out before even destroying a tenth of it. Or they would be surrounded and overrun. Not an especially good thing for them to happen.

”ahh.” It was even less loud than a murmur, but all the assassins heard it clearly. The one the closest to the location of that sound quickly turned around, to see one of them being grabbed by one of those pesky small skeletons hanging on the wall. In a blink of an eye, the ratman was released from its undead grip, and the progression could continue. This was not the last time it happened, as sometimes the leader had to stop and throw a rock at those frail skulls to break them.

Using the large stalactites and stalagmites that were formed since the birth of this place, it allowed them to reduced greatly the distance they had to travel. Under them, rows and rows of undead were mindless following them, sometimes climbing on themselves just to get a bit closer. It was a matter of sheer speed, as if they were too slow in the end, they would have too much undead on their hands.

Fortunately, they were prepared and trained for this, and besides the small interruptions by the sudden appearance of a skeleton on the walls, they didn't lose anyone. Grabbing something from his bag, he infused a lot of mana in it, before dropping it near the exit of the cave. Not a single zombie even looked at it falling near their feet, as they were focused only on the living beings intruding their place.

BOOM

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click visiting.

The pile of skeletons that were awfully close to the stalagmite they were all on immediately crumbled, as the foundations had been pushed away by the strength of the explosion. No waiting for another second, all the ratmen jumped down, crushing bones and rotten flesh alike. Destroying the limbs that were still moving on their own, two ratmen stayed there to slow down the progress of the undead horde. Due to the fact that the tunnel wasn't really that big, it was easily defended, as the undead were really too clumsy.

On the other hand, the group of eight still had to fight their way in, as their enemies were also present there. Still the same weaklings they could slaughter at will, their numbers made it far more troublesome. However, it was still relatively easy for them to rotate between the killings, allowing everyone to had least don't permanently fight. Compared to the others that stayed in the back, they were having it easy.

Grabbing a few additional stones that were laying on the ground, the ratmen in the back were not idling. In fact, if not for the fact that there were too many zombies, their advance would have been much faster, as just wrecking the skulls of the skeletons was most of the time enough to put them down for good. Feeling that the tunnel was beginning to enlarge, the group stopped moving, slaying the last remaining enemies in front of them.

”Where are they?” Asking this question to the air, no shadows answered the leader. Gazing at the completely empty room, none dared to think it was true. In fact, they were far more inclined to believe it was an elaborate trap. Sniffing the putrid smell that was caused by the rotten flesh of the zombies, the ratmen were far more prudent now.