Chapter 172: Tanaka Among Beastfolk 2

Svarn opened his mouth to say more, but a sudden cracking noise interrupted him. Everyone turned to see a ring of glowing circles forming all over the floor once more. "Guards, protect the leaders!" Aldren ordered. The royal guard formation was triggered. Several blue runes of protection flashed across the walls, and a few wolf mages began to chant, directing beams of mana at the conjured black circles in the floor.

"Rise, stone under throne, and bar the way!" the mages cried in unison. A wall of rock shot up from the floor in front of the first magical formation and met the oncoming tendrils of corrupted magic. The new barrier was instantly destroyed, but the wolf guard formation, the mages, and Tanaka all threw their attacks in unison, stopping the magical onslaught for precious seconds.

Tanaka turned towards the few wolves that had fallen and had tried to get up before he caught a small figure by the armor and threw it at the group of guards that had helped him. The young wolf hit the floor hard but rolled away from the advancing tendrils. "Get everyone away from the magical formation!" Tanaka roared.

Garrath had already leaped from his seat, landing between his compatriots and the creeping appendages. Golden light surrounded his arms as he smashed one writhing column of corrupted magic, sending it clattering to the stone floor. "Finally," the Lion King growled, "...hit something bigger than my pride!" "This is an assassination attempt!" Aldren barked. "Then shut up and start swinging," Garrath growled, delivering another hammer blow to the attacking tendrils.

The impact exploded the black magic, showering the chamber in pieces of evil energy. Several Foxfolk mages chanted in unison to hold off the tendrils, but their binding incantations were dissipated by the corrupt spell, and their summoned spirit chains were severed, forcing them to dodge the rolling appendages and start over. Tanaka narrowed his eyes.

It was not merely simple magic that was attacking the gathered rulers. Someone had taken advantage of the gathering to set an assassination trap on all the Beastfolk nobles, using the magic floor tiles as an aid. The one who had created this trap was stronger than the rulers he had attacked, because his spell continued to spread, taking advantage of any weakness in its surroundings. Tanaka turned to face Raizen.

"Now," the slime king said, "...let us finish this." The Star Wolf King was already driving his opponent back, clawing away at the writhing tendril of magic at his side. Tanaka focused on sensing anything unusual beneath the tiles, as the fight raged on, all around him. He could sense the concentrated magic within the first ring of tiles, but there was also another pocket of it nearby.

Tanaka suddenly focused on the other pocket. It was located almost at the center of the other group, near where the Wolf Crown royal family and the other important wolf nobles had been seated. Tanaka turned to the area and saw several of the Wolf King’s guards struggling to avoid the black tendrils of magic that shot out from beneath the floor. "Found you," Tanaka said, slamming his hand against the floor.

The earth magic was the most useful tool he possessed at the moment, and he wasted no time using it. His power split the stone tile flooring, revealing yet another ring of magical symbols etched into the underground chamber beneath the main hall. Svarn’s old eyes scanned the markings on the newly uncovered tiles. "Those enchantments had been sealed after the last royal protection enchantment was performed!" he exclaimed.

Tanaka remained silent. "Did you break into our system?" a younger mage asked, pale with fright. Before Tanaka could respond, one of the Wolf King’s warriors screamed in terror and staggered backward. Tanaka turned to see a black dagger sticking from the man’s chest, impaling him from behind. The warrior crumpled to the floor, spraying blood across the smooth stone tiles.

Other guards moved to assist him, but the dagger was already twisting, embedding itself deeper into the dying warrior’s organs. Tanaka’s jaw tightened, and he clenched his fists. It was not over. There was more to this assassination attempt. The dagger was only the beginning of Tanaka’s enemies’ plan. The spell that was attacking his friends and compatriots was using every available opening to do as much damage as possible.

Its purpose was not to kill anyone, only to weaken the assembled group of noble Beastfolk before the final strike. Tanaka turned his sight upon where the dagger had lodged itself into the fallen warrior’s side. The dagger was embedded directly behind the seat usually taken by Svarn Frostmane. Tanaka narrowed his eyes. "Raizen," Tanaka said.

The big monster was already on his way to checking on the young wolf noble currently struggling to avoid another barrage of dark magic. Tanaka’s palm met the tile flooring. The earth magic exploded upward, and the wooden floorboards in that area buckled and then caught on fire. The wooden flooring was not enchanted like the stone blocks, so it was easily consumed by the flames. Raizen leapt behind Tanaka just in time to avoid the second wave of writhing, wriggling tendrils of corrupted magic, but the third one caught Svarn by the leg.

Svarn kept from falling as Raizen moved forward, slamming his fist into the magic tendril, shattering it. Tanaka narrowed his eyes. "He’s not dead," the slime man muttered. "I can still sense him." Behind them, the flames had devoured the wooden floorboards, revealing a small ring of tile flooring. Tanaka’s eyes scanned the pattern of markings on the floor. Someone had prepared this trap well.

He turned to stare at Raizen. "It looks like these people were ready for us to attack them," Tanaka said. They did not waste any time preparing the trap system either. It was like they were preparing to kill Tanaka. But now, they were preparing to kill the leaders of their respective tribes at once. Tanaka’s demonic aura flared up again.

"All right," he said, "...now I really am tired of this." Tanaka flexed his fingers, and the black magic around the hall exploded outward, filling the entire chamber with dark power.