Chapter 125: complex dungeon

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: complex dungeon

The Dungeon War — First Floor

Tolu immediately felt the hostile intent through his connection.

"Front line, hold!"

Gravemantle stepped forward.

The first wolf launched itself at the beast’s throat. Gravemantle turned its head, caught the creature with its shoulder, and sent it tumbling across the ground.

Before it could recover, another struck at its hind leg.

The beast’s earthen plates hardened. Claws scraped against the reinforced surface, producing a harsh grating sound.

Tolu moved.

He pulled his hammer from his shoulder and struck the ground.

Stone Grip.

The earth beneath two advancing wolves shifted, catching their front legs long enough for his smaller creatures to close in. One wolf broke free, only to meet a stone projectile that struck its side and sent it rolling.

The fight quickly became chaotic.

The enemy wolves were individually capable, but they lacked the coordination to withstand a force advancing under a single command. Tolu’s creatures pressed forward while the faster ones attacked from the sides. Whenever an enemy tried to escape, another creature cut off its path.

Tolu kept moving with the front line, using his hammer whenever an opponent broke through.

He didn’t waste time showing off.

A wolf darted toward a smaller creature on his right. Tolu stepped into its path and brought his hammer down across its shoulder. The impact drove it into the earth.

He immediately turned toward the next threat.

Within minutes, the pack was defeated.

Tolu watched the final wolf fall before lowering his weapon.

"Any losses?"

Two creatures have sustained injuries. Neither is in immediate danger. No permanent losses.

"Good. Keep them away from the next engagement until they’ve recovered."

He glanced at the bodies scattered across the grass.

"Collect anything useful. Cores, materials, whatever the dungeon can preserve."

His creatures began their work.

Tolu had learned that victory meant little if he ignored the resources left behind. A dungeon war was not simply a contest of strength. It was an opportunity to grow, and every wasted resource represented something he might need later.

Once the collection was complete, they continued.

The next encounters were harder.

A group of thick-skinned, boar-like creatures charged from a ravine. Tolu’s forces had to spread out to avoid being trampled, and one of his larger creatures was knocked aside before Gravemantle intercepted the lead beast.

Later, they encountered several armoured reptiles occupying a rocky depression. Those creatures were more difficult to kill, their scales resisting ordinary attacks, but concentrated strikes eventually brought them down.

Tolu adjusted his formation after every encounter.

He began to understand the floor’s rhythm. The hostile creatures were distributed in pockets rather than moving as a single army. Some defended territory, while others hunted independently. Clearing one group didn’t necessarily draw every other enemy toward them.

That made the first floor manageable.

By the time they reached the northern ravines, the creatures following Tolu had grown visibly more confident. Their movements were smoother, their formation tighter. They had fought together, adapted to one another, and learned to respond to his commands.

Gravemantle remained at the front, its body bearing several fresh scratches but no serious injuries.

Tolu looked over the cleared terrain.

"That’s enough for this floor."

He opened his connection to the Heart.

The immediate hostile concentrations have been eliminated. There are still scattered creatures in the more distant regions, but they do not pose a significant threat to your advance.

"Leave them. We aren’t here to hunt every animal on the surface."

He turned toward a narrow passage descending between two hills.

The opening was partially concealed by hanging roots and loose stone. Beyond it, a sloping tunnel led into darkness.

Tolu could feel the opposing dungeon’s energy growing stronger below.

"Everyone, prepare to move."

His creatures gathered behind him.

Tolu took the first step toward the passage.

Then he stopped.

Something was wrong.

He had noticed it earlier, though the constant fighting had kept him from examining it closely. The hostile creatures on this floor had been strangely disorganized in some areas, yet other regions showed signs of deliberate movement. The paths between the hills were too convenient, the underground passages too numerous.

It was almost as if the floor had been arranged to direct creatures toward particular routes.

"Heart, can you sense what’s beneath us?"

There are numerous life signatures on the lower floors. Some are hostile. Others appear to be moving under external influence.

"External influence?"

I cannot determine the exact nature of the activity from this distance.

Tolu’s expression hardened.

"Then we’ll find out ourselves."

He signalled for the faster creatures to move ahead while Gravemantle remained close to him. The army entered the passage, descending through the earth.

The temperature dropped.

The tunnel walls became smoother as they moved deeper, and the rough natural stone gradually gave way to surfaces marked by claw scratches and patches of dark, hardened material.

Tolu ran his fingers across one wall.

"This isn’t natural."

Agreed.

He continued downward.

After several minutes, the passage widened into a cavern.

And the moment Tolu stepped inside, he stopped in disbelief.

The cavern was enormous.

Thick roots dangled from the ceiling, and pale crystals embedded in the walls provided enough light to reveal the space below. Hundreds of small, ant-like humanoids moved across the cavern floor.

They were unlike any creatures Tolu had encountered before.

Most stood a little above his waist, though a few were taller. Their bodies were lean and segmented, covered in dark brown and charcoal-coloured chitin. Two arms and two legs gave them a vaguely humanoid appearance, but their elongated heads, short antennae, and mandibles made their insect ancestry unmistakable.

Some carried stone tools. Others hauled chunks of earth toward partially completed tunnels. Groups worked together to reinforce walls, while several smaller individuals transported bundles of plants and pieces of meat.

They moved with a purpose that immediately caught Tolu’s attention.

These weren’t ordinary beasts wandering through a dungeon.

They were building something.

And there were far too many of them to count at a glance.

Tolu raised one hand, silently ordering his creatures to remain still.

The Eera had not noticed them yet.

He watched a group carry a large slab of stone toward a narrow tunnel. Two others used their hands and simple tools to clear loose earth from its entrance.

What are they? he asked the Heart.

I have no confirmed identification.

Tolu continued observing.

The Eera appeared physically weak. Their limbs were slender, and their chitin, though protective, was not thick enough to withstand a powerful blow. Individually, most would probably struggle against a properly trained combat creature.

But their numbers were staggering.

And they worked together with a degree of coordination he had rarely seen.

A single Eera lifted a heavy rock with visible difficulty. Three others immediately joined it, and together they carried the stone away without interrupting the work of those behind them.

Tolu’s eyes narrowed.

If these creatures can reproduce in large numbers, they could become a serious force.

Before he could examine the possibility further, a harsh clicking sound echoed through the cavern.

Every Eera stopped.

Their antennae shifted.

Then, almost simultaneously, hundreds of heads turned toward a tunnel on the opposite side of the cavern.

A heavy gate began to rise.

Beyond it lay a dark enclosure.

Tolu expected more Eera to emerge.

Instead, a collection of frightened creatures stumbled into the cavern.

Some resembled small deer, with slender legs and pale fur. Others were squat, heavily built animals with thick hides. There were even several bird-like creatures with clipped wings, their feathers dull and dirty.

They were all alive.

And every one of them was terrified.

Tolu frowned.

The creatures were herded into the open space by a group of Eera carrying crude spears. The prisoners stumbled over one another, desperately searching for an escape that didn’t exist.

One of the larger animals tried to turn back toward the gate.

An Eera struck it across the flank.

The animal stumbled forward with a frightened cry.

Tolu’s grip tightened around his hammer.

"What are they doing?"

He already had a bad feeling about the answer.

The Eera separated into groups.

Several of the captured creatures were pushed toward a narrow passage leading deeper into the dungeon. Others were driven toward a broad tunnel sloping downward. A few were dragged aside when they could no longer keep pace.

Then the Eera began forcing the remaining animals through another opening.

A moment later, a roar thundered from beyond the stone walls.

The creatures inside the enclosure panicked.

The Eera guards immediately retreated behind a thick barrier, leaving the captives in the open.

Tolu stared.

Something massive moved beyond the gate.

A hulking creature emerged from the darkness, its body covered in thick plates of dark hide. It moved with the heavy confidence of a predator that had never needed to fear the creatures beneath it.

The captives scattered.

They had nowhere to go.

The predator charged.

The cavern filled with the sounds of frantic movement and terrified cries. The captured creatures ran in every direction, colliding with one another as they desperately tried to escape. The predator tore through them, pursuing the nearest targets while the Eera remained safely behind their barrier.

Tolu’s expression darkened.

They were using the captives as bait.

No.

Not merely bait.

He watched as a second group of Eera opened another gate, releasing more frightened animals into the enclosure. The creatures were driven toward the predator in waves, each group entering only after the previous one had been overwhelmed.

They were sacrificing the captured beasts to exhaust the dungeon’s stronger creatures.

Canon fodder.

Tolu had seen animals hunted before. He understood that dungeons were ecosystems in which weaker creatures often became food for stronger ones.

This was different.

These animals had been captured, imprisoned, and deliberately released into a killing ground. The Eera were not hunting them for immediate nourishment. They were using living creatures to protect their own forces from danger.

And they were doing it systematically.

Kenny would have been horrified.

Tolu felt something cold settle in his chest.

Heart, are these creatures being used as food?

Some may be consumed afterward. However, their present movements suggest that they are being used primarily to exhaust or distract the stronger creatures guarding the lower passages.

Tolu watched another animal fall.

His hammer creaked in his tightening grip.

"How many?"

I cannot determine the exact number of captured creatures in the lower enclosures. The visible population is only a portion of the life signatures detected throughout this floor.

Tolu fell silent.

He had come here expecting a war against another Dungeon Lord. He had expected hostile beasts, difficult terrain, and valuable resources worth collecting.

He hadn’t expected this.

The Eera were individually weak, but their numbers and coordination made them dangerous. They could dig tunnels, construct defences, move resources, and exploit stronger creatures without risking their own lives unnecessarily.

If they were this organized on the first floor, what would he find deeper inside?

He watched the Eera guards close the gate once the enclosure had been cleared. They immediately began preparing another group of captives.

Tolu took a slow breath.

"Heart, I want to know everything you can discover about these creatures."

Understood, my Lord.

"Especially where they’re getting them from, how they control them, and why there are so many."

He shifted his hammer into a more comfortable grip. ℴℴ𝗺

"Until we know more, nobody attacks. We observe, we learn, and we don’t let them discover us."

Gravemantle lowered its head, sensing the tension in its master.

Tolu looked toward the dark passage leading deeper into the dungeon.