Chapter 127: Traps ahead II

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Traps ahead II

Instead of advancing along the obvious corridors, Tolu began using the smaller passages and side chambers whenever possible. His creatures tested the ground ahead, examined suspicious openings, and avoided chasing retreating enemies.

Gravemantle proved particularly useful when they encountered blocked routes. The beast reinforced its shoulders and drove into weakened sections of stone, opening passages that the Eera had sealed.

It couldn’t smash through every wall, and Tolu made sure not to exhaust it needlessly. But where the stone was already cracked or the construction relied on timber supports, Gravemantle’s strength saved them considerable time.

They also discovered several hidden storage chambers containing mineral fragments, processed timber, and small deposits of usable ore.

Tolu ordered his creatures to collect what they could safely carry.

By the time they reached the final stretch of the second floor, his army had already gathered a useful quantity of materials. More importantly, they had learned to recognize many of the enemy’s defensive tricks.

Tolu stood at the entrance to a large chamber.

Beyond it lay the route to the third floor.

The passage was guarded by a reinforced gate made from timber and stone. Small openings along the sides suggested that defenders could attack anyone approaching without exposing themselves.

Tolu studied it.

"We could spend another hour looking for a way around."

He shifted his hammer onto his shoulder.

"Or we could make our own entrance."

He turned toward Gravemantle.

The beast stepped forward.

Its earthen plates hardened across its shoulders and forelegs. It lowered its head, braced its hind legs, and charged.

The impact shook the chamber.

The gate groaned but held.

Gravemantle backed away, its claws scraping across the stone.

"Again."

The beast charged a second time.

A support beam cracked.

The gate sagged inward.

On the third impact, the weakened structure finally gave way. Timber splintered, stone blocks tumbled across the floor, and the opening widened enough for the army to pass through.

Tolu stepped over the debris.

He could hear movement on the other side.

The Eera had noticed the destruction, and their response was immediate. Clicking sounds echoed through the passages beyond, followed by the rapid movement of hundreds of small feet.

Tolu tightened his grip on his hammer.

"Enough waiting."

He looked at his assembled creatures.

"We’ve seen their traps. We’ve seen their tools. We know how they defend their territory."

His gaze settled on the dark passage ahead.

"Now we take the floor."

Tolu raised his hammer.

"Advance!"

His army surged forward.

The Eera rushed to meet them, filling the corridors with their chattering cries. Some carried spears, others crude blades, and many wielded little more than sharpened wooden implements.

Individually, they were weak.

But they came in numbers.

The first wave struck Tolu’s front line, climbing over fallen comrades and thrusting their weapons at any exposed opening. His creatures pushed them back, but the Eera continued pouring into the chamber from side passages.

Tolu moved into the fighting.

His hammer swept across the front rank, scattering several Eera and opening a gap in their formation. Gravemantle charged into the opening, using its bulk to force the defenders away from the entrance.

The Eera tried to close around them.

Tolu responded by directing his faster creatures toward the flanks, preventing the enemy from surrounding the main force. He ordered the heavier creatures to hold the centre while the smaller ones attacked the Eera attempting to reach the rear.

The battle spread through the chamber.

The Eera fought with surprising discipline. When one group was pushed back, another moved forward to cover the retreat. Some tried to attack from above, leaping from ledges and support beams. Others attempted to lure Tolu’s creatures toward the side passages.

But Tolu had already learned their methods.

He refused to chase.

He refused to let his formation break.

And whenever the Eera concentrated too heavily on one point, he directed his forces toward the weakened flank.

Gradually, the defenders began losing ground.

The Eera were numerous, but they could not bring all their numbers to bear in the confined chamber. Their own tunnels restricted their movements, and the traps they had prepared for intruders became less useful once Tolu’s creatures began forcing the defenders away from their intended positions.

Gravemantle struck down one group after another, its reinforced shoulders smashing through crude barricades. Tolu followed behind it, using his hammer to break through the resistance that remained.

The Eera retreated.

Tolu allowed them to withdraw only as far as the next chamber before ordering his forces to advance again.

He wanted to end the fighting on this floor before the enemy Dungeon Lord could reorganize the defenders or spring another prepared trap.

The final resistance gathered around a broad junction leading toward the lower levels. There, the Eera had constructed another barrier, this one reinforced with stone and metal.

They fought desperately to keep Tolu’s army away from it.

Tolu saw why.

The barrier concealed the main descent to the third floor.

He raised his hammer.

"Gravemantle. Break it."

The beast charged.

The barrier shuddered under the impact, and the Eera defenders scattered to avoid being crushed by the falling debris. Tolu’s other creatures surged forward, forcing the remaining defenders away from the junction.

Within minutes, the last organized resistance on the second floor had collapsed.

Tolu stood amid the wreckage, breathing steadily.

Several of his creatures had been injured, and Gravemantle bore fresh cuts across its hardened hide. But the army remained intact, and the Eera no longer controlled the main passages on the floor.

He looked around at the structures they had built.

The traps. The workshops. The storage chambers. The carefully maintained tunnels.

Even after defeating their defenders, he couldn’t dismiss what he had seen.

These creatures were not merely a horde of weak monsters.

They were builders, planners, and resource managers. Their intelligence had allowed them to transform an ordinary dungeon floor into a defensive network capable of threatening far stronger enemies.

Tolu turned toward the opening leading downward.

"Heart, how many remain?"

The organized resistance on this floor has been broken. Scattered Eera remain in the peripheral passages, but they no longer present a significant threat to your advance.

"Good. Secure the floor. Collect the materials, tend to the wounded, and don’t destroy anything we might be able to use."

He paused before continuing.

"And find out whether these mechanisms can be reproduced in our dungeon."

I will begin examining the recovered designs and components.

Tolu nodded.

That alone could make the war worthwhile.

His dungeon had strength, energy, and growing resources. But proper defensive structures would make it much harder for an enemy to invade. If the Eera’s techniques could be adapted to his own territory, he might eventually build traps and barriers that protected his creatures without requiring him to spend enormous amounts of dungeon energy.

He glanced down the passage.

The third floor awaited.

And if the first floor had shown him the Eera’s numbers, while the second had revealed their intelligence, he could only wonder what he would discover deeper inside.

Tolu lifted his hammer from his shoulder.

"Let’s move."

The passage leading to the third floor was unlike the others.

Tolu noticed the change almost immediately. The carefully arranged stonework of the second floor gradually gave way to rough walls, and the passage sloped downward through a series of natural tunnels. The air grew colder, carrying the unpleasant smell of damp earth, stale sweat, and something that had been left to rot.

He slowed his pace.

"Heart, what is ahead?"

There are numerous life signatures beyond the next bend. Most appear to be humanoid.

Tolu frowned.

Humans?

He motioned for his creatures to stop before the bend. Gravemantle lowered its head beside him, its dark amber eyes fixed on the passage ahead.

Tolu advanced alone for a few steps, his hammer held loosely in one hand. The tunnel curved to the left, then widened into a cavern.

He stopped at the entrance.

For a moment, he said nothing.

The cavern was larger than he had expected. Iron bars and crude wooden partitions divided it into several enclosures, each holding people in various states of exhaustion. Some sat against the walls with their knees drawn to their chests. Others lay on the ground, their bodies so still that Tolu initially wondered whether they were alive.

There were men and women of different ages. Some looked barely older than himself, while others had the weathered faces of people who had spent decades surviving in a harsh world.

Their clothes were torn and filthy. Several had bandages wrapped around their limbs, while others bore bruises and old wounds that had received little care.

Yet it wasn’t their injuries that made Tolu’s stomach tighten.

It was their eyes.

They were empty.

A woman sat behind the bars of the nearest enclosure, staring at the opposite wall. A man beside her had his head bowed, his hands resting loosely on his knees. Neither looked up when Tolu entered.

Further inside, a young man sat with his back against a pillar, his lips moving soundlessly. Whatever he was saying, he seemed to have forgotten that anyone else might hear him.