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He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but before he could turn around, a sickening skittering sound broke the silence. The monster launched from the ceiling, its segmented body twisting and turning as it slid towards them.

Kilian roared, pulling his sword up, willing to take on if any attack swung their way.

But Kai was faster.

His reflexes kicked in. With just a flicker of his wrist, he cast a [Fire bolt]. A blazing bolt of fire erupted from his fingertips. It streaked through the air and slammed into the larva’s underbelly with a loud boom. A sizzle filled the air as flesh burnt.

Kai felt the guards withdrawing themselves back as he decided to handle as much as he could.

The larva recoiled, a shriek echoing through the walls. Burning ichor dripped from its wounded section, but the injury seemed to only enrage it further.

Kai unleashed three more [Fire Bolts] in a row. Each hitting the exact position where the first hit. Although the monster wiggled left and right, he seemed to have the perfect aim due to its large body.

But soon, a primal scream ripped the air. The monster slammed itself into the wall next to them. The entire place shook, bringing down a few rocks from the ceiling and dust covered their vision momentarily.

Cough! Cough!

The guards waved their hands to push away the dust as they coughed while Kai threw two more [Fire bolts] at the monster, earning earth-shattering noises.

The guards turned around, trying to get out of there.

Due to his fire bolts, he was able to momentarily see far into the room. Deciding to check something, he cast a trinket spell to light up the cave.

A ball of light floated from his other hand to the centre of the cave and he froze.

Are those…

His heart rate increased.

He had the plan to distract the monster and run… But now— a sinking feeling filled his heart.

The place was teeming with larvae!

Dozens of the monstrous creatures clung to the walls, their multifaceted eyes fixed on them with a predatory glint. The black shiny things made Kai’s skin crawl.

"Everyone escape!" Kai screamed.

As he realised his fire bolts were burning parts of the monsters, he unleashed another fireball in a desperate attempt to buy them more time. It struck another larva, igniting its body.

A painful but throaty shriek came out. But instead of dying, it opened its dark mouth and spat a ball of viscous green ooze.

Kai barely stopped it with a fireball, the two substances meeting in mid-air.

The green goo exploded in a shower of caustic acid. It fell on the ground, melting the very surface.

He looked around after seeing the acidic burn momentarily buying them time from them launching themselves forward.

He wanted to quickly run from this forsaken place, but the area behind them was hard to climb even with the rope.

Fortunately, guards were scrambling over him. Sweat covered their faces, but their limbs were tight and quick as they pulled everyone one after another through the opening by the rope. Killian went right before him.

Kai felt a hand grasp his wrist.

"Come on, Lord Arzan!" Killian’s voice came hurriedly.

He gave a final glance at the writhing mass of larvae, and flung another fireball, getting a precious few seconds. Then, with a surge of adrenaline, he launched himself upwards, his gloved hands making contact with the rough stone.

Guards were already on top and Kai quickly climbed the rope, not giving the monsters any time to come closer. As he kept up at it, he fired more bolts at the larvae. While doing so, his shoulders struck a sharp stone jutting out and he cursed.

He kept at it and in just two minutes, he was almost there.

Killian scrambled to push himself through the opening and guards pulled him up.

The same happened with Kai as stronger arms lifted him, dragging him back into the tunnel.

He sighed as he landed before the opened maw and scrambled back.

"Run away from it!" Killian ordered.

Soon, all of them started running through the tunnel, away from the hole where they could hear the thud of claws scraping against the stone.

Even Ansel, Barold and the rest of the guards who hadn’t gone into the sealed part ran, having seen glimpses of the monsters living there.

The larvae’s tremors shook the cave but calmed down as they ran until their lungs started to burn.

Who thought it was a death trap I sensed?!

Kai couldn’t help but think as they reached the original tunnel entrance and jogged through the opening.

As soon as they were out, they hunched over and started breathing heavily.

Kai looked at everyone to see if there were any injuries, but no, they were all fine.

"Seal this opening later, they wouldn’t come past where Atheum is for now as it’s too much of a climb and they would want to protect their energy source. But, we don’t know what’s in the cards for the future," Kai muttered through heavy breaths, his eyes focusing on the few guards who stood before him.

They nodded, understanding the depth of the situation.

The other guards were still horrified by what they saw in the depths of the cave.

Killian stood beside him, his normally stoic face was turned to a frown, sweat covering his eyebrows. Even Ansel, who looked quite confident before, couldn’t hide the tremor in his hand as he gripped his clothes.

"That… that wasn’t a dungeon, was it?" Ansel asked, staring at the mine opening. "I’ve never seen something like this before!" he yelled in the last part.

Kai shook his head, the movement itself sent a spike of pain through his shoulder. "No," he croaked, his voice hoarse. "Those were vermal larvae or just vermala. Monstrous creatures that thrive on raw mana."

These weren’t simple monsters, but living conduits for destruction, drawn to the stones like moths to a flame. From what he knew, they were extremely dangerous, especially in a pack like this.

Kai pressed on, his voice gaining strength with each word.

"Vermala gather around large deposits of mana, forming a kind of… hive." He gestured towards the entrance. "And at the heart of every hive, a queen is ruling over them."

"We didn’t see anything like that there. Most of them were identical to each other," Killian said.

"It’s probably much bigger than we expected and the queen is in her room." Kai shrugged his shoulders, hoping to explain more about them.

He rubbed his hands together, feeling the sudden noticeable chill in the environment. Maybe it was because of the implications the larvae might have on his territory. "Well, as I was saying, the queen is a monstrous creature that lays eggs, replenishing the swarm. Leave them unchecked, and that larva will break through those walls, consume the entire mine, and spread outwards. The bandits…" He trailed off. "They were doomed either way."

The guards exchanged nervous glances. "How do we… deal with that?" One of them asked, speaking for them all.

The other lot nodded their heads.

Kai took a few seconds to himself. He thought back to what he knew about them as his eyes hardened. Recalling their strength and the size of the whole hive, there was only one option they had.

"We clear the nest," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "But not today." He swept his gaze over the assembled soldiers. They were all tired, but trying to stay tall and strong. "We’re depleted, low on supplies. This requires planning."

A murmur of assent rippled through the ranks. All of them knew that charging headfirst into a monster den was asking for a disaster.

"We’ll reinforce the entrance, make sure it holds for now."

Kai grimaced.

"For now," he echoed, the weight of the unseen threat pressing down on him.

Those Vermala wouldn’t stay dormant forever. With each passing day, they’d grow stronger, and hungrier. He needed a solution, and fast.

"I’ll need to work on some things," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Alchemical concoctions, tactical formations, anything to give them an edge against that monstrous brood. This wasn’t just about securing the mine anymore. This was about safeguarding the entire region from a tide of ravenous destruction.

They started walking towards the area where the rest of their forces were waiting alongside the captured bandits and slaves.

"Ready to move, Lord Arzan?" Killian asked and he nodded.

He had expected that with the bandits gone, things would be peaceful, but it seemed like his fate wasn’t going to let him relax. At least with the Atheum present there, he might just be able to treat it as an opportunity.

Still before that, he had to eradicate the larvae. It was a long road to Veralt and a longer battle ahead.

***

The journey back was a grim procession.

The bandits, bound and gagged, were dragged along by their horses, their roughspun clothes torn and bloodied. The sound of scraping of their knees and hands on the dusty road was a grim counterpoint to the clopping of hooves.

Word of their return had spread like wildfire.

As they neared Veralt, villagers lined the road, their faces a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

But when they saw the fallen bandits, a collective cheer erupted.

The whole way was like a hero group coming back from defeating the demon king. The bandits have terrorised the lands for too long and seeing them dragged gave everyone a reason to be happy after a long time.

Kai reigned on his horse before the bustling town square, the cheers washing over him like a wave. Their cheerful eyes said it all, but he knew he needed to make a statement.

He dismounted, his gaze sweeping over the multitude of jubilant faces.

They were all gathered there now, waiting for Kai to speak but their cheer took over the air.

Voices of different ages and maturity spoke unrecognisable things.

Raising his hand for silence, his voice hoarse but firm. "The bandits are gone," he said aloud. "They’ve terrorised this land for too long, taking your livelihood, your peace. But now, justice has been served."

A fresh wave of cheers rose, louder this time, punctuated by shouts of gratitude and praise. Kai raised a hand again, silencing the clamour.

"This," he continued, his voice cutting through the exhilaration, "is a reminder. A reminder that unlawfulness will not be tolerated. Anyone who will try to go against the rules and harm the common citizens will be dealt with."

His words hung in the air like a warning.

"As for the punishment, I would gladly allow the law to do its work. But, I believe they deserve something special!" Kai said, his eyes glinting something mischievous.

The crowd waited, whispering what it might be.

He had thought about different punishments to give to the bandits. Not only were they a nuisance, but Arzan’s not being able to deal with them added to his low reputation in Veralt. He needed to change it now and this was the best way.

"I will allow ten slaps by all of you on each of them daily, as they’d be tied up on the square, right where we are now for the next week!"

A primal roar of approval erupted from the crowd, a sound far darker than the joyous cheers that had greeted their return. Villagers, their eyes gleaming with a cold, unforgiving light, surged forward like a wave.

"Let me at ’em!" a burly man said aloud, his face contorted with rage. "They stole away the swords I made when I was delivering them."

A wiry woman, her clothes patched and worn, shook her fist at the bound bandits. "I will never forgive you for slaving my son!"

Miners, their faces etched with the hardship inflicted by the bandits, shared a look– a silent, predatory grin. Soon, bets were placed amongst them, not on coin flips or the roll of dice, but on who could deliver the most punishing slap.

Kai watched the men walking forward, women cheering from the sides.

It was almost chaotic and he had to tell the guards to make sure they didn’t end up killing the bandits. Still, it was amusing.

He felt no remorse for them. In his mind, they were lucky he hadn’t tried to give them a punishment himself.

***

Is this really… Happening?

Ansel pinched himself in his hand to make sure he wasn’t living in a dream.

Standing at the back of the crowd, he watched the guards make a line and bind the bandits on the town’s square. The people took turns punching and kicking them.

Every time someone would land a hard slap, a cheer would erupt.

The hardest cheers went up when Grekk was being trashed. A few people even threw rocks at him and laughed.

It was truly a scene he had never seen anywhere else.

His eyes soon moved to watch Lord Arzan moving towards his horse to leave for his estate.

Ansel had been wrong in his initial doubts about him. He had watched the battle in the settlements and seen every bit of how he had overwhelmed the bandits like they were kids.

Even in the mines, he had shown a lot of courage.

I believe I’m at the right place, finally.

Ansel’s eyes loomed over Lord Arzan until he turned around a corner. Originally, he had come there to depart after a week, but there might be a change in plans now.