Rise Of The Undead King

Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

The tension grew almost with the same intensity as the murmurings.

Everyone knew what they were anticipating, and it looked like there was going to be a fight surely.

“Henry will tear that brat apart,” Someone said in a convincing tone, and she didn’t seem to be the only one who agreed to that thought.

“I am going to enjoy beating you up, Marcus!” Henry snorted, fists clenched tightly.

Marcus wasn’t sure if he was ready for that moment, but just when they were about to have a go at each other, the alarm sounded, followed by a commanding but urgent tone.

“We are under attack! Everyone, hurry to the dungeons!” 

Marcus heaved a sigh of relief, knowing he wasn’t prepared for that moment. 

“Count yourself lucky.” Henry snarled, turning to walk away.

His scowl was a promise of a later fight between him and his half-brother. 

Everyone assembled in no time, prepared to move into carriages. 

No one knew what to expect, not certain they were prepared for whatever was coming. 

As the carriage got to the area where the dungeon was situated, the atmosphere got foggy, and the chirps of birds stopped; the lively forest went to rest as the whole area got eerie. Everyone knew that this was not just any dungeon, even if it was called a C-ranked dungeon; they all knew that this dungeon was bad news.

 “Prepare your gear for battle,” Henry said as they were getting close to the dungeon. The closer they got, the scarier and darker the surroundings got. The horses got to a certain point, which they refused to move any further, so they had to drop and continue by foot; as they dropped down, Henry ordered that they should fall into formation. The party got into their fighting formation as they walked closer to the dungeon with caution.

At the entrance of the dungeon, a roar, which turned into a screech, was heard from inside. This sentence chills down their spines, but they had no other option but to go in and clear the dungeon. Henry stopped them and turned as he said,

 “We're walking into this dungeon and we don't know what to expect. Some of us might come out alive, some of us might come out dead, and some of us might not come out at all, but we have only one option. Fight till we make it out.”

Everyone lifted their right hand in unison as they began going into the dungeon slowly. The party consisted of 10 close-range fighters, 8 tankers, 11 mages, 5 healers, and 8 package carriers. With the formation of tankers in the front, followed by the close-range fighters, then by the mages, after them, the healers, before you get to the package carriers. This was to make sure the weaker combat-compatible adventurers would be able to escape in case of failure of the raid.

Marcus, Henry, and Ivan were among the close-range fighters; Ivan was a lancer and was completely better at spear than an average B-ranked lancer. They kept walking for about thirty minutes without encountering any monster or beast, Marcus whispered to himself,

 “Are you there Shiva? Something isn't right.” 

 “Yes, I am. There's a strange beast below us and we're getting closer. I'm also picking up readings of two more beasts coming from both sides. We'll encounter the two beasts before the one below. I have to add that the two beasts are A-ranked, and the one below is S-ranked. There's someone in the shadows watching also,” Shiva replied as she began the integration of combat mode to assist Marcus in case he needed it in an emergency. 

Henry who had noticed something turned and told the two mages to use their sensory magic but it picked up nothing which Henry replied,

 “That's not right. I'm sure something or someone is watching us.”

 “Let's just keep this pace, Captain,” one of the tankers said as they kept moving forward. Marcus touched Henry and signaled him to stop; before Henry could give any orders, the A-rank beasts burst out from the two sides of the wall. Everyone looked in fear, they shivered as they were stared down by the beasts. 

It was a chimera and a manticore that stood before them with growls that were so fearsome that it made some of them feel as though they were wetting their pants. The Chimera was a monstrous hybrid creature that typically had the body of a lion, a goat’s head, and a serpent for a tail. This was a fire-breathing beast that would be impossible to see in many dungeons, and the manticore was a legendary beast. It had the body of a lion, the face of a human (often depicted with a fearsome grin), and a tail armed with the stinger of a scorpion. It was said that it ate people whole, leaving no trace behind.

 “Tankers, defend the line, everyone falls back orderly!” Henry yelled as he snapped out of his frozen shock. 

 “Keep the formation!” He yelled again as they dropped back. 

Before they knew it, the Chimera let out a huge burst of fire from its mouth. The heat felt as if they were all deep inside a volcano. The tankers kept the line as they all activated their magical shield and also drank defense boost vials. More flames kept coming from the Chimera in intervals while the heat kept piling up.

 “Notice, the heat from the flames is making the surroundings weaker, and there would likely be a cave-in,” Shiva said to Marcus, and he relayed the message to Henry, who noticed that they had no option but to engage in a close combat fight.

 “Close combat fighters on me!” Henry yelled as the tankers backed into the rear and the close-range fighters charged in. They all went on the offense while Marcus stayed behind but kept deflecting any attack that came towards him; Henry kept shouting for him to step up because they needed his hands, but he was scared that Shiva would probably not function and it would be his death. The situation kept getting worse as time went on, and this time the dungeon began caving in from behind.

 “We're trapped!” One of the package carriers yelled from behind. This made Henry give the signal for every fighter to go all in as the fight went on immensely. 

Marcus was still standing in fear when the manticore charged towards him at a rushing speed; Henry, who noticed it, went in to parry the attack, but he failed to complete the parry as the beast got his right hand and separated it from his body.

 “Ahhhhhhh!” Henry yelled as he unsheathed his backup sword and turned to Marcus, he yelled at him,

 “Get your stupid head in the game, our lives depend on it. Fight for your friend.” 

On hearing the words of Henry, Marcus felt a sense of guilt and rage swelling up inside of him as he whispered to the system.