What the hell was a human body—or that of an aehul, male or female—doing there? That made everything even more confusing.

  If Dasa returned to the theory that the arruks had fought some kind of mercenaries—since it was practically impossible for someone of those species to have belonged to the Death Miners—then why was that corpse lying there alone? No matter how strong those mercenaries had been, there was no way they could have left such a massacre behind and lost only a single soldier.

  She also considered the possibility that the arruks simply hadn’t noticed the corpse. But she quickly dismissed that thought as stupid and impossible. When they hunted or fought along the roads, they never left a body behind. It was far more likely that they had been forced to abandon it—out of fear, or...

  No, that couldn’t be.

  In all her years as a Death Miner, they had never found a body that the arruks had refused. They didn’t care if their victims were alive or dead, what their gender was, or even their species. All of them served as food.

  Unless… their victim had something that repulsed them.

  Of course, it could also be a trap. She had never seen arruks use bodies of other species as bait, but those creatures were getting smarter by the day. However, if by some chance that corpse truly had something that had made the arruks reject it, it was worth the risk of recovering it for investigation. Something like that could change the course of the war against the archenemies of her kind.

  “Corporal Gradi, Brologa, Brakia, Grudo,” the sergeant ordered. “Get out there and bring me that body buried among the arruks. It might be useful to us.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the drauo soldiers responded.

  The rear door of the second cabin of the S-12 truck opened, and the Death Miners stepped out in formation. In the tunnels of the underground world, one never knew when or from where an attack might come—even in old drauo tunnels.

  They moved along the left side of the S-12 and advanced slowly toward the pile of erukid corpses, where the body of the human or aehul lay hidden. The dry blood and limbs crunching beneath their feet mixed with the kinetic and electric hum of the living machine’s joints moving behind them.

  When they reached the pile, they stopped.

  "In position," said Corporal Gradi, her nerves on edge. "It looks like the bodies are starting to decompose."

  Given the conditions of the tunnels, that means at least four or five days must have passed…

  "Alright," Dasa said. "Recover the body carefully."

  "Yes, ma’am," the corporal replied.

  Brologa and Brakia began pushing aside the arruk corpses to extract the supposed victim's body, while Corporal Gradi and Grudo kept watch on their surroundings. Behind them, the mechanical giant stood on alert. The machine gunners of the S-12 watched the tunnel with their fingers resting on the trigger buttons.

  Let this not be an ambush…

  "We got it, ma’am," said Brakia, who had hoisted the corpse onto his shoulders. "Looks like an aehul..."

  ***

  Eliad spun on his heel, slicing an erukid that was lunging at him clean in half. He stopped, then, with a flick of his wrist and a thrust of his shoulder, drove the tip of his sword into another’s head. The metal pierced the creature’s flesh like butter. Its back limbs and mouth pincers twitched involuntarily for a few seconds before all life left its body.

  Eliad lifted his gaze and pulled out his sword. His breathing was ragged. His leg was bleeding, and he was starting to feel the tingling of the erukid venom coursing through his veins.

  Ever since Isen had begun his spell to open a breach in the wall, they hadn’t stopped killing erukids. At first, they had used their firearms, but once they ran out of ammo, they had no choice but to fight the subterranean creatures in close combat. Neisa and Bargu were using their rifle bayonets like spears. Their bodies were in worse shape than his.

  "Isen!" the hunter called out as he prepared to impale another erukid. "How much longer?"

  "Almost there," the mage answered from the back. "Hold on a little longer."

  "He better hurry, sir!" Neisa said, bleeding from multiple wounds. She stepped forward and clumsily stabbed an erukid in the eye with her bayonet. The creature convulsed in pain, and the soldier slammed it against the ground. "In case he hasn’t noticed, we don’t have all day!"

  "Well, I could spend all day killing erukids," Bargu said, driving his bayonet into another creature. An erukid dropped from the ceiling, landing on his head. Its back limbs tried to pierce his armor but failed. The drauo grabbed it by the arm and hurled it away. "Get off me, damn it!"

  A mix of clicking and hissing roars echoed through the tunnel, followed by heavy footsteps.

  "We're screwed," Bargu muttered, already spotting what was coming. "Drokas!"

  What a coincidence they have to show up right now… Eliad thought.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "I don't know what those things are, but I’m taking them down," Neisa said. "We didn’t come this far for nothing."

  From the darkness, walking upright among the arukidos, several drokas emerged. They were as tall as a grok and even more terrifying. One of them opened its mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth, and let out a menacing roar. The limbs on its back tensed as if they were wings.

  "Stay back," Eliad said, shifting his sword. Inside, he began burning his inner energy to suppress the effects of the venom and gain strength and explosiveness at key moments. "I’ll handle them. You protect Isen."

  ***

  Even though Isen wasn’t watching, he knew exactly what was happening. The gunfire had been replaced by sword strikes and bayonet thrusts. The screams and groans told him of the erukidos' deaths and the wounds suffered by Eliad and the others. The slowing footsteps of the Fierce Stewards’ soldiers and their heavy breathing indicated they were exhausted and badly injured.

  "Come on…" he thought, somewhat uneasy.

  The battle mage hadn’t realized it, but that unease was highly unusual for him. No matter the moment, the companions, or the opponents, Isen usually remained calm and impassive. But for some strange reason he still didn’t understand, he felt—or rather, he wished—for his spell to be completed as soon as possible.

  Isen reopened the spiritual gate and once again used magic particles to create another thin heat ray, continuing to pierce through the ancient rock. He had decided that the best approach was to carve out a sort of doorway and then remove the block so they could pass through with ease. Of course, once on the other side, he planned to seal the gap behind them so the erukidos couldn’t follow.

  "Almost there."

  Fifty meters behind him, he suddenly heard different footsteps. A few seconds later, those things let out a high-pitched roar. He didn’t know what they were, nor did he want to imagine. He couldn't lose focus. But for a brief moment, they reminded him of the furious red demons they had once faced.

  "Stay back," Eliad’s voice commanded as his footsteps moved away. "I’ll handle them. You focus on defending Isen."

  The battle sounds intensified. The hunter's movements became much faster and stronger, as if enveloped by a renewed and explosive energy. It wasn’t the first time he had done this. Isen had felt these sudden changes before, like when they chased the demon that had possessed Michael, the runic power plant worker.

  The sharp sound of wind being cut, followed by metal slicing through flesh and bone and two tremendous groans, told Isen that the hunter had already taken down a couple of them. But then, the impact of a limb against a body and the dull thud of flesh hitting the ground told him that Eliad had fallen. A moment later, the sound of a boot pushing off and a sharp spike clinking against the floor followed.

  "Watch out, Bargu!" Neisa's voice called as she closed the distance between herself and the drauo. Her footsteps were softer, more graceful.

  At last, the heat ray had finished its work, leaving the stone block separated from the magnificent drauo wall. But before he could turn to inform the others, the sound of flesh being pierced reached his ears—just moments before Neisa’s cry of pain drowned out everything else.

  A small pang struck Isen’s chest. He turned and felt a strange sensation rising in his stomach. A droka had impaled the human in several unprotected spots and was now lifting her into the air. Its massive maw opened, releasing a growl of satisfaction.

  Bargu struggled to his feet and clumsily leaped at the droka, driving his knife into its neck. The creature roared in pain, swayed, and after another stab, finally let go of its victim. Its joints twisted unnaturally, and its claws tried to sink into the drauo’s helmet. They didn’t pierce it, but cracks began to form—it had already taken multiple hits.

  Without hesitation, Isen manipulated the magic particles and formed an ethereal arm that latched onto the block he had cut. He lifted it and hurled it at the droka’s body. The creature was sent flying, and Bargu collapsed. Eliad had to step aside after finishing off another foe to avoid being struck by the massive stone.

  "It’s done! Move forward!" Isen commanded in a calm yet imposing tone.

  ***

  —Bargu, go ahead and get Neisa out of here, —said Eliad as he watched several stakes emerge from different points, piercing another droka and preventing it from moving.

  Bargu clumsily approached Neisa’s body and hoisted her onto his shoulders. He was struggling to move as well. If it hadn’t been for the drauos’ innate resistance to arruk venom, he would likely have been in the same state as the human.

  Eliad blocked the hard, razor-sharp tip of one of the droka’s limbs. He severed another, and with a quick movement, parried the third and fourth. He traced an arc in the air with his sword and, using his other hand, drove it into the creature’s flesh. He dodged the swipe of a claw while pulling the sword out and spinning on himself. The creature stretched its neck to bite him. Eliad channeled inner energy into his right hand as he finished the turn and struck the droka’s face with the pommel of his sword. The bone scales and flesh gave way, and the creature was sent flying, crashing into the wall and leaving behind a dark stain.

  —Let’s go, hunter.

  The combat mage’s voice made Eliad turn. The drauo was already crossing the passage, dragging Neisa’s body. The hunter finished off two more erukidos and sprinted toward the mage as shards of earth flew through the air, piercing the drokas and erukidos charging at them.

  —You first, —he said, stepping forward.

  "You don’t have to tell me twice," he thought, crouching to pass through the opening.

  A sudden wave of heat, followed by dozens of agonized screams and the smell of burning flesh, made him stop immediately and look back into the arruk tunnel. Small fires flickered in the darkness.

  Isen’s body collapsed.

  "Damn it. If I have to come back for you, then there was no point in going first."

  The hunter rushed back into the tunnel. The gray smoke rising from the charred bodies of the arruks blended with the surrounding darkness. In the distance, beyond the flames licking the stone, the sounds of more arruks approaching could be heard. Eliad grabbed Isen’s body and quickly dragged him to the other side of the tunnel.

  ***

  —We got it, sir, —said Brakia, hoisting the corpse onto her shoulders. —Looks like an aehul, sir. Though, to be honest, I can’t really tell the sex of their kind.

  The sergeant took a relieved breath.

  —Neither can anyone else, Brakia. Alright, bring it inside.

  —Sir, —Bermag cut in over the general channel, —the moles are getting restless.

  —So those bastards finally showed up... —Dasa mused. —Hurry up and get back here, fast as hell. Bali, Drokek, Bredog, stay sharp.

  Then, the wailing of dozens of arruks swept through the drauo tunnel like a gust of wind. The soldiers froze, instinctively raising their weapons. The beams of light from the mechanized golem and the soldiers’ guns shifted. Seeing in the dim light didn’t mean seeing in total darkness. They had to turn the blackness into twilight.

  —Sightings at two o’clock, —Drokek reported.

  The beams moved. Two figures were running toward their position.

  —Halt! —Bali commanded from inside the mechanized golem, his voice echoing mechanically through the external speakers.

  —Arruks! —one of them shouted without stopping.

  A few seconds later, dozens of erukidos began pouring into the tunnel. The echo of their clicking filled the air.

  The massive rotary machine gun of the mechanized golem roared to life.