Out of the tunnel came an explosion of monstrous ants, dozens of them at once, crawling over every available space of the entrance. They ran up the walls, toward the ceiling, fanning out in all directions as more and more poured out each second. If anything, the flow increased with each heartbeat until the area around the entrance was carpeted in a living wave of giant insects.
As if a spell were broken, a great cry rose from the people of Rylleh. A unified scream of pure terror that emanated from thousands of throats. In an instant, the semi-orderly evacuation was over, and the crowd transformed into a frantic mob. Rather than watch her own people shove and crush each other, Yasmine reached up with shaking hands to grip the eave above her head and pull herself onto the roof. Her stomach churned and she struggled to contain her bile as she righted her balance and looked around.
From the east, the north, and south, the scene was repeated. The inner sanctuary of Rylleh had been punctured so easily by these creatures, and now they came in a great flood to wash the city away. She fell to her knees, no longer able to stand. For a reason she couldn’t explain, she turned back to gaze at the first ant to enter, and found herself staring at something new.
A thousand barbed tentacles rose from the ant’s back, attached to a central trunk that housed three separate, gaping maws of pure darkness. Tears beginning to roll down her face, Yasmine watched as each of those mouths opened impossibly wide, paused, then screamed a piercing wail that blew through every mortal soul that heard it and rattled their minds like weathervanes.
That sound seeped through their ears and into their brains, sinking into a deeper place, a primal place of fear and terror that every child knows, and adults wish they could forget. For many, the madness that followed was almost a relief.
37. Attack on Rylleh, Part 5
This place is amazing! I mean, wow, ingenuity and all that good stuff is on display in copious amounts. The city itself is nestled inside a gigantic egg-shaped cavern, with some sort of humungous crystal light source on the ceiling? What the heck is that thing? Are they powering it with cores? Holy heck, that must suck up a lot of Mana.
My entrance comes out about halfway up the side of the egg, and from that point down, the buildings begin to appear, built right into the walls of the cavern itself. All sorts of impressive stone constructions poke out, fort-like citadels and graceful mansions gradually giving way to more humble living spaces and markets.
I wonder how they find the vertical living here on the side of the cavern? Must be a little awkward getting up and down. I hope for their sake there was something other than stairs to get up here, that would have been painful.
The most stunning aspect of the city, and one that I only noticed after entering the main chamber, is the total lack of Dungeon veins! How the heck have they achieved something like this? I’ve not seen such a thing done before, not even by the sophos! This secret must be unlocked for the colony! As we expand deeper into the Dungeon, this could make our nests invulnerable fortresses during a wave and ensure the safety of the precious brood. If nothing else comes of this raid, then this technique must be uncovered!
I don’t get so distracted by gawping at everything new around me that I neglect to pay attention to the defenders of the city, such as there are. It appears the citizens are being herded into the city centre. I can see an inner wall there where I assume they hope to make their final stand. There also seems to be a terrific amount of screaming and running going on as my siblings flood into the chamber.
[Hey, Crinis. What was that scream thing all about?]
[I am letting them know what they are dealing with!]
[It looks like you got quite a strong reaction.]
[Naturally I did, Master! I wanted to ensure they ran away… in accordance with your plans, of course!]
Suspicious. Not that I have the time to deal with it right now.
[Come on, Tiny. Let’s move up and see if anyone comes to try and deal with us. Stay alert, they may attempt to ambush us from amongst the buildings, so be careful.]
Attempting to follow my own advice, I stick to the middle of the pleasingly wide roads as I rush down the side of the cavern. Judging by the winch and pulley systems I see about the place, these sections aren’t really for walking on, but they suit me just fine!
BOOM!
“What the heck, Mother?”
Rather than follow my example, the Queen simply smashes through the first building that gets in her way, sending the stone tumbling down and damaging a few more houses on its way. She looks even larger than usual, I assume she’s activated her ‘War Queen’ form.
“What is it, child?” she asks as she continues to barrel forward.
If they were planning on lying in wait within the buildings, I’m going to assume they aren’t considering it anymore.
Within a nearby building…
From the third-storey window, Sylvin was able to see the onrushing horde of monsters, led by two truly colossal insects.
“What do you think, boss? Should we leg it?” a voice asked him nervously.
Sylvin sneered but managed to wipe the expression from his face before he turned back to his nervous compatriots.
“Run? Why would we run away when a literal fortune is rushing forward to meet us?”
There was nervousness and anxiety in the air inside the Mercenary Union of Rylleh. That was a smell he knew well, but rising above that fear was a more powerful motivator: greed.
“Jessim, do we have any more union members coming in?” he asked.
“No, sir, we got about half the membership in here, the others must’ve headed to the square.”
“More for the rest of us then.” Sylvin chuckled and a few others in the room picked up on his energy and laughed along. Glancing around, he could see the rising tension in his fellow mercs faces. It was a familiar scene. One didn’t make a living hunting monsters in the Dungeon without being familiar with pre-battle jitters. His people just needed a little push.
“What we’ve got out there,” he pointed out the upstairs window to the masses of ants creeping into the city, “is money on legs. A horde of low-tier, low-stat monsters with no Biomass. If we stay in our teams and hold the line, we can kill a million of them.”
There were rumblings of agreement as people hefted weapons and tightened their fists.
“Over there,” Sylvin now pointed to the two enormous ants leading the charge, “is the real payday. Tier five, maybe six. Sounds scary, but remember, these are ants. The tier may be high, but the stats are low. You’ll never get a better chance for experience than this. And don’t forget the cores. We get our hands on them, and we’re set for life.”
Grins and eager faces began to appear amongst the gathered men and women of the Union. These people were hardened monster killers and they weren’t about to run and hide like the guard at the first sign of Dungeon spawn. After all, this was how they got paid.
Sylvin shot an assessing glance around the room. He’d worked out of the Rylleh Merc Union building for years and he recognised many of those faces, but there were still many he did not. At least his regular team was here. He trusted them to watch his back.