Chapter 123: Doggo Eats Doggos
The door slammed shut so hard the wood rattled in its frame. Manicia threw the lock across and shoved her shoulder against it, panting.
"Block it! Now! Get something in front of it!" she barked.
Orkesh blinked in confusion, halfway rising from his bunk. "What’s gotten into you?"
"The bandits!" she snapped, eyes wide. "They’ve infiltrated the dungeon!"
That was all it took. Misha and Nina scooped up the children without a word, herding them into the farthest corner of the room. "Stay here, stay quiet," Nina whispered, trying to soothe the little ones who whimpered at her tone.
Meanwhile, Orkell and Mina rushed to drag the nearest bunk bed, its legs screeching against the stone floor. Manicia joined them, bracing her back against the wood as they tipped it into place.
"More! We need more!" Manicia shouted.
One by one, beds were dragged, stacked, jammed against the door. But the barricade looked pitiful against the pounding footsteps drawing closer in the hall.
The first blow struck, a heavy thud that made the whole doorframe shiver. A second followed, then a chorus of steel clanging against wood.
"Almost through already!" a frogkin jeered from the other side.
"Break it down! I want first pick when we’re in there!" shouted another.
The kobolds inside flinched at every strike.
But to the bandits’ surprise, the door didn’t split. The wood groaned, but it held.
"Well, would you look at that," one of them laughed. "Sturdier than it looks."
Axes bit deep, but still the door stood. Instead of discouragement, the resistance only excited them further. Their laughter grew, wild and rowdy, echoing down the corridor.
"They’re squealing in there, I can hear it!"
"Push harder, boys!"
"Don’t break the females, though!"
Garruk stood behind them, arms folded, a smile curling his lips. His single eye glinted with malice as he raised his voice.
"Keep at it," he ordered. "The door’ll give soon enough. But listen close—don’t mark the women. They’re worth more unspoiled."
The bandits howled, redoubling their effort.
Inside, the kobolds pressed tighter against their barricade, hearts pounding.
Orkesh turned sharply to Manicia, his voice strained. "How did this happen? Tell me exactly!"
Manicia threw her hands up, her fur bristling. "How the fuck should I know? I was just smoking outside, minding my own business—and then suddenly fifty of them came pouring down the stairs!"
Mina clutched her arms around herself, her eyes darting to the door as the banging grew louder. "Fifty? Gods... where’s Mr. Karl? Where are the others? Why would they leave us here alone?"
Orkesh’s jaw tightened. "I don’t know." He glanced at the barricade of beds, creaking under each blow. "But if they don’t come soon, it won’t matter."
The kobolds exchanged nervous glances, every slam against the door rattling in their bones. Outside, the bandits’ laughter and jeers grew crueler, taunting, savoring the fear on the other side.
"Come on out, little rats!"
"Open the door, we’ll go easy on you!"
"Don’t make us work for it!"
The kobolds huddled together, their fear mounting, the children’s whimpers muffled under Nina’s hand.
And the door shuddered again.
The pounding on the door slowed, the jeers quieted. A strange hush spread through the bandits as if they sensed a shift.
Then Garruk stepped forward.
The crowd of frogkin, kobolds, and ramari bandits parted quickly, leaving a clear path. Garruk rolled his neck with a loud crack, then another, the sound echoing in the corridor. He dragged the edge of his new damascus sword along the stone floor, sparks hissing to life.
Inside, the kobolds stiffened at the sudden silence. Orkesh leaned closer to the barricade, whispering, "They’ve stopped... why did they stop?"
Manicia’s ears twitched. "That’s not good. That’s not good at all."
On the other side, Garruk pressed a hand flat against the wood of the door, his single eye gleaming. "Stubborn little rats," he murmured, voice smooth. "Let’s get this thing started."
A roar of approval erupted from the bandits. "Garruk! Garruk!" they chanted, stomping their feet and slamming weapons against walls.
He closed his eye, exhaling slowly, focusing inward. The veins along his neck bulged, muscles rippling beneath his fur as his body expanded, growing taller, broader, more monstrous by the second. His claws lengthened, and the very air seemed to tighten around him.
Inside, the kobolds heard the low rumble of the cheering. The beds against the door shook with every stomp.
"What the hell are they doing out there?" Mina whispered, clutching at Orkesh’s arm.
Garruk raised his blade high, the metal gleaming under torchlight. His grin stretched wider as he prepared to strike.
And then—
A new sound, louder than anything before, rolled through the cavern. Stone grinding on stone. A massive slab wall shifted, scraping as if the mountain itself were opening.
The bandits froze, cheers caught in their throats. Slowly, they turned.
At the far end of the hall, the rock face split wide. Something vast began to emerge, steel glinting, horns curving, fangs flashing.
The kobolds inside felt the tremor through the floor. The children whimpered, huddling closer.
"What... what is that?" Orkell whispered.
Manicia pressed her back against the barricade, her face drained of color. "Whatever it is... it isn’t for us. It’s for them."
The grinding grew deafening, a thunderous scrape of stone pulled against stone. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the torches along the walls flickered wildly.
The bandits’ laughter died. Even their breathing stilled.
Then the cavern wall yawned open.
Sixty feet tall, its body forged entirely of metal, shaped like a lion but nothing natural — all angular plates, smokes hissing, glowing lines running across its frame like veins of fire. Two immense horns jutted forward from its head, curling like a demon’s, and its eyes blazed with a cold, inhuman light.
The Cerberus. Sixty feet tall, a mountain of flesh and armor.
And riding its back, slumped yet towering, was something even worse: a cadaverous hulk, thirteen feet tall, its gray skin stitched with black veins, eyes hollow but burning. In its hands, a spear so large it could skewer three men at once.
The Corpse King.
The sight alone shattered the silence. The bandits’ faces went pale. Some staggered back, weapons trembling in their hands.
"What... what the fuck is that?" a ramari stammered.
"Gods above, it’s a monster," hissed a frogkin.
"We... we can fight it, right?" a kobold bandit whispered.
The Corpse King raised its spear, and the Cerberus threw back all three heads, unleashing a roar so loud it felt like the air itself split. The shockwave slammed into the bandits, knocking a few off their feet.
Panic broke instantly.
"Run!" Garruk bellowed, his bravado stripped to raw survival.
Chaos erupted. Bandits scattered like frightened animals, their earlier hunger and laughter replaced with sheer terror. Some dropped their weapons as they bolted for the stairs. Others screamed prayers to gods that would not listen.
Inside the barricaded room, the kobolds flinched at the earth-shaking roar. The beds rattled, the children cried, and everyone stared wide-eyed at the trembling door.
Manicia’s ears flattened, her eyes darting to the others. "Should... should we open it? See what’s happening out there?"
Mina snapped at her, voice sharp. "Are you insane? Do you hear what’s happening? You’d get us all killed!"
The others nodded, disbelief plain on their faces.
"What?" Manicia raised her hands defensively. "It was just a question!"
Orkell shook his head. "No. We’re safer in here. If I had to guess... that was Mr. Karl’s guard dog. The one the skeletons were whispering about."
Orkesh’s tone was grim as he added, "He wouldn’t leave this place unguarded. Not with us inside. Maybe... maybe this was planned. A trap for them."
Misha hugged one of the children tighter. "But why would he do that?"
Orkesh glanced at the barricade, then back to the frightened faces around him. "Because the market has one problem right now. Manpower."
The word sank in heavy.
Manicia’s eyes went wide. "Oh. Fifty bandits dead... fifty new skeletons. That’s what this is."
Mina whispered, horrified. "So he’s using them... as stock?"
Orkesh exhaled. "It’s just a speculation. A guess. But if I were a lich? That’s exactly what I’d do."
Manicia scoffed nervously. "Efficiency at its finest. Everyone wins—except the bandits."
Another roar shook the floor. Outside, screams turned to wet crunches and the tearing of flesh.
The kobolds pressed tighter into the room, praying the barricade would hold.
The hall was no longer a raid. It was a slaughterhouse.
The Cerberus lunged, its metal jaws snapping shut with a sound like a guillotine. A frogkin screamed as his upper half disappeared into steel teeth, blood spraying across the stone. The lower half of his body hit the floor twitching before being crushed beneath a single paw the size of a wagon.
A kobold bandit raised his spear in desperation, thrusting at the beast’s plated hide. The weapon snapped in two, and the Cerberus swiped once, claws carving through him so cleanly his body slid apart in halves.
The Corpse King bellowed from its saddle, a guttural cry that vibrated in the bones of everyone still standing. His massive spear whistled through the air and impaled three ramari in one thrust, skewerin them together before he swung and flung their corpses against the far wall. They hit with a wet crack, leaving smears of red across the stone.
Bandits screamed in every direction, pushing, trampling, clawing at each other in blind panic.
"Gods help us!" one shrieked.
"Run, run, run!" another wailed as he stumbled, only to be crushed underfoot.
Kenji’s mind reeled, his spectacles fogged with sweat. What were we thinking? This place isn’t a market... it’s a fortress. A death trap.
He turned and saw Garruk already sprinting toward the spiral stairs, his hulking form barreling through the chaos.
"Boss!" Kenji shouted, voice cracking. "Wait for me!"
The lupen glanced back, eye wide with raw terror. "Move, Kenji! Don’t look back, just move!"
Kenji’s legs burned as he scrambled after him, the screams of dying men filling his ears. A frogkin bandit was seized mid-run, lifted into the air, and torn apart limb by limb, his shrieks echoing until only wet tearing remained.
Garruk’s muscles strained, his lungs heaving. If we can reach the stairs, we can still get out. I need Kenji. He can open the door again. We can warn the others.
He reached back, seized Kenji by the arm, and hauled him along. For a moment, hope flickered.
Then it vanished in an instant.
Pain like fire erupted in Garruk’s chest. His mouth filled with blood as a spear thicker than his forearm burst clean through him. He staggered, looking down in disbelief at the iron shaft protruding from his ribs, slick and steaming.
The Corpse King had thrown it. From across the hall, the monster roared in triumph.
Garruk collapsed to his knees, his vision dimming. His blood pooled quickly, soaking into the stone. He looked up at Kenji’s horrified face, the foxkin’s lips moving, screaming something he couldn’t hear over the pounding of his heart.
Too good to be true, Garruk thought bitterly, his one eye clouding. Fifty gold... never worth it.
His body slumped forward, lifeless.
Kenji’s cry tore from his throat as he turned and ran, dodging the carnage as best he could. He didn’t look back. He couldn’t.
Behind him, the Cerberus’s metallic roar and the sound of tearing flesh filled the dungeon.