Chapter 1544 – Krath Visions

To say that Zluth was furious would be an understatement. But so what? He was a Krath, they were always furious. Except, this time, it burned deeper, bubbled more furiously away in his flesh. As always, he had placed himself, carefully, in position to watch the ants fight against the wave.

As hard as it was to believe, it was safer for him out here. The Krath may be the masters of the fifth, its hidden rulers, but during a wave, even they needed to show restraint. The fifth stratum was unruly, deadly, and nothing could withstand the full, toxic fury that was unleashed during a wave. The many members of the assault squad had prepared chambers to hunker down and ride out the worst of it in, with channels and tunnels prepared to funnel away the worst of the mucus and slime.

However, remaining in such a confined space with Chozth was tantamount to putting his head on the block. Furious at the continued survival of the ants, she seethed and fumed endlessly, with no other outlet for her wrath except her fellow Krath. She’d eaten a dozen of them already, the acid within her flesh growing so strong she visibly steamed.

Zluth had no doubt that the second she laid eyes on him, he would be dead. Stronger, faster, and perhaps even more cunning than he, she would overpower him in short order, and none would step in to defend him. So he did what he did best: volunteered for scouting duty and laid low.

Thus, he found himself pressed into a crack only a few inches thick, a dense layer of mucus rolling off the stone and over his perfectly still form.

Despite being painfully compressed, he was far from safe. At any second, the mucus could be contaminated with mold or fungal spores that would strip his flesh in moments. If the type of slime being generated from the mana veins in the walls were to change, he would have to recognise it and move before it touched him; again, in a matter of seconds. Despite concealing himself as best he could, there were numerous monsters, experts at hunting slippery prey, he had to watch out for. Needle crabs. Tooth-nosed lamprey. Rotted-Seekers. Carrier Drones.

Even thinking of the last made him shudder. Having the hideous worms burrow into his body was one of the worst ways a Krath could fall to the Dungeon.

He was thinking too much. Be vigilant! A Krath could only survive if they were alert at all times.

Snapping back to attention, he carefully examined his surroundings once more. He felt out the mana, tasted the mucus, tested for eddies or disturbances in the flow.

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Finding nothing amiss, he judged it was time to emerge once more.

Slowly, carefully, prepared to run and hide at the slightest provocation, he began to push out of the crack. A thick coating of slime still ran over him, and he let it, sticking to the stone as best he could as he crept out towards the edge, mottling his skin to match the rock beneath him and hiding his own mana.