Chapter 1623 – Catastrophe

It wasn’t long into the battle before most of the platforms the Zissth had constructed were completely destroyed. The armoured ants, in their insane zeal, had smashed everything they could in their charge, latching onto the Krath’s trained monsters, forcing themselves into their mouths, or simply flinging themselves into the air, dragging their victims down with them.

Now Zluth could see the cursed creatures were slowly pulling themselves up the walls of the heart, eager to try again.

The battle had moved to the walls and roof of the lower chamber, the Krath and their beasts clinging to the moving surface and fighting with the ferocity and cunning their kind was known for.

But even here, there were nightmares waiting for the slugs. The shadows themselves had turned against them. No patch of darkness remained ordinary and safe for long, they deepened, and moments later, nets would fly out, or flashing mandibles. He’d seen more than one Krath dragged into the pooling shadows, surely never to return.

Danger was everywhere, and Zluth could feel the acid surging in his flesh as he tried desperately to keep himself alive. Flat against the wall, he conjured the power he cultivated inside of him and spat it forth, a jet of acid that seared across the wall and burned into the mucus coating the heart.

He was too slow, the shadow he’d targeted had already faded. Or perhaps… moved. Zluth’s eyes twisted atop their stalks, trying to see in every direction at once.

The creature of shadow and teeth wasn’t far away anymore. Every minute that passed, those grasping, lashing, squeezing limbs got closer and closer. He would need to move further up soon, but if things didn’t change, then soon there would be no space left and the Krath would be forced back to the upper chamber.

He gathered his acid once more and prepared to spit, a condensed ball of power, sent straight to the heart of the forest of tentacles, but something caught his eye at the last second. Zluth flung himself to the side just as the axe crashed into the heart right beside him.

Zluth reacted instantly, turning and unleashing the ball of acid, but he struck nothing, his shot flying too high. Unbelievably, a human was there, thick shoulders, corded muscle on his arms and a hefty axe in his hands. The man was buried up to his waist in shadow. As Zluth watched, he sank back into the shadows, his brown eyes burning with dangerous intent.

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A shiver ran down the length of Zluth’s flesh. That human was hunting him. Hunting him.

Baring his fangs in anger, the Krath’lath of the Slee felt the rage ignite within him. How dare this creature hunt him, a Krath, within the beating heart of the fifth!

Humans did not belong here. Humans could not survive here.

An ear-shattering, piercing cry split the air. It came from the huge beast, electricity crackling around his chest and arms, hanging from the slime ropes. Something about that screech speared into the Krath’s brain, stunning and freezing him on the spot.