Joseph took a moment to steady himself, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep, calming breath. Reaching deep into his soul, he summoned his skills, and they swiftly answered.
When he opened his eyes again, they burned with a mix of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and so much more. He felt Battle Trance flood his mind with a craving for the clash that was about to unfold.
This is it. No turning back now.
The only way to escape was to carve a path with sheer force and might. “Get ready and follow me,” Joseph commanded, stepping forward.
His mind was shielded by Iron Will, yet the tension in his muscles refused to fade…an ever-present weight, no matter how centred he was.
They moved as one, driven by sheer determination to survive this godforsaken night. Close-combat fighters formed the outer perimeter in disciplined lines, while the ranged combatants took position in the middle, ready to assist while staying protected.
It was all Joseph could muster for a formation of less than twenty soldiers against an army of over five hundred kobolds. The sheer size of the horde was staggering. Hundreds of kobolds scattered in every direction, and Joseph found himself grateful they carried no weapons.
To steel his soldiers’ resolve, he spoke, “They’ve got numbers, but each of them is still three times lower-levelled than us.” His voice carried over the tense silence.
“If you give up, you will die here. But if you fight, some of us will make it out alive.” He hoped they all did. They all had loving families waiting for them.
He turned to them for a brief moment. “So, I beg of you—do not falter. Fight with everything you have… and more.”
For a fleeting second, the kobolds merely watched as the group advanced cautiously, pressing toward one side in an attempt to break the encirclement.
Then, suddenly—
A guttural roar tore through the air behind them. Likely their chief.
Joseph tensed as the kobold horde erupted into a frenzy, saliva dripping from their maws as they fixed their beady, greed-filled eyes on their prey.
And then—
All hell broke loose.
Every single kobold surged forward, rabid in their hunger to devour them.
Joseph didn’t hesitate. He activated every skill in his arsenal, his sword flashing as he prepared to meet the assault alongside his comrades.
“FOR OUR LOVED ONES!” Joseph roared.
And every single man and woman answered his call. No more waiting. No more hesitation. They must not get overwhelmed.
With Shadow Step enhancing his agility, he vanished into a blur of shadowy mana, striking deep into the heart of the monstrous tide.
The others followed close behind, ensuring he wasn’t overwhelmed. The battlefield erupted with shouts and howls…both sides out for blood.
Kobolds ran, jumped, and snarled in savage retaliation against the formation that promised blood and death to any who dared come close. All sorts of skills were unleashed, pushing back the tide of kobolds as the soldiers fought desperately to carve a path to freedom.
Archers fired arrows laced with fiery mana, each shot exploding amid the beasts, killing multiple at once. Some hurled bottles filled with potent acid, the concoction melting reptilian flesh on contact.
Not a single human held anything back.
While the ranged fighters sowed chaos in the deeper ranks, Joseph and his fellow close-combat warriors played a gruesome game of massacre, cutting down any kobold that came too close.
They were making ground…slowly, painfully, toward the village, their advance at a snail’s pace. The coordination of so many skills turned them into a butchering force, cutting down kobolds with ruthless efficiency.
Everything happened so fast that Joseph had no time to hesitate. His mind was wholly consumed by the battle, focused solely on killing his enemies. Each time his sword danced, at least three kobolds fell. His Mana Sense stretched to its limits, granting him precise awareness of everything within fifty meters.
Turning to his right, he thrust his sword, stopping a kobold mid-leap before it could pounce on the warrior beside him, gutting it in one swift motion. With a flex of his muscles, he wrenched the blade free, slicing the corpse in half mid-air before moving on.
Joseph was a black blur, his sword flashing with imbued mana as he carved through more kobolds.
They fell in droves, yet for every one that died, two more took their place, only to meet the same fate.
The others followed in his wake, killing fewer but still plenty, struggling to keep up with his speed. Not everyone was as powerful as him, after all. Most of them had common-grade classes.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Alone, they might have taken down a dozen kobolds each…but together, their coordination transformed them from capable warriors into a deadly force.
Turnip, wielding his greatsword, cleaved through a kobold that leapt into his path. His mana-empowered blade hummed as it sliced through another, cutting through flesh like a hot knife through butter.
Simon’s arrows flew through the air, each one glowing with a faint light, striking with deadly accuracy…either killing its target instantly or leaving lingering wounds on anything that tried to overwhelm the formation.
By now, they had likely killed over a hundred kobolds combined.
But it was not without sacrifice. Despite everyone's efforts, the corpses of two warriors lay on the forest floor, left behind by the formation with heavy hearts.
Death wasn’t their only problem, Joseph noted. They were burning through mana too quickly. Soon, their reserves would be empty, and that would spell doom for all of them.
Savage hunger radiated from the monsters. They cared little for the losses among their brethren, driven only by the desire to consume. Each one of them had murder in their eyes.
If not for Iron Will, Joseph might have given up long ago. A few already had. Some, overcome with despair, screamed and begged the monsters for mercy. Eyes filled with tears.
Joseph felt bad for them. Yet, he had no choice but to leave them behind, saving only those who still had the will to fight.
Ducking back, he deflected a clawed hand descending from his left with a swipe of his sword. The counter created an opening, and in one fluid motion, he sliced the attacker’s head clean off before moving on.
The battle raged on.
The formation pushed steadily toward the village, losing more members along the way. It had shrunk. Archers had stopped using mana-intensive arrows, their supply of corrosive acid long exhausted. Fatigue was settling in…both in front ranks and ranged fighters.
Yet, despite how many they had slain, the kobolds still seemed as numerous as before. The battle was taking its toll on everyone, including Joseph. His muscles burned, his bones protested with each movement.
His Mana Sense scanned the battlefield, noting more and more of his fellow warriors taking injuries. He desperately searched for a way out, but there was none.
He could still fight, barely, thanks to his superior stats. But the others were slowing, gulping down potions when they could, clinging to the last threads of their endurance.
Alas, it seems we will die here, Joseph thought at last. He didn’t want to admit defeat, but he could no longer deny reality. Images of his loving wife and blessed son flashed through his mind, one after another.
Then came the dreadful thought—the village might also be under attack. Even Iron Will was failing to hold his resolve together. They will be fine, he told himself. Focus on yourself.
He slew two more kobolds but wasn’t fast enough to dodge a sneak attack from a third one lurking in his blind spot. Sharp canine teeth sank into his thigh, and he gritted his teeth against the pain.
Wrenching his sword free from the corpse at his feet, Joseph raised it high and brought it down with enough force to cleave the biting menace’s jaw in half. With a grunt, he drove his blade through its skull, spilling brain matter and blood.
If I have to die today, I will die fighting, he vowed, surrendering fully to Battle Trance. He abandoned all reservations, willingly embracing the skill’s high, determined to cut down as many of these bastards as possible before they took him down.
“My warriors,” he roared. “Guards of Simon Village—”
“LISTEN! We might die today, but not like this! Keep your weapons in hand and do not give in!” He shouted, skewering two more monsters as he drew his soldiers' attention.
“For every kobold you kill before falling, that’s one less threat our village has to face!” His words struck true. Memories of loved ones surged through his warriors' minds, reigniting their resolve. They fought harder, fiercer, no longer just trying to escape…now, they wanted to kill.
Before, it had been predator versus prey. Now, it was carnage against carnage. In the dead of night, Joseph moved like a blur, fully utilising his movement skill, carving through one foe after another.
Half their forces had already fallen to death’s embrace. There was no reason to hold a formation anymore. He abandoned it, throwing himself fully into the fray. His sword danced, not glowing with mana, yet sharp enough to carve through flesh and bone.
He aimed only for lethal strikes, no longer worrying about defence. As long as his vitals remained untouched, he could afford the wounds. His body would heal, so long as he had health points left to spare.
And so, he fought. Memories of his precious family fueled his resolve when his skills faltered.
Huff, huff.
His breaths came in ragged gasps. His body felt impossibly heavy, his legs wobbling before finally giving out. His skills had drained him dry. His mana was gone. His body was failing.
He fell to his knees as the kobolds cackled in triumph, uncaring of the hundreds they had lost.
Sighing in defeat, Joseph let go of his sword, his hand shaking as he flexed his Mana Sense one last time. His soul protested, sending sharp pain through his skull. He ignored it.
He let out a weak, bitter laugh. He was the only human still alive.
Chunks of his flesh were missing, torn away by claws and teeth. His health was so low that he couldn’t spare even a trickle of it to heal his wounds. And yet, he still laughed.
Thus, death approached in the shape of a kobold.
Satisfied with their cruel amusement, they finally descended upon the breathing feast before them. Snarling and snapping, they fought amongst themselves, tearing into him, ripping away more of his flesh.
Screams tore from his throat as the vile creatures refused to grant him a swift death, feasting on him like starving hyenas.
In his final moments, Joseph felt them rip him apart, piece by piece…until pain and blood loss finally claimed him.
…
Two Weeks ago, in the forest depths
Hidden among giant trees, at the base of a cliff, lay the entrance to a natural cave.
More than a decade ago, it had been the home of a magma bear, but on the night when all five moons aligned, everything changed.
The surge in mana that night caused the leyline deep beneath the cave to crystallise and compress. This rare phenomenon gave birth to a creature of legend—A dungeon core.
And so, as time passed, the cave transformed into a dungeon.
Undisturbed and undiscovered, the dungeon flourished, slowly absorbing mana from the leyline. It expanded, carving deeper into the earth, summoning creatures to guard its core.
Now, more than a decade later, it had grown too much, its creatures too numerous to sustain.
Thus, at this very moment, A Dungeon Break occurred.
Over three thousand kobolds were expelled from the dungeon, pouring out of the cave entrance into the forest. Once outside, they attacked everything in sight, spreading like wildfire, claiming territory for themselves.
Before long, they established a camp around the dungeon entrance, forming a growing community. Battles broke out, and from the chaos, the strongest emerged as their chieftain.
The first decision she made was to send scouts in every direction to learn about their surroundings. She was a greedy little bitch who would stop at nothing to expand her tribe and ascend to the second tier.
First, she would conquer this forest.Then, the entire world.
Laughing maniacally at her grand vision, she turned to one of her harem members, grabbed him by the tail, and dragged him into her tent to mate.