173 The One Reborn

Moving closer and closer to the entrance, the group of ratmen did not seem particularly happy to not notice anything wrong. It was not their first try at killing that damned undead, only that it always ended in a brutal failure. Even recently, with the help of those that shouldn't be disturbed, it was still not a success, only having slightly injured the powerful lich. But compared to the past, it was still relatively good news, except that the ones that were called to help should not have failed. Making a lot of demons highly uncomfortable.

"Remember, no undead!" Grabbing its weapons, the leaders looked at the ten other ratmen that were beside him. Even if his order seemed highly obvious, concerning who they were supposed to kill, it was also something his deceased peers paid their lives for.Even now, he and another one were part of a previous attempt, and they knew far well how dangerous even the most little skeleton could become after some time passed.

Gazing at the dark tunnel that was going deeper into the small mountain, no sounds could be heard from it. Even if they had superior visions in the dark compared to the humans, they were still restricted if no light was present. Grabbing a very small metal cube, each of them infused a very small amount of mana, barely lightening their own bodies. However, anything more important and they would be spotted immediately.

Grabbing a rock under its foot, the leader of the ratmen threw it in the air a few times and grabbed it accurately, while starring at a single point in the tunnel. Behind him, his subordinates collected dozens of those little stones, barely smaller than their own hands. Seeing them nod after harvesting enough of those, he stopped throwing the projectile in his claws. Breathing as silently as he could, he began to march into the darkness.

Behind him, the discreet assassins followed, and the previously silent tunnel did not change at all, besides shadows moving inside it. Barely a few steps inside it, and the leader accurately threw his rock at a random place that was no different from the rest of it. In fact, for a random bystander, what he hit was just the stone ceiling. But unlike the expected sound of his projectile bouncing off the stone, it was more like a skull being broken.

Picking up their speed, no ratmen even looked at the undead corpse that fell to the ground. As the leader and the assassin behind him repeatedly destroyed all the skeletons that were crawling on the walls and the ceiling, the rest of the group provided them with more ammunition. Finally leaving the tunnel of death, they reached the first room that caused so many problems in the past.

Compared to the outside world, it was completely filled with undead. In the local region, almost no roaming zombie or skeleton could be spotted, making some wonders where the hell they have gone. The answer was, in this very place. By now, even if they killed every sentry, they will still be spotted by the enormous horde of undead waiting from them.

Slashing down the ones preventing them from reaching the cave, they did not continue their progress on the ground but immediately jumped above them, to reach the wall above them.If they dared to face such a large amount of enemies by themselves, they would be tired out before even destroying a tenth of it. Or they would be surrounded and overrun. Not an especially good thing for them to happen.

"ahh." It was even less loud than a murmur, but all the assassins heard it clearly. The one the closest to the location of that sound quickly turned around, to see one of them being grabbed by one of those pesky small skeletons hanging on the wall. In a blink of an eye, the ratman was released from its undead grip, and the progression could continue. This was not the last time it happened, as sometimes the leader had to stop and throw a rock at those frail skulls to break them.

Using the large stalactites and stalagmites that were formed since the birth of this place, it allowed them to reduced greatly the distance they had to travel. Under them, rows and rows of undead were mindless following them, sometimes climbing on themselves just to get a bit closer. It was a matter of sheer speed, as if they were too slow in the end, they would have too much undead on their hands.

Fortunately, they were prepared and trained for this, and besides the small interruptions by the sudden appearance of a skeleton on the walls, they didn't lose anyone. Grabbing something from his bag, he infused a lot of mana in it, before dropping it near the exit of the cave. Not a single zombie even looked at it falling near their feet, as they were focused only on the living beings intruding their place.

BOOM

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The pile of skeletons that were awfully close to the stalagmite they were all on immediately crumbled, as the foundations had been pushed away by the strength of the explosion. No waiting for another second, all the ratmen jumped down, crushing bones and rotten flesh alike. Destroying the limbs that were still moving on their own, two ratmen stayed there to slow down the progress of the undead horde. Due to the fact that the tunnel wasn't really that big, it was easily defended, as the undead were really too clumsy.

On the other hand, the group of eight still had to fight their way in, as their enemies were also present there. Still the same weaklings they could slaughter at will, their numbers made it far more troublesome. However, it was still relatively easy for them to rotate between the killings, allowing everyone to had least don't permanently fight. Compared to the others that stayed in the back, they were having it easy.

Grabbing a few additional stones that were laying on the ground, the ratmen in the back were not idling. In fact, if not for the fact that there were too many zombies, their advance would have been much faster, as just wrecking the skulls of the skeletons was most of the time enough to put them down for good. Feeling that the tunnel was beginning to enlarge, the group stopped moving, slaying the last remaining enemies in front of them.

"Where are they?" Asking this question to the air, no shadows answered the leader. Gazing at the completely empty room, none dared to think it was true. In fact, they were far more inclined to believe it was an elaborate trap. Sniffing the putrid smell that was caused by the rotten flesh of the zombies, the ratmen were far more prudent now.

"Do as we planned. Be careful." Throwing one last advice, the group split completely, each assassin moving toward a different direction. Even if they couldn't know where they were heading, the complete plan of the mountains had already been obtained by the blood of their kin. In fact, they could hardly see farther than 10 meters away from themselves.

Taking the most dangerous path, the leader was rotating his claws slowly, as he was prepared for any attack from anywhere around him. But as the seconds passed, the movement in his hands almost stopped, as he was clearly perturbed and confused. The only explanation he could have was the fact that the injured lich probably didn't heal in that time. But the moment he thought about this, he felt the air moving in a weird manner right in front of him.

SLOOSH

Barely crouching in time, he avoided the dark fireball that passed right above his head. "LICH!" Shouting this, he only hoped the rest of them did not suffer a successful surprise attack. Grabbing another small cube of metal, he infused it before throwing it at the hidden threat. Sliding to avoid more spells, he did not wait for the explosion before jumping away. As a result, he stepped back in a hurry when something moved with great speed toward him.

Plock

Gazing at the broken tibia that landed at his feet, he kept moving before encountering more undead. The liches that were present only used those dark flames, capable of inflicting pain in their souls. The worst part was the fact that it left their corpses completely intact, which caused a lot of issues early on. Meeting resurrected assassins were never a thing they expected, and caused the downfall of too many ratmen.

Spotting a lich that was targeting one of his subordinates, he did not waste any time before taking a small knife on his waist and launch it toward its core. Seeing the small gem exploding and making the body of the undead crumbled, he didn't even look if the ratman was alive. A ballet of death, between bombs, knives, and flames could be heard anywhere in this vast cavern. Only at the end of it was the result known, for everyone.

Minutes later, only three ratmen remained, that cleanly executed every lich that was approaching. And when the last dead finally landed on the ground, immobile, it spelled the fact that no one else was coming. Looking one last time at the graveyard that welcomed five other demons in this day, the leader entered the final step of their travel. No more servants will be present, and by the looks of it, they did have a pretty good shot now.

Sometimes, there were so many liches that the assassins had to retreat without even crossing the room. So, it was a good journey, all things considered. And maybe, some survived and just decided to retreat temporarily. Anyway, if that was the case, it would also mean those that were near him were doomed. For the two that were blocking the large horde of undead would understand someone coming back as a failure, and therefore will escape.

No matter what was the case, they had ten more minutes before being overrun. That was the time limit for the mission, even if it was a success. Picking up multiple knives in preparation, the assassins watched the path opening on a stone door, that seemed oddly similar to one they could encounter in their daily lives. In fact, it was pretty much the same. Carefully using the handle, the large block of graved stone moved without a sound.

Starring at what was happening in the inside, they could see a form leaning above a corpse. Compared to the ones of the demon orcs, this one was far bigger, almost 3 meters tall. Complete covered into purple fur, his face could be described as the one of a goat if they had seen what a goat was. The two horns were engraved with mana inscriptions, and the body of the monster in fur was completely naked and open at the level of its stomach.

In every corner of the room, the three ratmen could see more corpses similar to that one, and also some belonging to the orcs or the ratmen. As for the form that was engrossed with the organs of the body, he only raised his head afterward, a bit surprised to have visitors. "Oh, you are alive?" The underline surprise did not escape the ears of the three living beings, but it was not that they cared.

Rushing forward, dozens of weapons were thrown in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, none reached their targets, as the form only raised his hand and stopped it magically. Knowing that it would happen, the assassins disregarded their own safety before jumping on the One Reborn, hoping to take him down. But like the still levitating knife, they were immediately stopped merely a few meters away.

"The Demon Emperor sends his regards!" Smiling as he was saying this, the leader ignited the metal cubes in his bag, before throwing them toward the corpses that were hanging in the room. Not expecting those ratmen to not target him but his collection, the undead was half a step slower, only witnessing the complete destruction of his lair. Before he could unleash his fury on those pesky rodents that ruined everything, he saw what remains of them, mere traces of mana in the air.

"Wait for this thing to arrive on this plane and you won't be as happy. And again, everything is ruined. Those ratmen, always bothering me." Not really complaining, the One Reborn merely patted the dust away before looking at the corpse he studied mere moments ago. Fortunately, it was not that damaged, only having one horn broken and half of its face in horrible shape.

But just as he approached it, he felt something weird, prompting him to look behind him. But there was nothing, besides the opened door, leading to the dark tunnel beyond. Only at that moment did he realized it was not right. He should be able to see in that obscure path, so why it was not possible anymore?