Chương 40: The Corrupted

Everyone stared at the entrance through which the being had escaped.

"Shit," William cursed.

"They're not part of the dungeon. This isn't good." He sheathed his sword and moved toward the entrance.

"What's the plan?" one of the soldiers asked.

"We… need to chase it down," Clay said, clenching his fists.

"The others can't handle it." William nodded.

"We chase it down and kill it." He looked at Clay.

"Protect Dareth. That's your only job."

"But—""No. This is already out of your league. If there were exits here, you'd already be out of the dungeon." The boy looked ready to argue, but William ignored him. He was right. Even the second room had been out of Clay's league. Their training was going to end. There was nothing left here to train him with. Well, he could always continue outside the dungeon. They still had the caravan escort to finish.

"Search for any other entrances," William ordered, and the men moved. They stopped a few meters in front of the entrance. William walked over and smacked Adolin on the shoulder.

"Good job back there."

"Thanks," Adolin said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Artifact?"

"Something like that," Adolin said. William smirked and left him. He didn't think hiding his power worked on anyone except Clay. Maybe Blaise too, but he hadn't seen him fight since the goblins, and he hadn't done much back then either. At least he tried, for what it was worth. In the fights to come, he wasn't sure he could keep hiding it. Maybe Clay would need another nap. He chuckled. Clay looked at him, head tilted.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just thinking about the spider room." The boy immediately turned around and walked next to William. The men returned.

"Nothing," one of them said.

"We move out," William said. They stopped in front of the entrance. A lush green forest stretched beyond it, tall trees rising over grassy ground covered in flowers. Would this be another killer bunny room? That would be funny. The corrupted one would have to deal with the bunnies himself.

"Stay together," William said, looking at everyone.

"Don't fight the corrupted ones alone. Always in groups." He looked at Clay.

"Protect Dareth." They entered the room. The forest was unnaturally silent. The only sound came from the men walking ahead of him. It smelled sweet and floral, with a hint of citrus. He took a deep breath, taking it in. He liked it. A garden with the same smell would be nice. Sir William and his men took the front, while he stayed at the back with Clay beside him. The scout moved ahead, searching for tracks of the corrupted one. He looked around the area. There were countless places for an ambush.

The tall trees and their crowns covered most of the forest in shade. The ground was slightly wet, his footprints left behind with every step, but there were no tracks from the corrupted one. It felt like they were walking into an ambush. Looking at William, he noticed that he was aware of it. So were the others. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. They were a few meters ahead of them, so he decided to get some information from Clay.

"What are the corrupted ones?" he asked.

"Not really sure," Clay said, scanning the area with a hand on the grip of his sword.

"They appeared around the same time as the corruption. They're strong. Far stronger than ordinary people, but there aren't many of them. Rel said they're a different race."

"Different race?" Adolin asked. Clay shrugged.

"I don't know much about them. Just some details she mentioned. She said the strongest among them are stronger than ours. I don't think she meant the archmages. More of the warriors."

"Do they have mages?"

"Not sure, I think they have something similar, but they only use dark magic."

"Dark magic," he muttered. There were many magical arts that could fall under that. Necromancy, curses, blood magic, or the summoning of demonic creatures. He had dealt with most of them. There had been monstrous users of dark magic throughout his world's history. They had always been troublesome opponents. Did these creatures have something to do with the Count's curse? It certainly looked like the work of dark magic. He'd look into it once he returned to the estate.

If one of the corrupted ones used magic, he could Analyze it. Breaking the Count's curse would become much easier that way. He wouldn't have to brute-force it.

"What kind of dark magic?" Clay stopped, his blade sliding from its sheath. The others stopped as well. Mana Pulse. His mana spread around him. Four figures surrounded them. Two behind, two in front. All of them had four arms, weapons already drawn. This was going to be interesting. They were all around the same strength as the first corrupted one they had faced. Would the two behind target him first? He glanced at Clay. The boy was sweating, his hands shaking.

"Formation," came from the front. The three men stood close together, leaving just enough space to support each other if needed. William moved behind them, taking a defensive stance. Laughter echoed from all four directions. He focused on it, sensing the mana, but found no adverse effect. It did nothing. Maybe it was only meant to scare them. He followed the corrupted beings with Mana Scan. They were moving toward them. Just as they became visible, they stopped.

"Get ready," William said. Clay was still shaking, so Adolin nudged him with the staff.

"You take the one on the left," he said with a smile. The boy took a deep breath and nodded, still staring at the enemy.

"I'll enhance your body. You've got it." Clay turned slightly.

"What?" Adolin nudged him again with the staff.

"Go."

"What are both of you doing?" William said, his voice commanding.

"We've got it, don't worry," Adolin said. The fun part was about to begin. Another chance to train Clay. Just for a little while, though. They still needed to find the others. He wasn't too worried about Revel. She was with Edrin, who was about as strong as he currently was. The other soldiers worried him more. Especially if they ran into the corrupted ones. His role in the battle would be support. Or maybe he'd wipe them out himself if it took too long. It all depended on the men and Clay.

The corrupted one on the left charged toward them. Clay was still shaking, but a moment later, his body steadied, and his blade burst into flames. He moved a dozen steps away, creating distance between them. The boy was taking his role seriously. Adolin poured more mana into Mana Sense so he could follow the battle more clearly and help wherever needed. William and his opponent vanished, meeting in the middle as their blades collided. It was the same corrupted one that had attacked them before. Boost. Strength.

He muttered some random words that came to his mind as he cast both spells on Clay, strengthening his body. Three flaming arcs left Clay's sword, flying toward the corrupted one. The boy moved as well, using something similar to Flash Step. The creature slipped through the flaming arcs, its blades moving toward Clay. The boy managed to parry them, redirecting the strikes downward, but he was still pushed two steps back. Clay attacked again immediately. The corrupted one just laughed and blocked the strike.

It looked like it was playing with its food. Well, he kind of was, too. But it was good training for Clay. Since the boy wasn't in any mortal danger, he focused on the battle behind him. The soldiers were each facing a corrupted one, while the third moved between them, helping wherever needed. Whenever one of the corrupted pushed a soldier back, the one in the middle stepped in and held it off until the other recovered. They worked well together. The battle was perfectly balanced. Adolin was getting bored.

Except for Clay's fight. The corrupted released its killing intent, and the boy flinched, taking a few steps back. His teeth clenched as he struggled to stay on his feet. The corrupted vanished, reappearing beside Clay, its blade flashing toward the boy's neck. Clay threw all his strength behind the block., but the killing intent was sapping his strength. Adolin clicked his tongue and cast Gravity on the creature, pouring in more mana just like he had with the spider. It just wasn't playing fair.

The corrupted stumbled as the spell hit it, its legs weakening before it dropped to its knees. Clay didn't waste the opportunity and swung his blade. The blade sliced its neck open, green blood pouring out.