Chương 392: Chapter 363: Dungeon Diving

The next cave was even larger than the last one. The walls were thicker and higher, covered in engraved runes that formed a remarkably powerful barrier. The mages now wore gleaming amulets and enchanted rings. The armor of the regular rats had also seen upgrades, and their levels had risen drastically. Previously, they had been around level one hundred — now, even the weakest stood at one hundred and ten. There was also a new type of rat — the colossal kind.

They were easily eight meters tall, if not more, and looked like walking juggernauts. Their weapons were enormous iron clubs and maces. The aura they emitted was overwhelming. Before, Thalion had barely noticed their killing intent, but now it felt like a tidal wave crashing over him.

"What fun. Let's show them what we can do when going all out," Thalion said with a wide grin to the Sanguis Impera while unleashing his full aura. Flames erupted all around him as his bloodline ignited the air with dark crimson Flame of Ruin. The Sanguis Impera didn't need to be told twice and released its full hunger toward the rats, who instantly froze in their tracks. Thalion could feel the heart of the Sanguine Archon pounding faster and faster, flooding his body with more and more power.

He unleashed it all in a single spell by holding both hands forward. From each palm roared a torrent of dark red fire that thundered toward the stunned rats, who were still paralyzed by the pressure of his aura. The Sanguis Impera joined in, two alien, blood-colored trees sprouting behind Thalion as countless thorns and vines shot toward the horde. The streams of fire carved a burning path through the rats until they slammed violently into the glowing walls, shaking the entire cavern.

Thalion reveled in the raw, intoxicating sensation of power. When the flames subsided, he drew his sword — the blade now burning with the same crimson fire as the air around him. He could have fueled the flames further, but he decided to leave the remaining blood for the Sanguis Impera. Standing still, however, wasn't an option. Several of the colossal rats had climbed the top of the wall, wielding monstrous bows over three meters tall. Their arrows were the size of spears.

The rat mages' staves also began to shine with power, and a moment later, a torrent of lightning surged toward Thalion, tearing apart much of the jungle that the Sanguis Impera had just created. Thalion dodged one bolt and deflected two others with the Sword of the Blooded Templar. The blade absorbed part of the lightning's energy, and the flames along its edge flared brighter. He swung it in a wide arc and activated Mana Slash.

A blazing crimson crescent shot from his sword, burning at its edges with dark red fire. The first rats were cleaved in half instantly, unable to dodge or resist. When one of the colossal rats swung its mace at the arc, it detonated in an inferno of red fire, igniting every creature in range. The cave echoed with their tortured screeches, interrupted only by the crack of more lightning bolts tearing through the air.

Thalion moved fluidly through the chaos, cutting down rats while firing blood thorns into the endless horde. There were so many targets that it was impossible to miss. The crimson jungle struggled to spread — each time it grew, bolts of lightning obliterated it again. Apparently, that irritated the Sanguis Impera. It stopped trying to regrow the jungle and instead concentrated on producing a few massive vines that slithered across the ground.

From them bloomed strange flowers that released blood-red spores into the air. Inhaling them was a death sentence — within moments, vines sprouted from the victims' insides, blooming grotesquely before releasing another wave of spores. The Sanguis Impera could even control the spreading mist since, just like Thalion, it was a bloodbender — something he tended to forget. Within seconds, the Sanguis Impera had adapted, shifting from a growing forest to a plague that devoured everything in its path.

The rats kept dying without landing a single hit on Thalion. From time to time, he reflected attacks with his armor, but they barely scratched him. It only took minutes before the entire army was reduced to corpses. All that remained were the rats on the walls and the powerful barrier still pulsing with energy. There were many ways to shatter that shield, but the simplest was always the sword. Thalion dashed forward in Mistform, reforming just before the barrier and thrusting his blade with all his strength.

A deafening crack echoed through the chamber as his sword pierced the shield. The blade embedded halfway wasn't enough to destroy it completely, so Thalion activated Mana Slash and swung again. His muscles strained, and then — success. Wide fractures spread through the barrier until it splintered into a million shards. Thalion, panting from the exertion, barely had time to leap onto the wall and continue his assault.

The moment the barrier collapsed, the Sanguis Impera was already in motion — thick vines shot upward and instantly impaled the rat mages, killing them before they could cast a single spell. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Thalion quickly followed after, and the moment he appeared atop the wall — after using Mistform — he unleashed a fully empowered Mana Wave.

Infused with his bloodline, it annihilated everyone on top and ripped most of the towers and ramparts to pieces.

"This felt great! Let's do the next one!" Thalion shouted, stretching out his arms wide as crimson flames licked across the remaining parts of the wall. Luckily, he noticed in time that he had forgotten to collect all the armor and weapons from the fallen rats. He spent the next ten minutes zipping through the chamber, throwing everything he found into his spatial amulet. Once he was done gathering the loot, he immediately dashed down the corridor toward the next cave, extinguishing the flames along the way.

The following chamber was unlike the others. In the center sat a massive rat, holding two staves in its hands and wearing a golden crown on its head. Rat King – Level 135 Every claw was adorned with multiple rings, and at least ten amulets dangled from its neck. The creature almost looked like a gangster rapper, only the sunglasses were missing. Thalion still saw nothing but red as his heartbeat quickened. The Sanguis Impera pulsed with the same hunger.

Five empowered blood thorns materialized, all aimed at the Rat King's throat, while Thalion lunged forward. His sword in one hand, and blood forming into five long claws around the other. The Rat King responded with an almost lazy flick of one staff, forming a powerful barrier around itself as arcs of lightning danced up and down. With the other staff, it pointed straight at Thalion, unleashing a barrage of thunderbolts.

Thalion dodged the first few with quick telekinetic dashes to the side, but the staff fired like a machine gun, lightning exploding in rapid succession. He conjured a Mana Barrier to buy time to charge a proper Mana Slash, but the first bolt shattered his defense like an egg. The next blast hit him full-on, throwing him back more than ten meters until he skidded to a stop just before slamming into the cavern wall.

His armor absorbed most of the energy, but stray sparks still tore through, leaving his body twitching on the ground. When he saw the next bolt coming, Thalion quickly shifted into Eagly. For the eagle form, lightning wasn't a real threat — it simply rolled off his feathers, feeding him even more power. Activating Skydive, he shot into the air, barely dodging a mana shockwave that would have crushed him against the wall.

"So… left staff for mana spells, right one for lightning," Thalion summarized quickly, adjusting his flight path. Back on Earth, he had done a bit of boxing training and knew it was always best to move toward the side where your opponent was charging the other hand. The same tactic worked perfectly here — the Rat King couldn't manage to cast any mana spells at him. Of course, Thalion still got hit by a few lightning bolts, but as Eagly, he took it as good body tempering.

Refusing to let the Rat King control the flow of the battle, Thalion retaliated with a powerful lightning beam of his own. It slammed into the shimmering barrier surrounding the creature, but though cracks formed, they quickly sealed again. This overgrown rat was no joke. It kept firing bolt after bolt without running out of mana — or at least without showing any sign of fatigue. After the fourth lightning beam failed to break through the barrier, Thalion grew annoyed. He didn't want to waste too much time here.

What if other strong teams were already closing in on this palace? How long would the Minotaur even be able to hold them back? This place was clearly where all the powerful contenders would head first. Thalion didn't mind facing them — in fact, testing his limits against them sounded fun — but not while he was stuck fighting what was likely the dungeon's final boss. One way or another, something had to change.

After firing one last lightning beam, Thalion shifted back into his human form and activated a skill he hadn't used since acquiring his bloodline. He teleported behind the Rat King, who was still momentarily blinded by the flash of the last beam against its shield. That was a fatal mistake. While the Rat King hadn't yet realized what was happening, Thalion conjured a massive blade made of dark crimson fire, floating right behind him.

The sword was over three meters long and consumed more than sixty percent of his mana pool, by far the strongest attack he had ever unleashed. The weapon trembled with energy as he brought it down upon the Rat King. The moment it connected with the barrier, the entire world turned blood-red. Flames engulfed the cavern, and the air itself seemed to scream as everything within was incinerated. When the inferno finally died down, Thalion quickly deactivated the skill to assess the damage.

Where the Rat King had once stood, there was now only a smoking black crater. Thalion grinned.

"If I hit any of the Chosen with that… they should die instantly, right?" Well, that wouldn't be easy, but being able to throw out punches that strong changed everything. Thalion quickly extinguished the remaining flames and began searching for the items the Rat King had been wearing. Storing everything in his spatial amulet brought his score to just under four thousand points, which, unfortunately, wasn't as close to the top five as he had hoped.

The strongest contenders were already sitting above eight thousand and still climbing. Still, Thalion wasn't one to give up so easily. There was one more tunnel leading deeper into the dungeon, and he followed it eagerly. He had hoped for another fight — but instead, he found a vast treasury filled with crystals and potions. Three golden chests stood there, packed to the brim. Among the treasures lay a single Storm Crystal, and Thalion decided to take a gamble. Shifting into Eagly, he swallowed it whole.

He wasn't sure if Eagly could digest the crystal the same way the Tidecaller Serpent had done, but it was worth a try. Surprisingly, swallowing the crystal didn't hurt — not even a little — which allowed him to calmly revert to his human form. He uncorked one of the mana potions and drank it to speed up his recovery, feeling the familiar rush of energy returning to his veins. Then his gaze turned toward the shimmering portal engraved into the right wall of the cavern.

There was no inscription, no hint of where it led. Should he risk it and step through, or head back up the dungeon to check on the Minotaur? With his mana pool fully restored and his blood thrumming with excitement, Thalion was already itching for another battle.