Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

Chapter 221: Underground Battle

Ravian and his group went their own way and soon came to see many smaller underground chambers blocked by primitively-made wooden doors.

"There's someone in here! Quick, help me open this!"

The warriors quickly went from one door to another and helped free the prisoners.

However, the people inside, instead of being happy, were terrified and refused to move. They scrambled into a corner and trembled in fear.

"Where are the Orcs? What happened to them?!" one of the men there screamed and tried to free himself from the grasp of one of the Phoenix Knights.

"Orcs? We didn't see any, now quick, we need to get you out of here!"

The prisoners were emaciated and weak, full of bruises and festering wounds. They were in need of immediate medical attention.

"No, no! It's a trap! Let me go, I want to live!" The man struggled and kicked until he was finally released.

"I'm not trying to escape! I'll be good! Just let me be!" he shouted like mad and crouched on the floor, covering his head and wailing like a child.

He appeared terrified beyond belief.

Of course, the warriors heard his words and became vigilant. It was indeed too calm and too quiet.

"Be careful! Stay alert, the beasts are probably hiding somewhere!"

They gathered in a circle, their backs facing each other.

Holding their lanterns in front, they slowly advanced forward, opening the prison cells as they went along.

However, many of those were empty, except for the dried blood that remained. Those few survivors they found seemed to be on the edge of insanity from the torture. They acted like caged animals, either attacking like a mad beast or cowering in a corner.

"Let them be, we can take care of them later," Ravian said as his eyes darted across all the empty cells they left behind.

"Where are the all corpses?"

"Maybe they ate them?" one person responded in a weird tone. He was half-joking and half-serious.

Ravian shook his head and sighed, "I don't know, could be, but there aren't even any bones left"

It was at that moment that they heard quiet screams and shouts coming from the tunnels. They realized they were distinctly human as loud curses and distorted words reached their ears.

"Tabbris! Something must have happened!" Ravian gripped his sword tightly and was almost ready to rush back when they heard footsteps behind them.

"They are coming!"

"Get into position!"

"Shields to the front!"

"Spears forward!"

The warriors formed a turtle formation, with massive tower shields at the front forming a moon shape and with long spears poking through the gaps.

The few mages and an archer who went underground with them stood behind them and got ready to shoot.

A person took a few bottles from his belt and tossed them randomly towards the source of the sound.

Luckily the tunnel here was quite wide so their battle strategy could be utilized. But overall, their formation was still quite tight.

The rattling of metal armor echoed in the cave and uneasiness gripped the warriors' hearts. The shouts and sounds of battle coming from the tunnel behind them also didn't help with the morale.

"Hold it!" Ravian shouted and lit a torch, lifting it high up.

Giehahaha!

A creepy laugh suddenly assaulted their ears, and a second later a wave of monsters poured from the darkness.

"Shit! I knew it was too quiet!"

"Fucking monsters! Kill them all!"

Wooooooo!

The warriors shouted and banged their weapons to raise morale, and in the meantime, Ravian looked at the attacking Goblins and Hobgoblins with squinted eyes.

As they rushed across the slippery floor, the beasts remained steady, but weirdly, Ravian's lips formed a smirk.

"Burn in hell!" He tossed the torch, and it landed among the beasts. However, a moment later the ground was set ablaze, a consequence of a 'calculated' bottle throw a few minutes prior.

How do you fight against hairy and disorganized opponents? Like this!

"Fire!" he shouted, and the mages and the archer immediately released their projectiles.

Heads exploded into spectacular flowers of blood, and arrows accurately pierced chests of the closest enemies.

As the first line fell, the monsters behind simply jumped over their fallen comrades and smashed into the massive shields.

They fought like mad animals, not even caring for their own life, and more than just a few lost their lives to the long and sharp blades of the spears.

"Get them!"

"Charge!"

The warriors pushed the shield wall forward and hacked with their weapons, putting their entire bodyweight behind it.

Ravian made his way to the front with a round shield in one hand and a longsword in the other.

Aggressive vanguards from both sides clashed and entered in a contest of strength. Each side pushed forward in an attempt to destabilize the enemy and advance.

After a momentary stalemate, the human warriors overpowered their enemy and pushed while brandishing their weapons.

Screams of pain echoed through the cavern, mostly coming from the humanoid monsters' side.

However, some managed to squeeze past the front line, or simply walk across their brethren, to attack from above and below.

The Goblins rushed forward like a flood, and with the limited mobility in the underground, the human warriors soon started bleeding as well.

Ravian, as the leader, fought at the front, and even though he was quite strong, his blade soon became heavy, and his breathing unregular.

"Thank Innos we received these potions!" he exclaimed as the Stamina Potion he drank started taking effect.

Unfortunately, even though his strength returned, and so did to the few Phoenix Knights who were with him, the rest of the warriors didn't have such nice things.

The fight didn't last even twenty minutes when five men already lost their lives.

But this was just the start.