Chapter 22: The Game in the Cave

The rustling noises continued without pause, and in the dark cave, everyone was on edge.

People instinctively quieted down, fearing something might attack from the darkness, making the sounds in the cave clearer, mixed with the pounding of their hearts.

Suddenly, a massive shadow flashed past a corner of the cave, sweeping across a part of the crowd.

A miner couldn’t even scream before falling silent.

“Ah—”

“Gulp.”

Next came a sound of something swallowing, of food being crushed.

In the deathly quiet of the cave, where even a pin drop could be heard, everyone clearly heard this swallowing sound.

Instantly, people’s fear became almost uncontrollable.

The crowd began to surge toward the exit of the cave.

Hart pushed his way to the center of the group, trying to keep his voice steady, “Everyone, don’t panic. If you see anything unusual, throw your spears at it.”

“It’s just some timid beast hiding in the dark. All we have to do is—”

“Gulp.”

As if mocking him, another swallowing sound cut him off mid-sentence.

Another unlucky soul had evidently lost their life.

The crowd erupted into chaos, and survival instincts overpowered everything else.

“No, don’t eat me!”

“There’s a monster! There’s really a monster!”

“Run!”

“Damn it, get out of my way!”

Screams and shouts filled the air, and the entire cave descended into a frenzied mess. Not even the overseers’ whips could restore order; some overseers themselves were even thinking of slipping away.

“I just want to live.”

“Almost there; once we get out, we’ll be…”

But amidst this chaos and cacophony, countless people were silently swallowed in the dark.

Meanwhile, as the foremost group frantically scrambled upward, hoping to escape, a massive figure was already lurking in the shadows.

“Ah—”

Several of the leaders were immediately engulfed by that shadow, disappearing without a trace.

In the brief glow of torchlight, people saw only a massive, bluish creature flash by.

In an instant, the place where several people had stood was empty, their torches extinguished, plunging them back into darkness.

Those in the back, unaware of the danger, continued pushing forward.

Those at the front, having seen the horror, dared not advance but were shoved forward, forced to continue exploring.

The swallowing sounds were drowned out by the crowd’s noise.

Hart watched the scene in the cave, sweat dripping from his forehead and chin; he was nearly consumed by despair.

How to proceed? How to escape?

The monster needed only a moment to devour a person.

All it had to do was wait at the cave entrance, and people would walk straight into its bottomless stomach.

“Throw your spears forward!”

“Kill that monster!”

Desperate, the miners had no choice but to follow orders, throwing their spears into the boundless darkness.

But all they heard was the crisp sound of spears hitting rock.

People screamed and cried; to them, the dark abyss had become a symbol of death.

Suddenly, a raspy laugh echoed from the darkness.

“Humans, your little tricks are quite amusing.”

“Today, I’ve already eaten three giant bats, two goblins, eight humans, but I think I can still fit… all of you.”

The monster slowly slithered out of the shadows, and under the weak torchlight, its form was barely visible.

The monster only revealed its grotesque head, with vertical pupils glowing eerily in the dim cave, and its enormous, curved horns protruding menacingly from the sides of its head.

Its gaping maw alone looked big enough to swallow several people at once.

Its long, scaled body, resembling a cross between a crocodile and a centipede, extended back into the darkness, covered in numerous legs.

In the flickering torchlight, a chilling smile appeared on the monster’s twisted face.

“I wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity. Such a meal, delivered right to me, will surely fill me up.”

“No, don’t eat me!”

“We’re done for! We’re done for!”

“We’re all going to die!”

“Help!”

“It’s charging at us!”

In utter panic, people began to retreat, huddling together in a desperate attempt to escape this hellish place.

Trampling, shoving, and screaming ensued.

Yet, the monster only leisurely followed behind them, slithering along like a shepherd herding sheep, occasionally picking off one or two people.

“I don’t mind playing a game with you.”

“Run, go on, run to your heart’s content…”

“I’m still quite entertained.”

The monster’s raspy voice sounded like a call from the Grim Reaper, plunging everyone deeper into despair.

“Smack!”

Krul’s arrow struck the monster’s body.

Weak spears, small arrows, and poor-quality swords hit its scaled body in vain.

Even when they managed to break its armor, the minor wounds were insignificant compared to its massive form.

Finally, Scar, the barbarian, could no longer tolerate this cat-and-mouse game. He stopped, turned, and faced the monster.

Yet his once-proud, strong physique seemed as small as a mouse before the creature.

Scar took a deep breath, raised his war hammer, and cursed, “All these years, I’ve only toyed with others. I’ve never been someone else’s damn plaything!”

“Aaargh—”

With an angry roar, Scar’s eyes turned blood red—signaling the onset of his barbarian rage.

Losing all reason, he lifted his war hammer and charged at the monster’s massive body, like a knight charging at a windmill.

But as the berserk barbarian charged, the monster remained motionless, watching him with amusement as if observing an amusing toy.

“Frenzied Strike!”

Scar shouted, his arm muscles bulging as he hammered down on the monster’s chest.

“Bang!”

One blow after another struck the monster’s body.

He even managed to shatter a few scales on its chest, causing thin streams of blue blood to seep out.

“Interesting human, I’ll grant you a fitting death.”

The monster laughed eerily, seemingly unfazed by the barbarian’s attacks, while it slithered slowly across the ground.

“Ah! Aaah—”

Scar grew even more furious, hammering wildly, again and again.

But soon, he noticed the monster’s massive body had gradually coiled around him.

Perhaps “coiled” wasn’t quite accurate; it was more like the creature had trapped him with its enormous body, forming a blue-green cage around him.

Scar felt the space around him tighten, his muscles crushed as his breathing grew labored.

“Who would’ve thought… I’d be suffocated to death.”

That was the last thought to flash through his mind.