As the group stepped into the final passage of the cave, a deafening screech resounded. The rats, previously feasting in the cavern, turned their attentions to the intruders.
At the heart of the cave, a massive rat halted its movements, its menacing eyes locking onto the group. The sheer intensity of its gaze shook some of the soldiers in fear. However, as they turned to their commander and saw his composure, their courage returned.
The agitated rats launched their attacks directly. The soldiers wasted no time and swiftly got into formations. Their training took over as they countered the assault.
Within moments, they slaughtered over fifty rats. Though some soldiers were pushed back by the swarm of rats, none backed down. They held their ground and continued to fight
While the battle was going on, the commander and two captains, surrounded by soldiers, pushed forward toward the center where the massive rat lurked. Large rats lunged at the front lines while the smaller ones darted between gaps, attempting to strike from within.
At the rear, Neuman struck down rats with precise spear thrusts. It was his first time fighting in such chaotic conditions, and at first, his movements were sluggish as he couldn't adapt to the conditions. But as the battle progressed, his speed increased, and he became more efficient.
At the center of the battlefield, the commander and his captains engaged the massive rat in combat.
Like Neuman, the commander infused his weapon with magical power, but their techniques differed significantly. While Neuman's spear blazed with fire, the commander's greatsword shimmered under a thin, transparent film of energy. The contrast between their approaches was significant. His spear emphasized raw destructive force, while the other was controlled and refined.
Observing this, Neuman felt a surge of satisfaction. He understood why his skill made such a difference—it granted his attacks overwhelming power. A single ability had created a vast gap in offensive strength. But if he were to refine this ability, his power would reach a much higher level.
As the battle dragged on, Neuman noticed something. The commander and his captains continued wielding their magic without apparent exhaustion. He knew that if he had been fighting for this long, his magic reserves would have been depleted. However, unlike them, he believed he could have ended the fight much sooner through sheer attacking power.
As the fight went on, he saw that the massive rat had sustained many injuries, but it wasn't without any returns, as the captains and the commander also had many parts of their armor completely wrecked, and even their magic power was dwindling.
They also noticed and tried to distance themselves from the rat to recover a little before fighting again, but the rat didn't let them go away. It continued to attack them without letting them rest. As they backed away, the huge rat even attacked other frontline soldiers, a single attack from the rat dented the soldier's armor and even injured them heavily.
Just as the commander and captains returned back, the huge rat injured many soldiers in the front, causing the formation to become disorianted, they were not able to put up any resistance at all. This made things bad for other soldiers, as the magic caster at the center was also attacked by the rats that sneaked from between the soldiers.
The rats couldn't harm the magic casters, but it caused their attacks to be delayed. The commander felt helpless seeing this, he then tried his best to provide the support in between while recovering, but it was quite hard in such a situation.
Just as things were going down, he noticed a red streak flying across the battle area, straight towards the massive rat. Before the rat could react, the streak pierced through its skull, exiting on the other side, also killing the rats stacked behind it.
The huge rat's moment stopped instantly and it dropped down with a thud. The commander looked towards the place from where the red streak came, but was unable to discern anything, as there were many soldiers fighting in groups.
After the massive rat was killed, it became easier for others to clean up the rest of the smaller rats. It took around an hour for the soldiers to kill the remaining rat. There were around a thousand rats that were killed in the cave, not counting the ones that got away and were killed by the soldiers outside.
After everything was over, the soldiers, along with the captains and the commander, left the underground passage as they were unable to bear the stench any longer. Along the way, no one questioned what happened inside the cave. The attack was so fast that the soldiers were unable to react, but they thought that this might be done by the commander.
When others asked about the battle inside, they simply explained that after exhausting the massive rat, the commander finished it off in a single move. Upon hearing this, other soldiers rejoiced as they could now leave these city ruins and return back to the kingdom.
As this conversation was going on, the commander and the captains felt that something was off, they knew that none of them had such power to kill the rat lord in a single strike else they would have done it already. Why wait for so long?
But they didn't know who attacked the rat lord. They first thought that this might be done by one of the soldiers, but they knew that there was no one among them who could do such a feat.
So they came to a conclusion that this might be done by one of the noble's children that came with them, but since none of them spoke up. They thought that they needed to discuss this in detail after they returned to the camp.
The journey back to the camp was smooth; the victory, tainted by the lingering stench, made the remaining soldiers in the camp happy. The commander and captains walked in tight formation, their faces etched with concern. They exchanged furtive glances, each knowing the others were preoccupied with the same question.
Soldiers cheered and clapped them on the back, celebrating their victory over the rat infestation. The commander forced a smile, accepting the congratulations while his mind remained elsewhere.
That evening, after the men had eaten and settled into their tents, the commander summoned the three captains to his command tent. A single oil lamp cast long, dancing shadows on the canvas walls.
"Did either of you see anything?" The commander finally murmured after they entered his tent, his voice barely audible above the clanking of armor.
Elara, one of the captains that fought in the battle, shook her head, her braided hair swaying slightly. "It was absolute chaos. I was focused on holding the line intact. All I saw was a red blur, then the rat lord was down."
Varus, his face grim, added, "I had my suspicions about young Lord Aerion. He's been unusually quiet this whole expedition, and he certainly has the family's renowned skill in archery. But a single shot, like that? It doesn't seem likely, even for him."
The commander sighed. "It's not just the power of the shot; it's the precision. That wasn't a lucky hit; it went straight through the brain, avoiding the thick bone of the skull. Whoever fired that shot knew exactly what they were doing."
They fell silent, considering the possibilities. The noble children accompanying them were a mixed bag. Some were eager to prove their worth, others seemed more interested in the adventure than the responsibility. Yet none had displayed such a level of skill.
"We need to address this," he said, his voice firm. "We can't ignore the fact that someone within our ranks is capable of such extraordinary feats, and we don't know who it is or what their motives might be."
"Do you think it could be a spy?" Elara asked, her eyes narrowed. "Someone sent by a rival kingdom to observe our tactics?"
"It's possible," Varus conceded. "Or perhaps it's someone with a hidden agenda, someone who doesn't want their abilities to be known."
The commander looked at them in silence. He knew that there was a possibility of the person being from another kingdom, but what valuable tactics could they observe from the weakest battalion of the kingdom? 'And if the person were to be a spy from another kingdom, why would he show himself now?' the commander thought but didn't voice his opinion.
Varus drummed his fingers on the table. "We could question the nobles individually, but I doubt we'd get the truth. If they are hiding something, they won't readily admit it."
"Agreed," the commander said. "A direct confrontation won't get us anywhere. We need to observe and gather information discreetly. Keep an eye on the nobles, but don't make it obvious. Look for anything unusual, any mistakes, anything that might give them away."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over his captains. "And above all, be discreet. We can't afford to create panic or suspicion among the ranks. For now, we keep this matter within these four walls. Understood?"