Thom flinched and pulled her sleeve much tighter over her wrist.

"I am fine. I just scraped it on a sharp rock when we ran from the barn."

"Show him the arm right now," Vienna ordered.

Her voice lost its playful edge completely.

She raised her iron poker and stood ready to strike.

The old farmer looked between them and sighed heavily.

He gently reached out and pulled Thom’s sleeve up.

A nasty set of teeth marks marred her pale skin.

The veins around the bite wound were already turning a sickly shade of black.

’That is not good,’ Kai thought to himself, calculating his immediate options.

’She is turning fast. The system said the infection works extremely quick on weak targets.’

"We tied a tight tourniquet above the bite," the old man said. His voice cracked with genuine sadness.

"We hoped it would stop the spread to her heart."

"It does not work like that," Kai told him plainly.

He kept his dagger low to avoid panicking the girl further.

"The corruption is already in her blood. We have to leave her behind, or she will kill you in your sleep."

"No," Thom cried out, shrinking back against the dirt wall.

Tears spilled down her dirty cheeks.

"Please do not leave me down here. I can fight it. I swear I can fight it."

Before Kai could make a hard decision about the infected girl, a loud thud echoed from the top of the well.

Dirt and small stones rained down the long shaft.

They splashed directly into the shallow puddle at the bottom.

A terrifying chorus of wet, hungry moans drifted down from the surface.

The remaining thralls had finally followed their heavy scent to the hideout.

"They found the hole," Thom panicked.

She backed away toward the dark catacomb tunnel.

"Get back," Kai shouted.

He shoved the old man and the bitten girl behind a row of wine racks to keep them out of the main fighting space.

A thrall dropped straight down the shaft.

It hit the stone floor hard, breaking both its legs with a sickening crunch.

The creature did not even care about the damage.

It dragged its broken body forward across the wet stones as its mouth snapped open and closed as it tried to reach Vienna’s bare legs.

Kai stepped up and drove his blessed dagger right through the top of its skull.

The monster went limp instantly. It leaked foul black fluid onto the floor.

[Thrall Killed: +20 EXP]

"More are coming down," Vienna warned.

She gripped her iron poker with both hands and stood shoulder to shoulder with Kai at the base of the well.

The narrow opening formed a perfect chokepoint to defend.

Two more thralls slid down the thick rope ladder.

They moaned and spit black saliva into the air.

Vienna swung her poker like a club.

The solid iron cracked the first thrall right across the jaw.

Broken teeth flew into the shadows.

The monster stumbled into its partner and tangled them both up at the bottom of the ladder.

Kai lunged forward to press the advantage.

He gutted the second one with a swift upward slash to the stomach and pulled his blade free, kicked the creature backward to clear their small fighting space.

The tight quarters made it hard to dodge incoming grabs, but the system buffs gave him endless stamina to keep swinging without taking a breath.

"Keep them bottled up right here," Kai ordered over the loud groaning. He wiped a streak of sweat from his eyes and readied his stance for the next wave.

"Do not let them spread out into the open room."

"I have the left side covered," Vienna yelled back.

She flashed him a wicked, breathless grin. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Her exposed breasts heaved from the intense adrenaline of the fight.

"Just do not let them ruin my good skirt."

Another body dropped from the darkness above.

It landed on the growing pile of dead monsters at their feet.

Kai gripped his weapon and stepped right into the bloody chaos.

The real fight for the hideout had just started.

He was not going to let a bunch of mindless freaks stop him from finding Eliza.

********

The pile of dead thralls at the base of the rope ladder finally stopped twitching.

Kai pulled his dagger from the last skull and wiped the black goo on the creature’s ragged pants.

The underground cellar went quiet again as the only sound was the heavy breathing of the survivors hiding behind the wine racks.

"Is that all of them?" the old farmer asked.

He peeked cautiously around the wooden crates, keeping his crossbow raised.

"For now," Kai said.

He turned to look at the dark catacomb entrance.

"If Eliza went down that specific tunnel, we need to follow her. Thom, you said she was looking for a safer room."

Thom nodded quickly.

She kept her bitten arm tucked close to her chest.

"The old smugglers built these tunnels many years ago. They connect all the main buildings under the village. Eliza thinks the mayor’s manor has a reinforced basement with a steel door."

"The real issue is the freaks found the tunnels too," the old farmer grumbled.

"They use them to bypass the wooden barricades we built on the surface."

’A secret underground network,’ Kai thought to himself.

’This is classic level design. It gives the enemies a flanking route to ambush the safe zones.’

"You two stay right here and guard the rope," Kai ordered the farmer and the bitten girl.

"If Thom starts acting strange or her eyes turn black, you shoot her. Do not hesitate."

Kai gestured for Vienna to follow him.

They walked into the smuggler tunnel side by side.

The flickering lantern light from the cellar faded away behind them.

Kai activated his new Thrall Sense skill to scan the winding path ahead.

Faint red blips appeared clearly in his mind.

"Three targets up ahead," Kai whispered.

"I am ready," Vienna whispered back.

Her bare breasts brushed against his arm as they navigated a tight corner.

The warm friction sent a sharp spike of heat straight to his groin.