CHAPTER 57: THE CORRUPT RING

Dwayne was the first to charge.

With a roar that shook the tunnel walls, he slammed into the nearest mutated wolf, his massive claymore sword cleaved the nearest two-headed wolf in two before it could even snarl.

Rocky grabbed another by its throats and ripped it clean in half with a sickening tear.

He swung his massive hammer, sending wolves flying into the walls with bone-shattering force.

Vibranium followed, impaling the wolves while moving like a wind.

Rust carved through the mutated wolves flesh with his two headed axe. He feverishly fell three wolves at once with one powerful swing.

Brick weaved between two wolves like a wraith. Her twin daggers slicing through their legs, severing tendons and arteries.

The beasts collapsed, twitching. She drove her twin daggers into both throats at once, twisting until they stopped moving.

I stretched out my hands as I strengthened their life essence.

Their muscles bulged, their speed tripled, and their strikes became even more devastating.

The wolves didn’t stand a chance against my orc warband.

One by one, the beasts were cut down, their grotesque bodies falling lifeless and broken.

Blood pooled in the crevices of the cavern floor. Bones cracked underfoot. Snarls turned to whimpers and whimpers to silence.

Within minutes, the tunnel was still again, littered with torn fur and severed corpses.

Rust wiped his axes clean on a fallen wolf’s fur, then turned to me, his eyes narrowing.

"Lord Ghorath," he rumbled, "it’s not over yet. I sense more deeper inside the cave."

I nodded, my own senses prickling with unease.

"Yes," I murmured. "There’s something else here. A dark energy... oozing from further in."

I glanced back at my sleeping party, their unconscious forms still slumped where they’d fallen.

I erected a barrier around them—strong enough to keep them safe from any external forces.

"Rocky, Brick," I commanded. "Keep watch over them. If anything approaches, kill it."

The two orcs grunted in acknowledgment, taking up positions on either side of the barrier.

I turned toward the tunnel’s yawning darkness. "Dwayne, Rust, Vibranium—you’re with me."

They bowed deeply, weapons at the ready.

Without another word, I took the lead, stepping over the mangled remains of the wolves as we ventured deeper into the cave.

* * * *

The air around us stench of corrupted energy. Whatever was waiting for us down here, I intend to find out exactly what it was.

The tunnel widened, opening into a vast, dome-shaped cavern.

Before we could take another step, glowing eyes blinked open in the shadows—dozens, then hundreds.

The mutated wolves emerged, their twin-headed forms slinking from crevices and lurking behind jagged rocks, surrounding us on all sides.

Dwayne took a stance, his deep voice steady. "There’s over fifty wolves here, my lord."

Vibranium spun his spear, grinning as he scanned the horde. "I counted another forty at my end."

Rust stroked his long grey beard, eyes sharp. "I’m seeing at least thirty."

My brow furrowed.

That meant over a hundred and twenty wolves filled this place.

Vibranium let out a dark chuckle, twirling his spear eagerly. "Good. That means more for us to kill."

Before the battle could begin, an intimidating thudding noise echoed through the cavern.

A man stepped from the darkness, his heavy boots crunching against the stone.

He was tall—easily rivaling Dwayne in stature.

When he stood in the light, he was clad in a red knight armor, sculpted with Griffin-like engravings.

A long black cape trailed behind him, tattered at the edges, and in his right hand, he carried a long sword that pulsed with a dark aura.

But it wasn’t the sword that intrigued me.

It was the ring.

Worn on his left hand with the same dark energy that had warped the wolves.

He spoke through his helmet, his voice distorted and cold. "What are you doing in my sanctuary?"

I didn’t flinch. "Are you the one responsible for mutating these wolves?"

There was a long pause.

Then he tilted his helmet slightly with a red glint in his eyes.

"Why," he said coldly, "am I being questioned by a child?"

Dwayne stepped forward, fists clenched and eyes blazing with fury.

"Watch your mouth," he growled, his voice like grinding boulders. "You stand in the presence of Lord Ghorath, the Tempest Emperor. Show respect, or I’ll crush your skull where you stand."

The knight looked unimpressed. "I don’t know who this ’Lord Ghorath’ is. I’ve never heard of him."

I kept my voice steady, my eyes locked onto the knight. "Are you the one responsible for mutating these wolves? They’ve been terrorizing travelers, but I never expected them to transform into something this powerful."

The knight rested the tip of his sword on the ground and leaned on it lazily. "I only arrived here three days ago. The wolves were already here. I simply subdued them. Bent them to my will."

My gaze flicked back to the ring on his finger, its dark pulse throbbing like a heartbeat.

"That ring. It allows you to tame beasts?" I asked.

A grin formed under the helmet, and I could feel the wickedness in it.

"Not just tame them," he answered. "It awakens their latent power, molds them into their perfect forms."

His voice dropped, as he raised his hand, admiring the ring. "All it requires is fuel. Human blood. With enough of it, even the weakest creature can be remade."

Rust’s grip on his axes tightened. "You’d slaughter innocent people just to create an army of monsters? Why? For what purpose?"

The knight turned toward him, his voice lower now.

"I was once a knight. Honorable. Loyal to a king whose name I can’t even remember anymore." He tapped his helmet, the metal clinking dully. "The ring is all I have left. It speaks to me and guides me."

He looked toward the swarm of mutated wolves circling us. "Right now, it tells me to gather my wolves. To march on Luminis City. To drown its streets in blood until the ring is... satisfied."

I finally understood what was going here. The horror of it made my skin crawl.

This wasn’t just some rogue warrior dabbling in dark magic.

The ring was alive.

And it was eating him from the inside out.

"You’re not in control," I said. "That ring... it’s corrupting you. It’s feeding off your mind. Your memories. Turning you into a vessel for its will."

The wolves snarled louder, more aggressive now, as if the ring sensed my words.

"You’re lying!" the knight snapped, his voice sharper now, almost unhinged. "The ring isn’t messing with my mind. I have my own will!"

I didn’t back down. "Then explain why it needs human blood to function. Why it created these wolves—monsters—to slaughter an entire city? It feeds on human blood. That ring is a cursed artifact. Where did you even find it?"

The knight’s grip on his sword tightened, his breathing grew heavier. He took a step forward, the red glow of the ring intensifying.

"What’s it to you?" he growled, lips curling behind the helmet. "Stop asking me questions!"

But then he paused.

He stared at me for a long while. The air grew dense, like something heavy had entered the space between us.

Then his voice changed—deepening, becoming slower, like two voices speaking at once.

"The ring wants me to kill you," he said, flatly. "It says you’re dangerous. It says... you have to die."

Rust immediately stepped in front of me, his axe already rising with heat.

"Apologies," he said firmly, "but you’ll have to get through me first before you even think of laying a finger on Lord Ghorath."

"Rust," I said, raising a hand to halt him. "Don’t charge in yet. That ring... it’s too dangerous and invasive. If it touches you, even you might fall under its control."

Rust hesitated, his jaw clenched, but he nodded. "Thank you for the caution, Lord Ghorath. But what do we do about him?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll take him on," I continued, stepping forward. "Alone."

Dwayne let out a grunt, cracking his neck. "Then we’ll deal with the rest of the wolves. Let’s kill the wolves."

"Yeah," I said, never taking my eyes off the knight. "Don’t let a single one escape."

The knight raised his sword and pointed it directly at me.

"Do not interfere," he commanded the wolves. "This child is mine."

The wolves howled in response, their snarls echoing through the chamber as they began to close in around the others—muscles coiled, fangs bared, eyes wild with bloodlust.

Then with a deafening roar, the knight bellowed.

"KILL THEM ALL!"

The wolves surged forward at once in a murderous wave. Dwayne was the first to meet them, swinging his greatsword in a wide arc that cleaved through the frontmost beast, sending blood and bone splattering against the wall.

Vibranium followed with speed, twirling his spear into the gut of a leaping wolf, twisting and slamming it into the ground.

Rust smashed down his axe, carving through fur and bone with brutal force.

Their roars filled the tunnel as the battle erupted.

But my focus remained on the knight who stood unmoved, blade still pointed at me.

"What’s your name?" I asked, my voice calm, as I reached into my infinity vault.

From it, I drew the Dragon’s Tooth out.

The knight didn’t answer at first. His head tilted slightly, and when he finally spoke, his voice was dry, as if the memory had long since crumbled.

"I don’t remember," he said. "But I do know one thing..."

He raised his sword, shifting into a battle stance, his aura flaring like a wildfire.

"I’m going to kill you."

I exhaled and cracked my neck.

"The ring made one big mistake," I said, my golden eyes gleaming. "It underestimated me. I’m the most powerful person it’s ever going to face."