The subway tunnels stretched like festering veins beneath Seattle's corpse, their concrete walls slick with condensation and streaked by the bioluminescent slime of void leaks. Liam led the scouting party down a rusted stairwell, the air thickening with the rot of stagnant water and something sharper—ozone laced with the metallic bite of exposed wiring. His roots extended ahead, probing the darkness, feeling the pulse of fractured earth and the distant scuttle of unseen things. World Authority at 12% let him sense the web of rifts below, threads of otherworldly power twisting through the old infrastructure like parasites in a dying host.
Lena walked beside him, her cybernetic eyes whirring softly as they adjusted to the gloom. The engineer clutched a salvaged scanner, its screen flickering with grainy maps pieced from pre-System blueprints and fresh System overlays. Her probationary collar hummed faintly, a reminder of her fragile alliance. Behind them, a dozen warriors followed—hardened clan members with spears and torches, plus a handful of slaves chained in pairs, their bare feet slapping against puddles. One slave, a wiry man with fresh whip marks across his back, carried a crate of Lena's tools, grunting under the weight. Another, a woman with hollow eyes, lugged water skins, her steps faltering on the uneven steps.
"These lines connect the old financial district to the ports," Lena murmured, her voice echoing off the tiles. "But the quakes warped them—collapses everywhere, and those burrowers love the tight spaces. My emitter should clear paths, though."
Simone flanked the rear with Hannah, the archer's bow strung and ready, her bracers whispering faint gusts that stirred the damp air. Hannah's axe hung heavy at her side, the warrior's scarred arms flexing as she scanned the shadows. The group had swelled since the enclave takeover; Cassia, the sharp-eyed strategist from the Iron crew, had volunteered for this delve, her mind already mapping potential outposts. She was a lean woman in her thirties, clad in patched tactical gear, with a tablet strapped to her thigh for quick sketches. Liam had noted her during the surrender—cool under fire, no blind loyalty, but useful.
"Eyes sharp," Liam ordered, his voice cutting through the drip of water. "Roots will warn of ambushes, but don't trust the dark. Slaves, light those flares."
The chained pair fumbled with chemical sticks, igniting them to cast jittery orange glows. The wiry man hesitated, earning a prod from a warrior's spear that split his lip, blood trickling down his chin. He pressed the flare to the wall, illuminating graffiti from the old world—faded pleas for help, now smeared with System runes that glowed faintly purple.
Deeper in, the tunnel widened into a platform choked with debris: overturned train cars twisted like gutted beasts, their metal frames sprouting jagged thorns from nature's intrusion. Liam's roots slithered along the tracks, coiling around a loose rail to test its stability. A low hum built, and Lena's scanner beeped urgently.
"Anomaly ahead—void signature, strong. Could be a nest or... survivors."
They advanced cautiously, the air growing colder, carrying whispers that weren't wind—muttered chants, fragmented and echoing. The platform opened to a makeshift camp: barricades of scavenged metal and bone, lit by flickering mana lamps. A dozen figures huddled there, their skin pallid and veined with black, eyes sunken with void hunger. At their center stood a robed man, arms raised, intoning words that twisted the air into shadowy wisps.
"The Void Mother calls! We are her children, reborn in the depths!" His voice cracked with zeal, a rival cult's fervor mirroring Elaine's but tainted black.
Liam signaled halt. Identify pinged: Level 15 Void Acolyte, affinity corrupted, leading eight followers and three thralls—emaciated slaves bound in ethereal chains, their bodies marked with ritual scars that wept dark ichor.
The acolyte's eyes snapped to them, widening. "Intruders! The Mother devours the unworthy!"
Chaos erupted. Shadows lunged from the walls, coiling tendrils that lashed at the front line. One warrior screamed as a whip of darkness sliced his arm, flesh parting in a spray of blood and exposing bone. Liam's bramble wall surged up, thorns impaling two tendrils, sap hissing as it met void essence. Hannah charged, axe cleaving a cultist in half, the man's torso sliding off in a gush of entrails that steamed on the cold floor.
Simone's arrow whistled, burying in the acolyte's shoulder with a wet thunk, but he laughed, shadows knitting the wound. "You tread on sacred ground!" More cultists swarmed, their blades etched with runes that drained life on contact—one slave in the party gasped as a dagger grazed her thigh, her skin withering gray, collapsing in convulsions as her blood pooled black.
Lena activated her emitter, a piercing whine filling the tunnel. The void tendrils recoiled, cultists clutching their heads as vibrations shattered their focus. Liam void-stepped forward, roots exploding from the platform to ensnare the acolyte's legs, thorns piercing calves and pulling taut until bones cracked. He drove a light bolt into the man's chest, the beam erupting out his back in a fountain of charred meat and shadow wisps.
The remaining cultists broke, scrambling into side tunnels, but Cassia's quick command sent warriors after them. Spears thrust into fleeing backs, pinning one woman to the wall, her body jerking as blood bubbled from her mouth. The thralls— the cult's slaves—cowered, their ethereal bonds snapping under Liam's root pulse. They were hauled up, collars slapped on, joining the chain gang with whimpers.
Amid the carnage, Lena knelt by a shattered altar, prying free a glowing orb: a mana-core battery, humming with pure energy, the first true Earth relic they'd claimed. "This could power a whole outpost," she said, eyes alight.
The skirmish's echoes faded, leaving the platform slick with gore. Bodies were dragged aside, roots devouring the cultists' remains to fuel the clan's essence pool. Experience trickled in—Earth's yields sharper, pushing Liam closer to his next threshold. World Authority climbed to 14%, the ground responding with a subtle thrum, revealing hidden caches in the walls.
As the group caught their breath, Simone sidled up to Liam in the dim glow, her hand brushing his arm. The adrenaline lingered, her breath quick. Without a word, she dropped to her knees behind a toppled car, fingers working his belt free. Her mouth enveloped his cock, warm and insistent, tongue swirling as she took him deep, the subtle pull drawing a low groan from him. The act was quick, bonding in the aftermath—her throat working until he spilled, her swallowing with a satisfied hum. She rose, wiping her lips, eyes gleaming. "Clears the head for the next push."
Cassia watched from afar, noting the dynamic without comment, her mind already on the maps. The tunnels held more secrets, but this delve had secured a foothold—rival cults crushed, relic in hand, and the depths yielding to Nature's Wrath.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter