Chapter 180: 180

When I got next to the Entrance No . 1, that experienced the biggest aftermath . I saw that the tunnel which lead inside was still there . 'Fortunately, the Yellow Dust exploded in such a way, that it didn't collapse the entrance . It's time to investigate' I thought . I entered through the tunnel and immediately took out my torch, to light up the insides .

The first thing I noticed inside, were some dead Corpse Dogs . 'They probably tried to run further inside, but the blast killed them anyway' I thought . I travelled further in and encountered some injured, but alive Corpse Dogs . I quickly disposed of them and moved on, towards the depths of the Den .

After a while of travelling and killing whatever was left of the Corpse Dogs, I finally entered a huge cave underground . It was large enough to house at least 1000 Corpse Dogs . It wasn't empty though, there were around 100 Corpse Dogs inside . Some were lightly injured but a lot of them were still at their full strength . When the Corpse Dogs noticed me, they charged at me, as if I was their greatest enemy . I was in a way, I was . It was because of me, that most of the Corpse Dogs died .

I took out my daggers, and killed the dogs left and right . Fighting 100 normal Corpse Dogs in such a large area, was not hard . I killed, and killed, and killed some more, until the last Corpse Dog perished . 'It seems that loads of Corpse Dogs still survived, but it shouldn't be over a 1000 . It's still a large number, but without a leader, they will die out fast . Of course, provided the leader is dead' I thought and moved towards another tunnel, that was located in the opposite direction, of the entrance .

I started encountering more and more Corpse Dogs, but due to the disorder and heavy losses, I usually encountered groups of 20-30 Corpse Dogs at most . There were some Variants mixed in from time to time, but nothing major happened . I followed the tunnels, until I reach the largest cave so far . What was inside that cave, left me stunned .

'Is that a Corpse Dog?' I thought to myself . It wasn't the size but the healthiness . It was pretty much healthy, with no rotting on it whatsoever . The "Corpse Dog" looked not only healthy but had a shiny black fur and red eyes that seemed to stare directly at ones soul . Its size was about twice that of a normal Corpse Dog . 'This is bad, this must be their leader!' I thought to myself, and ran in the opposite direction . I had no way of fighting against such opponent . I already knew that . A completely healthy Corpse Dog, would be something, I couldn't take on by myself .

I could hear running from behind me, while I escaped . 'So it is going to chase me… Fine! Have a taste of the Yellow Dust then!' I thought and opened the bag containing the Yellow Dust . I started spreading it as I ran . The Yellow Dust formed a line behind me as I ran forwards with the bag opened . After a short while, I closed the bag and threw the torch behind me .

"SWOOOOSHH!!" the Yellow Dust started burning and exploding towards the depth of the tunnel . I then heard "Booom!" and some shaking . I didn't stop and ran at full speed, even though I just dropped my source of light . After a while of sprinting in the dark tunnel, I head "Do you think that, running away from me will be that simple?"

I didn't turn back, but still answered "So you are the Leader of Corpse Dogs . I'm not even surprised you can talk" . The voice in the darkness sounded angry "Corpse Dogs? I always hated that name . You filthy human, you destroyed my home . You even had the b.a.l.l.s to come in here and kill even more of my kind . I will eat you alive!" . I could hear something closing in on me… Fast . I started dumping the whole content of the bag onto the ground while I ran . I had about 50 kilograms left in that bag and I didn't care about the consequences . When the bag was empty, I threw it to the side and lit the torch up . While running, I threw it behind me and didn't look back anymore .

"BOOOM!" "BOOOM!" "BOOOM!""BOOOM!"

Loud explosions sounded behind me and the blast of hot air arrived . Not only was I pushed forwards at incredible speeds, my skin started to blister due to the hot air of the blast . "ARRGHHH… . " The pain was so intense, it felt as if someone was skinning me alive . I flew through the air and crashed into the wall at great velocity .

"UNGGHH!" . A grunt escaped my mouth, as I crashed into one of the walls . I was barely left conscious . The pain was intensified due to me smashing the wall . I had no more strength to make any sounds . I couldn't move a finger either . I laid there on the ground, my vision blurry, the pain unbearable, when I head "Y . . . You B . . . b.a.s.t.a.r.d… D . . d.a.m.n you… Human" . What came to my blurry view, was the Leader of the Corpse Dogs . It was missing some bits of its flesh and the fur was mostly gone, from what I could see . it also had some blistered and burns from head to tail . It collapsed onto the ground, not far away from me, and didn't move anymore .

'Ughh . . Although that thing is dead, I'm… not in a better situation' I thought, as I laid there . Time seemed to freeze, I could see less and less, and my consciousness was drifting away . After what seemed like eternity, I heard some faint sounds . ' . . . Probably… other dogs… arrived' I thought . But it wasn't that . I heard someone speak "Here… . Get… Here…" . Then I felt being lifted up and my consciousness faded .

When my eyes opened, I had the dream, where Dark Traveller talked to me . What was strange, was that the Dark Traveller, seemed to talk to me in human language . I knew it was human language, I could understand everything, but I also couldn't seem to remember anything . I tried to listen and remember but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it .

I only knew that the Dark Traveller seemed to talk about his own past . About some sort of curse and about trust . That was all I could remember, from that dream . I closed my eyes, I was extremely tired, and the darkness enveloped me . No thoughts or dreams appeared in front of me . It felt as if I just laid there, motionless, drifting in the darkness .

I suddenly felt something and opened my eyes . What I woke up to, was not my dream but the reality . In front of me, the grey sky of the Northern Wastelands . I still felt pain but it wasn't as severe as it was before . I asked myself out loud "Am I alive?" .

. . . . When I got next to the Entrance No . 1, that experienced the biggest aftermath . I saw that the tunnel which lead inside was still there . Fortunately, the Yellow Dust exploded in such a way, that it didnt collapse the entrance . Its time to investigate I thought . I entered through the tunnel and immediately took out my torch, to light up the insides . The first thing I noticed inside, were some dead Corpse Dogs . They probably tried to run further inside, but the blast killed them anyway I thought . I travelled further in and encountered some injured, but alive Corpse Dogs . I quickly disposed of them and moved on, towards the depths of the Den . After a while of travelling and killing whatever was left of the Corpse Dogs, I finally entered a huge cave underground . It was large enough to house at least 1000 Corpse Dogs . It wasnt empty though, there were around 100 Corpse Dogs inside . Some were lightly injured but a lot of them were still at their full strength . When the Corpse Dogs noticed me, they charged at me, as if I was their greatest enemy . I was in a way, I was . It was because of me, that most of the Corpse Dogs died . . . I took out my daggers, and killed the dogs left and right . Fighting 100 normal Corpse Dogs in such a large area, was not hard . I killed, and killed, and killed some more, until the last Corpse Dog perished . It seems that loads of Corpse Dogs still survived, but it shouldnt be over a 1000 . Its still a large number, but without a leader, they will die out fast . Of course, provided the leader is dead I thought and moved towards another tunnel, that was located in the opposite direction, of the entrance . I started encountering more and more Corpse Dogs, but due to the disorder and heavy losses, I usually encountered groups of 20-30 Corpse Dogs at most . There were some Variants mixed in from time to time, but nothing major happened . I followed the tunnels, until I reach the largest cave so far . What was inside that cave, left me stunned . Is that a Corpse Dog? I thought to myself . It wasnt the size but the healthiness . It was pretty much healthy, with no rotting on it whatsoever . The Corpse Dog looked not only healthy but had a shiny black fur and red eyes that seemed to stare directly at ones soul . Its size was about twice that of a normal Corpse Dog . This is bad, this must be their leader! I thought to myself, and ran in the opposite direction . I had no way of fighting against such opponent . I already knew that . A completely healthy Corpse Dog, would be something, I couldnt take on by myself . . . I could hear running from behind me, while I escaped . So it is going to chase me… Fine! Have a taste of the Yellow Dust then! I thought and opened the bag containing the Yellow Dust . I started spreading it as I ran . The Yellow Dust formed a line behind me as I ran forwards with the bag opened . After a short while, I closed the bag and threw the torch behind me . SWOOOOSHH!! the Yellow Dust started burning and exploding towards the depth of the tunnel . I then heard Booom! and some shaking . I didnt stop and ran at full speed, even though I just dropped my source of light . After a while of sprinting in the dark tunnel, I head Do you think that, running away from me will be that simple? I didnt turn back, but still answered So you are the Leader of Corpse Dogs . Im not even surprised you can talk . The voice in the darkness sounded angry Corpse Dogs? I always hated that name . You filthy human, you destroyed my home . You even had the b.a.l.l.s to come in here and kill even more of my kind . I will eat you alive! . I could hear something closing in on me… Fast . I started dumping the whole content of the bag onto the ground while I ran . I had about 50 kilograms left in that bag and I didnt care about the consequences . When the bag was empty, I threw it to the side and lit the torch up . While running, I threw it behind me and didnt look back anymore . BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!BOOOM! Loud explosions sounded behind me and the blast of hot air arrived . Not only was I pushed forwards at incredible speeds, my skin started to blister due to the hot air of the blast . ARRGHHH… . The pain was so intense, it felt as if someone was skinning me alive . I flew through the air and crashed into the wall at great velocity . UNGGHH! . A grunt escaped my mouth, as I crashed into one of the walls . I was barely left conscious . The pain was intensified due to me smashing the wall . I had no more strength to make any sounds . I couldnt move a finger either . I laid there on the ground, my vision blurry, the pain unbearable, when I head Y . You B . b.a.s.t.a.r.d… D d.a.m.n you… Human . What came to my blurry view, was the Leader of the Corpse Dogs . It was missing some bits of its flesh and the fur was mostly gone, from what I could see . it also had some blistered and burns from head to tail . It collapsed onto the ground, not far away from me, and didnt move anymore . Ughh Although that thing is dead, Im… not in a better situation I thought, as I laid there . Time seemed to freeze, I could see less and less, and my consciousness was drifting away . After what seemed like eternity, I heard some faint sounds . . Probably… other dogs… arrived I thought . But it wasnt that . I heard someone speak Here… . Get… Here… . Then I felt being lifted up and my consciousness faded . When my eyes opened, I had the dream, where Dark Traveller talked to me . What was strange, was that the Dark Traveller, seemed to talk to me in human language . I knew it was human language, I could understand everything, but I also couldnt seem to remember anything . I tried to listen and remember but no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt do it . I only knew that the Dark Traveller seemed to talk about his own past . About some sort of curse and about trust . That was all I could remember, from that dream . I closed my eyes, I was extremely tired, and the darkness enveloped me . No thoughts or dreams appeared in front of me . It felt as if I just laid there, motionless, drifting in the darkness . I suddenly felt something and opened my eyes . What I woke up to, was not my dream but the reality . In front of me, the grey sky of the Northern Wastelands . I still felt pain but it wasnt as severe as it was before . I asked myself out loud Am I alive? .