Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 354: No Puppies, Only Prey

Maike, Kaldrek, and the rest of the group struggled with the decision of whether to join this special quest. It was already obvious that the blessed in this base looked down on them for rejecting Eric’s offer to join his team. Everyone knew what that would have meant—surrendering all of their items to him, with no guarantee of ever seeing a return from his patron.If they now chose to enter the system event, others could easily take offense. Maike did not believe Eric himself would act against them, but the choice would cast a poor light on their group and give the stronger figures in camp the perfect excuse to push them further down in the hierarchy. And considering Eric had spoken to them directly, their placement here was likely high. That was what made the decision so difficult.

In the end, it was Josh and Jack who argued most persuasively. A decent ranking in the event could grant extraordinary rewards, they said, and those rewards might spare them from risking their lives in other system events, where the dangers varied wildly. A treasure hunt at least played to their strengths.

Maike herself was skilled at finding things, and their newest addition, the former fish now woman Thalassan, had quickly proven valuable. Though she was the weakest among them at the moment, she had bonded with Annie like a sister, and the rest soon grew fond of her as well. Her skill at locating natural treasures remained intact after her transformation, making her perfect for the team.

Lucan had also decided to join. He was no front-line fighter, but nobody would turn down the ability to bombard a location with precision strikes. An E-grade for quite some time, he claimed he was ready should combat come to him directly. Maike herself was far from helpless with the blade she had claimed from the elf Thalion had defeated in the duel. She was nowhere near Kaldrek’s level, but certainly no pushover. Even if she could not win outright, she could stall, evade, and hold her ground until aid arrived.

Their strongest fighters were still Kargul, Josh, and Jack. Their destructive power was rivaled only by Lucan’s bombs. Another newcomer, Lee, had proven reliable and trustworthy during the last weeks, and on top of that was simply a good companion to have. Jakob, while not as devastating as Kargul, fought with comparable tenacity, lacking only in sheer striking power. Annie, their water mage, had few rivals—dangerous both in close quarters and at long range.

And then there were Vorlok and Evelyn. Vorlok was nearly indestructible on the battlefield, while Evelyn served as both assassin and healer, a dangerous combination. Lara, another newcomer who had joined with Lee, was a fire mage of respectable strength. She had searched desperately for a capable team and was one of their weaker members, but even she had powerful charge-up skills to offer. One more trustworthy ally was always welcome. They just needed to ensure that Annie and Lara coordinated carefully—fire and water could cancel each other out if poorly aimed.

The price of fifteen hundred years of life was a heavy one, but they believed they could make it worth it. A top-ten-thousand placement should be more than enough. There was of course another new member in the group who didnt suffer as much from the loss of lifetime than the others. It was of course the elf Althirion. He was quiete happy that they let him join which must have been very hard for him to admit.

Their arrival brought them before a broken, abandoned castle. The gates hung shattered, the walls had collapsed in many places. The ground beneath was solid stone, a fortunate detail for Jakob and Kargul, whose skills thrived on such terrain. Unfortunately, they weren’t alone. Two other groups had spawned so close that conflict over the castle seemed inevitable. Nobody would back down after paying such a steep entry fee.

One group was composed entirely of Asians—Japanese or Chinese, Maike guessed—with gleaming katanas at their sides. The other party looked more like her own group. A mixture of classes, though still fully human. They had heavily muscled men who were surely tanks, mages levitating inches off the ground, and others clearly archers, assassins, and healers.

What both rival groups shared was sheer size. Each boasted over twenty members, while Maike’s team numbered only thirteen. Perhaps that was why the larger groups lost interest in them quickly, turning instead to size each other up.

“Who is the leader of your faction?” one of the samurai demanded, his voice sharp and commanding. His men looked unnervingly ready to die, Maike noticed as she used one of her scouting skills to read their details. The downside was clear: every one of them was a swordsman. That could prove troublesome in the tight confines of battle.

“I am the leader,” replied a man clad in heavy armor, stepping forward with sword and shield ready. He looked every bit the medieval knight, grim-faced and immovable, refusing to yield an inch to the others.

“You are weaker. This is our castle to search for treasures. You are also human, so I will grant you this chance once. Leave in peace and do not return.” The samurai’s voice was sharp, commanding, and full of disdain.

The other side, of course, did not agree with that judgment. The knight stepped forward, his heavy armor scraping against the stone. Both men’s auras flared, clashing in a suffocating tug of war. Power pressed outward like invisible waves, a clear sign that both leaders had survived countless battles to cultivate such force.

Kaldrek frowned. He could struggle against one of them, perhaps. Jakob or Annie would likely slaughter either outright. Kargul, Jack, and Josh could crush them with one hand tied behind their backs, but each of the three was already dealing with their own… complications.

“Is it just me, or do I feel incredibly old?” Josh muttered to Jack and Kargul.

“I think it’s just you,” Jack smirked. “I, on the other hand, feel as wise as if I’ve lived a thousand years.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I feel it too. I think I’ve never been this smart before. I really want to test my smashing with this new intelligence. Hey, what about those guys? Can I smash them?” Kargul pointed at the two groups about to tear each other apart.

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“No, wait. This could be important,” Maike interjected quickly, lowering her voice. So far, nobody else had noticed Kargul’s booming enthusiasm.

“Come on, Maike! This is so unfair. Evelyn said I’m allowed to smash anything that isn’t a puppy, and those don’t look like puppies to me.” Kargul exclaimed loud enough for half the valley to hear.

“Hey! Why are you even here? You’re too weak. Just run along and everything will be fine!” the armored knight barked after hearing Kargul’s voice. The samurai beside him looked equally perplexed.

“I’m feeling so intelligent right now, and I want to test it by smashing every single one of you,” Kargul explained with surprising clarity. “Then I’ll feed the remains to my sky turtle, Vorlok the Worldshatterer. Maike says no, but you don’t look like puppies, so you’re fair game, right? Please, just tell her you aren’t puppies.”

The two leaders froze, their faces darkening as if someone had spat at them. At first they were stunned into silence. Then both of them flushed crimson.

“You’d better leave, and take that orc with you, or this will get ugly,” they roared in unison.

“Look, Maike, can I smash them now?” Kargul asked eagerly, practically bouncing in place.

“Kargul, I never said you shouldn’t smash them because they’re puppies. In fact, I have the feeling you’re just pretending, so you’ll get an excuse to smash them. Am I right?” Maike’s tone sharpened, the same sharpness she normally used when scolding Kaldrek for grabbing another beer.

“No… never,” Kargul muttered, rocking guiltily from one foot to the other.

“Good. Because I’d prefer a solution where I don’t have to track down every last one of them.” Maike paused as her eyes landed on Vorlok. The massive sky turtle was inching forward, saliva dripping from his beak. “Don’t even think about it, Vorlok. Back, now.”

“You’ll regret this,” the samurai spat. “We are from the Clan of the Jade Panther. Even without our leader, we are strong enough to destroy you. We dominated our tutorial and killed every human who defied us. Leave quickly, girl, or you will suffer.”

“Great job killing humans and... Ah, why am I even arguing?” Maike shook her head. “Kargul, go ahead and smash them. I’ll check the castle.”

“Why only smash?” Thalassan’s voice was cold, venomous in a way Maike had never heard from her before. “They insulted and threatened one of us. We should drown them, then salt their insides until they die.”

Normally, Thalassan was the gentlest soul among them. But when her friends were threatened, something dark surfaced. Maike suspected it was part of her race—after all, could a fish truly think of something so gruesome?

“I’m not sure drowning and salting would work,” Jack said, genuinely considering it. “Wouldn’t the salt get countered by the water you fill them with?”

“And you said you’re feeling wiser?” Josh arched a brow. “Have you ever swallowed seawater? They’ll definitely get thirsty before they drown. But… we probably don’t have enough salt anyway.”

“Enough talk. It’s smashing time!” Kargul roared. He turned to the samurai’s group and grinned. “One small request to the folks with the pointy swords. Could you open your eyes fully? Otherwise it’ll feel like I’m smashing blind people, and I’d feel bad about that. You can see me clearly, right?” He unslung his heavy mace from his back.

“ATTACK!” both factions bellowed. Weapons flashed into hands—bows, blades, staffs—all charged with killing intent.

The air quivered as their auras clashed, and then Kargul unleashed himself. His brutal nature tore loose as he launched forward. The ground cracked under his feet and in an instant he appeared before the stunned samurai leader.

The earth shook when Kargul’s mace came down. The samurai’s body crumpled, driven into the ground so hard his height was reduced to that of a sheet of paper. Stone shattered, dust and debris erupting meters into the air.

“Come, let’s see what we can find inside the castle,” Kaldrek said calmly, tugging Thalassan along before she leapt on one of the men to carry out her gruesome promise.

As they stepped through the gate, the sounds of carnage echoed behind them—the clash of steel, Kargul’s booming laughter, and the thunderous snap of Vorlok’s beak slamming shut like a massive iron door. Piercing through it all were the screams of men who had thought themselves the strongest, but suddenly found themselves prey.

“This racket will draw others,” Maike murmured.

“Yes, we must hurry. We cannot be complacent. We were fortunate those at the spawn were weaker,” Kaldrek agreed.

Dust coated the floor and walls of the entrance chamber. Rows of statues lined the stone hall, each damaged by time—one missing its head, another with broken arms or legs. Shattered fragments lay scattered beneath them. At the far end, a staircase rose upward to the next floor and descended into a cellar.

What made this ruin unlike any forgotten castle was the creature waiting above them.

A spider, ten meters wide, clung to the ceiling.

Black Widow — Level 94

“Good lord, is that thing ugly. Lara, if you please,” Maike whispered to their only fire mage. Outside, Jack, Josh, and Jakob kept watch, ready to back up Kargul and Vorlok if needed.

Lara wasted no time. Relieved she could finally contribute, she raised her staff and launched a volley of fire like a burst of flaming birds. It was hard to tell if the spider died on the first strike or the second, but the creature fell from its web, crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.

The group pressed onward through the ruined castle, scouring it for valuables. Most of what they found was useless, but piles of gold glimmered among the rubble, enough to be worth significant points when placed in the spatial amulet designed for this quest. Still, they held back. Raising their leaderboard ranking too high might draw Eric’s eyes, or those of his subordinates.

It had been a good start, all things considered. Now they needed to keep moving, looting as much as possible to secure a high placement. But there was one problem.

They were sharing the treasure among thirteen. That meant if they wanted everyone to rank high in the event, they would need mountains of it.