Catgirls And Dungeons
Chapter 222: Surrounded

Chapter 222: Surrounded

Rock worms...

Also known as the burrowers of death.

These massive, dangerous monsters would slumber deep beneath the surface, motionless as stone, until prey stumbles into their feeding ground. Then they struck like lightning, all fang and fury.

Their massive bodies, covered in armored plates that resembled cracked stone, could coil and twist with terrifying speed. And their maws were terrifying too, lined with rows of jagged teeth capable of crushing boulders to powder, capable of grinding bone into dust.

And despite their size, they were fast.

Blindingly fast.

Were they ancient guardians of this forgotten temple?

Or merely natural predators, territorial monsters who had claimed the ruin as their home?

No one really knew.

And right now, no one cared about that shit.

Four of them were charging in from all directions, their thunderous roars shaking the earth beneath the trio’s boots.

"You two!" Lucian barked, his voice sharp. "Let’s divide them!"

"I’m on it!" Ereskia called, already breaking formation. Mana burst beneath her feet as she darted sideways, quick and controlled.

Larpard wasted no time either.

"Shadow Art: Battle Clone!"

VZZZT!

A pulse of mana erupted around him, his own shadow split into two, and in an instant, from that shadow two pitch-black figures exploded into existence, both of them mirror copies of the catboy, cloaked in smoke.

Unlike the scouting shadow from earlier, these were built for combat. They were called Battle Clones for a reason.

Able to exert 80% of Larpard’s physical prowess and lightning reflexes, they were as deadly as they were fleeting.

But even with all that power, he could only maintain them for thirty seconds max.

Meaning: they needed to finish the four rockworms quick.

"Larpard, take!" Ereskia called out, her hand flicking forward.

In a burst of shadow, two sleek, curved blades materialized and flew toward the clones. They were her mana weapons, the Darkness Blades, forged from her unique magic, razor sharp and deadly lethal.

The clones caught them mid-air, their fingers wrapping around the hilts without hesitation. The moment they did, their stances shifted, waiting for order.

"Go!" Larpard commanded, his voice taut with urgency.

One clone coiled like a spring, crouching low, then exploded forward with a powerful kick, launching itself like a bullet at the nearest worm.

Blade gleaming.

It ducked under the crushing mass of the beast, narrowly avoiding a snapping maw, twisted in mid-air, then struck with all of its power.

SLASH!

The blades bit into flesh.

A jagged line opened across the worm’s armored side, dark, tar-like blood spurting out in a sizzling arc.

But...

It wasn’t deep.

The armor had absorbed much of the impact, and the strike only grazed the muscle beneath.

Still, it was enough. Because the clone job wasn’t to kill, but to distract.

Injured, the worm reared back, screeching with rage, and whipped around, fixated now on the clone that had dared wound it.

The clone didn’t stop. It immediately sprang back, boots barely touching the ground, and took off at full sprint, drawing the massive creature away.

Mission succeeded.

Meanwhile, the second clone did the same thing, taunting and slashing, baiting the second worm into pursuit.

And just like that, two were now distracted and were removed from the fight temporary.

Only two remained.

One heading for Lucian.

The other one, bigger looking one, charging straight at the Cat Furren siblings.

"Time to move," Ereskia growled, spinning her halberd with a flick of her wrist. Her tail lashed behind her like a whip, her stance fluid and deadly.

"Yeah." Larpard flicked his daggers into reverse grip, eyes narrowing, muscles coiled. "Let’s make it quick."

Just like that, the fight was on.

And when it came to a two-on-one, the siblings had never lost.

Larpard dashed forward, a blur of motion against the gray fog and falling rain. He rushed straight into the path of the surging worm—a massive, snarling behemoth crashing through the ground like a damn train.

But just before impact—

BOOM!

A sudden burst of power from Larpard’s legs launched him skyward abruptly.

The worm’s instincts took over, its eyes tracked the rising figure, its mouth opening wide, fangs glinting. It chased upward, lifting itself to strike at the airborne prey, its body stretched towards the sky.

And that was its fatal mistake.

On the ground, unnoticed and unchallenged, Ereskia moved.

She burst forward, halberd in hand. It spun once—twice—gathering momentum as it blurred behind her back, then into her grip.

She stopped just in front of the worm’s belly.

And then, with a swing of full power—

"HAAAAA!"

VZZZT!

A diagonal arc of steel and shadow cut through the air!

SLAASH!

The halberd cleaved through the worm’s unprotected flank. The worm’s body, everything — armor, muscle, bone—all severed in a single devastating blow.

A geyser of thick black blood erupted from the wound, spraying across the ground like oily rain, spraying onto Ereskia.

The creature gave one last, agonized screech before collapsing in a shuddering heap.

And nearby, BOOM!

Lucian stood amidst a cloud of dust and sparks, his greatsword crackling with black lightning. At his feet was what was left of another worm, its head obliterated, its body twitching.

"Two down," he muttered, eyes already scanning for the next threat.

Only the two worms chasing Larpard’s clones remained. They thrashed and howled in frustration, yet too slow to catch their shadowy prey.

For a brief moment... silence.

The three thought they already won.

But then—

RUMBLE.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ground erupted again.

Not one.

Not two.

But Seven!

Seven more monstrous worms burst from the earth in a thunderous roar, shaking the battlefield with their arrival!

"What? Are you kidding me!?" Ereskia snapped, tail bristling.

Larpard landed beside her, panting hard, sweat mixing with the rain on his brow.

"Shit—there’s too many!" he shouted, eyes wide as the seven new rock worms uncoiled from the ground, each one snarling and thrashing like a living avalanche.

"Guildmaster, what do we do?!" Ereskia shouted.

Lucian didn’t hesitate.

"Fall back! Head for the ruin—now!"

"Got it!"

And just like that, the initial plan was abandoned.

There was no way they could handle this many S rank foes. Not in the open, not surrounded like this. Now, their only hope now was that the temple, or whatever ancient power guarded it, would keep the monsters at bay.

Ereskia didn’t waste time.

She dismissed her weapon immediately, then glanced at her brother, saw the exhaustion in his face, and in one smooth motion swung him onto her back without any hesitation.

"What?!" Larpard was confused for a moment.

"Tch! Stay still!" Ereskia shouted, holding, securing her brother tight on her back.

Then she ran.

Meanwhile, Lucian was already ahead, sprinting full speed, blade still crackling with mana, his cloak trailing like smoke behind him.

Ereskia followed, tail streaming, boots hammering the rocky earth.

"You really think the ruin can stop them?!" she called out between breaths.

"It better!" Lucian shouted back. "If it couldn’t, it would’ve been flattened centuries ago!"

Right. He had a point. Despite the weathered stones and crumbling edges, the ruin had stood untouched for gods-knew-how-long—right here, in the middle of monster territory. Still intact. Still upright.

That meant something.

The trio raced across the rocky terrain, wind and rain whipping against them, the thunder of pursuing monsters growing louder with every step.

Lucian reached the temple gate first, skidding to a halt before its towering stone pillars.

But Ereskia and Larpard...

They were still a hundred meters behind.

And the ground behind them was starting to shake.

Now, two more worms burst from the ground, rushing in from opposite directions, aiming to cut off the last stretch of open ground.

"Come on!!!" Lucian roared, eyes wide with urgency.

But Ereskia...

She grinned.

A sharp, electric smile. the kind she only made when the stakes were life-or-death and she loved it.

"Hold on!" she said.

And then, with a sudden twist of her body and a surge of raw strength, she launched Larpard like a cannonball.

BOOM!

The air cracked! Larpard broke the sound barrier mid-throw!

The guy eyes went wide as he flew straight toward Lucian—

CRASH!

He slammed into the Guildmaster, the impact sending the giant wolf-man stumbling back several meters, skidding across the stone, whipping up a cloud of dust.

But both were safe.

Then came the last charge.

Only the catgirl remained.

Ereskia didn’t slow. She coiled her legs, tail whipping, every muscle tensed, power humming through her limbs.

The she jumped.

BOOM!

The ground shattered beneath her takeoff, leaving smoldering crater.

One worm lunged high.

The other swept low.

Their titanic bodies nearly overlapping, leaving only a sliver of space between them.

There was almost no way through.

Almost.

And yet, somehow, Ereskia twisted mid-air, body flattening like a ribbon in motion, sliding through that impossible gap between two walls of death—

A blur of motion.

Thud!

She landed hard on temple stone, knees bent.

Safe.

Ereskia rose slowly, rain running down her face.

The worms rushed towards the temple.

The group held their breath.

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