"Don't go out of range, Maxwell!" Zak roared. His expression was heavy as he made several blocks of earth with spikes all over, controlling the number of beasts that they were facing at a time.
Maxwell, Joe, and Toby were all tangled with their own fight. Zak was commending while creating armor, traps, and all sorts of attacks to make the fight controllable.
After John led them to the dungeon entrance the day prior, Zak took the command. His eyes were stern as he looked at each one of them dead in the eyes for a few seconds as he said, "Do your utmost in every fight. There is no way to clear the dungeon but to fight with every millimeter of our strength."
His voice, filled with firmness, continued, "If the fight could be won in ten minutes, we better finish it by the 8th minute."
Zak slammed his staff on the ground as he created armor over everyone, then he created a flying shield that cycled around him. "Are you ready?" His voice was deafening and echoed through the night.
"Ready, captain!" they answered in the same loud voice, their blood boiling waiting for the fight.
"Let's go!" He gestured with his hand as he sprinted through the portal. The others didn't hesitate to follow him.
What greeted them was a prairie with mountains on both sides and hills that blocked the view, and many rocks spread unevenly all around. The moment Zak entered without even thinking, he sweeped his staff, creating a dome on the teleportion point.
The moment the other entered, they heard a bang. The dome vibrated a little as heat could be felt from the other side. Bloodthirsty, hideous, huge-looking dogs were scattered around in the vicinity.
Their saliva was dropping to the ground drop by drop. Their eyes were black with crimson-red pupils, giving a very menacing vibe. Fangs were extended from their mouths as they growled. Their bodies were foul-smelling. The beasts' sharp claws were terrifying.
What looked like dogs from hell were in different colors. A red-colored dog had opened his mouth and condensed a fireball before it was hurled to Zak's dome.
BOOM!
The fireball smashed the dome, crumbling it. Many beasts' attention was drawn to the sound as they began to run in the party direction.
"Control this beast, Toby." Zak was commending as he gestured with his staff, creating earth walls in different directions to slow the beasts.
"On it!" Toby ignited his hands as he ran in the monster direction.
Joe turned into the eagle soaring into the sky, surveying the beasts.
"Maxwell, you are free to fight how you want, but don't go beyond that last wall." Zak said as he gestured with his hands, creating spears that hovered in the sky overhead.
"Got it." Maxwell acknowledged the commend as he hardened his body, running to the beasts.
Other than red dogs, there were dark brown ones with a much more robust physique and more numerous. All darting with wicked savage intent that could be seen in their eyes.
"GO!" Zak hurled the spears at the beasts.
Joe's eyes were darting around the monsters. Suddenly he dove, and within a second his claws were in a monstrous dog's head.
Bam!
Blood splattered; the beast's head was deformed from the impact, dead. He soared to the sky once again, looking for another opportunity. His gantlet transformed with him envelopeing his claws, glinting dangerously.
Toby throw his own fireball at the incoming fireball from the red dog, nullifying it. "You want to play with fire before me? " With a grin, Toby abruptly jumped, his feet brust in flame, giving him a boost in midair. With spin, he descended down, his palm filled with condensed fire as he slammed it on the dog's body.
Booom!
Whining escaped the beast's throat as half of its body was scorched from the flame. Toby adjusted himself midair as he landed on his feet. Then he lunged again at the beast.
Toby got two new pieces of equipment: a gauntlet that could withstand his fire, and if he hit any beast with it, it would amplify his flame temperature. The second was a military-looking boot that was immune to his flame. So he could now channel his flame through either his hands or feet without getting his clothes on fire.
In the meantime, the earth spears controlled by Zak implied a monster in its four legs before the last one piercing throw its brain.
Maxwell slammed onto another red dog, throwing it out of balance. He kicked its front leg, making it slip, and hit the ground with its head. Maxwell took the chance to throw a barrage of punches on its face, making the beast dizzy.
"Die!" He stopped for a second as he raised his fist before making a spik at the end of his hand, then he slammed in its head, smashing its skull and penetrating to the brain, ending the beast.
The fight was in full swing, with Zak keeping an eye on every one of them while dealing with the monsters. From Toby's wild fight and Maxwell's ferocious combat style to Joe's calculated and merciless clashes, nothing escaped his keen observation.
Even though they just entered the dungeon, the monsters numbers seem to increase instead of decreasing after all that struggle.
"Toby, stop being flashy! We need efficiency. We had more monsters than we can handle already." Zak's control over the earth was superior, creating earth wall after earth wall, hindering the monsters from overwhelming them. With every wall crumbling, another erected in its place.
Zak made some of the ground around the walls hollow; when the beasts stepped on them, the earth surface would break, making them fall on a ground full of deadly spikes.
All of a sudden, a deep, resonating howl echoed across the prairie. The dogs halted their attacks, their heads turning in unison toward the hills in the distance. Emerging from the shadows was a colossal figure—far larger than the other beasts. Its fur gleamed with a metallic sheen, as cold and unforgiving as a winter's night. Eyes like shards of ice that could freeze a soul in fright, and frost clung to its breath, chilling the air around it.
It snarled, and the ground beneath its feet froze as it walked step by step toward the group. Around it, many hounds had the same appearance but were smaller in size. They growled as their eyes locked onto the group like predators ready to pounce.
Joe and Zak's hearts skipped a beat seeing this scene. "Maxwell, come closer. Now!" Zak shouted, his voice sharp. Maxwell didn't need a second warning. He sprinted toward Zak, his gaze flicking to the hulking creature that had just appeared.
"What the hell is that?" Joe asked, his voice barely audible as he circled in the sky back to the group.
Zak's gaze remained fixed on the enormous creature. Its cold, dead eyes glowed with malice, and frost clung to its breath like a death sentence.
Then the beast howled—a sound so chilling it seemed to freeze the very air around them.
The smaller hounds charged.