Chapter 148
Kane's POV
The gallows at the center of the mine pit cast grotesque shadows under the torchlight.
Frank, Faye, and many other elders were bound to the wooden frame with coarse hemp rope, heavy cleavers suspended above their heads. Slaves forced to witness the execution crowded around, fear making even their breathing cautious.
I blended into the front row, cap pulled low over my face, fingers gripping tight around the iron pickaxe hidden beneath tattered cloth.
Draven stood on the platform, his crimson cloak particularly glaring in the firelight.
He lifted his chin, proclaiming the so-called "charges" in that condescending tone—hoarding food, shirking work, attempting escape. All bullshit!
The real crime was only one: they were still alive, and the Blood River Pack needed blood to consolidate fear.
"Let you old wastes serve as examples," Draven's voice echoed through the mine pit. "Anyone who defies my will—the consequence is death!"
The executioner gripped the cleaver's handle, muscles tensing. Frank closed his eyes, lips moving slightly, as if murmuring something. Faye trembled, tears sliding down silently.
I saw Dorothy standing not far away, face ashen, hand clutching the dagger I'd given her.
Now.
I suddenly burst from the crowd, the pickaxe tracing an arc through the air, smashing viciously into the gallows' support beam. The wood splintered with a crack, the entire structure collapsing with a thunderous crash.
The executioner lost his balance and tumbled from the platform, the cleaver clattering to the ground.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Steven's suicide squad charged from the shadows, wielding weapons seized from overseers, rushing straight for the guards around the execution platform. The sound of clashing steel pierced eardrums, blood splattering on torches with hissing sounds.
I rushed to Frank's side, hacking through the ropes with the pickaxe. Dorothy stumbled over to rescue Faye.
"Move!" I roared, helping the weakened Frank up. The old man's arms were covered in rope burns, but his eyes burned with long-absent fire.
Just then, Grim ignited the pre-planted fuses.
Explosions came from deep within the mine tunnels, one after another, like the drumbeat of hell.
The main tunnel's support pillars shattered in the firelight, massive stones crashing down from above, completely sealing the main passage to the surface.
Smoke filled the air, coughs and screams blending together.
We'd successfully turned the battlefield into a cage, cutting off Blood River's reinforcements.
"North passage!" Steven's voice rang out through the chaos. "Retreat according to plan!"
Blood River reinforcements tried to pour in through backup tunnels, but triggered our preset traps. Spike pits, rolling boulders, cave-ins—the narrow passages instantly became meat grinders.
Those usually swaggering elite soldiers found themselves helpless against the terrain disadvantage, screams rising one after another.
I escorted Frank, Faye, and the women and children toward the deep evacuation tunnel.
Comrades kept falling around me. Steven was fighting desperately too, but I still hadn't chosen to shift into wolf form.
Blaze roared for battle in my consciousness, forcibly suppressed by me.
My gaze swept across the fighting crowd—I had to wait for that mastermind to appear, then kill him in one strike!
But a Blood River squad suddenly burst from the flank, blocking our path.
In the melee, a stray Blood River soldier slipped past the defensive line, raising his blade toward my back as I directed the retreat.
I sensed the killing intent behind me, about to turn—
"Ah!" A scream rang out.
I whipped around to see Dorothy, eyes closed, driving the dagger I'd given her deep into the soldier's back. Warm blood sprayed across her face. She released her grip in horror, watching the corpse fall, her entire body trembling on the verge of collapse.
"Dorothy—" I rushed forward, steadying her swaying form.
She stared at me wide-eyed, pupils dilated with fear, lips trembling wordlessly. I wiped the blood from her face with my sleeve, meeting her gaze with steady resolve. "Well done. Now, survive."
Dorothy's eyes gradually focused from their scattered state, looking at my face before finally nodding slowly.
The fear in those eyes receded, replaced by something resolute.
But the battle wasn't over.
We were forced into the deep evacuation tunnel when another well-equipped Blood River elite squad blocked our path. Steven led several warriors to engage, blood flying amid flashing blades.
At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from the tunnel's end.
Draven appeared in heavy armor, leading his personal guard, trampling over insurgent corpses with a vicious expression. Torchlight reflected off his face, making his already ugly features appear even more twisted.
"Crush these rats!" he roared.
The moment I saw Draven, the restraint in my eyes completely shattered.
I looked at the dead and wounded kinsmen around me and the family behind me, stepping forward to face Draven directly.
"Blood River's dog," my voice was low and hoarse. "Look clearly—I am the son of Ivan and Chloe! The Lightning Wolf blood you tried to bury! This is what thunder looks like!"
Before the words finished, fury ignited my blood.
I howled toward the sky, bones crackling, black fur bursting through skin, instantly transforming into the massive black wolf Blaze. With the force of thunder, I leaped onto the suspension bridge spanning the chasm—one of the passages connecting both sides of the mine pit, constructed of coarse rope and rotting wood.
Draven sneered, likewise tearing through his clothes without hesitation, transforming into a gray-brown giant wolf.
Two massive wolves faced each other on the precarious suspension bridge.
Below was a bottomless abyss, falling stones producing no echo.