"Don't mess around, kill it quickly!" Belmar shouted.

The sounds of running Minecrawlers were getting louder by the second and their screeches were uncomfortable to the ears.

"Ha!" The guy swung his hammer again, smashing the Minecrawler's chest this time. "Give me a hand!" he shouted to his buddy as the hammer bounced off the hard exoskeleton.

"Pin it to the wall!" Cot shouted and pulled out a curved dagger.

Two big men with shields stepped forward at the same time and rammed the beast at once.

Flailing the sickle-like lags around, the Minecrawler tried to free itself, but to no avail. Although it was strong, having a strength of an Iron-4 Rank, it was no match for two humans of about the same strength.

Cot squeezed past the shields and nimbly maneuvered his dagger, stabbing it in the unprotected gaps in the chitin armor.

With two swift twists of the blade, the two dangerous front legs fell to the floor.

Skreee!

The Minecrawler screeched loudly, but it then swiftly stopped as its head got separated from the rest of its body.

"Phew," Cot wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead and laughed merrily, "Haha, that was easy, I was worried for no reason."

"It's not over yet!" Belmar looked at the multiple tunnels with squinted eyes, "They are coming!"

Everybody nervously swallowed and the grip on their weapons tightened, preparing for what was still to come.

"Let's go back, we need to get a wall behind us! We'll hold our ground here!" Belmar pointed at the place where the Minecrawler was previously digging. It was a freshly dug-out tunnel, leading to a dead end.

Turning to Elly, Belmar questioned, "How long can you sustain that light for?"

"Err… About twenty minutes longer!" she answered after a quick calculation.

Belmar nodded, "Good! Stay back and make sure to keep it going. We are relying on you!"

Humans, unlike Minecrawlers, would be completely helpless in the dark. They had to make sure their light source would stay on, otherwise, the only fate that waits for them would be a slaughter.

Screee!

The first Minecrawler came inside the tunnel they were hiding and launched itself at them. The guy that blocked it with the shield had to take a step back to keep his balance and not get pushed to the ground under its weight.

Minecrawlers were mighty beasts, but luckily they were quite lacking in the brain department. The only thing they knew how to do was rush forward and attack.

But even with the limited tactic, after a few more came in and rushed at the warriors at once, the situation quickly turned dire.

More than twenty of them bunched in the tunnel, walking over each other and trying to tear the invaders apart.

The men at the front lines tried their best to hold them back, but the sharp and pointy legs were flailing above their heads, and they had to be constantly alert as the Minecrawlers tried to squeeze through the gaps between shields.

"Khand make a wall! We can't hold them back like this!" one of the shield carriers shouted.

While the warriors in the back tried to smash any limb that came through the shield wall, Khand quickly prepared to chant a spell.

"Shifting Earth, Moving Ground!"

Rumble!

The walls of the tunnel shook and slowly moved closer together. The Minecrawlers were being squeezed and had to move to prevent being stuck.

One of them managed to slip through and fell in the middle of the hiding humans.

Shaaa!

Immediately after coming through, it flailed its sickle-like front legs and stabbed a shield carrier in the lower back, slipping past the metal plates and injuring him severely.

"Aargh!" The man screamed and momentarily released his grip on the shield.

Although the guys behind him immediately clubbed the Minecrawler to death, the damage was already done. While the man was bleeding and in pain, Minecrawlers from the other side noticed the weak spot and rushed at him even more aggressively.

Thump, bam!

Three of the beasts simultaneously smashed in his shield, overpowering the little strength he had left, and pinned him to the floor under his massive shield.

Completely unconcerned for their own lives, the Minecrawlers stormed through the newly created opening and effectively dismantled the defense perimeter.

"Beat them up! Don't let them come close!" The leader shouted a battle cry and swung his mace on the nearest beast's head.

Bam!

The blunt strike was the first of many to come, as the Minecrawlers flooded through the tunnel and tried to tear the humans apart.

A bloody battle ensued, where every single member of the Mad Weasels showed the reason for their name, as they fought aggressively and vigorously, like mad animals.

Maces and daggers, as well as swords and axes, created a chaotic environment of strikes, where the sounds reverberated through the caves like thunder.

In the small space, the short weapons of humans were at an advantage, but the Minecrawlers also struck hard, never going down without a fight.

They stabbed their sharp legs in the gaps in the armor, leaving slashes and cuts on their enemies.

The bodies of the mindless beasts started to pile up and they made it hard to move. Blood was flowing from most of the warriors and only Elly escaped with only minor injuries since she was hiding in the back.

But the Minecrawlers seemed unending, continuously pouring through the opening to the stone room, almost overpowering them on many occasions.

"Boss, we can't hold on like this!" someone shouted, but his voice was quickly drowned in the sea of weapon strikes.

"You are right!" Belmar gritted his teeth and swung his shield to knock a beast away from himself, and then followed that with a powerful strike that could break bones. However, the Minecrawler only sustained mild injuries from it.

"I'll have to use it! Guard me for a second!"

Belmar closed his eyes momentarily and breathed out a mouthful of turbid air. When he opened his eyes again, there was determination burning inside them as he chanted:

"With a fire in my heart,

"And my will as an eternal flame,

"I'll play with the Bull's Strength,

"The life and death, game!"

As the chant ended, his body started to emit a higher amount of heat and his muscles expanded slightly after getting saturated with blood.

"WAAAAH!"

Belmar roared and swung his mace towards the chest plate of a nearby Minecrawler.

Boom!

The Minecrawler's exoskeleton exploded on the impact and the beast was bashed to a pulp with a single swing. Belmar only spared it a single glance before rushing to the next giant insect and crushed its head with a single strike.

Bang!

Green fluids splattered across the floor as he continued to rampage in the small space.

"Ther it is! Boss's strength augmentation Combat Art! Bull's Strength!" Cot excitedly shouted. "Let's go, men! Join the boss and push through! This is our chance!"

WAAAAH!

The warriors shouted in unison in response. They rushed towards the exit, fighting with all their might against the beasts, not caring for their own safety at all.

They completely abandoned defense and focused on offense, with the dark blood from both humans and monsters, mixing on the floor.

Not even a minute later, Belmar was panting heavily and his face was bright red from exhaustion. His hands were trembling from over-exertion and he could barely walk.

The magic enhancement was strong but short-lasting, and it left him exhausted at the end of it.

The Minecrawlers were mostly taken care of, but the price they had to pay was high.

"Let's go, we need to leave quickly, more are coming!" he shouted while slowly moving forward, leaning on the cold wall.

The group quickly moved towards the exit, following the markings in the underground maze, and so they soon found the right way to the surface.

Skreee!

Ear-piercing sounds came out of the cave, and soon, two long, thick spiked club-like legs emerged from the darkness. A much bigger beast than those before stepped into the sunlight, searching for its prey.

"Oh shit, it's the Minecrawler Warrior!" one of the guys shouted in horror.

"And it's not alone, look!" Cot shouted.

His observation was correct, soon two more Minecrawler Warriors emerged from the cave, moving their antenna toward the sound coming from above.

They were of similar body structure that their smaller, Worker version. However, being more than twice the size and with thicker armor, they represented an unbeatable opponent to the team of humans on the surface.

What's worse, they started climbing out of the hole in the ground…

"Bury them! Don't let them get out, we can't stop them!" Belmar shouted.

Quickly chanting a spell, Khand made the surrounding soil rise and collapse on the sinkhole, burying the Minecrawler alive under tons of dirt and rock.

Not that it would do anything to them… They would just simply wait for the Minecrawler Workers to dig them out.

"We need to hurry! Elly, you are in the best shape, go alert the Guild! We will stay here and defend as long as possible. We are relying on you!"

After giving his order, Belmar sat down near a tree, with a worried expression on his face, as he uncorked a Healing Potion and drank it like it was water.

The warriors present also took a breather, bandaging the wounds and drinking potions to recover.

They all wore somber expressions, determined to defend their kingdom with their lives.