The hounds caught in the sweep of my axe were torn apart, with their mangled bodies flung to the sides. Those that weren’t directly hit convulsed violently as the lightning arcing through the blade seared through them.0

Damn it.0

I swung my axe again, trying to stem the overwhelming flow of hounds, but there were too many and the underground passage was too vast. Despite my best efforts, dozens slipped past me, their breath hot and ragged as they surged forward. 0

How many more of these beasts are there? 0

I had already cut down over a hundred, yet they kept pouring in endlessly from the darkness.0

I couldn’t let myself get overwhelmed.0

Focus on what I can control.0

These hounds weren’t strong individually. Their sheer numbers were what posed the real threat. However, I was sure they couldn’t possibly multiply indefinitely. If I kept killing them, there had to be an end, and that was my only hope.0

I stopped thinking, letting instinct take over, and I started swinging my axe with renewed vigor.0

“Woof! Woof!”0

A hound lunged at me from the side, and I smashed it aside with the handle of my axe before bringing the blade down to crush its skull. The creature’s head exploded in a gruesome spray, leaving its jaws grotesquely twisted and sending an eyeball rolling across the floor.0

I watched this, a wave of regret...1