The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 364: Dug Down Deep

Nikolai grunted through the pain as he did his best to keep himself upright. The surprise attack was obviously expected, but he didn’t think that they would be this coordinated with things. Ahmed finally made his move after being idle and playing safe for so many years. His wayward minister had truly planned everything down to the last detail, but there was still one thing that he didn’t take into account.

Gritting his teeth, he relied solely on his own power to keep himself alive. There was nothing that could kill him. At least, nothing that didn’t have enough power to wipe out an entire kingdom. He was just that strong, and there was nothing anybody could ever do to remove that from him.

Indeed, all he had to do was simply bide his time and let whatever attack this was to pass. Based on what he was hearing happening above him, the entire building itself was falling apart. Surely, by then, whatever was stopping him from contacting Mineah through their bond would fall as well.

At least, that was what he thought would happen. Unknown to him, some kind of demonic insect had somehow magically made its way underground with him, biting him in the ankle before he even realized what was happening.

"Any second now," he muttered to himself, his muscles bulging as he used the slab of rock above him as a shield. "They can’t keep this up forever."

Minutes ticked by, and the carnage above eventually settled down as the entire building finally stopped collapsing. He could only assume that Ahmed and his men were still out there somewhere, however, and there was no way that he’d be able to make it outside without being discovered if he didn’t do something.

Still, he should try contacting Mineah now...

"The building should be destroyed and whatever magic it had with it," he muttered to himself as he let himself think. "I should be able to talk to Mine now..."

Closing his eyes, he concentrated to do his usual thing to contact his wife through their bond. However, after a few seconds of nothing, he realized that he couldn’t contact her for some reason. Blinking, he tried again. And again. And again. Eventually, it was clear that there was no way for him to contact her.

’Something’s wrong,’ he thought to himself. ’Why isn’t this working?’

Narrowing his eyes, he ignored the pain blooming in his arms as he thought about all the things that could somehow block him from contacting Mineah through their bond. There was magic, of course, and then there were some other unknown magical means that were probably lost to him. His wife probably knew much more about stuff like this, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what was wrong.

Then, he realized that his ankle was itchy, and it was then that he somehow thought about something biting him down there. He didn’t know, but he just knew that it had something to do with his current predicament.

’Some kind of animal bite, maybe...’ Nikolai thought to himself. ’I can’t see with how dark it is right now... Maybe the thing that bit me is still here.’

It was a start to know what exactly was wrong with him, but either way, there was no point thinking about such things when his life was currently still in danger. The weight of the ruined building above him was starting to strain his arms, and if things continued as they were, he just knew that his muscles would eventually fail him.

Clicking his tongue, Nikolai strained his eyes against the darkness, hoping that some faint light would seep through and give him an idea of what he was working with to mount an escape.

Thankfully, fate seemed to love smiling on him as the littlest of cracks suddenly appeared above him. It wasn’t much, but it cast a small ray of light into his little hole, giving him a clue of what he could work with to try and escape.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t much.

’Dirt... dirt... and more dirt...’ he mentally grumbled to himself. ’There’s some rock and some of the foundation of the building itself, but otherwise, there’s nothing here I can use...’

Unfortunately, being underground didn’t bode well for him in terms of giving him the materials he needed to escape, let alone potentially fight back if he decided to resurface and go through things the hard way. Not that that wasn’t an option, but he really didn’t like going through even more risk than he already did.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he at least managed to see what looked to be an insect that got crushed by a stray rock beneath him. It didn’t look like any normal insect, so it must be demonic in nature. It also emitted some kind of malevolent aura to it, which helped him identify its nature as the thing that stopped him from contacting Mineah.

’They really thought ahead then,’ he scoffed in begrudging acknowledgment. ’I have to give it to them. They really thought they could kill me here.’

He couldn’t help but scoff even as he thought about all of the men and women who were assuredly trying to look for him above to try and finish the job. If they were smart enough, they would dig him out and kill him themselves. Unless they saw his body, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t return with a vengeance, and that was exactly what he was planning the moment he got out of this mess.

"You’ll pay for this Ahmed," he growled. "Not even a mountain of earth and rock will stop me from ripping your throat out."

It was a promise too. A promise that he’d make sure to keep once he got out and planned ahead. Assuming he got out in the first place.

Letting out another breath, Nikolai did his best to relax as he counted down the minutes he spent underneath all the rubble. Based on the fact that there was a crack above him giving him light, he knew that he would never run out of air so long as he made sure to pace his breaths. He’d have to let go of the rubble above him as well if he wanted to do anything other than keep himself alive by carrying the weight of a literal building on his back.

’I guess I’ll just dig my way out of this place again...’

His mind made up, Nikolai faintly nodded before making sure to gently place the slab of rock he was using as a shield down on some form of support. Bending his knees, he moved down until he felt the rock above him settle on its own weight. It wouldn’t last for too long, but it should give him just enough time to do what he planned.

"Now for the hard part..."

Clicking his tongue, he raised his fists and began punching his way down into the earth once more. Making sure to work at an angle, he dug down deep enough until there was no light giving him a clue where was up and down anymore. Another second passed, and the sound of rubble giving way tipped him off that he wouldn’t be able to go back anymore.

Giving himself another nod, Nikolai then began to dig sideways, making sure to move as quickly as possible before he eventually ran out of air.

’This should be far enough...’

Then, once he thought that he had dug far enough away from the site, he began digging up. Fist after fist of earth and rock gave way to his strength, the sounds of the world above slowly becoming clearer until the light of the sky finally graced his vision once again.

Remaining silent, Nikolai peeked out of his hole for a brief second before eventually freeing himself from the earth. Dusting himself off, he noted his current position. He was far enough from the building itself now, it would seem. And while he was still in the city, he was in an alleyway hidden enough for him to catch his breath.

"What a pain..." he grunted to himself as he rested his back on the nearest wall. "This is what I get for rushing things..."

Still, now that the trap was sprung, it was only a matter of time until they managed to catch Ahmed and those who conspired with him. It may take days, or maybe even weeks, but one thing was for sure: he wouldn’t stop until they were practically begging for him to kill them all.

He let out a soft chuckle at what he just went through. Digging through solid earth was a workout and a half, something that he really didn’t want to do again anytime soon. And to think this all came from investigating a plague. Somehow, Nikolai just knew the plague was artificial as well. He supposed he’d just pin it all on Ahmed once he got back. Even if it wasn’t the man’s fault, it would be funny to see this all backfire on him.