The dragon's harem

Chapter 947: The Rabbitʼs Lair

Jack smiled, standing up as he picked a long stick from the bushes. ”Everyone, come around.” He called the paladins and started drawing on the ground. ”This is the boulder, and we have a small hill on this side and a forest from here and to this place.”

”Did you figure out where the vent is?” One of the paladins asked.

”Not exactly, do you want an explanation or should I just tell you what to do?” He looked at them.

”Just give directions. Venting the gas is a chore, we want to get it done with so we can bash some heads.” The paladin stood and looked back at the mossy hill ”Behind the hill?”

”No, five locations.” Jack drew several Xʼs on his dirt map, ”One of them is the vent or multiple, I donʼt know. Check them out. If itʼs a boulder, move it, if itʼs dirt, shovel it out.” He pulled several shoves out of his magic pocket. ”Do whatever it takes.”

”Weʼll get it done.” The paladins split into five groups, each having at least five paladins as they spread and each headed to a possible location.

Jack and Pin stayed beside the hole and worked on getting rid of the poisonous spikes and the paladins returned after just half an hour. ”Did you find anything?” Jack asked as he noticed some of them dripping with mud and moss, smelling like wet dogs.

Three groups have encountered vents and opened them. One vent was hiding beneath a boulder, another vent was buried and disguised as a grave, and the last vent was underwater in the swamp with a large stone blocking it. Jack didnʼt know how did they get to the underwater one, or who was disrespectful enough to dig a grave, but he didnʼt ask questions. The important part is that they did their job.

Rogues only care about results, no matter the method. A thief canʼt criticize a grave robber after all. One steals from the living, and the other from the dead who probably donʼt need what they have.

Right now, they should be able to proceed. Jack called the paladins, ”Look, what do you think?” He had shoveled dirt and stones down the hole and buried the spikes with another layer. ”You still canʼt jump inside. Iʼll go down first.”

Jack grabbed the rope and climbed down, finally landing safely thanks to his light weight. He waved his hand to the paladins up and then proceeded to splash a strange potion over the dirt and stones.

Magic engulfed the pile of dirt and stone, hardening it. The potion was made by Arad before when he tried to infuse different types of magic into potions. Some could explode into fire, some into ice, and this potion hardens dirt and stone to create a strong shell and is usually used by armies to create ramps and barricades on the battlefield.

The paladins jumped down, one after another, and some of them were left to guard the entrance.

”Donʼt use torches.” Jack glared at the paladins, ”Even if we vented the gas, we donʼt know at which rate it fills up. Letʼs be careful.” Even if he said that he had something else in mind.

”Of course.” One of the paladins lifted his fist and put it close to his chest. ”Shining sun, crimson night, illuminate my path and lead me to victory.” He lifted his fist, and it flashed with a purple light. [Erisʼs Light]

The paladins were already starting to receive holy spells from their faith in Eris. It was extremely rare for a demi-god to be able to provide his followers with anything more than some divine magic for smites, but it seems that Eris is far more talented than most demi- gods, and her being a paladin of Amaterasu helps a lot as well.

”A magic that creates light?” Jack smiled, pulling his wakizashi, ”Prideful sun, embrace my path in your divine magnificent!” His dagger flashed for but a second, and the cave became as clear as if it were in direct sunlight. The spell was embedded into his dagger, the same way he can shroud himself and an area in darkness, he can shroud it in light.

[Amaterasuʼs Holy Embrace] is the light spell, and [Amaterasuʼs Unholy Disdain] Is the dark spell.

Jack sheathed his wakizashi and walked in the front, soon, they reached the darkness once again. Even though his spell didnʼt require mana to cast or an object to create light, it had a set range and would stay in the location where it was cast.

Jack waved his hand, and the light disappeared. To cast it again he unsheathed the wakizashi and cast it just like before. Doing that, they kept pushing deeper and deeper down the hole; soon, they reached a large empty cavern.

They had already reached Jackʼs spell limit so he turned it off and was getting ready to cast it again in the darkness. But he stopped, hearing something move. ”Something moved!” Jack growled, ”Arm yourselves.”

[Amaterasuʼs Holy Embrace] As the light illuminated the cavern, they were surrounded by hundreds of red eyed white rabbits.

”Bunnies?” One of the paladins gasped, and the rabbits swarmed him in a second. He didnʼt even have time to swing his hammer before the rabbits tore him apart limb by limb, eating him alive in three seconds. Everyone stared at the rabbitʼs bloodied teeth and snouts in horror, ”Killer Rabbits!” Jack shouted as he lunged forward, pulling a bottle from his pocket and throwing it at the rabbits.

The bottle shattered and exploded into a pillar of ice, freezing some of the monsters, but that wasnʼt before they managed to swarm Jack, biting on him left and right. Jack screamed, and the paladins watched in horror. Some of them swung their maces and hammers at the rabbits, but killing one or two didnʼt reduce the number of mouths biting on Jack.

In the back, a woman wearing a white robe with her body filled with cuts and scars walked out with a giggle and a smile on her face. ”Fools, walking into our sanctuary like this? Be a sacrifice...or our magnificent Lady.”

Suddenly, Jackʼs screams turned into a burst of laughter as his eyes looked at the woman, ”Nice legs, care to spread your ass to me?”

”What?” The cultist woman gasped, and a massive explosion burst from between the rabbits. The cannonball smacked the cultist woman in the stomach, punching a hole into her guts.

Jack told the paladin not to use torches because he expected the cultists to be already watching them. He didnʼt want to give them any chance of expecting him to use a firearm. As he was the squishiest of Aradʼs party and had a physics that was put to shame by Lydiaʼs tough and muscular body, Jack had opted to wear full-body chainmail beneath his light leather armor. Thanks to Aradʼs funds, he managed to buy a set of lightweight yet durable magically enchanted mithril chainmail armor.

The rabbits suddenly started dying as he threw an empty glass bottle on the ground. That was a poison that evaporated upon contact with air, itʼs too weak to harm humans, but deadly enough to kill rabbits and small animals.

Shaking the dead rabbits with just a few scratches and bites on his face, Jack looked at the darkness behind the dead cultist woman and could hear a few footsteps rushing back. He couldnʼt be grateful enough to Alcott for teaching him how to use echolocation in darkness. Without saying a word, he fired his hook and swung after them like a monkey, disappearing from the paladinʼs view in a second.

The two cultist women who were hiding in the back ran away the moment their partner got her back blown to pieces on their faces. They horridly jumped behind the massive stone door and tapped the magic sign on the inside, closing and locking it.

”The hell was that?” One of them cried, unable to steady her breath. The blood on her face

was still warm.

”That sounded like a cannon...where did he hide it?” The other one was shaking, sweat dripping across her back. She could get the image of their sister in faith exploding like a grape.

At that moment, both of them felt hands caressing their legs, ”Nice legs. As beautiful as that woman before, but those cuts and scares are a shame.” Jack was already sitting behind them. The two cultist women froze in place and started shaking. ”Open that door, or the next cannonball would fly up you assess.” One of them could feel the burning hot barrel pressing against her butt. Jack wasnʼt joking, his cannon was loaded and ready to fire again.

The cultist woman started panting as she reached with her hand toward the magic circle. But suddenly turned around swinging her now bear-like arm. She was a druid and could even use partial beast form.

Jack masterfully dodged her attack and pushed his cannon between her legs, ”I warned you.”

BANG! He blasted her innards onto the ceiling, ”What a waste.” He mumbled as the other cultist screamed, swinging a kick at his face. Her leg has turned into that of a horse, the hoof

blazing at Jackʼs brain.

Jack jumped up and dodged her attack, landing at her side and wrapping his arms around her. He squeezed her neck with his left arm as he forced her to extend her hand with his other arm. She struggled, but he forced her to push the magical seal and open the door for the other

paladins to rush in.

At that moment, more cultists appeared from deep inside and fired arrows at him. He pulled the cultist woman by the hair and put her before him.

Realizing he was about to use her as a flesh shield, she curled her arms and legs up, shifting

her back into a turtleʼs shell. As the arrows bounced from her back, she grabbed Jack by the neck and started clenching, her sharp fingers digging into his neck as she tried to kick him in

the stomach.

”One last chance, donʼt move.” His cannon was pressed against her stomach, the red-hot barrel burned her clothes and skin. She glared at him and screamed, ”FOR LUNARA!” and tried to shift her whole arm into that of a wolf, but it was too late.

Jack fired his cannon and her burning turtle shell flew back at the other cultists, smacking two down. The paladins who just arrived stared with gaping mouths at the carnage, and the cultists were struck by fear, watching Jackʼs silhouette approach from the darkness with two

red glowing eyes sitting upon his shoulders.

”Nice Murder!” Pin said with a giggle.