As Leo walked inside the castle, making his way towards the Emperor's room, he could hear the chaos that had gripped the entire structure.
Sounds of men screaming and weapons hitting walls could be heard throughout the place, as Leo knew at that moment that his 'Snake Plan' was working just as he had envisioned.
*********
(An hour ago, The Royal Castle)
The castle had been in a state of uneasy vigilance for hours, ever since Leo began to flamboyantly fight in the streets of StrongHaven City, however, this vigilance reached a fever pitch the moment he infiltrated the castle walls.
With Denver instructing them all to be on high alert before he himself joined the fight, guards constantly patrolled the hallways, their heavy boots echoing against the cold stone floors, as every corner of the vast structure was manned with soldiers, their weapons at the ready as they awaited orders.
The chaos outside had demanded their attention, but unbeknownst to them, the real nightmare was actually about to unfold within the castle.
It started small…..
With just another soldier patrolling the hallway, who suddenly felt a strong itch in his leg, followed by a sharp stinging sensation all over his foot.
"Motherfucker—" he cursed, jerking his leg as off flew a tiny green snake, causing him to panic.
"What the hell?" He wondered, as he quickly tried to stop the blood from around the bite wound from circularing, however, just as he leaned down to clutch his leg, a heap of snakes suddenly fell over him from the ceiling, biting him at several locations.
"AGHHHHHH—"
The soldier said, letting out a blood curdling scream as he alerted the entire palace, and garnered the attention of his partner who was walking not more than ten paces ahead.
"Gabe?" His partner said, turning with confusion, however, by the time he turned, he could only see his friend drop to the ground dead, with snakes slithering all over his body.
"Huh?" He wondered, looking around in panic, however, before he could react, another snake emerged from the shadows above, striking his neck with deadly precision, as he too met the same fate as his friend, dying a mere couple minutes after being bitten.
By the time the reinforcements arrived from hearing the screams, it was too late to save the two soldiers who were bitten, as slowly but surely, screams began to be heard from every corner of the castle, as more and more people began to be bitten.
In another hallway, a soldier wiping sweat from his brow paused after he heard a faint hiss.
He squinted into the dim light, his eyes scanning for the source of the sound. But before he could even draw his sword, a snake coiled itself around his arm, biting deep into his flesh.
His screams echoed down the corridor, summoning reinforcements that would never arrive on time, as the situation only progressively got worse.
Snakes poured from every crack and crevice within the castle.
They slithered through the ventilation grates, spilled out from beneath loose stones in the walls, and even emerged from the toilets in the castle's deserted bathrooms.
One by one, the soldiers fell, their formations breaking as panic spread faster than the venom coursing through their veins.
"Snakes!" one soldier screamed, his voice ragged with fear. "They're everywhere!"
Another group of guards tried to solve the snake issue by confronting them in a larger corridor, their shields raised and spears at the ready. But the snakes were relentless, striking from all sides.
A few spat venom into the eyes of their opponents, while others kept moving relentlessly until they dug their fangs into their opponents.
For every head the soldiers severed, three more seemed to take their place, as the entire palace was converted into a warzone.
As minutes passed, desperation began to set in for the royal guards, as they tried to get rid of the snakes through any means necessary.
Fires were lit in a futile attempt to burn the snakes, but the flames only trapped the soldiers in a hellish inferno.
Eventually, the castle became a war zone within a warzone, as its once-strong defenders were reduced to terrified prey.
*******
(Present Moment, Leo)
Leo heard the chaos long before he saw it.
The muffled screams, the frantic shouts, and the unmistakable hiss of serpents slithering through the castle echoed through the west entrance.
As he approached, the sounds grew louder, more vivid, painting a picture of utter mayhem inside.
As he strode into the first main corridor, the chaos hit him like a wave.
A group of soldiers sprinted past him, their faces pale with terror, their weapons abandoned. They didn't even notice Leo standing in the shadows, as their focus solely seemed on escaping the nightmare that had consumed the castle.
Leo smirked as he walked deeper into the halls, his eyes scanning the scene with cold detachment.
The floors were littered with bodies—some writhing in pain as venom worked its way through their veins, others already still, their faces frozen in expressions of agony.
"Are you seeing this Dumpy? This is called preparation and planning…. It's important in missions as big as these" Leo said, as Dumpy nodded in understanding.
"It's most impressive master. These tiny beasts are weak alone, but in hordes they can be troublesome" Dumpy said, as he gave a silent nod of acknowledgement to a snake who was biting into a human soldier's nose.
"Ooo… master, look at that one!! Should we help?" Dumpy said, pointing towards a royal soldier who was locked in a desperate struggle for his life.
The soldier sliced at a snake coiled around his arm, the snake's fangs still embedded in his flesh, while his partner tried to help, only to scream as a second snake wrapped around his neck, squeezing the life out of him.
"Nah… they've got this" Leo said, as he stepped over the carnage with ease, his movements deliberate and unhurried.
His snake plan was working better than he had imagined, and he was thoroughly enjoying every second of it.
'Efficient little killers,' he thought, his lips curling into a faint smile as he passed a pile of corpses surrounded by hissing serpents.
"Feeding them all for all these months was worth it…." Leo said satisfyingly, as he finally felt like the cost of raising them all these months had paid off.
—------
/// A/N - Weekly Mass Release Counter (2700/15000) 18% completed.
Special shoutout to bukli_arjullai for the donation. ///