"Mathew!" the other mbers of the group yelled in horror as they rushed toward the pit their teammate had fallen into. Blood covered his body, staining his clothes and the sharp blades hidden inside the trap glistened nacingly beneath him.
Although Mathew had managed to save himself from being completely pierced by the knives in the pit, his hand had taken the full force of the attack. He had instinctively thrown his arm forward to stop himself from falling deeper, causing so of the blades to slice deeply into his palm.
Groaning painfully, Mathew used his remaining strength to push one of the knives away before finally collapsing into a sitting position inside the pit. His face twisted in agony as he clutched his injured hand tightly, trying to stop the bleeding while harsh breaths escaped his lips.
Not far away, their group captain, Erik, remained unconscious on the ground. His injuries were far worse. Blood soaked through his uniform while his complexion had turned frighteningly pale, leaving the rest of the group in a desperate state of panic.
Several mbers imdiately tried pulling Mathew out of the pit, but no matter how hard they tried, they failed. The trap was deeper than they had expected, and the sharp blades surrounding him made it impossible to drag him out safely.
A young man with dirty blond hair stood nearby with a pained expression etched across his face. Darren carefully held Captain Erik’s head on his lap, staring at the unconscious man as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
For a few seconds, Darren remained silent, his jaw tightening with helpless frustration before he gently lowered Erik’s head onto his folded jacket. Then he rose to his feet and walked toward the others who were still struggling to rescue Mathew.
"I’m very sure the owner of this bunker is inside," Darren said grimly. "And I’m certain they activated the trap because we tried forcing our way in. Whoever lives here clearly isn’t weak... and honestly, I don’t bla them. We need to apologize as I believe they have what to save our captain."
"Apologize?" Albert asked with a mocking scoff.
The young man with long black silky hair folded his arms across his chest, disbelief written all over his face.
"We’re military n," he continued coldly. "Whoever is hiding in there isn’t even our match. If not for those monsters attacking us earlier, we wouldn’t be in this pathetic situation."
His eyes swept across the bunker compound before he added bitterly, "And if our base wasn’t still so far away... if there weren’t supplies and dicine inside this bunker that could heal Captain Erik and the others... we wouldn’t even be standing here begging."
"Forget about pride for once, Albert," Darren snapped imdiately, seriousness dominating his tone. "Our captain’s life and our brothers’ lives are far more important than our egos right now."
Albert’s expression darkened, but Darren continued before he could interrupt.
"We’ll kneel if we have to. We’ll beg the owner of this bunker to co out and help us." Darren’s voice grew heavier with emotion. "Captain Erik won’t survive if we continue this journey in his condition. Hell... we’re not even certain he’ll survive at all."
Darren clenched his fists tightly at his sides before speaking again.
"But now heaven has given us another option. If we truly want help, then we need to humble ourselves."
The surrounding n fell silent.
Even Albert, despite his arrogance, could not deny the truth in Darren’s words.
Without wasting any more ti, Darren slowly walked closer to the bunker entrance, careful not to get too near in case more traps had been hidden nearby.
Then, to everyone’s shock, he dropped to both knees.
The other group mbers stared at him for a mont before guilt and desperation overwheld their pride. One after another, they stepped forward and knelt behind Darren in complete silence.
Only Albert remained standing.
His arms were still folded tightly across his chest while he stared at the scene before him with an expression of disbelief. An irritated scoff escaped his lips.
He truly could not believe what he was seeing.
Yet, as he looked at Captain Erik’s unconscious body lying on the ground and then at Mathew still trapped inside the pit, Albert slowly felt his stubbornness waver.
These n were not kneeling for themselves.
They were doing it for their captain.
For the man who had always protected them. The man who had treated them like brothers instead of subordinates.
And now that sa man stood at death’s door.
If abandoning their pride and kneeling could save him, then perhaps it was worth it.
Albert shut his eyes briefly before letting out a frustrated sigh.
Without another word, he walked toward Darren... then slowly lowered himself onto his knees beside him.
"You’re right... our captain’s life is at stake here," Albert finally muttered in a low voice.
Darren imdiately nodded, a faint but relieved smile appearing on his face after hearing those words. At the very least, Albert had finally put aside his pride.
Without wasting another second, Darren straightened his back while remaining on his knees.
"Please help us!" he shouted loudly toward the bunker gates. "We’ve co to you for help because you’re the only one capable of saving our captain... as well as the rest of us!"
"Please help us!" the other soldiers chorused behind him.
One after another, they lowered their heads until their foreheads nearly touched the ground. Their voices echoed with desperation and helplessness.
anwhile, Ivy sat comfortably inside her bunker, calmly watching everything unfold through her system screen while her children, Pearl, and Sunny remained busy playing nearby, completely unaware of the chaos happening outside.
Earlier, she had been the one who activated the hidden trap beneath the soldiers. The trap never opened on its own unless she personally commanded it to.
A mocking scoff escaped Ivy’s lips as she leaned back in her chair lazily.
"I thought they wanted to barge in earlier," she murmured to herself in amusent. "So how did they suddenly end up kneeling now?"
Her gaze casually swept across the kneeling n before suddenly stopping on Darren.
The mont her eyes landed on him, her expression slowly changed.
The more she stared at his face, the more familiar he seed.
It felt as though she had seen him sowhere before.
But where?
Ivy narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, resting one hand beneath her chin.
"Where do I know him from?" she muttered under her breath.
Then suddenly....
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Darren?!"
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