The tunnel extended beneath them, now visible like a dark artery cutting through the sea of cores.
The displacent of the enormous rock masses had left massive spaces that had taken the sea of cores to a lower depth than ever, exposing the previously hidden tunnels.
When Elio announced the retreat through the tunnel, it wasn't to hide, as despite everything, the tunnels remained the best way to run without being interrupted by cores in the path.
The escape route was clear, but the number of people complicated any organized retreat. Elio observed the almost two hundred soldiers and builders, knowing a difficult decision was inevitable.
The retreat order didn't have the expected effect.
More than a hundred soldiers remained in their positions, including Milo's group and Enid. The pride of those who had contributed to the tunnels was stronger than their survival instinct.
But Elio had a more urgent concern.
"Zara," Elio extended the Fire King's core toward her. "I need you to take this to the city."
"What? No!" Zara stepped back, her eyes burning. "If soone should stay to fight..."
"It has to be ," Elio interrupted. "I'm the only one who can cause them enough damage to keep them occupied. If we don't distract them, they'll go after the core and more people will die."
"Then I'm staying with you!" Zara insisted.
"Zara's right," i intervened, though her voice betrayed her concern. "You can't handle 10 alone... You need our power here."
"No... Von Elio," Aria stepped forward. "You should take the core. You're too valuable to..."
"And who will stop them?" Elio's question cut through the air like a knife. "Who can do enough damage to make them take us seriously?"
A tense silence followed his words. The Artromus continued circling above them, like predators waiting for the perfect mont to strike.
"I'll take the core," Diana broke the silence, her voice firm. "Zara clearly won't leave, and we need soone strong from the main team to protect the core."
Elio looked at Zara, searching her eyes for any sign she would change her mind. He found only iron determination.
With a knot in his throat, he extended the core toward Diana.
"LISTEN EVERYONE!" Elio's voice resonated over the group. "Your mission is to protect that core at all costs! Take it to the city! That's an order!"
Of the almost 100 remaining, only 50 departed to escort Diana.
But when Diana left with the core, the artromus decided they would have none of this. The core couldn't escape.
"NOW!" Elio shouted while the main group unleashed all their power, forcing the artromus to face them. "RUN!"
Diana clutched the core to her chest and launched toward the tunnels, followed by the troops. The artromus tried to pursue them, but a new wave of attacks forced them to keep their attention on the combat group.
Annoyed at being prevented from pursuing, the artromus attacked the defending group as one. The air filled with elental magic as they descended in formation. Earth spears, fire projectiles, and wind blades cut through the space between them. The power of their attacks drew screams of pain from the defenders; the system armors barely contained the damage.
A choked cry marked the first casualty. A wind blade found a soldier's neck. His head fell before his body.
"Maximum perception!" The shout repeated through the ranks as dozens of eyes began glowing crimson. A rain of counterattacks rose toward the artromus, who danced in the air dodging most projectiles as if it were a ga.
But it was just the beginning.
Several artromus dove down, ignoring attacks that bounced off their divine armors. Their weapons sang, severing limbs of soldiers who barely managed to interpose their arms to save their lives.
The speed difference was brutal: the Artromus's 50 points turned their movents into lethal blurs against the defenders' standard 10 points.
So soldiers, accustod to moving with impulses, reached 20 or 30 speed points. But they were the minority, and enhanced perception only allowed them to see their death coming when unable to move their bodies in ti.
Two more soldiers fell, their bodies shattered by simultaneous attacks from multiple angles.
Enid launched an iron spear at an Artromus approaching frontally. Her attack was precise, but she didn't see the wind blade approaching her back. Death whistled toward her neck when...
The sound of tal against magic resonated behind her. Elio had appeared like a ghost, his four-elental sword dissipating the lethal attack.
"Take the wounded!" His voice cut through the battle's chaos. "The main group will take one Artromus each! Those who want to stay will be support... but you'll have to decide your combination right now... Don't die unnecessarily!"
Blood dripped from his eyes from perception forced to its maximum, but his posture betrayed no weakness while evaluating the ten enemies surrounding them.
♢♢♢♢
Monts before...
The awakening was abrupt. Ten figures erged from the light sphere crowning the new barrier, their divine armors gleaming under the god-filtered sky.
"Disorienting," Zentros, the group's leader, murmured while his senses adjusted. "The temporal seal is... unpleasant."
"How much ti has passed?" Zynthor stabilized in the air, his multifaceted eyes scanning the horizon.
mories flowed back: the Queen, her orders, their mission. The seal's activation could only an one thing: humans had conquered the four weakest deposits.
"Not long," Zantem responded, his voice mixing disgust and surprise. "The parasites have progressed faster than expected. Four deposits in barely a century."
"Orders are clear," Zentros drew the group's attention. "Total elimination if possible, if not... Ten level 10s each. Or the last king's core. Either will prevent their evolution..."
"We'll split up," Zentros decided. "Zantem, you're with . Zyr and Zalvek, to the eastern deposit. Zenthor, Zynthor and Zareon, to the west. Zerdan, Zyval and Zantril, to the north."
"And if we find nothing?" Zyr asked.
"Convergence at first contact point," Zentros responded. "We'll use the ntal network to coordinate, though we spend mana these parasites won't be able to intercept orders this way."
The groups separated, their 50-point speeds making distance trivial. Zantem and Zentros were first to make contact.
"Movent at the fire deposit," Argon's voice resonated in the collective mind. "We have them."
From their elevated position, they observed the human group. The scene was almost comical: one playfully tossing a blue core while celebrating.
"Pathetic," Zantem murmured. "They don't even maintain guard."
"The other deposits?" Zentros asked ntally.
"Empty," Zynthor confird. "Converging on your position."
Below, a muscular human caught the core and handed it to another who seed to be the leader. His system armor shone with a radiance that pretended to emulate the Goddess's divinity.
"That must be their Von," Zentros observed. "See his sword? They've fused the false Artromus's weapons."
"Impressive," Zantem admitted. "For parasites."
"The others will arrive in seconds," Zentros calculated.
"You suggest...?"
"We eliminate the leader, take the core. Simple and effective."
Zentros considered the situation. "The Queen would appreciate the efficiency."
"And it would be... satisfying," Zantem added, a cruel smile forming under his chitinous face. "To see them lose that stupid satisfaction face one last ti."
"Agreed then," Zentros gripped his sword. "You from the right, from the left. A clean cut."
"Head rolls, core falls," Zantem nodded.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
The two Artromus descended like lightning, their divine weapons singing in the air. Victory seed assured until...
"Impossible," Zentros hissed when the leader dodged the first attack.
"His eyes," Zantem noticed. "They're bleeding. He's forced his perception beyond the limit."
"Interesting," Zentros's voice resonated in their minds as the rest of the group approached. "These parasites might be more entertaining than expected."
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