This situation could hardly be worse.
If they couldn’t regroup the Mercenary Company members in time…
Given the sheer numbers of Cave-Dwellers and their night vision, while it shouldn’t be enough to wipe out the Blue Crow Mercenary Group, it would still cause them a great deal of trouble and damage!
“Damn it! All of you, follow orders! Listen to my command!!”
Blue Crow roared furiously, but in the very next second!
“Alyshaba!!”
Bang!
Crash!!
“Ugh!”
The sound of light armor clashing and a heavy thud echoed by his ears again.
Turning his head, Blue Crow saw that their formation had been breached as well!
Damn it!
If only they’d follow the commands he’d given, this battle wouldn’t even be that difficult!
Why is this bunch…
Whoosh——!
Blue Crow was still complaining in his heart when a sharp stone spear, from who knows when, stabbed down at him from above at an angle!
He was being attacked?
Of course…
Even if the two sides couldn’t communicate, the one shouting the loudest and waving his arms the most on the battlefield was always the commander!
This seemed to be a universal law among all intelligent beings!
“Shaba! Die! You vile intruder!!”
The one attacking Blue Crow at this moment was none other than the Cave-Dwellers’ Chieftain, his body covered in tattoos!
It looked like he had jumped down from the Giant Rat just as it charged!
“Ugh…”
Blue Crow’s reaction was far from slow.
He twisted his body sharply!
The stone spear scraped past his shoulder armor!
Clang!
Sparks flashed, bringing a bit of brightness to the dim cave.
“Die!!”
Taking advantage of the missed attack, and the split second when the enemy couldn’t adjust his position in midair, Blue Crow seized the opportunity and slashed upward diagonally with his longsword!
Whoosh——!
A cold gleam flashed!
Judging by the toughness of the Cave-Dwellers he’d slain before, this strike should have been enough to split the Chieftain in two!
Blood should have sprayed everywhere on the spot!
Clang!!
But…compared to when the stone spear grazed his shoulder armor, the explosion of sparks was even more intense this time!
Blue Crow even felt the webbing between his thumb and forefinger split open from the impact!
It was as if his sword hadn’t struck flesh, but had hit the stone wall at full force…
“Ugh!”
Instinctively, he took two steps back, gripping his weapon with trembling hands.
“Uh…Shabakuri…”
The Cave-Dwellers’ Chieftain, having just been “whacked,” was also bewildered.
He had intended to kill the enemy commander, hoping that would make the humans retreat…
But clearly, the opponent’s reflexes and skill were beyond his imagination.
His sneak attack failed, but he…hadn’t been killed in return?
And…
Bang!
Landing, the Chieftain instinctively looked at his right shoulder and waist…
There…at this very moment, sharp, pale purple crystals were sprouting!
They looked dazzling, like diamonds.
“You…you ate a Rock Dragon Egg?!”
Seeing this, Blue Crow could no longer keep his composure!
Turning one’s body to stone or crystallizing—this was an ability that could develop after becoming a Transcendent using a Rock Dragon Egg as the medium.
And now, this ugly, frail Cave-Dweller in front of him had gained this power…
Could it be, the Rock Dragon Egg they’d worked so hard to find had been swallowed by this guy?
But…that couldn’t be…
Without a specific ritual or medicine, how could these Cave-Dwellers, with just their stone spears, axes, and fangs, possibly break open a Rock Dragon Egg’s shell?!
Of course…
In front of him!
Not only would his questions go unanswered, but even if he shouted them out, the Chieftain wouldn’t understand a word.
But even if he didn’t understand, the Chieftain himself was clear.
He wasn’t a Favored One, just the leader of the tribe’s warriors, the Chieftain of the Tribal Village…
But in the whole tribe, there was indeed a Favored One…
“Shabaru…Great Priest…Could it be…the Great Priest has awakened!?”
“Squeak squeak——!!”
Just as this roar left his mouth, the two-meter-long Giant Rat behind him, covered in wounds, forced its way forward to his side.
Whoosh!
The Chieftain grabbed the Giant Rat’s mane and quickly climbed onto its back, raising his spear high!
“The Great Priest…The Great Priest has awakened!! In the Tribal Village’s time of crisis…The Giant Tree has not abandoned us!! We are devout followers!!”
“Roar awoo awoo!!!”
Countless Cave-Dwellers, locked in bloody battle, let out sharp war cries, and their morale soared instantly!
“Get lost…”
Bang!
At the same time, with a kick, Nolan sent a charging Cave-Dweller flying, but suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
He instinctively looked in a certain direction.
Over there…behind the Cave-Dwellers’ guards, was the so-called “Dark Tunnel Tribe.”
At the far end of the dim cave…a hunched figure slowly emerged…
The wind blowing through the cave stirred something on its body…
Some kind of fur-covered garment or…
No, its body was already covered in feathers!
“That is…”
Though he could only see the silhouette, Nolan’s instincts screamed a warning!
That one…was a spellcaster!
A Transcendent!!
There was a Transcendent among these Cave-Dwellers!?
“Loki!”
Without hesitation, Nolan called out to the youth beside him…
“Huh? What’s wrong, Nolan?”
At that moment, Loki was still fending off a few Cave-Dwellers with his guard, firing his hand crossbow now and then to help.
Crystals!
Marks!
“There’s a Transcendent among the Cave-Dwellers! We need to organize everyone and retreat now!!”
“Huh?”
Loki didn’t understand what Nolan meant at first, but the next second, he was suddenly alarmed!
“A T-Transcendent!? You’re not joking…”
Crack crack crack!
But before he could confirm whether this was true, the Cave-Dwellers they were fighting suddenly began sprouting pale purple crystals all over their bodies!
“Alyshaba!! Shaba!!”
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!!
The crystals acted like armor, rendering the Mercenary Company’s weapons ineffective.
All they could do was leave white marks on the surface.
“Shaba! The Great Priest has truly awakened! The will of the Crystal Giant Tree lives on!! A new era for the Dark Tunnel Tribe has arrived!!”
With the Transcendent’s power aiding them, the Cave-Dwellers roared in excitement, momentarily forgetting to attack!
Some even ignored the enemies in front of them, turning to kneel and worship deeper into the cave…
“Now…now! Right now! Everyone, regroup! Regroup!!”
Blue Crow finally found a chance to catch his breath and shouted at the others!
Thud thud thud!
Amid panicked footsteps and clashing weapons, the Blue Crow Mercenary Group managed to regroup once more.
But this time, they didn’t charge, nor did they take up an offensive formation.
“Huff…Blue Crow! Hurry…get out of here! There’s a Transcendent in the Cave-Dwellers’ Tribal Village!”
Finally reunited with Blue Crow, Nolan quickly summarized what he knew…
Of course, even if he hadn’t said it, everyone could guess the situation…
Those crystal-armored Cave-Dwellers, impervious to blades, clearly had abilities no ordinary creature should possess.
“Huff…”
Blue Crow was covered in wounds, his eyes full of unwillingness…
But faced with the current situation, he could only grit his teeth and say…
“……Retreat!”