Chapter 146: One by one
Every corner of the island seemed suddenly to close in on the scattered squads of the Black Vale Territory Mana Knights.
On one isolated hilltop, Sergeant Harwin and Private Qali—who had climbed precariously to evade their pursuers—found themselves vulnerable once more.
The roar of the monstrous creatures echoed up the canyon, and from the ridge above, a dozen more tentacle monsters began to descend, slithering around the flanks and sealing off their only escape.
Each step they took triggered falling stones, cutting off the route they had carved with such desperate caution.
Harwin’s heart pounded as he saw the black mass of creatures draw closer—there was no fleeing left. Qali reached for her knife, hands trembling so badly she nearly dropped it.
"Sergeant..." she whispered, voice barely audible. "We... we’ve been surrounded."
Harwin nodded, forcing conviction into his tone: "We hold our ground. We fight. We... we can’t run anymore."
But even as they steeled themselves, the blunt horror of hopelessness swept over them—the world had shrunk to a few meters of rocky ground and the rasping breaths of approaching doom.
—
Elsewhere, Knight Hefta and Lance-Corporal Joss were closing in on what should have been a safer zone—but as they emerged into a muddy clearing, twenty tentacled nightmares flung themselves over the rock-lined perimeter they had hoped to escape through.
Every tree they passed was mobile, every rock hiding another monstrosity.