Chapter 64: A High Tier Monster!
Another rift was forming inside the rift.
And something was already moving behind it. Ethan stared at the widening crack, his heart pounding violently against his ribs.
Then a pair of enormous glowing blood shot eyes slowly opened within the darkness. Causing the entire battlefield to go silent.
*****
Everyone instinctively steadied their weapons as they waited for whatever was hiding inside the Rift to finally emerge, their bodies tense and their attention fixed entirely on the distorted and unstable rift before them as they waited for whatever had been lurking inside to finally emerge.
From the pressure coming from within, it was obvious that something powerful was there, and judging from the occasional roar that rolled out of the Rift, nobody was willing to assume that whatever was hiding inside was harmless.
Yet nothing came out.
The seconds stretched into nearly a minute, but the creature remained hidden beyond the Rift’s boundary, refusing to reveal itself despite the overwhelming presence everyone could feel. Instead, another deep growl occasionally echoed from within, each one carrying enough force to make the surrounding ground tremble faintly beneath their feet.
"What the hell is it waiting for?" one of the Sentinels muttered, his weapon raised as he stared warily into the rift.
No one answered him, because everyone was wondering the same thing.
’What exactly was inside there, and why wasn’t it coming out?’
Nobody had an answer, but before they could spend much longer trying to figure it out, another growl suddenly came from the Rift.
This time, something else happened.
A strange surge of spiritual energy spread across the battlefield.
Ethan’s attention was immediately drawn towards the monsters they had already killed.
One of the creatures lying several meters away suddenly twitched.
The monster’s body jerked violently against the ground, its claws scraping across the stone as the wounds covering its body began closing before their eyes. Torn flesh slowly knitted together, broken bones shifted back into place, and the spiritual energy surrounding its body surged until the creature suddenly pushed itself upright.
It was alive again.
Another corpse moved. Then another, and another.
Another roar came from the rift and the regeneration accelerated.
A monster that Ethan had watched fall only moments ago suddenly pushed itself upright, its previously severed arm already restored. Its body looked even larger than before, its muscles swollen beneath its corrupted hide as an oppressive wave of spiritual energy rolled off it.
Ethan’s stomach dropped. How the hell was this happening?
"They’re regenerating..."
Within moments, several of the monsters that had already been defeated were regenerating right before them, their bodies restoring themselves with every growl that came from the Rift.
But that wasn’t even the most disturbing part.
They looked stronger.
The spiritual pressure radiating from their bodies had increased considerably, while several of the creatures now had additional crystalline growths covering their limbs and backs.
"They came back?" someone shouted in disbelief. "Didn’t we already kill these things?"
"What the hell is really going on?!"
The question barely left the blue-eyed Sentinel’s mouth before the battlefield erupted into chaos.
There was no time to stand around wondering about the cause.
Zane, Drey and the Sentinels around them reacted almost simultaneously, rushing forward before the creatures could break through their formation. Weapons collided with claws, spiritual abilities exploded across the battlefield, and the previously organized group was immediately thrown into another chaotic battle.
Ethan could barely process how quickly everything had changed.
The monsters they had already defeated were now attacking them again, only this time they were faster, stronger and far more aggressive than before.
One Sentinel managed to cut deeply into a monster’s side, but before he could deliver another strike, the creature swung its enormous limb into him and sent him flying several meters across the battlefield.
His Guide immediately rushed towards him, kneeling beside him and beginning to stabilize his condition while another Sentinel stepped forward to keep the monster away.
Elsewhere, two more Sentinels were forced backwards when a pair of monsters attacked them together, their weapons barely managing to block the relentless blows.
The situation was quickly turning against them.
Ethan’s eyes moved across the battlefield as he watched Sentinel after Sentinel being thrown back by the monsters, some suffering serious injuries before their Guides rushed in to stabilize them, while others were forced to retreat temporarily before returning to the fight.
Even Zane and Drey were struggling to keep the creatures contained.
Drey drove his weapon into one monster’s body, forcing it backwards, but another immediately lunged at him from the side. He twisted just in time to block the attack, the impact forcing him several steps backwards.
Zane appeared beside him almost immediately, striking the creature away before it could continue its assault.
The two of them barely had time to react before another monster charged.
There were simply too many of them.
Ethan swallowed hard. This wasn’t going in their favour.
At all.
They had already killed these monsters once, yet they had returned stronger than before, and there was still something lurking inside the Rift that hadn’t even shown itself.
If this continued, they would eventually be overwhelmed.
Commander Zarek seemed to reach the same conclusion.
He had been fighting near the front of the formation, but after seeing several of his Sentinels thrown back and watching the monsters continue regenerating, his expression became increasingly grim.
They couldn’t keep fighting like this.
Their formation was breaking apart, their Sentinels were being injured faster than their Guides could stabilize them, and the creatures showed no sign of slowing down.
Zarek suddenly raised his weapon.
"Everyone, fall back!"
The command rang across the battlefield.
Several Sentinels immediately disengaged, retreating towards the designated positions while the others covered their movement.
Zarek’s eyes swept across the battlefield before he shouted again, his voice carrying over the roars and clashes.
"Switch formation!"
The Sentinels began moving into position.
Then Zarek gave the order that immediately made several experienced Sentinels straighten.
"Use the Monster Barrier Locking Formation!"