Chapter 84: Escape!
The battlefield was still steaming with the reside of slaughter as chunks of abyssal flesh was laying strewn across cracked stone, slowly fading into withering wisps of corruption.
Broken armor, torn banners and blackened marks also scattered across the room, while injured men and women huddled together, quickly working to get themselves healed up before another ambush occurs.
The crater Damon had left behind still pulsed with residual energy, each flicker of space bending unnaturally before fading back to stability.
The silence that followed was very unnatural. It still felt as if everyone was caught in shock from being betrayed by someone they had worked with for so long, and the sight of Damon absolutely destroying the Abyss.
As the unsettling silence continued on, Captain Bren finally decided to put an end to it, taking charge of the situation, "Everyone," he called out, his voice rough from shouting but firm with authority.
"That’s as far as we go in this mine." He said.
He didn’t need to repeat himself.
The soldiers and specialists who had survived looked up in exhaustion.
They knew this wasn’t a retreat from cowardice, it was survival, the risks of continuing to go forward were far too great, especially with their position exposed, there could be abyssal reinforcements on their way.
Bren turned, speaking louder this time so all could hear, "Gather anything useful. Crystal shards, reforged alloy, untainted mana cores. You’ve got ten minutes. The injured, try to heal yourself as much as possible. Then we’re leaving."
He turned back toward the ridge, where Damon stood silently, wings of shadow still barely flickering behind him.