While the humans were digging above, the beast people were waiting below. The construction's center, where all the tunnels intersected, was now full of corpses. Since no other team came in for a while, the garrison was getting restless.
"Captain, I propose we take all our troops and rush the surface. For all we know, the humans may have already left."
"We would have heard from Princess Amelia if they tried. Just, be patient."
Suddenly, the guard captain felt a surge of mana coming from his dimensional pocket. He pulled out a glowing orb and accepted the connection.
The glass showed a wide and tall room. On one end there was an entrance with an imposing door. On the other, an old woman with black cat ears and a tail sat on a giant throne. To her left and right, 8 smaller chairs were arranged in a semi-circle, yet only 7 were used.
"My Queen." The captain and everyone present kneeled obediently.
"Since the humans seem set on wasting our time, I've sent another platoon to cut off their escape paths. They will attack by nightfall, and you will join them from below."
The woman's tone was apathetic and straight to the point. All around her, princes and princesses were watching with interest.
"Leave their leaders to my daughter and her pet, and keep casualties to a minimum. That is all."
The orb went black before the captain could utter a response.
"You heard her, right?" he said after getting up. "Tomorrow, we're going home!"
Everyone cheered in slightly hushed tones, so the enemies wouldn't hear them. The initial purpose of these caves and tunnels were to build a path straight into humanity's territory. They could use it for espionage or for sneak attacks if necessary.
However, months of work had suddenly gone down the drain when a bunch of humans raided it a couple of weeks back. With the secret revealed, there was no longer a point in keeping this place standing.
Even so, the Queen ordered its garrison to remain in case more humans returned. Up until now, everyone thought this was their punishment for not discovering the raid. Who would have thought the humans would indeed return?
"Everyone, ready your weapons." ordered the captain. "The second we hear those weaklings scream, we're going up."
Though the troops under Nolan had no way of knowing what was about to happen, an eerie silence was present all around the camp. Something was definitely wrong.
They were in the middle of the forest, yet not a single creature had bothered them since they got here. A quarter of their comrades were missing. And for a while now, for some unexplainable reason, they felt watched.
If rank 1 and 2 mages could tell something was up, Nolan and Magnolia were especially nervous. The concentration of mana within the area had been steadily increasing.
They were exposed on all sides, yet the few mana beasts that got somewhat close to their location, had all turned around. Were they afraid of their troops? Maybe, but normally they would return with reinforcements.
When the sun began to set, the troops were supposed to set up camp for the night. Instead, they all kept digging trying to relieve their nervousness.
"Enough!" shouted Nolan. "Set up the tents. We'll continue tomorrow…"
Suddenly, traces of an enormous amount of mana permeated Nolan's skin. Stunned into silence, the peak rank 3 mage looked up.
The sky seemed empty. There were no clouds and the sun had almost hidden beyond the horizon.
"What's going on, dear?" asked Magnolia.
The pressure they both felt was growing stronger and stronger.
"I don't know… Everyone, prepare for combat!" Despite not seeing anything, he trusted his guts and ran his circuit.
10.000 feet in the sky, the beast people's princess noticed their movement.
'A bit late for struggling, isn't it?' While Amelia chuckled, what seemed to be giant soap bubbles were dropping out of her mana beast's beak. Like an endless row of grapes, the transparent balls covered the entire field.
"Dear...?" Unfortunately, by the time Magnolia saw the first ball drop, it had already reached their soldiers. Before long, screams were heard everywhere.