Adam's eyes narrowed as he clearly saw Aaron gulping down his saliva. His fingers were trembling and his body displayed unrest as he rushed back, without raising noise.
What might have he seen that made the knight commander quiver?
Endevil used its perception ability and notified that whatever it is, is beyond its range at the moment. The armour also assured that it's not hostile in nature.
'Thanks.'
Aaron came back with a delighted grin. The trio could only glance at each other and wonder what made him exhilarated.
"I found our way home." The knight commander didn't even bother to catch his breath.
"Home? You mean a portal?" Thalia verbalised her curiosity. The reply was a vigorous nod.
But the next second, his delighted demeanour faded.
"But there's a small problem." Without hiding his frown, Aaron spoke.
Watching the faces frowning at his words, he didn't say anything more but asked them to take a look themselves.
Curiosity and confusion crept up Adam's mind as he stepped forward to walk. But Thalia had already overtaken him and went ahead. Thus he followed her tail and reached the edge of the valley.
Peeking out, the duo's eyes widened as they saw a massive portal spanning over at least a few kilometres standing at a distance. The vague sight of greenery that misfits the barren texture of the Stygian Realm was unmistakably from the overworld.
Yet...
"How the hell are we supposed to cross that sea of monsters?" Thalia felt disheartened as she lowered her eyes.
Adam glanced at her face before focusing back on the spatial overlapping. Though it expanded over a large area, he saw the edges of the portal crumbling and shrinking at a faintly discernable pace, thanks to the armour's visual enhancement.
Just as the duo was about to retreat back to where Aaron and the soldier was, the portal produced a humming note. Followed by that, the translucent surface of the rift became clear lucid and perceptible.
The rift opened!
"..." The elf was stunned as she beheld the innumerable mutated beasts and tarragons walking into the gateway. An armada of spectres also joined in the venture with their unique high-pitch cry.
Aaron's eyes reflected panic as he stared at the charging stampede. He came to the edge after listening to the humming noise. Never in his wildest dreams might he have expected such a colossal force of beasts.
The sea of animals resembled the wild beasts of the continent. The fierce mane of lions, the intimidating growl of tigers and the unyielding strength of bears were simply unmistakably evident. The humanoid skeletal structures of werewolves and orcs and harpys standing upright throughout the battlefield in clusters didn't skip their sight.
Where the hell did these beasts live? How did they survive in this harsh climate? What did they eat to live?
While Thalia and Aaron were dumbstruck about the size of the invader forces, Adam was pondering about other aspects. Since it hasn't been even a month since his transmigration, his concern naturally inclined towards the creatures' habitat and appetite.
As the trio stood there frozen, about 90% of the Stygian races had exited through the portal. The entrance's shrinking pace had considerably decreased.
It was then Thalia pointed in a direction and probed, "What are those beings?"
Aaron and Adam followed her line of sight and saw some figures standing on top of a distant mountain. Their numbers were certainly below a hundred and their figures were hazy from the distance.
But the earthling saw their faces clearly. The physique that closely resembled the civilised races of the continent seemed simple and puny on the outside, but their powers were significantly exponential to what meets the eye. Adam could swear that he saw their energy almost materialising around them. Like coiling serpents, the translucent ribbon-like constructs orbited around those strange existences.
With the assistance of the visual enhancements, Adam saw their faces. It closely resembled the residents of the overworld. Unlike the fiends and spectres, they were well clothed and neat. The skin complexion displayed the transition between grey and white with an aura of dignity.
They aren't normal opponents. We won't be a match for them!
The revelation struck Adam like thunder and his breathing hastened. His mind became uncomfortable as he realised their helplessness once they are to fight them.
"We need to escape quickly."
Pulling the duo from their investigative trance and into the shade of the valley, Adam conveyed the necessity to escape from the Stygian Realm. Thalia was earnestly surprised to see the man who wreaked havoc among the tarragon army trembling like a tender leaf facing a gale.
While she was constructing assumptions and hypothesises in her heart, Aaron stepped forward and calmed his unrest before probing.
Adam felt trapped in between the sea and the devil.
If he didn't provide a plausible explanation which is not the truth, the duo would hesitate to escape as quickly as possible. If did provide the actual explanation, the truth, then he would be surely questioned now or later.
The tug-of-war almost reached a culmination and Adam was about to spat out the truth when Endevil interjected. [Adam, please repeat after me.]
Like the fairy of hope descending at the times of despair and disaster, Endevil's cleverly constructed yet uncomplicated fabrication of wittily knit vocables was repeated by its master, word by word. Whenever the armour paused, the master paused. Whenever the former emphasised a word, the latter was sure to follow the path.
"So you're telling me that you can feel the aura of wild animals and ruthless beasts even from a distance?" Adam's reply was a nod.
"And you can feel that the being on that distant hill is at least ten times powerful than we all combined?" The monotonous response emerged again.
"If we don't exit the portal soon enough, they'll capture and kill us." Adam turned to Thalia and agreed with her statement.
"If that's the case, then do you mean that the tarragons that we met at the stronghold are inferior to these creatures?" The knight commander questioned.
The earthling turned to him and replied, "The tarragon's advantage is their large built. With their scary demeanour and elemental affinities, they instil fear in the hearts of the opponents. Thus their victory in psychological warfare adversely affect the competitor and plummets the challenger's morale. That was the reason why our side was forced to go on defence and why our offence softened.
As creatures solely depending on brute strength, the sudden rise in our morale restored our war spirit. The battle reaching a stable development sowed seeds of doubt and apprehension in their hearts. That was how the tides changed. They overexerted themselves resulting in abrupt collapse. You both should have seen them crawling away, right?"
Even the poisoned soldier who had a livid expression on his face was pondering over the words of Adam. Effortlessly, he was able to deduce that the berserker's words were concise and precise. He also indirectly pointed out their weakness, the urge to survive through any means.
Noticing a hint of doubt still looming over Aaron's face, Adam added. "I detected their frail mind behind the facade so that's why I charged in without hesitation. But those beings...even if we are to live for another thousand years, we will never be able to match for their strength. So the best we can do is escape from the Stygian Realm and inform of this impending disaster to the outside world."
The last shred of uncertainty disappeared into the horizon and the duo raised their eyes and nodded.
"But how do we get to the portal?" The fourth person in the squad, the poisoned soldier, raised his curiosity.
The reply came after a few seconds of silence and it was more like a clear verdict.
"We'll make a run for it."
The heads turned to looks at the female elf in puzzlement. Noticing the confused gazes, her solemn voice revealed her plan.
"There is at least half a kilometre between us and the portal. A direct sprint will be equivalent to digging our own grave. There aren't any rocks or boulders to give us cover. So...we need a decoy to distract the eyes staring at the portal. If we can somehow create a ruckus in another direction, that might prove beneficial for our escape."
Thalia's brows knit as she finished her words. "What we need is something extraordinary, something earth-shattering. A decoy that can lure the heads in."
Aaron got what she's conveying and he shook his head. "I can't agree with you. That is pure madness. All four of us needs to escape out of this hell. We already lost enough men, we can't risk another."
Meanwhile, Adam was having a conversation in his head while simultaneously listening to the knight commander's words.
'Are you sure I can pull it off?'
[Yes. And if you don't believe me, take a look at your status.]
Adam tilted his head in confusion.
'Okay. Status.'