Kilian could hear the noise of the creatures getting closer, and he continued to address the others with a serious tone to the point it was commanding.
"We know they are big, we know they have talons or a long claw of some sort, and we know with that size they can't move fast through the dense trees."
Their fast retreat through the trees was the only thing that had kept them from being skewered.
Even now the image of his training partner hanging in pain with eyes asking him to help was trying to take over his mind.
He slapped his cheek, he could not let his mind wander now.
"There".
Kilian pointed to a cluster of trees dense enough to create a half circle big enough to stop one of the creatures, but the gap between them was enough for something the size of humans to easily slip through.
"I will lure one there, when it gets there, use what little magic we got to make lights."
Kilian could not use magic to create lights, but even commoners had some degree of mana flowing within them, and several of the others could create small hovering lights.
"Take note of its features, and then run, run all you can back to camp."
They were not far from camp, in reality, these creatures were dangerously close to the camp, and it was a wonder they had not attacked already.
'Are they waiting, or do they just not care?'.
From the tales, these creatures in the forest were killing everything and everyone in their paths.
The stories had only made it to the knights because of the half-dead bodies found, though they had been too scared to explain properly what had happened before they died.
Kilian stepped out from the cover of the tree trunk and the others scurried over behind the tree line he had pointed out.
His blade was raised, but he felt silly holding it towards darkness where he could not see the enemy.
'They must have noticed me.'
The noises of the creatures had slowed down as if they were observing him, waiting.
Then the shadows all stopped moving and the large bodies Kilian could faintly see stood still.
Something large barged through the trees in front of him, and the horror of its features made Kilian's stomach turn.
A large body with multiple long legs ending in talon-like feet was hovering over him. Dark fur was covering the body, and several eyes were located right above a mouth with fangs.
'This, no this is too much.'
Kilian stepped back, afraid to look away from the arachnid-looking creature that was observing him like he was dinner.
The eight legs moved the large body closer to Kilian.
"Kilian get away from it!"
Cal was yelling from behind the trees, and Kilian turned on his feet and set off.
Large talon-like legs stabbed into the ground near him, and he could feel the presence of the creature right behind him.
Kilian ran in past the treeline and found the others standing there with their small dim magical lights, staring back at what was behind him.
"Let's go!"
Kilian yelled not slowing down, but in that instant a leg made it through the gap in the trees, stabbing through a brown-haired guy next to him.
Suddenly the whole forest was moving and Kilian grabbed Cal, who had frozen in place again as if he had already given up on making it out.
"Just run!"
Kilian kept screaming at Cal and their other companion, focusing on guiding them through dense areas, while the sound of the forest being ripped apart neared them from behind.
His legs were in pain and the weight of dragging Cal with him who now was running at a sluggish pace was hindering his movements.
"Cal, just a little longer, we are almost there."
Kilian was not lying, he could in fact see the magical lights of the outpost outside the camp.
He looked back, only Cal was still with him, and he realized they had lost the other on who had been with them.
'When did he get attacked?'.
Kilian cursed inwardly.
The trees became more widespread, and the forest neared its end right before a small field by the road to the outpost.
He could almost taste the relief.
The hand in his was ripped away, and the loss of balance made him fall and roll on the ground.
He looked back, seeing a giant spider-looking creature hovering over Cal, whose thigh had been pierced by a long sharp leg.
They had almost made it, the border of the forest was only a few steps away.
'I should scream.' He thought quickly, but only a hoarse sound escaped his lungs.
"Kil" Cal was calling him.
Kilian gritted his teeth and got on his feet with his hand securely around the handle of his blade.
'Dante taught me better, and Rayden expects more of me, than.. This..'
It all only took him barely a few seconds to decide before he ran back and fell to his knees on the muddy ground, sliding and slicing his sword up through the front and lower parts of the spider over him.
It was not a deadly wound, but the pain was evident through a loud scream from the creature.
It released its prey and stepped back, trying to stab at the new inconvenience that was Kilian.
"Go"
Kilian did not look back at Cal but he heard how the young man got up and ran off.
He avoided a leg coming at him and set off in the same direction towards the edge of the forest.
"Screech!"
Several more screams were heard from the creature, but to his relief, it did not follow him when he made it outside of the tree line.
'Why is it not following?'
His mind was focused on the outpost where Cal had already been received by confused knights, and he did not care what decisions a creature like that made.
Several knights had assembled at the outpost when he arrived.
The screams of the creature in the forest had probably alerted them, and finding Kil and Cal's half dead covered in dirt and blood did not help the anxiety that was spreading through the knights.