A deadly attack was launched from the left side. The deadly attack repeated the process of creating death along its path. Trees fell in the cutting, blood slowly drained from wrists, mud and sand slid down the slopes in the rain, and the noises they made resonated in the depths of the insect nest; the intertwining of the Qiraji's limbs and the blades created a vortex that both swallowed and emitted these resonances. Battle became a distant word, and soldiers had to use their lives to earn the right to fight; before that, all they could and had to do was struggle. It severed a man's neck. It bit into another man's abdomen. These men failed in their struggle, fell, and the faint light of the nest's biological structure reflected their blood in an iron-gray hue.
Bossia avoided this attack from the left; she was very close to this Qiraji and felt the anger in its eyes. It had the momentum to charge forward; Bossia dodged to the right, first cutting off one of its forelimbs, then stabbing her sword into its brain. She was already familiar with combatting these assault-type Qiraji. They had strong forward momentum, often knocking away defenders' weapons and armor, but due to joint movement limitations, they couldn't quickly respond to attacks from the side and rear. As long as there was a chance to cut off one of their forelimbs, their threat would be greatly reduced.
No matter how suitable the combat method was, the relief it could provide was always limited. Bossia almost slipped when she pulled out her sword with both hands, like a child trying to carry something longer than their height but losing balance. She knelt on one knee, used her sword to support her body, took a breath, then finally found a clean spot on her left sleeve, wiped her face, and stood up. This was on a "corridor" attached to the nest's inner wall. She looked up, gazing outside from the distant entrance, and saw that it was close to dusk; they must end the main battle before nightfall. In fact, for the team responsible for clearing the upper part of the nest, the battle was almost over. They began setting up explosives, and a few people retreated to the ground. Bossia was in the lowest part of the combat area, although the nest continued to spiral downward, it was too narrow and dark for the team to enter.
A broken insect wing floated down from above, and Bossia stopped looking, stepped aside, and took a sip from her water bag. She had the opportunity and the right to rest for a while. This area was relatively quiet, with no more swarms of Qiraji emerging; they only had a few hidden Qiraji left to deal with. The fiercest fighting happened in the middle layers of the nest when the human mercenary team had to separate from the main force and delve deeper. They often needed the lighting devices provided by gnome artisans, and the difficulty of the battle largely stemmed from the unknown; they didn't know what was in the unexplored abyss. There were legends of Qiraji humanoids over ten meters tall, walking upright on two feet, lurking deep underground. As the space narrowed, this possibility disappeared, but they did encounter some enemies they had never seen before. They weren't powerful but caused many to feel frustrated—not as mercenaries just seeking pay, but as dignified warriors who didn't want to think they knew nothing about their long-standing enemy.
All those who could overcome this frustration and turn the struggle into battle stood here. Bossia estimated that the squad had probably lost half of its members. This must be very inaccurate, as this was the first time she saw them as a collective. She looked at the few corpses on the ground, trying to recall if they were present when Bassario and the champion were gambling, and where they stood... The longer she rested, the more she couldn't stop these thoughts leading her to sadness, and the insect nest was not a suitable place for reminiscing. The stench and hallucinations gradually seeped into the people and things in her mind.
Not far ahead, Bassario emerged from a narrow passage that required one to bow their head to enter, showing no signs of combat. After the nearby situation eased, he checked each of these narrow passages alone to see if there were still enemies lurking or undiscovered main nests. He looked at Bossia, glanced at the Qiraji corpse beside her, and then approached.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"No."
"We should be able to leave soon."
"Not sure."
He raised his left hand and wiped off a bit of insect blood from her right eye with the heel of his palm. She frowned and moved her head back.
"Don't touch me."
"This hand is clean."
"Stinks."
He must think I'm angry again. Seeing Bassario's expression, Bossia thought. For obvious reasons, she was uneasy, unhappy, but this was different from being angry, though Bassario might not yet understand that he needed to give her some space at the right time. The act of wiping off the dirt was intimate, and in the current environment, all intimate actions would be contaminated.
She fulfilled Marlis' command to "stay by his side." Since they entered the nest, they stayed within a range where they could help each other. As the battle progressed, she began to doubt the necessity because Bassario's sometimes overly dangerous individual actions were protected in the collective operation. She had never seen him fight so smoothly, which also greatly reduced the dangers she faced. She recalled that this squad was carefully chosen by Marlis, and the strength of the others around her—she had the first opportunity to see—made her unsure if she truly deserved to be selected. This unstable mindset eased after they reached the bottom of the nest because the fact was that many didn't survive, and she had the chance to see the battle's end approaching. Now, what troubled her was that others might think she relied too much on him on the battlefield, which was different from the mutual trust Marlis emphasized. She didn't want to be merely someone who was protected, nor did she want him to wipe her face clean before the battle was completely over. Not unwilling, just not the right time.
"I just... this place is really annoying." To avoid deep misunderstanding, she said. "I really hope we can go back soon."
As soon as she said this, she felt a peculiar comfort. Go back. Back to Cenarion Hold. When did that place become worth longing for? Over the years, she had repeated this process many times: arriving at a new place with vigilance due to the unknown, then starting to miss it after leaving, but only two places truly made her feel a sense of belonging. The deeply involved household life in Theramore, and here. If they really went back, she would inevitably be troubled by noise and water Shawltage, but at this moment, it was attractive. What could keep her was not the characteristics of the place, but the people. No matter what others think, I did something remarkable in this battle, and that is surviving with him. I want to go back with him. Bassario's expression became slightly relaxed; she knew he was starting to understand her meaning.
"Don't rest," said Rahol, standing several meters away from everyone. "A group of insects appeared suddenly just now, and there might be more hidden nest entrances. Four people come with me over there, and the rest search this area again. Don't forget it takes a lot of time just to climb back up. If anyone dawdles, they'll have to spend the night in this hole."
As expected, Bassario was the first to walk towards Rahol. She followed him. Rahol looked in their direction and then pointed at two more mercenaries. Since entering the insect nest, he had almost become a different person, showing maturity and steadiness befitting his age. Bossia found it hard to imagine that he was the same person who had brazenly teased her the night before. This curiosity made Bossia constantly observe the relationship between Rahol and Bassario. They hadn't said a word to each other, and Bassario followed Rahol's orders as the team leader, but there was a competitive intent in his actions. Bassario, unaccustomed to giving orders, was naturally not suited to be a leader, but he expressed through his actions that without his execution, Rahol's orders would remain empty talk. Bassario often exceeded Rahol's instructions, such as when ordered to strictly guard a passage, he would quickly finish his own battle and then interfere with other tasks. Now, if they weren't passing through an extremely narrow corridor, Bassario would have almost walked ahead of Rahol.
"There's no way forward," said another mercenary following behind Bossia. She saw a dark red wall in front of Rahol. Rahol touched it, drew his sword, stabbed it in, and cut it open; it was just a curtain-like obstacle. They continued forward.
The narrow passages inside the insect nest always made Bossia uneasy. The biological light emitted by the nest itself, along with the sticky substances on the walls, made her feel like she was inside the innards of a giant creature—perhaps it was indeed so. Not long after passing that barrier, they truly reached the end of the path. On the left side of the end, there was another entrance, and they couldn't see what was inside yet.
"Wait here," Rahol said, extending his palm to signal the followers to stop, and approached the entrance alone. As he leaned his upper body inside, Bassario couldn't help but step forward, and Bossia had to pull him back. "Don't rush," she said. He didn't respond, still ready to move forward at any moment.
About ten seconds later, Rahol pulled back, looked at Bassario, who was closest, then at Bossia. "You two go back," he said.
"What?" Bassario said, quickly shaking off Bossia's hand.
"Go back. There's nothing to see here. You," Rahol pointed at Bossia, "take him back. Hurry."
Trusting Rahol's authority as the team leader, Bossia tried to pull Bassario again, but as soon as her hand touched his shoulder, he shook it off. She didn't understand why Bassario was so determined to compete with Rahol; all she knew was that at this moment, Bassario was greatly resisting the order. He squeezed past Rahol to the entrance and walked inside as if to barge through.
"Damn it," Rahol said, following closely behind Bassario. For the first time, Bossia heard genuine anxiety in his voice. He had particularly emphasized for her to "take him back," meaning the only person he truly wanted to stop was Bassario. Having no other choice, Bossia quickly followed them through the entrance.
It was a large "room," with corners and high walls emitting brighter yellow or purple biological light than the passageways. Together with the intricate patterns on the walls, it revealed an eerie beauty, as if meticulously arranged by human hands. Bassario stood beside her, and Bossia turned towards him, but her attention was quickly drawn to something else.
At first, she thought they were just giant insect egg-like protrusions, structures of the nest incomprehensible to humans. She quickly understood. These egg-like structures were woven from various solid and membranous materials, and through them, human bodies could be seen. Bossia heard slow breathing from a person above her on the left; Bassario and Rahol stood on the right, and the other two mercenaries had not yet entered. She vaguely sensed something there, but due to the stagnation and pain in her brain, she couldn't turn her head to look.