Tristan looked at the large red vortex of monsters coming toward him, his hand holding Yue to prevent her wounds from reopening.
He thought with melancholy, 'If I could use Shadow Aura on her too, I could take her away, and these damned creatures probably wouldn't even see us.'
Between Blood and Darkness magic, Tristan believed he would have the advantage within the shadowy tunnels.
But in his current situation, his actions were limited.
He looked at the bats, his eyes tracking their movements precisely. Tristan spread his vital energy throughout his body.
As the red vortex was just seconds away from reaching him, his arm moved so fast it was a blur.
One, two, five… Tristan attacked fiercely, and any bat that came close enough to his sword was instantly sliced in two. Drops of blood splattered on him, staining his face and uniform.
Tristan felt his arm ache, but he didn't stop; instead, he attacked with even more ferocity.
The bats pulled back, flying around him, encircling him as they tried to strike from different directions.
Fortunately, Jaeng had already arrived. His sword, infused with wind power, pierced the creatures and scattered their blood into the air.
"Be careful; don't let them wound you," Tristan said to Jaeng.
"You didn't need to tell me that. I wasn't going to let these damned things touch me," Jaeng replied with a grin.
The two fought together against the beasts, and though they tried to avoid injuries, both ended up hurt. There were too many creatures; no matter how fast or alert they were, some bats managed to get close enough to bite them.
Tristan saw blood from a wound on his thigh fly toward a bat's mouth, and it seemed to increase the creature's vitality.
Jaeng had far fewer wounds than Tristan, but his situation was also far from ideal.
Both realized they couldn't hold back, and they spent a large amount of essence to end the fight as quickly as possible.
After a grueling battle, there were no more bats in the sky; some had fled, but most lay in piles of bodies on the ground.
Tristan and Jaeng were exhausted and sweating, but the relief of victory was clear on their faces.
With the battle over, Tristan went to check on Yue. She was pale and cold, covered in bite marks, though fortunately, none were too deep. He tried to use his Light essence to heal her wounds to the best of his ability, but her condition didn't seem to improve.
'I need to take her to a real healer.'
He picked her up in his arms, preparing to use some essence to carry her due to the difference in their weight.
The miners watched the scene with evident astonishment, as if they had just woken up from a nightmare.
"Did you really come here to save us?" one of them asked.
"Of course, why not?" Tristan replied.
'Not like we had anything better to do.'
***
A few minutes later, Tristan, Jaeng, and the miners were walking through the tunnel. Tristan was carrying Yue, and one of the miners held her oil lantern.
As always, Tristan led the way, every detail of the tunnels evident before his eyes.
Thanks to the regenerative power of his Light cultivation, his superficial wounds were almost entirely closed.
He turned his face toward a small stone falling from the ceiling, and a faint tremor spread through the tunnel.
"An earthquake?" Tristan murmured.
"Oh no, not again," one of the miners said in distress.
'I don't think this is a good sign.'
Tristan looked up and saw more slimy bats appearing on the tunnel ceiling.
He clicked his tongue and said, "Damn it, how many of them are there?"
Thinking about what he could do, he handed Yue to one of the miners.
"Here, take her and get out of here."
Yue had already lost a lot of blood, and it was important to keep her away from those creatures.
The miners were frozen with fear, their bodies trembling like twigs swaying in the wind.
"GO! Get out of my sight!" Tristan shouted.
The restrained anger in his voice had an effect, snapping the miners out of their terrified state.
One of them nodded nervously and took Yue.
Tristan watched the miners regain their composure and leave the tunnel. He and Jaeng positioned themselves at the tunnel's exit, drawing the monsters' attention.
Soon, the tunnel ceiling was covered with bats. Tristan noticed an expression of pain on Jaeng's face as his wounds reopened, staining his clothes even more.
Tristan thought of saying something but hesitated; he wasn't good with motivational words. Even so, he tried. He cleared his throat and said, "Uhm… hang in there; we can beat these things. It shouldn't take long…"
His words were cut off by a deafening sound echoing through the tunnel. Jaeng collapsed, covering his ears, his body writhing in agony.
Tristan tried to cover his own ears as hard as he could, but he still felt excruciating pain, as if someone were hammering his brain. He could barely stay standing.
With his heightened senses, he detected something coming from above. He dodged backward, moments before a part of the ceiling crashed where he had stood. He looked up and saw that the tunnel was collapsing.
The bat monsters flew nimbly, dodging every falling rock with fluid movements.
Tristan looked down at Jaeng, still lying on the ground. Seeing his temporary companion unable to react, he ran over, grabbed his uniform with one hand, and picked up the fallen oil lantern with the other.
His muscles filled with essence; Tristan's arms and legs swelled slightly. After a deep breath, he tried to dodge all the falling rocks as he carried Jaeng.
At that moment, he could only rely on his enhanced vision and strength to survive.
His body moved constantly; he had no second of rest.
It wasn't an easy task, but it seemed like he could manage until, on his next step, his foot slipped to the right—he had stepped on a rock!
He tried to regain his balance, but the extra weight made it difficult. His body leaned forward, and he used his left knee to cushion his fall.
As he attempted to stand up again, he caught a glimpse of a large rock dangerously close.
A black mist swirled around his leg as he flipped backward and swung his leg toward the rock, shattering part of it and sending fragments flying in all directions.
When he landed again, he noticed the tunnel seemed more stable.
Tristan let out a sigh of relief.
He looked at the tunnel entrance, noticing that part of it was blocked but not entirely closed.
However, that feeling didn't last long. From a hole above the tunnel, a flood of slimy liquid poured out.
Tristan's heart pounded.
That blood-like liquid was forming into a creature much larger than the other bats, sending chills down his spine.