Nytri's heart race as she is carried by her clones, she knows there's no way to fight. She chooses to organize their movements with a strategy. They are in a forest as they can hear the sounds of fighting behind them.
Nytri sends her focus to the DATA LAKE, she organizes the vision of her clones to form a 3D-live map of their surroundings. The map is made to span for thousands of kilometers which inadvertently created something else without her noticing.
Nytri stands over the map as she sees herself being carried by the clones but there's darkness around them. "Guys spread out. 10 should advance ahead in a straight line while the 5 spreads to my left and right. 2 Should move behind us incase we're being followed and the last 2 should move to the sides of the first Me."
The clones move in that order as they spread out. 1 clone carried Nytri while the rest spread themselves enlarging the map. Clone12 prompts Nytri, "Hey, there's the automata and golems with us."
Nytri has forgotten about them since she only sees through her clones. "Right, I'm linking them to the map." After a while the portion of the map behind Nytri becomes clearer and bigger. About 30 Assassin automata are following with golems reaching 150. "That's all that could manage to follow. Still better than nothing."
She starts to order the small group behind her. "Listen up. The Clockwork Assassins should spread out around us like a circle and enlarge the map. Notify me as soon as you detect anything that looks or even seems dangerous." The Automata nods as they spread out in a semi-circle with Nytri's clones as the center. She gives more commands.
"Sentinels surround us. All gearheads are to provide support to the Assassins and slow any threats that gets past them. Obsidian Golems, activate stealth and scout above us. I need eyes in the sky. Diamond Golem shield all my clones. We'll be moving at full speed in 15 seconds, those who can't keep up should spread out and cover as much land as possible. Make sure you don't move beyond my range." They move quickly, the Obsidian golems have wings so like fans. They are fast and light. The Diamond golems move quickly and act as shields around every clone, keeping a distance of 5 meters around them. Some automata and golem lack speed so they stay back or move in different directions so the map increases.
Time is up and they run at full speed but something is different. "Why? We're moving at full speed but it feels like we aren't even trying." This is the realm of monsters, what is fast and strong in the mortal realm is slow and frail here. They are moving like super cars unlike the lightening motion in the mortal realm. "Okay whatever. Make sure no one uses EP, that's how they noticed us."
They move through the forest then a warning comes from a clockwork assassins ahead. Nytri relays it to the group. "There's trouble ahead, I'm finding a new route." She checks the map far ahead and notices that the assassins to the Wast side haven't detected any threats but the threat ahead seems to be coming from North East.
"Move West." The whole group turns as those behind slow down trying to maintain the semi-circle and those ahead speed up to maintain the shape. This formation is good as it allows her to detect all threats outside it, but what if they move and a gap is formed. The terrain isn't flat as some are hills and even cliffs, lakes and other places. One of those places is a swamp and they missed it. The scouts in the air also have it rough since a fog covers some places, the fog almost seems unnatural.
3rd clone ahead of Nytri encountered danger. "Aarrghhhh! A Swamp! There's a monst- "She stops speaking. She appears in the DATA LAKE, "There's a swamp up ahead and some fish tentacle thing lives in it." Nytri quickly gives the order, "Hard West!" they all stopped and made a 90-degree West so she didn't meet it. They didn't rotate anymore and moved with the formation still facing their previous direction but moving West. They rearranged themselves after they felt safe.
They move for 5 minutes before an Obsidian golem in the sky reports a monster ahead of them. Nytri is able to see the size of the monster as it is a mammoth monster. "Turn East, Use the branches." They started running on the branches of the trees. "The trees are bigger than I remember, maybe too big." The trees are indeed big as some could reach 5 kilometers and even higher, they are moving about 700 meters to 1 kilometer on the tree branches.
After a while a clone disappears from the map and that place becomes dark. "What the heck happened?!" the clone appears in the DATA LAKE, "Something pierced me, I couldn't see its body but the weapon looks like a branch."
Nytri grits her teeth. "Aerial scouts focus on that area. Show me what's there!" The Obsidian golems fly above the spot as it appears on the map, a red figure appears there signifying threat. The threat is a plant monster, no a tree monster. The entire tree is a monster. "SHIT! DROP!"
They drop from the trees as another clone is pierced to her side. The golems who couldn't keep up act at that moment, they use large scale runic circles as they release as much EP as possible. What happened next horrifies Nytri. "The forest has these many monsters. C….Can I even survive?"
The clone carrying her shouts in the DATA LAKE, "SNAP OUT IT! You won't know until you try it!"
The words touch Nytri as she smiles. "Alright" she speaks up, she regain her composure. "We're trying a new formation. It might be slower but am damn certain it'll work. The wheel formation."
A monster tide is around them as monsters big and small are running towards the fighting golems. Some ignored them but the numbers are way over 5,000 at this point and they are the small fires. Nytri shares the formation with them, "2 clones ahead will stop after every 15 seconds and observe the area while we catch up to them. When I pass them, they follow and join those before me in a line. I want 1 clone above us in the trees and 1 on the ground, it's dangerous but try to hold on. The Obsidian automata will move in the same manner. I'm shrinking our range as some move above us and below. Those ahead will hold a position for us to pass and they join, those to the side do the same rotating like wheel. Sync your movements with me as the center." They nod as their movements changed.
The map that could reach 1 kilometer shrinks to only about 300 meters as they move like a wheel with Nytri at the center. Those ahead will hold a position and look around for threat, those following will pass them as they join the formation. They also repeat the same movement above her as they move clockwise and anti-clockwise. This minimized the casualty rate, although she lost some golems and automata, none of her clones were lost. Though at this point the clones are left with 10 out of the 20 she was moving with.
Despite the situation she is in, she couldn't summon more help. It would mean death. Nytri kept watch on the map and sees a large mountain ahead with spikes over it. Strangely there are no trees around it. "A mountain? The place looks suspicious but as this point, I'll take any chance I get. Aerial scouts, move ahead and check if there's any place for a base. Assassins check to see if the threats ahead and around the area are too dangerous for us. The rest, slow down until I'm certain it's okay for us." The obsidian golems fly ahead as the Clockwork Assassins follow and they check the area for anything that looks like a threat.
They check the area around the mountain which is like 800meters, and no monster is around it. "This is really scary. I hate to this. We'll make a base there."
The clones are shocked, "WHAT?!" a clone continues, "That place literally screams danger! Why would you choose there?"
Nytri takes a breath, "That's why I chose that place, the most dangerous places tend to be the safest. I found that out in the dungeon, it's probably just one monster that's scaring everything away. We just move in quietly and try to live as if we're bugs, it won't even give us any attention."
It makes sense to the clones, "You're right, no one goes out of their way to kill an ant." The decision is taken.