“I’ll deal with the ants,” the lynx volunteer herself.

Her sister nodded, cast a Cyclonic Barrier on her, and healed her. Then, she headed toward the dryad. More than a liter of blood had been drawn from her, so weakening her even more.

Angrily, Goldmi ripped the thin cylinder from her, and applied Basic Healing. It closed the wound and other small cuts, but couldn’t cure the lack of blood. She didn’t know how to help her.

She inwardly cursed the mage they had just eliminated, and used Visual Link to take a closer look at the situation. There were about thirty ants left, and she didn’t know how many were coming. They could probably hold out there, but the dryad may not survive.

They had to escape, but they couldn’t rely on Camouflage, or dodge between the ants’ legs, as they had to take the dryad with them. So, they needed to clear the path first.

The elf approached, with the dryad in her arms, while one of the ants fell and another took its place. She had kept all the mage’s utensils in her inventory, even the blood and the mage body. She didn’t know if they could be useful to save her, so it was better to take everything, in case there were that possibility.

“I’ll take care of those at the back. Make way for us,” she asked her sister, after laying the dryad gently on a soft bed taken from her inventory, and wrapping her in a blanket. “Her condition is serious. We must get her out of here as soon as possible.”

The lynx nodded. Her body covered in flames pounced towards the next ant, as she was willing to take more risks. The urgency of her sister’s words and voice were evident, the dryad was in danger.

The elf also didn’t hold back. She summoned three Twisters to attack and block the rear, even if that meant draining her mana reserves. She had taken a potion to increase resupply, but it would only serve to buy her a little more time. They needed to hurry.

So, once the nearest ants were eliminated, she began to support her sister, by shooting at the ones that got in her sister’s way. There were nine, and the first of them soon fell. It was Shred by the feline.

The second one, with two arrows in one eye and one in the other, soon lost its balance, when two of its legs were severed. It was then an easy prey for some powerful jaws.

The ants were a single level higher in some cases, or even several lower in others. So, the archer’s arrows powered by Piercing Arrow could easily pierce their defenses. Although they could block some of them, they couldn’t block all.

Therefore, the ants were blinded before or while facing the lynx, as well as other projectiles were piercing their abdomen or the base of their antennae.

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Soon, there were no more than four left, then three, two. At that moment, the archer glanced toward the rear of their enemies, where her Twisters were holding off the ants, and depleting her mana pool. Immediately afterward, she reentered the hideout and lifted the dryad into her arms. When she came out, the penultimate ant had succumbed, while the last one died before she reached her sister.

“Get on,” the lynx insisted, despite her injuries.

They didn’t want to waste mana, but they could share the pain with Life Link, and drink potions, no matter how much the lynx complained about the bitterness. She didn’t dissipate the Twisters until they were more than a hundred meters away. These had annihilated about fifteen ants that, stubborn, had continued to advance through them. Their legs had been severed, and they had fallen on the destructive spell, which had ended up claiming their lives.

Her mana reserves were at the bare minimum, but they had escaped for the time being. Some ants were chasing after them, while others continued to widen the opening.

Up to three ants were encountered along the way, but these were easily overtaken. Between the attacks of the elf and the speed of the feline, they weren’t a great difficulty. Besides, despite the ants were following them, they weren’t fast enough to catch up.

However, what worried them the most weren’t the ants, but the dryad. Her breathing was extremely weak, and they feared that she might die at any moment.

It was then that the tunnel widened, as they reached a kind of huge grotto. Even roots could be seen, which meant that they were closer to the surface.

However, there was a problem. More than fifty ants were there, in a place wide enough to be attacked by dozens of them at once. To make matters worse, the supposed exit was behind those ants, and was being plugged little by little.

Perhaps, they could defend themselves in the tunnel, although they would undoubtedly be attacked on two fronts. However, if they did, the dryad might not survive long enough.

They didn’t know what other possibility they had. They couldn’t face all of them at the same time, and while protecting the dryad. What is more, they would be exposed to the arrival of more ants, so it didn’t seem like a good solution.

It seemed that, so close to escape, they had reached a dead end, and that even their lives were in serious danger.

“Should we help them?” asked one of the shadows.

“No need. They’re close enough to the surface. If the ants kill them, the better. They’ll soon discover their bodies. We just have to make sure that those insects don’t take them away,” explained a second one.

“So, do we help the ants to kill them?” a third shadow suggested, without hiding his desire to do it.

“That would be dangerous. If we get closer, we run the risk of being discovered. We can’t afford it,” the fourth one refused, despite nevertheless also wanting to kill them.

“Well, we’ll have to settle for waiting,” sighed the fifth shadow.

They all wanted to carry out a massacre, especially to destroy the dryad. However, the orders of their lord were clear, and the motives obvious. They couldn’t risk the plans carefully laid out over hundreds of years for a one-off victory, by being carried away by their instincts.

Also, if they feared anything, it was the wrath of their lord. If they made a mistake, death would be a relief compared to the punishment, a relief that wouldn’t be granted.

So, they stood there, while waiting and observing the situation. They were invisible to the ants, the elf, and the lynx, and away from the dangerous surface.