The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: The Rival Teams Make Their Move

The other group had already been moving through a different section of the dungeon for some time, their pace steady as they cleared one monster after another.

They had collected a respectable number of cores, but the expressions on their faces showed that none of them were satisfied with simply doing well.

This was a competition.

And as long as another team remained ahead of them, their own progress meant very little.

One of the students glanced at the score board attached to the monitoring crystal they had been given.

"We’re still behind them."

"By how much?"

"Not enough to ignore."

A few of them exchanged glances.

The strongest among them remained silent for a moment, his eyes shifting toward the passage that their rival team had taken earlier.

"They’re moving quickly," he finally said. "If they continue at this pace, we’ll have trouble catching up."

"Then we should slow them down."

The words were spoken calmly, almost casually, but the atmosphere around the group changed.

One of the others raised an eyebrow.

"You mean interfere with their hunt?"

"Not directly."

He looked toward the dark passage ahead before continuing.

"This dungeon has plenty of monsters. We don’t need to fight them ourselves. If we disturb the right area, the creatures will move toward another section."

"And if that happens to be where their team is?"

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Then they’ll have to deal with whatever comes their way."

There was a brief silence.

Nobody objected.

After all, there was no rule stating that the teams had to make things convenient for one another. The objective was to collect as many cores as possible and reach as deep into the dungeon as they could before the time limit ended.

If another team became overwhelmed because they had encountered too many monsters at once, that was simply part of the competition.

One student gave a quiet laugh.

"You’re really planning to send a monster swarm toward them?"

"Only enough to make them lose time."

"And if they can’t handle it?"

The student’s smile widened.

"Then we won’t have to worry about competing with them anymore."

A few of them laughed under their breath.

They continued forward until they reached a wider chamber where several passages branched away from one another. The walls were covered with old cracks, and faint traces of monster activity could be seen around the edges of the room.

One of them crouched down and examined the ground.

"There’s a nest nearby."

"How many?"

"Hard to tell, but judging from the tracks, quite a few."

That was enough.

The student standing at the front looked toward the passage leading deeper into the dungeon, then slowly turned his attention toward the direction their rival team had taken.

"Good."

He drew his sword.

A small amount of mana gathered around the blade.

"Don’t kill them."

The others understood immediately.

They struck the surrounding stone instead, sending several sharp impacts through the chamber.

BOOM!

CRACK!

The disturbance traveled through the dungeon.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then came the sound.

SKRRAAA...

Several low growls echoed from the darkness.

The students stepped back.

More sounds followed.

THUD... THUD... THUD...

Something was moving.

A lot of somethings.

The group quickly withdrew from the chamber and returned to the previous passage, leaving the monsters to emerge from their nest.

One of them looked back and couldn’t help laughing.

"Looks like they’re awake."

"Let’s go."

They turned away without another word.

Behind them, the dungeon began to stir.

And somewhere farther ahead, completely unaware of what had just been set in motion, the other team continued deeper into the dungeon.

The student at the rear glanced back one final time, a faint smile still resting on his face.

"Let’s see how well they handle that."

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The passage ahead opened into a wider chamber, and for a moment, none of them noticed anything unusual.

Then something moved in the darkness.

Skrrr...

Another sound followed.

Skrrr... skrrr...

Lyra stopped.

The others immediately followed her gaze.

Dozens of small red eyes slowly appeared between the cracks in the stone.

Then the creatures began crawling out.

One.

Five.

Ten.

Then far more than any of them could count at a glance.

They were Cave Fang Spiders, creatures roughly the size of large dogs, their dark bodies covered in hard chitin and their long legs clicking against the stone as they poured out from the passages ahead. Their numbers were the real danger; there were simply too many of them occupying the narrow chamber.

"That’s a lot..." Beale muttered.

More spiders emerged from behind the first wave.

SKRIT! SKRIT! SKRIT!

Lea’s expression tightened as she raised her sword.

"There’s no end to them."

"They’re coming from both sides," Ron said, glancing toward the walls.

For the first time since entering the dungeon, the group found themselves facing something that couldn’t simply be dealt with by attacking a single target.

Lyra took a quick look around the chamber before raising her sword.

"Don’t let them surround us. Stay together and keep the rear protected."

Her voice remained controlled despite the sheer number of monsters approaching.

"Ferdin, Beale, take the front. Charlie, Abel, stay between them and cover any opening. Lea and Ron, watch our sides. I’ll deal with anything that breaks through."

Everyone moved immediately.

The spiders rushed forward.

SKRRAAA!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Ferdin stepped forward and swung his sword.

SHING!

A concentrated arc of mana tore through the first spider, throwing its body aside.

Another immediately replaced it.

Beale met it before it could reach them.

CLANG!

Its fangs struck his blade, the force pushing him backward.

"There’s more coming!"

"I see them!"

Charlie moved in from the side and cut through the spider’s exposed abdomen.

SLASH!

Dark blood splattered across the stone.

Two more leapt over the fallen creature.

Abel intercepted the first while Lea caught the second.

CLANG!

The impact forced Lea to slide several steps across the floor.

"Too many!"

Lyra immediately stepped forward.

"Fall back three steps!"

They obeyed.

The formation tightened just as another wave rushed into the chamber.

SKRIT! SKRIT! SKRIT!

Lyra swung her sword.

SHING!

The nearest spider was thrown off course, crashing into another creature behind it.

"Now!"

Ferdin and Beale advanced together, striking the opening Lyra had created.

SLASH!

SLASH!

Two monsters fell.

But another five immediately rushed forward.

Ares watched the battlefield carefully.

So that’s what they’re doing.

His eyes briefly shifted toward the passage behind the swarm.

Do they really think I wouldn’t notice? What a cheap trick.

There was no natural reason for this many Cave Fang Spiders to suddenly converge on their position, especially after the previous area had been relatively quiet.

The disturbance had been deliberate.

It’s clearly the other group behind this.

Ares sighed internally.

They must have disturbed the nest and forced the monsters toward us. Not exactly subtle, but I suppose that’s what a competition does to people.

Another spider suddenly slipped past Ferdin.

"Behind you!"

Ares raised his hand.

A thin layer of Eclipse energy spread across Abel’s body.

His movements sharpened instantly.

Abel turned.

SHING!

His sword struck the spider directly in the head, killing it before it could reach the formation.

"Thanks!"

"Keep moving," Ares answered.

He didn’t have the luxury of simply watching anymore.

The group was strong enough to handle the spiders individually, but the sheer number was beginning to wear them down. Every time one monster fell, another seemed ready to take its place, and maintaining their formation while fighting continuously was becoming increasingly difficult.

Ares extended his hand again.

A faint glow passed through the group.

Their breathing steadied.

The fatigue in their limbs eased enough for them to maintain their pace.

"Good," Lyra said. "Push forward. Don’t waste time fighting every monster. We only need to clear a path."

That was exactly the right decision.

Instead of attempting to kill everything, the group began advancing through the swarm, cutting down only the creatures that blocked their path.

Ferdin drove one away with a powerful strike.

BOOM!

Beale immediately finished another.

SLASH!

Charlie moved behind them and intercepted a spider that attempted to climb along the wall.

CLANG!

Abel followed with a precise thrust.

THRUST!

Lea and Ron covered the sides, preventing the creatures from closing around them while Lyra constantly adjusted their direction.

"Right side!"

Ron turned.

SHING!

"Two coming through!"

Lea stepped forward.

CLANG!

One spider was knocked away, but the second managed to slip past her.

Lyra moved before it could reach the others.

SLASH!

Its body dropped heavily onto the floor.

"Keep going."

The group continued.

Ares remained near the center, providing support whenever someone was pushed back or their movements became sluggish.

They’re handling it well.

He watched as another spider was cut down.

Still, there are far too many.

His mana continued flowing.

One enhancement.

Then another.

Then another.

He deliberately slowed his breathing.

If I keep doing this without showing any signs of fatigue, they’ll start wondering.

Ares lowered his hand slightly.

His expression became strained.

"Wait..."

Everyone glanced toward him.

Ares placed one hand against his chest and took a deeper breath.

"I’m running low on mana."

Lyra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"How much?"

"Enough to keep supporting you, but I can’t maintain this pace for much longer."

Of course it’s a lie.

Given how vast my mana capacity is, this kind of spell is nothing.

But revealing that would be a much bigger problem.

Lyra immediately adjusted her approach.

"Understood. We’ll finish the remaining ones ourselves. Save what you have."

Ares nodded.

"Right."

The spiders surged again.

Without waiting for another command, the group tightened their formation and met them head-on.

SKRRAAA!

Ferdin’s sword flashed.

SHING!

Beale struck immediately afterward.

SLASH!

Charlie and Abel moved together, covering the opening between them.

Lea and Ron held the sides while Lyra remained at the center, directing their movements with short, precise commands.

"Left."

CLANG!

"Now."

SLASH!

"Advance."

The formation pushed forward.

One by one, the spiders fell until the swarm finally began to thin.

Ares lowered his hand and watched the remaining creatures retreat into the darkness.

Around them, the stone floor was covered with the bodies of the defeated monsters.

Nobody celebrated.

They were too busy catching their breath.

Lyra looked toward the passage ahead.

"We’re moving."

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