Chapter 249: 249: The Third Wave

The tunnel she entered was dark and filled with a strange warmth, with distinctive vibrations coming from every surface she touched, which only added to the oppressive feeling and Ophelia shivered.

[How far along does it go?] she asked Apollo who travelled ahead of her.

She didn't dare to use her [Heat Sense], because she already knew there were numerous bottom feeders travelling just behind these walls.

As if the sounds they made weren't bad enough – Ophelia imagined it would be much worse to actually see just how many of the creatures they were.

[They go on for much longer.] Apollo replied. [If you don't know the way, it's very easy to get lost down here, so make sure you follow closely behind me.]

Ophelia frowned.

It was unfortunate that she was the one Apollo had turned to for help.

Although she had an inkling they were somewhere beneath the forest. Because the tunnels were recently built, she had no clue how far they went. Typhon was very thorough when he set his mind to things - he would have been the best person to ask.

But as she thought this, she couldn't help wondering why that brother of hers put some light crystals down here? While she could see just fine, some lights would definitely reduce the creepy feeling.

She was about to ask Apollo to stop when she passed a stretch of wall that was devoid of vibrations.

[We need to keep moving, if we want to find the breach quickly.] Apollo insisted.

Yet, Ophelia did not.

If Galahad truly passed here, this would have been the perfect spot to leave the cave, as there was no need to continue further.

And sure enough, after following the wall, she arrived at one of the unused traps directly linked to the surface. Once outside, she climbed out of the trap and found herself in the forest.

[I don't think they escaped through here.] Apollo stared up at her from inside the hidden cavity. [It's too high for them to climb. We need to keep looking below.]

Apollo was talking about finding the escaped bottom feeders, but she was more concerned with Galahad's whereabouts. She hoped he quietly left from this exit, rather than attempt the worst like she was thinking. 

[We'll keep searching.] She said to Apollo. [I just need to check something.]

What were the chances that he left some clue as he passed through here?

Ophelia flew up to the trees to scout. It was the best place to get the full picture of the battlefield. If the bottom feeders were truly leaking out from somewhere, she was bound to find it.

However, the moment she activated [Mana Sense] she detected a large presence up in the trees with her.

Resting high on a branch was a silvery grey wolf. It had its eyes closed, seemingly asleep, but its body was taut with muscle, and it didn't help that the creature was twice as big as a horse.

Of all the things to encounter here!

Ophelia quietly hissed at Apollo to return, hoping the creature had not noticed them yet. But instead of leaving, Apollo climbed out of the hole in the ground to approach her – It seemed he was not aware of the danger.

She quickly rushed down to prevent him from getting near.

But the moment she turned her back, the resting creature opened one eye.

[Get behind me.] Her figure covered Apollo, as the large monster bounded towards them.

With her acting as a shield, Apollo was able to retreat below the tunnel.

[Tell Typhon that I'll be late.] Ophelia called after him, before turning to face the Alpha wolf.

How unlucky!

She already knew this was going to be a dangerous battle, and she couldn't afford to get distracted. Fortunately Apollo was long gone.

----

Back in the cave, the Veladrys had her eyes closed.

Much like the Nymph, she could see past her surroundings by communing with nearby trees. Although her range was not so wide as to encompass an entire forest like the Nymph's, she was able to see some things within the vicinity of the cave, though it was not always perfect.

Sometimes, she only glimpsed blurry bits of scenery and other times she got a full picture, like she was there in the moment to experience everything.

And today, it seemed she was lucky.

When she used her magic, the scenery came to her with clarity, almost like she was present in the forest outside. As a result, it wasn't long before she picked up some unusual activity.

The air around her was thick with the smell of blood. She also heard a canine howling in the distance, and when she focused on it, she saw its jaws dripping with blood.

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Soon a chorus of other howls resounded behind the creature, and not far in the distance, she heard the sound of fast approaching footsteps.

The Veladrys immediately got up, making a beeline for Typhon, and the peaceful atmosphere of the cave soon shattered. More monsters were coming to attack them!

When Typhon heard this he was astonished. It wasn't even a few hours since the second wave had ended. The nestlings around him were still exhausted!

Regardless, he ordered them to get ready to fight, before searching around him for Ophelia. Where was she?

To answer his question, Arsinoe informed him Ophelia had gone to check something in the tunnels with Apollo. She was supposed to come back quickly but Arsinoe saw she wasn't back yet, and her thoughts filled with concern.

How could they go into battle without her? The very core of their strategy depended on her abilities.

With Ophelia absent, there was no one to direct the creatures towards the traps.

Besides, her stamina was yet to recover!

Arsinoe rushed out of the cave to see what they would have to face, and in the distance, she spotted massive hordes of scorpions stampeding across the forest.

They were twice as much as the first wave, perhaps even more. Several large scorpions appeared through gaps in the trees, covering the entirety of the front, while numerous smaller scorpions littered the ground at their feet.

Arsinoe hissed at the sight. 

How could there be this many, when they should have been reduced?

It wasn't just the lack of Ophelia that affected them – the sheer amount of creatures was enough to put the battle in disarray as there weren't nearly enough teams to kill so many. Even if Ophelia was here, controlling this many creatures would be a mammoth task.

All the captains watched with her, their faces a mixture of horror and fear.

Fortunately, this didn't last for long.

As they watched, Typhon began to erect a wall riddled with spikes, to slow down the creature's approach, but he didn't seal them off completely. He left narrow gaps in the wall close to where each trap was laid so the creatures could filter through at a slower pace.

The Veladrys was also with him, and several more creatures like her had appeared, together they were more than all the nestlings combined. With this many creatures they were sure to win.

Seeing this, Arsinoe regained her confidence. If Typhon wasn't afraid, it would be silly of her to be. She immediately became alert and rushed towards Cygnus and his protégé.

[Don't forget our bet!] She confidently declared.

Since Ophelia wasn't here to direct the creatures, they would have to do it by force. Besides, she had an old score to settle! 

Seeing her composed demeanour, her fellow captains and their teams split off to the separate entrance to subdue the creatures.

Arsinoe wanted to increase her strength, so she and her team made their way to the centre of the wall. However, she had stiff competition in the form of Cygnus whose flying form moved as quick as lightning. He and his team seemed to have the same idea, and they also headed for the same place.

Unfortunately for Arsinoe, they could all fly, so they sped past her team with ease.

Once again, her vision was covered in darkness as the smiling serpent flew past her, and Arsinoe gritted her teeth. It was that strange attack again!

The eyes of one of the large scorpions was covered with shadows as the serpent leapt on it, before long it died from several poisonous bites and the serpent quickly moved on to the next, leaving Arsinoe trembling with rage.

They weren't allowed to fight each other except during sparring matches, but this serpent seemed not to care as much for rules.

In her anger, Arsinoe lashed out at the smaller scorpion, killing several at the same time with a spinning tornado of a water blade that cut through their bodies. Soon the ground around her was littered with corpses.

Since that serpent was bold enough to challenge her, they would battle it out with victories, to see who levelled up first. With nothing else to kill, she sped off towards the wall where, yet another large scorpion was about to come through.

However, while this fierce competition was going on, another team was facing some difficulty.

Ana, the captain leading Morgana's team, was caught between two larger scorpions. Her team had tried to lure one of the larger scorpions into one of the traps but was stuck on what to do when another of the larger scorpions followed the first into a trap meant for one.

Although she had evolved, she was still inexperienced in leadership and the control of her magic, combined with her team's exhausted state, they were trapped when the two monsters attacked together.

Typhon was alerted to the problem by a Veladrys observing the battlefield, and he defeated another of the scorpions before heading over to and rescuing them.

However not long after, that same Veladrys received a dangerous warning from her Queen Mother.

There was a creature of immense speed heading their way. It appeared to be a type of scorpion creature, only smaller, with a hardened reinforced hide and a bladed stinger dripping with deadly acid.

Consequently, as soon as Typhon left, the creature appeared above the wall.

With a spray of highly corrosive acid, a large section of the wall collapsed, bringing a swift end to the controlled flow of battle.

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