Chapter 85: The Circle Closes

Chapter 85: The Circle Closes "Ah! Monsters are coming up!" "Run! Run for your lives!" "Save... save me..." "..." Eleven terrifying red skeleton monsters silently crossed from the other side of the giant sand dune and surrounded them for a massacre. Each one gave off an absolutely terrifying aura with bone-crushing strength. Their left hands held large shields, easily blocking the traitors’ various attacks; Their right hands wielded greatswords at lightning speed. With each sword flash, a traitor got cut in half, their remains falling on the sand with sizzling sounds. These red skeleton monsters were lightning-fast and formed a tight circle. Within moments, severed limbs flew across the top of the dune. Screams and cries of terror rang out non-stop as the remains of over ten traitors scattered everywhere, with more getting added... "Boss! Can’t... can’t get out! What do we do!" Some traitors tried to break through the Redrose Shield Guards’ circle, but it was a pipe dream. The attack range of the eleven Redrose Shield Guards almost formed a solid wall in a crescent shape, rapidly closing in. Once any traitor entered their attack range, they would instantly become mincemeat, adding nutrients to the sand. ... "Boss! Can’t break through!" "Boss... boss! These monsters look... look just like the one down there!" "..." "Damn it! Where the hell did these monsters come from!" Murr’s instincts detected a deadly threat. Each red monster was definitely way beyond what he could handle. Breaking through was hopeless. Taking advantage of some slower traitors above buying time, Murr led the traitors in a mad retreat downward. Even though below was a rampaging monster tide with a red skeleton monster inside, it still offered better odds of survival than getting chopped to pieces! "Hahaha! You’ll all have to die with us!" The Psionics burst into laughter. They had thought there was no chance of taking everyone down with them, but who would have thought such terrifying monsters would suddenly show up! The sudden disaster left the traitors with no mind to deal with these Psionics. They focused entirely on escaping, afraid that being even a second late would get them caught by the monsters above and killed on the spot. Besides, when the monsters above came down, could these Psionics still make it out alive? The Psionics barely dragged their beaten-up bodies to gather around Captain Lezhe. Basse helped Lezhe up and gave him a bottle of low-grade healing potion. The bleeding from Lezhe’s wounds slowed down somewhat. "Cough cough, didn’t expect we’d get to live a few more minutes." Sibel coughed up blood, looking ahead with calm acceptance. The skeleton monsters above were slaughtering the traitors and constantly getting closer. Her companions stayed quiet. The process of waiting for death wasn’t exactly fun. Loris nestled in Demi’s arms, pale from losing too much blood, weakly acting spoiled: "Sister Demi, I want to hear you sing ’Sand Homeland’ one last time." "Alright, sister will sing for you." Demi stroked Loris’s hair and began humming softly. A graceful, beautiful song rang out on this sand dune... The surrounding companions couldn’t help but close their eyes. In life’s final moments, they seemed to return to their hometown once again. Those handfuls of yellow sand, playing children, beautiful oases... The creaking sounds got closer and closer. The song gradually reached its end... A 10-foot-tall shadow covered them! A terrifying skeleton monster with crimson patterns on its body looked like something straight out of hell. "So beautiful. Everyone... after we’re reborn... I still want to be with everyone..." The youngest, Loris, had tears filling her big eyes. At the last moment, she was still scared—scared of dying, scared of being separated. "Definitely!" The others looked at each other and smiled, responding together. Demi and Sibel placed their hands on Loris’s small face, enjoying the final warmth. Lezhe, Basse, Samba, and Sambo punched each other’s chests, making a final pact... The tall shadow completely covered them. Blood from the remaining traitors dripped from the bloody red-patterned greatsword along the blade... Then... Creak! Creak! This red skeleton monster actually ignored them and walked right past... It kept chasing the human traitors below as screams started echoing from down there... "Huh? Why didn’t it attack?" "We... we made it!" "Sister Demi! Sister Sibel! Everyone doesn’t have to die!" "..." The creaking sounds faded away. The joy of cheating death flooded their hearts. Loris felt this had to be a miracle from divine help. The other experienced Psionics, while overjoyed, immediately realized they hadn’t truly escaped danger yet. "Quick! Although we don’t know why they’re not attacking us, let’s take this chance to get the hell out of here!" Captain Lezhe’s voice was urgent. They weren’t out of the woods yet—this wasn’t time to celebrate. "Climb up quietly. Be careful not to make noise and get their attention!" "Yes! Captain!" The gray despair disappeared from the Psionics’ eyes as vibrant life surged back into their hearts. Rustle... rustle... The seven moved super carefully, trying not to make noise as they dragged their beaten-up bodies up toward the dune top. "Almost there! Once we get over... we’ll be completely safe!" Captain Lezhe’s voice was excited, encouraging his team members. The light in their eyes got brighter—the path to life was right ahead... "Creak!" "Creak!" "..." Just as they were about to reach the dune top, several purple skeleton monsters with terrifying auras suddenly appeared head-on, running smack into them... The blazing soul fire in the purple skeleton monsters’ eye sockets observed the humans crawling below with ice-cold gazes. Their greatswords pointed at them all at once... Crushing killing intent wrapped around them. The seven Psionics carefully crawling on the sand surface went stiff, their faces going white. "Captain..." "Stay calm. Don’t move!" Lezhe could only hope these purple skeleton monsters would be like that red skeleton monster and ignore them. After the four purple skeleton monsters kept moving downward, four more actually crossed over from the other side of the dune top! They moved in formation like a well-trained army, steamrolling everything in their path! "This..." Demi and Sibel gripped Loris’s small hands, signaling her not to make a peep. The first purple skeleton monsters to appear had walked right up to them. Shadows covered them as the air became more and more heavy and suffocating. The seven held their breath, not daring to exhale, like statues, not daring to blink. In this nerve-wracking moment, a low voice broke the silence.