SWNOVELXO Chapter 364: Failed again
It's like it's not just a beast," Tessa continued, her voice rising with frustration. "It's a monster, but it's smart—smarter than any of us gave it credit for. Every move we made, it countered. Every step we took, it was already two steps ahead."
Caron clenched his fists, his knuckles white. "And the strength...it's unmatched. Even when we managed to land a hit, it shrugged it off like it was nothing. It's like trying to fight a mountain that moves."
The camp was silent for a moment, the weight of their words sinking in. The soldiers who had stayed behind exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier hope now replaced with a growing sense of dread.
"So what do we do now?" one of them asked, his voice breaking the silence. "If traps don't work, and we can't hurt it, how do we beat something like that?"
For a moment, no one answered. The defeated soldiers looked at each other, their faces pale and drawn. Finally, Tessa spoke up, her voice quiet but steady. "Maybe...maybe it's not just about strategy. Maybe we're not enough."
"What are you saying?" another soldier asked, his brow furrowing. Explore new worlds at empire
"I'm saying maybe it's not that our plans are bad," Tessa replied. "Maybe we just don't have the numbers to pull them off. That thing is too fast, too strong, too smart. No matter how good our strategy is, we're always going to be at a disadvantage with just the few of us."
Caron nodded slowly, the wheels turning in his mind. "She's right. Every time we've faced it, it's overwhelmed us because we can't cover all our bases. We need more eyes, more weapons, more people to divide its attention. If we had more soldiers, maybe we could pin it down, force it into a corner."
"But where do we get more people?" another soldier asked, his voice tinged with desperation. "It's just us out here. There's no one else."
Caron's expression darkened. "Then we recruit. We talk to the others in the camp, convince them to join us. If they want to get out of here as much as we do, they'll have to step up."
"Convince them?" someone scoffed. "You mean send more of us to die? Do you really think anyone will agree to that after hearing what we've been through?"
Caron's jaw tightened, his gaze hardening. "We don't have a choice. If we don't take that beast down, we're stuck here. Forever. And I don't know about you, but I'm not spending the rest of my life in this hellhole."
The group fell silent again, the weight of Caron's words settling over them. Finally, Tessa spoke up. "He's right. We need to try. We'll rest tonight, regroup, and tomorrow we'll start talking to the others. If they want to stay here and rot, that's their choice. But if they want a chance to go home, they'll have to fight for it."
The soldiers nodded reluctantly, their expressions grim.
One by one, they rose and limped toward their tents, their exhaustion too great to argue any further.
As the camp settled into an uneasy silence, the crackling firelight reflected the determination etched on their faces.
Tomorrow, they would try again. But this time, they wouldn't be alone.
As the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, the group stirred with an air of determination tempered by apprehension.
They geared up in silence, each soldier tightening their straps, inspecting their weapons, and exchanging glances that carried unspoken words.
The bruises, cuts, and weariness etched on their faces were clear testaments to the trials they had already endured, yet their resolve forced them to their feet once more.
This would be their day—had to be.
The group set out into the dense forest, its shadows growing longer as they ventured deeper.
Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig sent their hearts racing. Tension hung thick in the air, and even the seasoned among them found their hands trembling ever so slightly.
The memory of the beast's overwhelming presence loomed over them like a suffocating shadow. Yet, they pressed on, their steps synchronized as though unity could shield them from the terror they sought to confront.
Hours passed, and then it happened. The beast's roar echoed through the trees, shaking the earth beneath their feet.
They froze momentarily, their blood running cold, before springing into action.
Shouts rang out as they tried to implement their plan—surrounding it, driving it into a trap, pinning it down. But, as before, the beast was relentless.
Faster than any of them could anticipate, it barreled through their ranks, its immense power turning shields into splinters and tossing soldiers like rag dolls.
Traps were rendered useless in moments, either avoided or torn apart with frightening precision.
Even as they gave it everything they had—every ounce of strength, skill, and strategy—it was not enough.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the forest in twilight, the group staggered back into the camp, their heads hanging low.
They were more battered than ever, their armor barely holding together, their weapons chipped and bent.
No one spoke as they returned, their silence louder than any words could have been. It was the silence of defeat, of dreams slipping further out of reach.
That night, they gathered around the fire, the flames licking upward in a feeble attempt to provide warmth and light against the encroaching darkness.
The air was heavy, their exhaustion palpable. No one wanted to speak, but the weight of the situation forced them into conversation.
"We can't keep doing this," one soldier said, his voice breaking the silence. It was Jonas, his left arm wrapped tightly in a bloodstained bandage. "That thing...it's unstoppable."
"We don't have a choice," Caron replied, his voice rough. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, staring into the fire. "If we don't kill it, we're stuck here. There's no other way."
"But how?" Tessa asked, her voice sharp with frustration. She sat cross-legged, her face pale and her hands trembling slightly. "We've tried everything. Traps, ambushes, brute force—it doesn't matter. It's always one step ahead of us. It's like it knows what we're going to do before we do it."
"It's not just smart," Jonas added. "It's strong. Too strong. I've never seen anything like it. Even when we managed to land a hit, it barely flinched."
"Then what are you saying?" Caron demanded, his eyes narrowing. "That we just give up? That we sit here and do nothing?"
"I'm saying we're wasting our time!" Tessa snapped. "Every time we go out there, more of us get hurt, and we're no closer to beating it. We're running out of supplies, running out of energy, and we're running out of time!"
Caron's jaw tightened, and he slammed his fist into the ground. "And what's your solution, huh? Just roll over and die? Because that's what'll happen if we don't try!"
"No one's saying we should give up," another soldier interjected, his voice calmer but no less grave. "But we need to face the facts. That thing is beyond us. We're not enough. Not like this."
"So what then?" Caron demanded. "You want to wait for Lyerin to swoop in and save us? Because he won't. He's made that clear."
"Maybe he should," Tessa muttered, bitterness dripping from her words. "He's the one who brought us here. He's the one who set up that damn portal. And now he's just sitting back, watching us struggle, like this is some kind of game to him."
The group fell silent at her words, each of them turning the thought over in their minds. It was a dangerous thing to question Lyerin, even among themselves. But the frustration, the fear, and the hopelessness were wearing away at their restraint.
"We can't rely on him," Caron said finally, his voice quieter now. "He's not going to help us. If we want to get out of here, we have to do it ourselves."
"But how?" Jonas asked again, his voice trembling. "How do we fight something like that? We don't have the numbers, the strength, or the weapons. Every time we go out there, it's the same. We come back broken, and that thing doesn't even have a scratch on it."
Caron opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. For the first time, the fire in his eyes dimmed, and his shoulders sagged under the weight of their situation. He didn't have an answer.
The silence that followed was suffocating. They sat there, staring into the fire, each lost in their own thoughts. The more they spoke, the more hopeless it all seemed. The beast was too strong, too smart, too relentless. No matter what they tried, it felt like they were fighting against an unstoppable force.
Finally, Tessa spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe we're just not meant to win. Maybe...this is it."
Her words hung in the air like a death sentence, and no one dared to challenge them. For the first time, the spark of hope that had kept them going began to flicker, threatening to extinguish completely.
As the night wore on, the group sat in silence, the firelight casting flickering shadows on their weary faces.
Somewhere in the distance, the beast's roar echoed through the forest, a chilling reminder of their failure. And as the stars wheeled overhead, they couldn't shake the feeling that they were fighting a losing battle.