>>5293284"I'm not ready to back off, not yet." you reply to the crab-like being. "But if you want to fight up here at the front, you're more than welcome to join me."
"Very well." the Rak'kari champion says, turning back to his soldiers and ending the mental link with you for a few seconds. No doubt to issue orders to his soldiers and establish a chain of command while he's with you at the front. Then after a couple moments the mental link is reestablished. “Let's keep moving forward. The Abyssal Trench is this way.”
The Rak'kari champion swims off, slightly changing the direction you'd been heading towards. You swim alongside him, the two of you leading the way. Not towards the nearest group of Mindslayers, surprisingly, but instead directly towards the largest gathering of ki signatures you can sense.
“Is there a reason we're not going for them?” you ask, pointing towards the three Mindslayers off towards your right.
“They're of no consequence.” the champion replies. “We're after the deepest depths, and the source of these creatures. If a few survive for now it's fine, we can always take care of them later after destroying the one making them.”
“I see.” you reply, understanding. This force is gathered here and now, best to strike at your enemy with your full strength instead of wearing them out on weaker, and ultimately inconsequential targets. Then you sense something, stopping in place as your ki sense detects something from the ground directly beneath you both. “Hold on. There's something here, beneath us.”
“What do you mean?” the champion asks, curiously. “You can detect life?”
“Yes, to an extent.” you reply, closing your eyes to help you focus. You can sense it, just a singular ki source so small it may only register three digits, but it's still there. “There's something there in the ground. I think we should-”
But before you can finish your telepathic sentence, the ki signature suddenly explodes! It's power increases by several magnitude as the creature expands, turning into a massive, malformed tentacle. It immediately lunges towards you, and without hesitation thrust your ancient sword directly into it. Your magical blade pierces it's rubbery flesh, which begins to seemingly crisp and burn away from the point of impact.
“KREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!” the tentacle somehow shrieks, immediately recoiling from your weapon. Inky black blood spreads through the water around the tip of your sword, but quickly vanishes as well.
“A trap?” the champion asks, shocked by the tentacle's appearance. “Here? But we're nowhere near their territory yet.”
cont
