The Turning Point

The air in the dungeon was thick with tension, and the ground beneath them trembled as the shadow creatures continued to surge forward, relentless and ferocious. Each time Lana’s flames cut through their ranks, more seemed to take their place, emerging from cracks in the walls and the darkness above.

Feng observed the battle with a cool detachment, though his mind was anything but calm. He couldn’t help but notice the growing desperation in his team’s movements. Ryu was already exhausted; the cold barrier he had created earlier is now gone, leaving him vulnerable. Kiera’s healing light flickered, and though Lana’s fire was strong, the number of monsters was overwhelming.

Feng’s hands clenched into fists as he watched the others falter, but he didn’t move. Not yet.

“Lana!” Ryu shouted, his voice strained. “We can’t hold them off much longer!”

Lana shot a glance at him, her expression fierce despite the fear creeping into her eyes. She gestured with a flourish, and fire erupted from her palms, pushing back the creatures. But they were multiplying too quickly, creeping in from all sides.

“We need a plan,” Kiera shouted over the chaos, her voice tinged with panic. “We’re being overwhelmed!”

Feng’s gaze flickered to the corners of the room, his mind rapidly calculating. They needed to act fast before it was too late. There was a rhythm to this battle, a cycle of attack and retreat, but the creatures didn’t seem to tire.

“Retreat!” Feng’s voice cut through the din, calm and measured. “Fall back to the narrow hallway. We’ll have better control over the space.”

Lana, Ryu, and Kiera looked at him in surprise. “What are you talking about?” Lana asked, clearly taken aback by the sudden change in direction.

“Listen to me,” Feng said, his voice firm. “We need to control the flow of the monsters. If we stay here, they’ll overwhelm us. If we retreat to the hallway, we’ll have a choke point. We can use that to our advantage.”

There was a brief pause as the group processed his words. Lana nodded first, her expression hardening. “Fine. Move to the hallway!”

The team fell into action, their movements frantic but coordinated. Lana led the way, fire shooting from her palms to clear the path ahead, while Ryu created walls of ice to slow the creatures’ advance. Kiera kept her focus on healing, her hands glowing with light as she mended the wounds of her teammates.

Feng followed, staying in the rear. His eyes never stopped moving, constantly assessing the situation. As the team made their way toward the narrow hallway, he could feel the pressure mounting. The monsters were closing in fast.

“Get ready!” Feng barked, his voice cutting through the chaos.

They reached the hallway, and immediately, the battle shifted. The creatures struggled to advance, their numbers thinned by Lana’s fire and Ryu’s ice. But there were still too many of them. The narrow space was holding them at bay, but the team was tiring. Every attack, every spell cast, drained more of their energy. Kiera’s light was flickering, her healing growing weaker with each passing second.

Lana’s breath came in ragged gasps, her flames weakening. “We can’t hold them much longer.”

Feng’s mind raced. The plan had been effective, but they were running out of time. The monsters kept coming, and their strength wasn’t infinite. He could see it—the moment when the monsters would break through, the moment when everything would fall apart.

But there was one more thing he could do.

He turned, quickly scanning the area for an escape route. There was none. His heart raced, but his face remained impassive. They couldn’t escape. Not now. Not without

“Get back!” Feng shouted suddenly, pushing his team further into the hallway.

Lana, Ryu, and Kiera were about to protest, but they followed his orders without question. Feng raised his hand, his gaze focused on the advancing creatures. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts—calculations, possibilities, the rhythm of battle. His team was on the brink of collapse, but there was still one thing they hadn’t tried.

As a monstrous creature lunged toward Ryu, Feng’s hand shot out, his voice low but decisive. “Focus your attacks on the weakest link! If we can bring down the leader, the others will scatter!”

Lana and Ryu nodded, and for a brief moment, everything seemed to align. They turned their attention to the largest of the creatures, its glowing eyes burning with hunger. It was big, stronger than the others, and at its core, it was the one controlling the horde.

But as they focused their efforts, the creature seemed to grow more powerful and more determined. It wasn’t enough. The team was starting to crumble, their powers running low.

Then, just as the largest monster broke through their defenses and was about to strike, something strange happened.

A figure emerged from the shadows, silent, swift, and almost invisible.

In one fluid motion, the mysterious figure drew a long, gleaming blade, its edge shimmering with a strange, otherworldly light. He moved faster than any of them could follow, a blur of motion that sliced through the darkness.

The figure didn’t hesitate. With a single strike, the creature was decimated, its massive form collapsing in an instant. And just like that, the other monsters paused, as if waiting for something before they too crumbled and disappeared into the air, disappearing as quickly as they had come.

The figure stood in the middle of the battlefield, his cloak billowing like a shadow, his face obscured by a dark hood. The sword he carried gleamed with a strange, almost ethereal light, but there was no time to question it.

In a smooth motion, the mysterious figure approached Feng and his team, barely a sound marking his presence.

“Stay back,” the figure said in a low, gravelly voice.

Before anyone could react, he moved swiftly, lifting the unconscious bodies of Lana, Ryu, and Kiera with ease. He then turned to Feng, his eyes flashing with an unreadable expression.

In seconds, they were outside the dungeon, the cool night air surrounding them. The mysterious figure did not say another word, his eyes scanning the horizon as he silently carried them away from the danger.

Feng, still conscious but too tired to resist, couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation of recognition—like he had encountered this figure before. But the figure didn’t stop; he didn’t wait for any questions. The only thing Feng knew was that they had been saved for now.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***