Three hours later, Vicente and his group would encounter groups of insects on the path he had chosen.
As expected, they encountered a large number of 2nd stage beings, many insects between levels 1 and 5.
But none of them were a match for Vicente. Halfway to the group's current position, he had wiped out his targets, while for the rest of the way, his men and the teachers acted on their own to prevent him from exhausting himself.
There were no 3rd stage insects in that area, something the group had expected. As the beings who wanted to steal the yellow pentagram from the woodpeckers, it was obvious that the insect coalition of the Alpine Woodpecker Forest didn't have anyone to oppose the region's leaders.
That made it easier for Vicente's group to follow their path through the area. However, as they advanced and saw lower creatures in their path, the group began to notice signs that might indicate the location of their group's possible survivors.
"Let's go back," Vicente said to his soldiers as they reached the core of the insects' underground network, where many 1st stage creatures seemed to be living.
"Why?" Julian asked.
"There are no powerful insects here. Do you know what that means?" Vicente asked, not waiting for an answer. "The leaders of these insects have realized that they will be wiped out and have decided to flee, or they are heading in the direction of the strongest enemy."
"And how would that be good for us?" The teachers' leader asked as he could no longer endure the battle after running out of recovery potions in his storage item.
"The 3rd stage woodpecker can only go after our group or the rest of my men who stayed behind to buy us time," Vicente spoke, noting that however much his group had been delayed a few moments earlier, they had probably been the first to reach their current position.
"We didn't have to deal with the woodpeckers, so the survivors of your family must be being hunted." Julian realized where Cesar's words were going.
"Cesar, I thank you for everything you've done for us and for the times you saved our lives. But I don't see our group coming back alive if we encounter a 3rd stage being. So we won't go with you." The teacher leader commented.
"But Sam, maybe we should..." Julian didn't like that. He felt they should help Cesar in some way.
"Julian, as team leader, I forbid you to stay and help. We have to go back. Our priority now is to get out of this area alive. We have nothing more to do here now that we've found a way out." Sam interrupted the man's words.
Vicente didn't blame him for thinking that way. "Thank you for your concern. But you've already done more than I could have asked for the rescue earlier. Good luck to you."
"Hmm, I hope you survive, Cesar," Sam commented as he looked at such a man's mask. "I hope to hear stories from you in the future."
"Maybe you'll hear from me sooner than you think," Vicente commented before their groups separated again.
...
Meanwhile, in the depths of that underground area, a young man with red hair was meditating over the corpse of a giant ant, with an orange pentagram above him, completing its fusion with his being.
Three armed men held their positions in cold sweat near the young man, waiting for their boss to finish what he had started an hour ago.
After the gunfire and explosions earlier, some of Rory's group had been killed by the collapse of the tunnels they had used to escape the woodpeckers after they had attacked them earlier.
However, they had managed to buy time not only for Vicente's group but also for their own to escape the angry woodpeckers in the area, who had initially lost sight of them after the landslide.
Of the ten men who had stayed with Rory earlier, three had died from long-range attacks by the earlier enemies or from the landslides. But of the seven who had survived, three had stayed by his side, and the rest took an alternative route, an order from the young redhead in an attempt to divide the enemy forces.
Now, they had no idea how those four soldiers were doing. The only thing they knew was that the angry woodpeckers had not yet found them, and they were trying to seize the opportunity to strengthen themselves!
After defeating a group of insects that had gotten in his way, Rory had found a pentagram that matched him!
"How long will it take?"
"I don't know. The deputy killed the ant all by himself. I think we'll be able to leave in a few minutes." One of the three said, eager to leave this area even without his second pentagram.
Before entering that underground network of tunnels, the Mazzanti family group of 20 had 10 men, including Vicente and Rory, still without their second pentagrams.
But after the deaths of some and the success in obtaining the second pentagram of others, only 5 men were left to receive pentagrams in the group. Among them, 2 of the 3 people with Rory had yet to do it.
"I hope so. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling. I think a powerful enemy is closing in on us.
...
After a few minutes of walking back the way they came, this time using an alternate route, Vicente's group had finally noticed signs of a battle ahead of them.
Vicente and his six men moved faster toward those targets but without leaving their formation.
Even though he was the strongest of the group, Vicente knew the advantage of having allies fighting by his side, and he wouldn't make the mistake of exposing himself unnecessarily.
It was true that the lives of his family members might be in danger, but he wouldn't risk the lives of more of his companions with an ill-considered action that perhaps wasn't so necessary.
He could already feel the auras of the woodpeckers ahead. So, Vicente shouted to his men, who were running with their weapons drawn.
"Get ready. We have several level 5 opponents ahead of us. I think our survivors just fought with woodpeckers and insects." He said as his group heard the sound of gunfire but also screams from further ahead.
As they moved forward, the men raised their alertness a few degrees, preparing for the worst and possibly meeting the strongest enemy in their path.
If there were such strong woodpeckers ahead, the possibility that the 3rd stage woodpecker was nearby was not small!
As he was about to reach the battlefield in a chamber just ahead, Vicente activated his two pentagrams and flew forward, taking the initiative to save his men.
'Time to use everything I have!' He thought as he appeared in the area where four of his men were, but also 6 woodpeckers and 10 insects, all level 5 enemies.
