"It was a feint!"
"Not dead?"
The forest shook as another explosion rippled through the air, sending startled flocks of winged reptiles bursting from the treetops. Ahce pressed a hand to the cub on her shoulder, its tails bristling in alarm, while Eros stepped in front of her, instinctively shielding her with his body.
"Stay close," he said, voice low but steady.
Ahce nodded, tightening her grip on her saber. The cave behind them still trembled violently, dust falling like gray snow. Inside, the hybrid monster, a grotesque fusion of humanoid torso and zerg armor, roared with a sound that rattled the marrow of their bones.
"Marshal, the tunnel is collapsing!" one soldier shouted through the comm bead, his voice ragged with static.
"Fall back," Eros ordered. "Group B and C, form defensive lines eastward. Evacuate every remaining student to the nearest extraction point. Move!"
