Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 76: Terror in the Mine (2)

An entire swarm of deadly creatures living in the sewage pit lunged at them at high speed. Their appearance resembled spiders, but they had no carapaces, only grotesque, bare skin that looked like human flesh. Each one was the size of a grown man.

They had clearly spotted their prey and rushed over recklessly. There were thousands of them, their dark green compound eyes glowing like will-o'-the-wisps in the dark.

Although they were numerous, Soshyan was confident they could beat them back on open ground.

But here, in such a complex environment, eight Space Marines might not be able to escape unscathed against these unknown creatures in such numbers.

To avoid unnecessary casualties, Soshyan decided against a head-on clash.

Thus, that narrow little path suddenly became the safer option.

"This way!"

Soshyan waved his hand, signaling Sol to lead the other six warriors into the narrow path, while he brought up the rear.

The vanguard of the creature swarm was already starting to appear on the cliff wall behind them. Soshyan fired a shot in their general direction, and a shrieking sound tore through the air.

Even without carefully aiming, his shooting instincts were superb enough that the leading creature instantly popped like a balloon stuffed with confetti.Several of its kin behind it immediately stopped to enjoy this unexpected meal.

But the rest of the monsters charged on, approaching like a massive wave.

"Looks like we've found the reason why those workers disappeared."

Not long after entering the path, Soshyan discovered that it was actually funnel-shaped, constantly narrowing until he was forced to advance sideways.

At that point, he began to worry that he had led everyone down a dead end.

"But they never mentioned anything about dangerous native creatures like this."

Armin subconsciously chimed in again. He was walking ahead of Soshyan as fast as he could—which wasn't actually that fast, because not only did he have to maintain his balance, but he also had to constantly watch for anything approaching from above.

Bringing up the rear, Soshyan fired his pistol with precision, but for every one he killed, more appeared.

"They are above us!"

Armin suddenly shouted, but Soshyan had sensed the danger prior to that. These arachnid creatures, seemingly clad in human skin, were firmly gripping the cliff face and spreading out right over their heads.

Like blood spurting from a severed artery, they swarmed ahead to cut off the path.

The first monster to crawl onto the path turned to face them, its mandibles chattering like the teeth of someone shivering in the cold wind.

Taking point, Sol blew it apart with a single shot, but that only bought them a second or two.

"We're surrounded."

Soshyan informed the group and glanced back. Turning around was impossible now; the creatures had completely blocked the path from above, below, front, and back, and their limited weapons were almost useless against such overwhelming numbers.

"Keep moving forward."

Sol issued the order calmly. The fact that he could remain so composed was truly astonishing.

"There is a way out ahead."

Although his words were as enigmatic as always, he at least sounded confident. It was precisely because of his sharp insight and seasoned experience that Soshyan had decided to bring him along.

"Alright!"

Soshyan unleashed a burst of rapid fire, clearing the human-skin spiders behind him.

He had already emptied a magazine, but there was no point in conserving ammunition in this situation.

At the very front, Sol had already charged out of the passage. His longsword slashed through the darkness like a meteor, severing several monsters into pieces.

More warriors rushed out right after him, greeting the creatures with bullets and blades.

Soshyan was the last to exit the passage. Reloading as he hurried forward, he suddenly stepped on a pool of coagulated blood and, compounded by the slippery moss, nearly lost his footing.

But he soon breathed a sigh of relief—what Sol had said was true. Just a few meters away was a fissure where light faintly flickered.

"You go down first."

Swinging his sword and unleashing showers of blood, Sol suddenly spoke to Soshyan through the communicator.

"Confirm the bottom is safe, and the rest of us will follow."

With no time to overthink, Soshyan ducked his head and squeezed inside.

But he didn't expect the fissure to be sloped and extremely slippery.

Caught off guard, he slid down a steep tunnel headfirst, practically guaranteed to crash into the ground hard and awkwardly.

Soshyan forced himself to stay calm, raising his arms to protect his head. Although this blinded him to what lay ahead, it was enough to protect his vitals.

During the slide, he heard the sound of flowing water and thought he would plunge into a pool or underground river.

But ultimately, he didn't.

After sliding for an unknown amount of time, he suddenly shot out of the tunnel and landed heavily on a thick pad of moss reeking of putrefaction.

The pose was undignified, but he landed safely without breaking any parts.

"Bottom is safe."

Even as he spoke, he could already hear the sounds of fierce combat over the communicator.

"Armin, head down!"

That was Sol's voice. Soshyan promptly rolled to the side to ensure he wouldn't be crushed by his descending subordinates.

Soon, Armin slid out of the tunnel.

"Disgusting."

He stood up, looking with disgust at the relatively soft landing spot and the residue left on his Power Armor. The monsters' blood and the freshly smeared moss had turned its original silver-grey into a filthy dark green.

"So you would rather land on rocks?"

Hearing Soshyan's words, the young warrior shrugged.

"Of course not."

Subsequently, the warriors slid out of the opening one by one.

The last to appear was Sol. His posture was perfect, making him the only one able to land on his own two feet.

"This thing was likely excavated by those monsters."

Sol glanced back at the tunnel.

"Them? They don't look like they have that kind of capability."

"No, they probably do."

Sol raised his right hand, displaying the shallow scorch marks on his arm guard to the group.

"Their saliva is corrosive. It might not be very strong, but given enough time, digging out a tunnel like this isn't difficult."

Soshyan stepped forward and observed the edge of the tunnel. Finding signs of corrosion, and recalling the smooth interior walls from before, he agreed it didn't seem naturally formed.

"If that's the case, this place might be swarming with these monsters. Everyone, be careful."

As he spoke, he carefully observed their surroundings.

It was a massive space, stretching out endlessly from what he could see. Aside from stalactites and pools of water, the area was covered in moss and subterranean flora.

However, there were absolutely no signs of anything artificial.

"Huh? What is that?"

Armin suddenly gestured toward a cluster of soft light sources in the distance. Soshyan turned his head and saw what looked like trees, which were quite beautiful.

At first glance, none of the trees seem to have leaves or even branches, but he couldn't be entirely certain because their lower halves were tightly wrapped by some kind of pale plant.

At that moment, Soshyan noticed a detail.

"The spacing between those clusters seems uniform; it doesn't look like the result of random growth."

"Sir, are you suggesting someone planted them?"

Soshyan shook his head.

"Or constructed them."

Sol then added,

"So until we examine them closely, we cannot be sure if they are organic creatures or not."