"What's going on!?"
"Don't ask me! How would I know?"
"That muffled rumbling just now, too."
"An earthquake?"
"Doesn't seem like it. It's more like something underground is pushing its way up."
Among the thousand or so people here were private soldiers belonging to nobles, minor nobles, alchemists, Array Masters, and The Magician.
So naturally, they all came to different conclusions.
While the nobles and private soldiers panicked,
the alchemists and the others watched closely.
They searched for clues in the sounds and vibrations, then made their deductions.
"Hm? Something underground is pushing its way up? Doesn't that mean it's dangerous for us to stand here?"
A minor noble froze in surprise.
Then his mind immediately started racing.
The others froze, too, when they heard him.
Come to think of it!
That really could happen!
"What are we waiting for? Run!"
After glancing at Lan Qingyou floating in the air and the Magic Puppets fighting, one fellow turned and ran.
But since he wanted to "score some points,"
he didn't run off alone. Instead, he very "kindly" warned the others, who were still standing around in a daze.
Run!?
Right, right!
We have to get out of here!
Forget the mission.
If we die, we'll lose everything.
Let Lord Lan Qingyou handle the fighting.
We'll stay somewhere safe and cheer her on.
We can figure out the rest once it's over.
Yes, that sounds perfect.
As they ran, the escapees comforted themselves with thoughts like these.
But by then, it was already too late.
As everyone knew, by the time you could hear a sound and sense the danger, you were usually already close to it.
Boom—
A thunderous crash rang out.
A Tentacle Monster, roughly fifty meters tall and more than thirty meters thick, like a Water Bucket, burst