The terrifying pressure of a Tier Five had just faded, but bone-piercing cold still lingered in the passage.
[Cloud Pomelo] leaned against the icy stone wall, gasping for breath. The [Life Link] she had barely maintained was already at its limit, its bands of light dim and covered in cracks. After enduring that blast of high-level pressure, all seven core members' health had fallen near the danger line, and everyone bore injuries of varying severity.
At the other end of the passage, heavy footsteps and the hum of psionic engines were rapidly drawing closer. Darkling formation masters were leading a squad of Tier Two reinforcements, about to cross the overturned Spell Shuttle.
"Brother Feng, should we get ready to fight?" [Brute Force Yields Miracles] gripped his Tower Shield, high heat reigniting in the gaps of his armor.
"Not yet." [Tian Ce] raised a hand, pressing down everyone's weapons. Precise calculations flashed through his eyes. "If we kill them all, who's going to repair this damaged formation? Which of you understands Darkling Psionic Circuits?"
Everyone immediately fell silent. The Fourth Calamity was excellent at tearing houses down, but repairing advanced cross-faction engineering really was outside their knowledge.
"Pomelo, take care of our prisoners! Data Maniac, keep an eye on their progress!" [Tian Ce] assigned tasks in an orderly fashion and swiftly changed tactics. "Dharma King, plant lightning Psychic Power around the broken formation lines in advance! Brother Feng, get ready to cut down the squishies! Brute Force, Dragon War, find cover on the flanks! We'll wait until this bunch of free labor repairs the formation, then hit them!"
The players' execution was astonishingly efficient. They quickly dragged the two living Darklings captured earlier, the Seal Box, and the Transport Token into the shadows behind the rocks. As for the player corpses