Soon, more and more Dragonmen appeared, including Dragonkin Generals and Dragonkin Warlocks on par with Grand Professionists.
Seeing them from afar, Shawn felt immense pressure and knew they could not linger. He shouted at once, and Shalzaru, the Lynx Princess, and the Crystal Spider all fell back and entered the secret passage with him. Shawn put away the Amani War Bear; the passage was too narrow for it to pass through. Only the Woodpaw Ancestral Totem remained behind to buy him a little more time.
Once inside the secret passage, the Dragon-Hunting Team immediately began retreating.
"Wait!"
Shawn took out the dozen or so Explosive Rats he had deliberately saved, left them where they were, then retreated with the others.
Only after they had withdrawn more than twenty meters, and several Dragonman warriors had crawled into the secret passage to pursue them, did Shawn give the order.
Boom!
The Explosive Rats detonated together, collapsing the passage. Several Dragonman warriors were killed or wounded in the blast and buried beneath the rubble.
The secret passage was sealed.
Of course, the entrance would not stay blocked for long. The Dragonmen would dig it out again and continue their pursuit.
The Dragonmen had not known this secret passage existed, so they did not know where it led and could not intercept the team at its exit. That was the one blessing amid their misfortune.
They traveled in silence. Even Tommy had no interest in asking Shawn how much treasure he had obtained.
Five of them had come, and two were now seriously injured.
"How is Olivia?" Shawn asked as they walked.
"She's recovering. Her Black Dragon bloodline is very powerful," Eileen answered succinctly.
"What about Adrian?" Shawn asked next.
"He's lost a leg and has broken bones in his chest. He can't fight