But it was already too late.
The instant he roared that word-
On the seemingly unremarkable rock walls around them, within the deep darkness, in that silent void...
Ghostly, translucent outlines slowly emerged without warning!
They had blended into their surroundings as seamlessly as the most perfect chameleons! Had they not deliberately dropped their camouflage, no one could have detected them, even from point-blank range!
There were so many of them, packed so densely that they had almost completely sealed off every escape route!
Their enormous, mantislike scythe claws reflected a lethal chill in the darkness. Their long mouthparts, covered in tiny suckers, quivered in the air like snakes' tongues.
Lictors!
The Hive Mind's finest hunters of stealth and ambush!
They had been waiting here in silence for a very, very long time.
The ultimate counter-hunt against the "hunters" was about to begin!
But his warning had come too late.
While his voice was still echoing through the tunnel, the meticulously planned counter-hunt began.
Squish!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
At the rear of the squad, one of the "Tunnel Rat Boyz," guarding their backs, suddenly went rigid. He did not even have time to cry out. He merely lowered his head in disbelief to stare at the three sharp claw tips, like black scythes, that had erupted without warning from his thick chest.
Then a black afterimage flashed through the shadows behind him. The Ork Boy's enormous head flew into the air like a plucked fruit. Scalding green blood spurted like a fountain, staining the cold rock wall behind him.
That was only the beginning.
"We're under attack!"
"They're on the walls! Overhead! They're everywhere!"
"Aagh! Me arm!"
Panic swept through the entire squad in an instant like the deadliest