Tremors raced along the sloping stone steps, cracking the hard granite walls on either side into countless spiderweb fissures.
"Everyone, halt! Maintain defensive formation!"
Denjiro abruptly pressed a hand to the sword at his waist and issued orders to the Wano Country Samurai Corps behind him.
"Lord Lorne, the shaking below is extremely violent. At least several enormous beasts are charging up toward us."
Lorne stopped and looked down into the deep corridor below, completely shrouded in dense purple mist.
"Ryan, distribute the antidotes."
Ryan moved swiftly, taking several large packets of specially prepared medicine from his pack and distributing them to the samurai in front.
"Captain, the passage narrows sharply. At most, only three people can walk abreast."
Ryan handed the medicine to the samurai captain beside him and reported with a grave expression.
"The main force has no room to maneuver. If we're surrounded, the troops behind us could easily be cut off completely."
Carrot twitched her furry ears and pointed at the churning mist below as she called out.
"I smell something really pungent, and heavy heartbeats are getting closer!"
"That's the poison gas Magellan left behind, mixed with the stench of the beasts on Underground Level Two."
Bakel raised his firearm and pulled back the bolt with a click.
"What a despicable defensive strategy, using narrow passages and a poisonous environment to limit our numerical advantage."
The door at the end of the passage burst open with a crash, and billowing purple mist surged in like floodwater through a broken dam.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar tore through the thick mist as four ferocious beasts, each several dozen feet tall, shattered the floor tiles and charged toward them.
At the front, Minotaurus held an enormous spiked club, his bloodshot crimson eyes fixed on the passage entrance.
"Are...