Chapter 1568: Failed

Eccar immediately rushed toward the protective dome, but the armored mole rat moved to intercept him. Its massive body blocked his path as it charged forward and swung its claws at him.

Eccar stopped and narrowly avoided the attack before glaring at the creature with growing frustration.

He did not have time for this. The screams from inside the dome continued to echo through the cavern, and he needed to know what was happening to the pilgrims.

Something could have gone terribly wrong while he was fighting outside.

Then another mole rat emerged from the darkness.

Eccar’s expression hardened.

Before he could move, a third one appeared as well.

Now three enormous mole rats surrounded him. Their armored bodies filled the narrow cavern. Their claws scraped against the stone.

They were faster and stronger than the creatures Eccar fought earlier, and their movements were far more coordinated.

Eccar clenched his fists as another scream came from inside the dome.

"I don’t have time for this!"

He realized that holding back was no longer an option. If he wanted to reach the pilgrims quickly he needed to use more of his strength and kill these creatures as fast as possible.

The first mole rat lunged and Eccar clashed with it without hesitation.

His fist slammed into its armored face and sent the creature crashing sideways.

Before it could recover the second rat attacked him from behind. Eccar twisted away but one of its claws caught his side and tore through his clothes and skin.

He felt a little bit of pain flashed across his body, but Eccar barely reacted. He turned and drove his fist into the creature’s chest with enough force to crack its armor.

The first beast charged again but Eccar caught its claw with one hand and stopped it.

Then he pulled. The enormous creature lost its balance and Eccar slammed it into the ground.

The impact shook the cavern. He followed with another punch, then another, each attack driving deeper into its armored body until cracks spread across its plates.

The mole rat roared. Eccar roared louder in reply.

His anger continued building with every second he wasted. The screams from the dome kept echoing in his mind, drowning out everything else.

He no longer thought about conserving strength or protecting the cavern. He only wanted to destroy the creatures standing between him and the pilgrims.

His fist struck the first mole rat again. The armor shattered.

His next attack crushed its skull and the creature finally died.

Eccar immediately turned toward the second.

It attacked with both of its claws, but Eccar stepped inside its reach in the blink of an eye and grabbed its head.

He drove his knee into its armored chest before twisting its body violently and throwing it into the cave wall.

The impact created a deep crater in the stone. Before the creature could rise, Eccar charged forward at it and smashed his fist into its body again.

The rock behind it cracked.

The mole rat stopped moving, it died.

Eccar turned toward the final beast.

It roared and charged.

Eccar met it with overwhelming force.

Their collision sent debris flying in every direction. Eccar struck the creature repeatedly, ignoring the claws that scraped across his body.

One attack hit his shoulder and another attack struck his ribs. His scales protected him.

His anger had completely taken over. He struck the mole rat’s head repeatedly several times.

The armor covering its skull broke apart beneath his fists. Eccar grabbed the creature by the neck and slammed it into the ground, it shook the entire cave.

The last monster finally died as well.

Eccar stood among the three corpses, breathing heavily. Only then did he finally look around. His expression paled.

The cave around him was almost unrecognizable. Large sections of the walls had collapsed under the force of the battle. Broken stone covered the ground. Cracks spread across the ceiling. Dust filled the air and continued falling from above. Massive chunks of rock had crashed down around the battlefield, burying everything beneath them.

Including the dome.

Eccar stared at it.

The protective structure he had created was almost completely buried beneath the rubble. Only a small section of its surface remained visible beneath the enormous pile of stone.

His heart suddenly stopped.

The screams were gone.

Eccar’s anger vanished in an instant.

"Oh... please..."

He rushed toward the rubble, thinking only about the pilgrims trapped beneath the destruction he had caused.

Eccar immediately began clearing the rubble surrounding the earth dome.His heart pounded harder with every second that passed because the screams from inside the dome had already stopped.

He kept telling himself that the pilgrims were still alive and that he could still save them, but a growing sense of dread settled in his chest as he uncovered more and more of the collapsed cavern.

When he finally cleared enough debris to reach the dome, Eccar pressed one hand against its surface and opened a passage through the thick earth and stone.

The moment the barrier separated, he was stunned. His eyes widened as he stared into the darkness inside.

Corpses were scattered across the ground. The bodies of the pilgrims lay on the ground, their clothes torn apart and their bodies badly mangled.

They have suffered violent wounds. Several bodies were missing entirely, leaving only bloodstains and pieces of torn clothing behind. The sight was so terrible that Eccar could barely breathe.

He noticed a large hole on the ground had opened near the center of the dome. The earth around it was cracked and torn apart as though something had forced its way upward from beneath the ground.

Eccar stared at the hole in silence as the truth became clear. Something had emerged from beneath them while he was outside fighting the mole rats. It had reached the pilgrims inside the dome and attacked them while he was too far away to stop it.

His hands began to tremble.

He had created the dome to protect them. He had promised them that he would keep them safe. Yet when they needed him most, he had not been there.

His own anger had dragged him away from them.

Eccar slowly lowered his head as the weight of what had happened settled over him.

"I failed..." The thought hurt him. Now he stood among their corpses, staring at the terrible result of his failure.

His fingers tightened into trembling fists.

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