At least…that was what I thought, but after following the ape's scent trail for over five markings, their numbers started to swell abnormally.

The huge scorpion creature already had more than fifteen smaller scorpions with it, but they joined up with the others patrolling the area, increasing their numbers even more.

And then, when they went past the battlefield of corpses, another huge scorpion arrived out of the forest, joining their merry band of writhing creatures to number over fifty scorpions in total.

And that was just those I could count!

I never expected for this many to gather – just how many were there?

We were hidden behind the cover of trees, keeping our distance as the creature horde tore through the forest with speed. And watching them pass by made it seem like there were two yellow scorpions for every meter of ground space.

It truly looked like a mass of writhing limbs.

I got anxious just following behind them, but if I was ever going to learn where the hide out of those ape creatures was – I had to take this risk.

Morgana who observed them from beside me was also equally anxious. She looked frozen stiff – her eyes were wide open to watch every scorpion go by. I had no idea what she was thinking, but her eyes were glittering with equal parts of fear and excitement.

I bet she couldn't believe that their little stunt would lead to such a serious situation.

Which was exactly why I always stressed that they be careful.

However, there was someone else who acted exactly the same.

[Why are we hiding?] The dark fae asked. [Are we playing a game?] A childlike voice cut through all the tension, startling me.

Hah!

A game? Of course it was!

A deadly game of hide and seek that is!

I turned to the green faced brat. [Stay close to me and don't make a sound.]

We were risking our lives by simply remaining here instead of running away as fast as we could. But this development was exactly what I wanted.

And not staying to see it through would be a total waste.

[I'm bored. Can we go back?] The dark fae huffed.

This dumb fae!

Couldn't she see the situation we were in? How could we leave when it was just getting to the best past?

I quickly hushed her so she would stop distracting me.

But then I saw Morgana slightly creep forward, her eyes eager and her fangs reared.

It was then that I noticed one of the smaller scorpions had fallen behind after getting its stinger tangled in some low branches, very close to the bush we hid behind.

I immediately blocked Morgana's path, stopping her before she attempted something stupid, and my silly captain glanced up at me in protest. The scorpion eventually freed its stinger and continued to move with the rest.

Was I the only one taking this seriously?

Of my companions, one was bored and the other just wanted to hunt.

I scowled at both of them, ordering them to behave and follow quietly.

With their ever increasing numbers, it was a risk to remain on the ground.

If we stayed too long we would eventually be detected by one of the slower strays, so I decided to climb up the trees to oversee them from the branches above, activating [Shadow Shroud] around myself to further blend into the darkness.

The scorpions continued to follow the ape's scent markings, and soon the forest surroundings became very familiar. They passed through the burnt forest that was slowly regrowing its foliage, and then reached the place where I encountered the wolves, until my familiar territory came into full view.

They continued moving until the horde gathered in the forest outside my cave, where the ape's fake trail began.

And there, the creatures stopped because the scent trail had become faint.

A situation I hadn't foreseen.

Due to the ape's attack happening a while ago, the trail I created was more fresh - I hadn't stopped to consider that the older trail would fade away, and now my panic intensified, because I had brought so many creatures right to my doorstep.

I glanced at the cave entrance hoping that no nestlings would come outside.

And it was a good thing Typhon had sealed it before leaving.

I heard multiple howls echo through the forest, proving that the wolves were also uncomfortable with their large numbers gathered in one place. I glanced at the scorpions who seemed to be pacing the area where the trail stopped, seemingly unperturbed.

They were trying to find the trail and some even continued down the path Typhon had created. However more lingered around the spot where the ape scent trail was supposed to continue, detecting some of the lingering traces.

What trouble had I invited onto myself? I wished they would move on quickly!

But they weren't moving fast enough!

And the trouble was just beginning.

I noticed one of the smaller scorpions walk past the elevated ground, moving closer to my quaint underground cave and my panic flared up once more.

Don't you dare!

As it tried to climb, its legs got caught in the purple substance leaking from the doorway and as soon as it smelt it, the creature jumped back, reeling, and gagging – its protruding stinger seemingly attacking an invisible foe in sheer revulsion.

I sighed with relief, but even though its reaction attracted the attention of more scorpions, none tried to climb up again.

[Kyaaah! It looked at me! Hide me!] The dark fae squealed loudly, and my heart jumped from somewhere inside my body.

I looked to see what she meant and nearly fell off the tree.

One of the large scorpions had appeared close to the tree we were hiding on!

Its hulkingly large body tore a path through the forest by toppling smaller vegetation as it moved. And from the surplus of smaller scorpion creatures following behind it – it was an entirely different scorpion that had come to join the two already present!

It seemed to have come from Typhon's trail, and it wasn't close enough to topple our tree, but as it moved, I saw a pair of eyes on top of its carapace that seemed to be staring at us.