I ordered Pif and Kat who had alreadye ashore to stop and stand by with their bows.


    Yogi pulled Lara''s head out of the water. "Enough, Lara!"


    "No!" Lara, who was soaking wet, was about to dive again, but Yogi held her back.


    "They''re getting closer!" Yogi removed his quiver from his back and handed it to the blonde girl. "Take this and go! Your arrows are about to run out!"


    Lara shook her head hard. "You have to stay alive! This is for Sena!"


    Yogi looked back again, found the stump scorpions who were already a few meters away from him. Then, he shouted again in Lara''s face. "Gooo!!! Go away and don''t look back again!!!"


    Lara sobbed. She had already opened her mouth to speak, but she gave up, walked backward, turned, and ran.


    And finally, the stump scorpions began tond on Yogi''s body.


    Sena''s father screamed in pain, and I immediately took my eyes off it. Thest sight I saw from there was the flow of the river water, which was partially turning red, and the stump scorpion drifting there. It seemed the monsters couldn''t swim.


    Once at the riverbank, Lara climbed ashore with Pif and Kat''s help. Seb, who kept on shaking, really couldn''t do anything.


    And they ran again. Pif looked exhausted. He was sweating more and more, and he was starting to run out of breath. Only about a few dozen meters from the river, he fell.


    His weak body couldn''t hold on anymore. Perhaps coupled with this intense situation, his energy was drained even more.


    But they have to keep moving. Yes, I saw the stump scorpions couldn''t cross the river, but I couldn''t calm down yet. I feel that the beasts are pretty intelligent. One proof is the scouting system they have. It was not impossible that they would find a way to cross.


    "Seb, take the torch, carry Pif and lead the group!" I gave the order in a loud voice. Seeing the blonde man still frozen in fear with his body shaking, I snapped. "Damn it, Seb! You have to do this because Lara and Kat have to guard you guys with their bows! Fight your fears, or you''ll all die!"


    I said all of that with almost tears in my eyes.


    "It''s okay." Pif started to rise to his feet, though staggering. "I still can."


    Finally, though still with a frightened face, Seb snatched the torch from Pif''s hand, crouched down, and gave his back to the skinny man. "Get on!"


    "Hurry up, Pif!" I gave the order before the skinny young man had a chance to freeze.


    "Thanks." Pif climbed onto Seb''s back, who immediately picked the young man up and led the way with a torch.


    The four of them ran again. I could see the tears flowing from Kat and Lara''s eyes, but there was nothing I could do for them.


    "Forgive me." I said again, though they couldn''t hear me. "It''s all because of me."


    What followed was the sound of gasping for breath, the galloping of running from the three of them, and a rustling sound as they passed through the tall grass.


    Even though we were getting further away, I felt ufortable.


    So, I stopped running and used the hover feature to check into the river.


    And when I got there, I felt like my insides were being squeezed out. A giant stump scorpion was crossing the river. The river''s flow didn''t affect that monster at all because of his six long and sturdy legs.


    It also carries countless other smaller stump scorpions on its back. The monsters formed a colossal mound that was bigger than the body of the giant stump scorpion.


    I hastily used the warp feature towards my colonist, then pressed the pause button.


    Feeling even more panicked, I looked around. But I couldn''t find a ce to hide. There were only trees and not too big stones around the meadow. Those ces are very inadequate for them to hide.


    I floated again to check the situation and found arge tree in the distance.


    Maybe they can climb it.


    Inded on the ground again and said into Seb''s ear. "Change your course 30 degrees to the right. Find a big tree there and climb it with the others."


    After I pressed the y button, Seb did as I was told, shifting his running direction slightly. The two women behind him followed without asking.


    As they continued to run, I repeatedly used the hover feature to check on the stump scorpions, who split into three groups to look for people. In each group, there is one giant stump scorpion running behind the smaller others.


    Yes, one group walked up to my group, and their pace was very steady, while my colonists and Lara were super exhausted.


    After a few minutes of running with almost out of breath, they finally arrived at the tree in question.


    "We''ll stop here." Seb braked his run with a gasping breath, then lowered Pif, who was lying on the ground immediately. "We will climb this tree to hide."


    Lara moved from there and vomited profusely. Kat also covered her mouth but didn''t do that.


    Seeing all of them who were still in ce to catch their breath, I shouted. "You guys have to get up soon! Damn it!"


    "Come on, you go first, Miss." Seb spoke to Lara, who was wiping her lips. "I''ll help by lighting you up with this torch."


    Lara nodded. "Okay."


    The woman climbed onto the tree and climbed onto the biggest branch. After that, Pif climbed up with help from Seb. And then, the young man was pulled by Lara when he got to the top. Pif took quite a bit of time due to his limp movements.


    "Come on, Kat." Seb looked at the amber-eyed girl. "Now it''s your turn."


    Instead of obeying Seb''s orders, Kat took the torch from the blonde man. "After you."


    Huh? Why is she behaving like this?


    Seb raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."


    The blonde man started climbing, and Kat began to calm the restless Rox again. The dog kept walking around Kat''s legs and barking.


    "Shhhh.... Calm down, boy. I''ll always be with you." Kat rubbed her pet''s head while lighting up Seb.


    That''s when I realized something. Dogs are not designed to be able to climb trees. Kat wouldn''t be able to get her pet up the tree either.


    I began to hear the tter of hundreds of fast-moving feet.. Kat stuck her torch into the ground and started aiming forward.