The group ventured onward, following the path Sylas had taken through the tunnel and navigating a labyrinth of twists and turns. As they progressed, Mandrix diligently collected valtite fragments from glowing protrusions on the cave’s walls, each extraction causing the already faint lighting to wane further. Brian, led the way with unwavering focus, using his keen senses to guide them towards the most potent valtite energy source.

Rounding a corner, the heroes found themselves at the edge of a large cavern. They stumbled upon a bustling hub of activity where grivaxians of all sizes were hard at work.

Brian signaled to take cover behind a jagged outcrop of rock. From this hidden vantage point, they were able to observe the grivaxians without being noticed.

[10 Lesser Grivaxians Detected]

[10 Grivaxian Soldiers Detected]

Around twenty lizard-like creatures were busy, moving with a sense of order and intent. Some were hauling massive rocks from one place to another, visibly straining, while others were careful to collect Valtite shards from a dark corner, their tough scales reflecting dim light. Another bunch seemed to be hard at work expanding the tunnel system, their strong tails hitting the ground with a hefty thud. The noise was a mix of everything – huffs of effort, claws scraping on stone, and the shaking sound of the earth being moved. The clamor echoed throughout the vast cavern.

"It seems they've been busy. The Valtite crystals and this stronghold must be part of their plan to expand their territory." Lana resumed studying the grivaxians.

"We could try to create a distraction, lure some of them away from the main group," Brian suggested.

Mandrix nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin. "Or we could collapse part of the tunnel, force them to abandon their operation."

“Collapsing part of the cavern while we are inside? Bad idea.” Brian said.

"There are so many of them," Lana whispered, her gaze darting from one grivaxian to the next. "And they're making progress so quickly. I see why the government allocated so many resources to this mission."

"I suggest that Mandrix, you charge in first to draw their attention. Use your sword to block their attacks and disrupt their work. Lana, once some of them engage Mandrix, shoot your arrows to pick off any stragglers. Ilex, cover Lana and Mandrix by raining acid from above. The acid will cause chaos and buy us time. Shinmu, I don't know your power fully but stay close and intervene when needed. We go in fast and hit them hard before they realize what's happening.”

While the party listened intently, Mandrix smirked with sarcasm. "I can get behind that plan. I'll charge in from the right, and draw their attention with my irresistible charm." Mandrix continued with a strategic grin, "They won't know what fucking hit 'em."

Mandrix flashed a confident grin as he walked casually into the fray with his large sword in hand. With a fierce battle cry, he drew the attention of the grivaxians, who hissed and snarled at the sudden intrusion. "Come on, pricks!" he taunted.

Three enemies approached Mandrix at an accelerated pace, intent on disposing of him quickly. However, an arrow perforated the throat of the one in the lead, the force sent the reptile's body crashing to the ground with a gurgled scream.

The rest of the grivaxians took notice and abandoned their tasks to converge on Mandrix.

Lana, positioned at a distance, nocked an arrow and let it fly. It pierced the chest of its target right in the middle, aiding Mandrix engagement. With every arrow she loosed, another enemy fell, her deadly aim proving to be their undoing.

When Mandrix provoked the grivaxians, Ilex snuck up from behind and opened his acid spellbook, his fingers danced over the pages as he unleashed virulent concoctions. Acidic tendrils snaked across the area, ensnaring unsuspecting grivaxians and dissolving their scales and flesh with a sinister hiss. He couldn't hold back smirking at the horrified expressions on their faces while they succumbed to his corrosive valtite.

Brian swept his Oculus Core across the battlefield, scanning for camouflaged enemies. He relayed their positions to the others, aiming to keep their plan surprise-free. He noted that although the Grivaxian soldiers were only marginally stronger than their lesser counterparts, they possessed the ability to turn invisible—an ability the lesser Grivaxians lacked. "Two more, just behind that rock formation," he called out, his speech steady and focused.

[Energy Level: Low]

In the midst of the chaos, Shinmu spoke up. "I'll take care of them.” With that, he slammed his staff against the ground twice and slowly disappeared in front of their eyes.

“Ilex, what the fuck?” Mandrix wailed.

“Yeah, he does that, but he’ll be back later,” Ilex replied.

Despite Shinmu’s vanishing act, their well-executed plan seemed to be working in their favor, subduing grivaxian after grivaxian.

As the heroes pressed on with their assault, the bipedal alligators began to adapt. They hissed and clicked at each other, communicating their sinister counteroffensive. Brian, recognizing their language, realized they were coordinating their efforts. "Guys," Brian exclaimed. "They're plan to move from the right! They're—"

Before he could finish his warning, Mandrix found himself swarmed by grivaxians. "Mandrix, watch your right!" Brian shouted, but the snake-men were too fast. Mandrix grunted in pain as a claw grazed his arm.

Meanwhile, Ilex was starting to pant frantically. As he flipped through his codex, he struggled to find the right page under his trembling fingers. "I'm running out of acid," he muttered. Lana discharged the next arrow, but her concentration slipped for an instant, making her miss her target. "I can't keep up," she admitted. "There are too many of them!"

The grivaxians persevered with their persistent onslaught, Brian tried to relay their movements to Mandrix. "Incoming from the right!" he shouted, but Mandrix was unable to dodge in time, taking a blow to the side.

"Goddammit, Brian!" Mandrix growled, his frustration was mounting. "Can't you give me a bit more warning?!"

"I'm trying!" Brian winced as he watched his friend getting battered by the grivaxians. "But they're just too many!" Each time his comrade took a hit, Brian's expression twisted further, looking like a sheet of paper crumpled in frustration.

Mandrix swung his claymore at a grivaxian, who instinctively raised his arms and placed his forearms horizontally to protect his head. The blade bit into the reptile's armored skin, momentarily getting stuck. However, Mandrix's overwhelming strength prevailed, and with a powerful downward motion, he cleaved through the grivaxian's forearms, dismembering both hands and slicing the creature in half. The blood sprayed across his face, but he barely noticed, his focus searching for his next target. Just as he defeated one enemy, another lunged at him from the side, his razor-sharp claws digging deep into his back. Mandrix howled in pain, momentarily dropping his sword as he stumbled forward.

Lana's eyes shot up at the sight of Mandrix's injury, but she fought to stick to her task, releasing another arrow that found its mark in the eye of a grivaxian that leapt onto Ilex from a high rock. Mandrix gritted his teeth through his injury and retrieved his claymore, unwilling to let the pain keep him down.

While Brian was busy spotting invisible gators, his attention suddenly snagged on Mandrix. The lizard who'd gotten a piece of Mandrix was eager for round two, claws practically dripping with the man's blood. Brian called out urgently, "Mandrix, behind you!"

[Energy Level: Very Low]

Whirling around, Mandrix barely managed to parry the grivaxian's next attack. His back screamed in pain, blood soaked his shirt as a roar erupted from him. The unexpected sound sent the grivaxians around him him staggering backwards, clutching their heads in disarray.

Watching this, an idea clicked into place for Brian. "Your screams! They seem sensitive to loud noises! Keep yelling!"

With a grim smile, Mandrix decided to use this newfound weakness to their advantage. He screamed at the top of his lungs, a deafening war cry that sent the grivaxians reeling in agony.

“FUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

As they reeled and grasped their heads, Mandrix took the opportunity to unleash a flurry of powerful strikes, carving up foe after foe with brutal efficiency. Each guttural roar seemed to pierce their very souls, leaving them disoriented and vulnerable. Mandrix's success created an opening for the team that allowed the heroes to regain control of the battlefield.

Ilex launched an acid spell at a group of grivaxians; the noxious fumes forced them to recoil, making them easy pickings for Lana’s continued precise barrage. Disoriented and wounded, the grivaxians were now struggling to maintain their offensive.

Lana's arrow never strayed. She could have been a hunter or something, Brian mused, though her unerring precision might just be a valtite perk.

The heroes’ sword, arrows, and acid overwhelmed the enemy ranks, leaving a trail of mutilated reptilian corpses in their wake. The horde seemed endless, but they fought with everything they had, determined to put an end to the grivaxian menace once and for all.

As the battle raged on, Brian continued guiding his teammates with his ability, revealing the camouflaged grivaxians and ensuring their swift demise. Sweat poured off his forehead, his energy reserves slowly depleting from the prolonged use of his powers.

Ilex, observing the chaos, smirked darkly and flipped open to a specific page of his acid tome, summoning a torrent of corrosive magic that rained down upon the disoriented grivaxians. Two soldiers attempted to flank him, but with a sinister grin, Ilex sent a caustic substance spiraling towards them. The first attacker was hit directly in the face, his eyes and snout melted away in a horrific scene as he screeched in agony. The second soldier tried to leap out of the path of the acid but wasn't fast enough. The corrosive liquid splashed across his hind legs, burning through scales and muscle, leaving him to collapse in a writhing, shrieking mess. The acid sizzled and smoked as it made contact with their scales, dissolving armor and flesh alike in a gruesome display of power.

Mandrix, still bellowing at the highest volume, brandished his blade with wild abandon, severing a grivaxian's head from its body with a sickening crunch. The head flew through the air, blood and spinal fluid trailed behind it like a grotesque comet. It landed with a sickening squelch, rolling to a stop at the feet of another grivaxian, which froze in shock before Lana's arrow penetrated his opened mouth, exiting through the back of his skull in a spray of gore. The heroes forged ahead, every moment bringing them closer to victory.

[Energy Level: Depleted]

Just as the battle was wrapping up, Brian felt a warm stream sliding over his cheek. Blood was dripping from the corner of his left eye. Wincing from the stinging pain, his vision blurred. With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes, craving a second's break from the chaotic battlefield.

A gravaxian soldier jumped at Brian from the left, but he focused his very last valtite point on using his Chronal Gaze to dodge the grivaxian’s slash. Then he closed his eyes once again, in response to the pain and hurled a punch with every ounce of strength. Brian’s fist connected dead center with the grivaxian’s snout and he felt it bend back, breaking bones in the process. The alligator-like creature flew back a few inches and Brian’s knuckles throbbed, but he hardly felt it over the adrenaline.

The Grivaxian shook itself, and Brian could hear it laboriously breathing through its broken snout, coming out as a high-pitched wheeze. Even so, the injury had barely fazed it; the monster was clearly ready for round two. But the Grivaxian's determination was short-lived. Before it could get to its feet, an arrow hit its sternum, and it instantly stopped moving.

“Nice shot Lana!” Brian said.

Lana winked. “Nice punch, didn’t know you had one.”

“Me neither… I’m actually strong.”

All of the sudden, a cold sensation crept up from Brian’s thigh and his leg had gone numb. When he looked down, a lesser grivaxian had sunk his savage claws into his flesh, drawing a pained scream from him. Lana's head whipped around at the sound, her stare widened in horror when she saw Brian crumple to the ground, blood pouring from his grievous wound.

Helpless on the ground, Brian observed when Lana deftly snatched an arrow from her quiver and stabbed the lizarman’s heart, silencing him forever. The grivaxian slumped to the ground, lifeless, as Lana rushed to Brian's side.

"Brian! Stay with me!" she cried, her hands shaking as she tried to apply pressure to his wound. But her voice was becoming muffled and distant, then everything went black.