Sunny's shadow swiftly glided through the darkness, climbing the steep slopes above the vast river of Nightmare Creatures. Sunny was trying to gauge the true size of the horde, but no matter how hard he looked, there was simply no end to it. All kinds of abominations were gathered in a tremendous mob which spilled over the cliffs, undulating and crawling over the landscape.
The horde was stretched into a long line, moving from east to west… toward the coast. The width of it was somewhat bearable, making the thought of trying to cut through the mass of Nightmare Creatures appear tentatively in his mind. However, the length of the horde was simply too oppressive.
The caravan was very large now, and even if Sunny managed to create a breach in the river of monsters, not all vehicles would be able to pass through before a tide of abominations ripped them apart.
…It was still an option, though. He had to think strategically.
To the east, the horde stretched for as far as his shadow could see. To the west, there was still some space between the front ranks of the mob of Nightmare Creatures and the coastal highway. If the column of vehicles sped up while the abominations maintained their pace, there was a good chance that they would narrowly miss each other.
If not, the caravan would be caught between the horde and the ocean, potentially suffering even more casualties. That was not even considering that something could attack them from the water, as well.
Sunny sighed.
'...Crap.'
The first option all but guaranteed that people would die, but had a lower damage ceiling. The second promised a small chance that no one would be killed at all… but had the potential to turn really disastrous if things went wrong.
He hesitated for a few moments, then contacted Gere.
"Yes, Captain?"
Sunny gritted his teeth.
"There's a horde of Nightmare Creatures ahead. Full forward, and we will be taking a detour via the highway. Inform everyone to prepare for a tough battle."
There. The decision had been made. Sunny was not happy with it, but at least the caravan stood a chance of escaping unscathed. He was not ready to callously send people to die yet, even if it meant risking a more dire result.
At the end of it, Sunny would know that he at least tried.
Following his orders, Luster sent the Rhino flying forward. Their MWP escorts strained to keep up, but eventually adjusted to the increased pace. The military vehicles comprising the caravan followed suit, and soon, the whole column was moving forward at a reckless speed.
'Do not break.'
Sunny stared back, hoping that nothing would go wrong. If a vehicle broke down in the middle of the charge, there would be no saving its passengers… a faulty transport could also potentially slow down everyone behind it, which would be a complete disaster.
However, the fewer number of Gates along the coast was one of the reasons he had chosen the second option, so if anything, leaving the mountains for a bit should only lessen the probability of a serious malfunction.
The Rhino maneuvered to a branching road and led the caravan west, descending toward the highway. As they approached it, Sunny tensely observed the horde and tried to calculate if they were going to make it past the advancing mob of abominations before it reached the coast.
For now, it seemed that there was still a narrow window of opportunity.
…But then, as soon as they reached the highway, that window was gone.
For some reason, the front ranks of the horde suddenly went into a frenzy and rushed forward, with the rest of the mob soon following in an avalanche of flesh. Sunny was sure that the Nightmare Creatures could not have sensed the caravan yet, so he did not know why their behavior changed so abruptly. It was as though something on the coast was pulling the abominations toward it.
In any case, with the horde moving much faster now, any chance of passing by without a battle the column might have had were gone. They would have to fight their way through, in the end.
'Curses!'
At least the caravan was only going to be assaulted from one side. Their left flank would be protected by the ocean, precarious as it might sound.
'What the hell spooked these bastards?!'
Looking forward to see the first abominations spilling onto the highway some distance away, Sunny froze for a moment.
'...Oh.'
Out there ahead of them, laying on the shore like a mountain of white flesh, the corpse of a colossal abomination towered above the highway. It looked like a monstrous jellyfish of mind-boggling proportions, some of its lifeless tentacles stretching for hundreds of meters into the dark water.
The strange, transparent flesh of the dead dweller of the depths was torn and scorched, with large chunks of it missing. Strange organs could be seen beneath it, and a lake of freezing slime covered a long stretch of the highway around it. Something had thoroughly savaged the terrifying creature, and then left without devouring its prey.
…And now, the horde of Nightmare Creatures was rushing to finish the job.
As Sunny watched, the tide of abominations flowed over the highway. The first ranks sunk their fangs into the dead horror with rabid hunger, followed by a hundred other creatures the next second.
The appalling corpse was giant, but not giant enough to satiate them all. Soon, the slower Nightmare Creatures reached the coast, ruthlessly tearing at the bodies of their feasting brethren to reach the succulent white flesh. They crawled over the towering jellyfish like ants, slowly eviscerating its upper layers.
And behind them, countless more were already flowing down the mountain slopes.
Sunny gripped his bow, knowing the caravan would have to fight their way through that dreadful barrier of monstrous bodies soon.
…Actually, a few stragglers were already close enough for Samara to start firing her rifle.
Looking at the approaching scene of morbid carnage, Sunny felt a chill run down his spine.
'It's… it's alright. We can still pull through this…'
That was what he thought…
At least until eerie flashes of crimson light ignited in the haze of the blizzard to his left, far in the ocean.
An enormous, gargantuan shape was moving through the waves, getting closer to the shore.