The three remaining students were still staring at the dead Zerg in stunned disbelief when Rhaevia turned away from the corpse and stood up.
"Take whatever you can carry," she commanded, her voice calm and firm as she pointed back toward the smoking crash site. "Water containers, medical supplies, weapons. We have very limited time before the smell of blood draws a larger horde."
The wounded boy blinked, clutching his injured shoulder as he looked at her. "What?"
"We need supplies if we’re going to survive out here," Rhaevia stated flatly, not waiting for him to process the order.
Her sharp gaze swept over the distant wreckage where the remaining survivors were scattered in total disarray. Some were sitting helplessly on the dirt, crying, while others frantically dumped the contents of their luggage onto the ground in search of personal belongings.
There was too much frantic movement, too much noise, and too much wasted energy.
"Everyone needs to move away from the crash site immediately," Rhaevia announced in a clear, carrying tone as she returned to the main group.
"Divide yourselves into organized groups. The injured students will stay in the center, while the stronger students protect the outer perimeter. Anyone with medical training will handle the wounded."
A few of the traumatized cadets actually began listening, drawn to her absolute composure.
Then, someone near the center scoffed loudly. "Since when does an E-rank trash get to give orders to military cadets?"
The crowd parted as an exceptionally tall student wearing an immaculate combat uniform stepped forward with an arrogant smirk. Rhaevia recognized him instantly from the academy assembly. He was one of the freshmen ranked among the strongest physical combatants in their class.
"You got lucky back there," he said coldly, looking down at her with pure disdain. "Killing one low-level mutated beast doesn’t make you a tactical commander."
Several elite students from prominent noble houses immediately gathered behind him, nodding in agreement.
"We should follow him instead," a girl whispered loudly to her friend. "At least he possesses an S-rank physical ability."
"He actually knows official military survival protocols," another boy agreed, glaring at Rhaevia.
Rhaevia glanced at the arrogant crowd, her expression remaining entirely unbothered. "Fine."
The elite student’s arrogant expression stiffened slightly, clearly caught off guard by her total lack of resistance. "You’re not even going to argue?"
"No," Rhaevia said simply, gesturing toward the surrounding terrain. "Choose whichever direction and group you want."
Without another word, she turned her back on them.
The elite students exchanged smug, triumphant looks before leading nearly half of the surviving cadets toward the opposite side of the valley. Rhaevia watched their foolish departure from a distance, her eyes cool and calculating.
Three minutes passed in silence. Then five. Then ten.
Suddenly, a faint, rhythmic clicking sound reverberated through the rocky ground beneath their feet.
Rhaevia’s eyes sharpened instantly.
"Everyone, stop moving," she commanded softly.
The students standing around her immediately froze, paralyzed by the sudden authority in her voice.
Rhaevia looked toward the distant ridge where the elite group had disappeared. "They just walked directly inside a nest."
"What?" the wounded boy asked, his eyes widening in terror.
Before anyone could respond, a massive column of black earth and shattered rock erupted into the sky in the distance.
BOOM!
Hundreds of spidery Zerg forms poured out from beneath the split ground like an overflowing fountain of nightmare beasts. Horrified screams immediately echoed across the canyon walls, carrying the unmistakable sound of absolute panic.
"Their group!" a girl near Rhaevia screamed, pointing a trembling finger. "They’re being slaughtered!"
Rhaevia was already moving before the girl finished her sentence, her boots kicking up dirt as she sprinted toward the disaster.
"Stay here and hold the perimeter!" she called back over her shoulder.
The wounded student reached out, his hand catching the edge of her sleeve for a brief second. "Where are you going?"
"To get the idiots," she replied flatly, breaking his grip and accelerating forward.
Her E-rank host body quickly reached its physical limit, her chest heaving as a burning pain flared through her underconditioned lungs. But she ruthlessly pushed the physical weakness aside, relying on sheer willpower and momentum.
When she rounded the rocky bend, violent chaos had already completely consumed the valley floor.
The elite students were completely surrounded, their defensive formation having totally collapsed into an unorganized, frantic mess. The Zergs weren’t attacking randomly either. They were deliberately herding the terrified students toward a narrow, enclosed ravine.
It was a classic tactical ambush, a natural killing ground.
Rhaevia’s sharp gaze swept over the surrounding rock formations in a fraction of a second.
"Fall back!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Nobody heard her over the sound of shrieking monsters and dying screams.
Realizing words were useless, Rhaevia snatched up a discarded energy rifle from the dirt, aimed high at an unstable overhanging cliff face, and pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The targeted energy blast struck the structural weak point, instantly triggering a massive localized landslide. A towering wall of heavy stone crashed down directly between the trapped students and the advancing Zerg swarm, creating a massive physical barrier.
"Move now!" she roared through the falling dust.
This time, every single survivor obeyed without a moment’s hesitation.
Rhaevia swiftly led the coughing, terrified group through a narrow hidden passage between the boulders, changing direction twice to throw off any tracking beasts before finally reaching elevated, defensible ground.
The elite student stumbled up the ridge after her, his pristine uniform torn and his face completely drained of color. He stared at the girl he had openly mocked just minutes prior, his hands trembling violently.
"You... you knew they were waiting there," he stammered, his voice choked with shock.
Rhaevia didn’t bother answering him. She simply turned around and looked back down toward the dusty battlefield below.
The Zergs had completely stopped pursuing the fleeing cadets. Instead of feeding on the fallen or blindly rushing the rock wall, hundreds of creatures gathered silently around the base of the freshly fallen stone landslide.
Rhaevia narrowed her eyes into cold slits. Something was deeply, fundamentally wrong with their behavior.
They weren’t acting like wild, bloodthirsty predators. They were standing perfectly still in formation, waiting and listening like disciplined soldiers.
Then, as if reacting to an invisible signal, every single Zerg in the valley turned their heads simultaneously toward the north.
Rhaevia’s expression hardened into pure ice.
"That’s impossible..." she whispered.
The wounded student swallowed hard, stepping up beside her. "What is it?"
Rhaevia stared out into the vast, dark wasteland stretching beyond the horizon. "They aren’t attacking out of hunger or instinct."
The entire horde moved in absolute, synchronized harmony, marching across the plain like an army executing a precise military directive.
Rhaevia’s knuckles turned white as her fingers tightened around the metal casing of the energy rifle.
"Something intelligent is controlling them," she stated grimly.