Shaan's forehead wrinkled even more clearly when he realized a stack of rocks had blocked the train track. Crap. They still had a long way to go, and they had to think of another way to get to the end of this train tunnel.
"We can't use this path and have to choose another railroad."
"Wait, but if we choose another railroad, it means we have to detour, and it won't take much time, right?" Chelsie stated in an irritated voice. "Uhm... can't we use the explosives in the train cars to destroy all these rocks?"
Nalira shook her head. "No, we can't. That won't work."
"I agree with Nalira," Shaan agreed. "Besides, even if we manage to destroy all these rocks using explosives, it doesn't mean that the railroad will still be in one piece. The rails would have been destroyed, and we'd be doing a useless job."
"Uhm... Yeah, what you're saying makes sense."
"Now, we have to think of a way to change our train's path so that it can connect with the railroad tracks on the side." Shaan gently stroked his chin. "There should be some kind of lever around here that can be used to change the train's path, but in-"
"Uhmm... Shaan, I think I've found what you're looking for." Chelsie pointed her finger a few meters ahead. "There it is, that looks like the lever you were looking for?"
"Very good observation, Chelsie."
"Uhmm... that, that's nothing."
"Then, I'll try pulling the lever." Shaan looked at the position of the lever from afar. "When I'm done pulling the lever, I'll tell Robin Hood to shoot an arrow upwards and give the signal. After that, you two direct the train to the new tracks."
"Alright, we understand." Nalira nodded her head. "I can do that."
"Uhmm... Shaan, are you sure you'll be okay? What if some dark creature suddenly attacks you?"
"Relax, Chelsie. As long as I'm with Robin Hood, it's no big deal."
"Uhmm... alright. Be safe, Shaan."
"I will." Shaan smiled, then walked away from the two of them.
As Shaan walked towards the lever, Shaan directed Robin Hood to pay attention to his surroundings. He just wanted to make sure that there were no horrible creatures that might appear while he was around the lever.
[Shaan, everything seems to be safe.] Robin Hood directed his gaze around. [I don't see any dark creatures around here at all.]
"Me too, come on now, we need to pull this lever as quickly as possible before the dark creatures appear and attack us."
Shaan simply pulled the lever with all his might, but unfortunately, the lever was quite rusty and difficult to move. He and Robin Hood then joined forces, using all their strength to push the lever together.
"Damn, I didn't expect the lever to be this hard to move," Robin Hood grumbled in frustration.
"Keep pushing, Robin Hood," said Shaan, his face beginning to redden. "Come on, just a little more, we can do this—"
'Creeeak'
The railway track slowly shifted and finally connected with the one beside Shaan's train. Good — at least now Nalira could steer their train onto the new path they had planned earlier.
"Ah, finally." Shaan wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Now, I just need to signal Nalira to guide the train onto this track."
However, just as Shaan was about to give a signal to Nalira and Chelsie, he suddenly felt a strange vibration around him. At first, he thought he might be hallucinating or imagining it, but he wasn't. All the pebbles around him began to tremble, and the shaking grew stronger by the second.
Damn, what the hell is—
[Shaan, watch out!]
Suddenly, a massive claw burst out from underground, attempting to strike Shaan. Luckily, he heard Robin Hood's warning and managed to dodge just in time — narrowly escaping being sliced in half.
[Insanity level increased by 22%]
[Insanmeter indicator: green]
"D-damn, what was that?" Shaan gripped his dual swords tightly, readying himself for another sudden strike from the creature. "I didn't even see where it came from. Where is it?"
[I don't know either. It might be hiding its body underground to stay out of sight,] Robin replied, aiming his arrow forward.
[But I'm certain the creature is still nearby. We have to stay on guard, Shaan.]
Once again, the ground trembled — and suddenly, a pair of massive claws burst up from the ground. Shaan quickly ordered Robin Hood to shoot several arrows at the thing, but unfortunately, the creature's movement was quite fast, and it managed to escape.
[Damn it!] Robin Hood cursed in frustration. [That pesky thing is moving faster than I expected.]
"Yeah, if it continues like this, we won't be able to attack it at all. We need to slow it down somehow — then we can attack more easily."
[Right. But how?]
"There must be something around here we can use to slow it down or at least mark it." Shaan started observing the area. "We just need to find something we can use to…"
Shaan suddenly froze as he noticed two dark green barrels not far from where he was standing. One of them lay on the gravel surface, leaking some kind of thick, black liquid. Without hesitation, Shaan walked over to inspect it more closely and find out what the liquid was.
"Hmm… turns out this is an oil barrel," Shaan muttered, catching the scent of kerosene. "Looks like we can use this stuff to mark the creature that's trying to attack us."
[But how?]
"I'll lure the creature over here, and when it gets close, shoot your arrows to burst the barrel. This thick black oil will stick to its body, making it easier for us to track it."
[Interesting. Let's do it then.]
Shaan quickly returned to the spot where he had first encountered the terrifying creature. Almost instantly, the same vibrations struck again — only this time, they rushed rapidly toward him. Without a moment's delay, Shaan sprinted toward the barrel, with the monstrous creature just centimeters behind him.
"Robin Hood, now!"
Robin Hood's arrow shot swiftly toward one of the oil barrels, and in an instant, the barrel exploded. The thick black liquid inside splattered outward, hitting the monstrous creature dead-on. Realizing this, Shaan moved without hesitation, launching a flurry of attacks.
Slash! Slash!