Chapter: 896

Still, it didn't move. It didn't even blink. Jay wasn't even sure if it could.

He had not stared at it for this long, but its eyes seemed glazed over and its mind absent, as if it had been daydreaming for a millennium.

Seeing no response, Jay safely continued towards the portal. Blue brought Sweeper's upper body back and Jay fed bones to it as they walked. Blue had the humble duty of holding Sweeper's body until its legs regrew.

The thunder of rushing knights continued overhead while the sounds of clashing steel echoed from the passage.

Jay ignored them as he kept track of the crushing white stone, which was creeping back to the tentacle carried along by the root floor.

"I wonder how far it can throw that thing." He thought, hoping he was out of its range, "Perhaps it won't throw it near the edge of the room. The roots here seem too small to retrieve it again."

The tentacle was about 260 feet (80 meters) from the head, and probably not long enough to reach the other side, meaning skeletons could attack the head from the unguarded side - but Jay was not counting on it being the only one that the giant head could summon as defense.

By the time Jay made it to the portal, Sweeper was back to being whole, so he sent it, along with Blue, back towards the head.

This time, their task was simple: run frantically around the head and cause all the tentacles to spring up and reveal themselves. Practically, they were looking for gaps in the defense.

The tentacle had since reclaimed its white cap stone, but had not launched it at them, even while the skeletons chopped away at the portal root. These giant tentacles were only for defense, or perhaps the head cared little for the milk-liquid root.

Jay stood near the portal, seeing his vague reflection in its shimmering surface, though he decided not to go through to the other side - not until it was secure.

(Red, go through and secure the other side. Kill whatever needs to be killed. I'll be there shortly… use your head.)

Jay kept Lamp and Handy chopping away as he waited at the side. Of course, he kept a distance in case the root was under high pressure; he didn't want to die the same way the knight outside the stone doors did.

So far, progress was slow, as the root was much larger, older, and thicker than all the others they had come across.

With Red exploring the other side of the portal, Blue and Handy pestering around the giant head, all Jay could do was wait.

From the passageway, one armor clad figure appeared.

"Huh?" Jay raised a brow, barely spotting it from the other side of the room.

A knight had burst out at the edge of the room, rolling first before getting to his feet.

"One got through? I thought I would have longer. Damn." Jay pursed his lips.

The knight didn't even have a sword with it.

Behind it, a wall of green and gray colors had all been mixed; a mass of Ova and knights.

There were so many knights pushing their way through the passage, it was simply an over-flow. The Ova were being buried in a sea of knights, which was only growing bigger as they all charged into the meat grinder.

Oddly, the knight ignored the Ova behind it and turned, running towards Jay at the very back-right of the room.

"Seems like they have strict kill orders?" Jay guessed; it was already clear that this knight wasn't one of the intelligent ones.

The knight charged, without weapon and without reason. It was going to pass right by the giant tentacle.