They squoze out

Scorpion people and 'defeat' didn't go so well together. Their scales crunched in protest, and each scorpion seemed angrier than the other.

They had every ounce of power required to wipe Bardeelus' team out of existence, but safety protocol encouraged them otherwise.

Bardeelus noticed this dead-obvious resistance from their side, though he was suspicious over their internal reasons. This resistance couldn't be due to their orderly nature alone, he didn't believe that. 

Instead, through a thought-out request, he urged Audera to read a few of the enemy minds. "They're scared of the red bugs, so try to figure out why. Also, follow my lead, we may only have one shot at running away."

He knew that escaping wasn't easy for the team. There were nearly four-hundred scorpions here, and their focus weighed over the 'guests' now, rather than those slaves that already escaped. Their coordination can be deadly at this point, so he aimed to dismantle it as best as he could. 

The host who had walked them around the mine, proved himself a great barricade against trouble. No one knew that he was killed and spiritually enslaved!

Since a bunch of bugs surrounded him still, the other scorpions came to believe the 'reality' that the host was utterly scared. 

These red bandit bugs were just enough to intimidate the scorpion people, and Bardeelus wanted to know why. If he figured that part out, then the latter portion of this escape plan could play out smoothly. 

Anyway, to stall for a bit more time, and to set each enemy brain towards the right direction, he forced the host to talk and reason with the scorpions. 

"We have to be careful, guys. They have us at a chokehold here and shit, don't be stupid." The host said.

Such vocabulary seemed odd, and unlikely for the host to use. Bardeelus' vocabulary was mountains upon mountains below by scale, and now it projected on the host he enslaved. It was a bit funny, though dangerous. 

The other scorpions were getting suspicious, but his plan still worked well. The scorpions started thinking about the bugs more, necessarily, why the bugs were dangerous ~ Audera viciously listened into their thoughts.

"Fatty sting," A scorpion thought.

"Yuck, they have six legs." Another cringed.

Such information wasn't so useful, so Audera listened a while longer. 

"Maybe it's not too late to grab some bows. We can kill at least half of them without getting stung." One scorpion plotted.

Similarly, another figured. "Spears… Yes, those could work. Haven't exterminated bugs for a long time, but… gotta stay away. They're sand proof, stupid fuckers."

"Sand proof?" Audera mumbled. 

It took her a couple of seconds to process those words, but once she did, she felt overly excited. That aside, she now understood what kind of escape route Bardeelus wanted to pave for the team, so she decided to share this new information, for progress' sake.

"Their powers don't work on these bugs, Bardo! We gotta move before they find weapons!" She yelled out. 

"Bardo?" Bardeelus grunted, "Guess that's the best nickname I can get."

Distractions aside, he was actually very responsive to this new information. He had craved such an upper advantage, after all.

He yelled back, "Have the bugs make a line between us and the scorpions, only half of the bugs though! Use the other half to chase these fuckers away, we'll be free soon!"

The plan was simple, but flawless. Audera's mind control grip on the six, hot footed bugs was still strong, so they abided her command right away. 

Over three hundred bugs charged at the scorpions! Considering how big each bug was, this charge seemed like an invasion!

The enslaved 'host', was ordered to attack his own people too, with all of the firepower he had. It seemed hilarious from a certain perspective, but effective nonetheless.

The scorpion people ran away, as expected ~ This confirmed the theory that their powers didn't work against blistering hot, red bandits. Since the scorpions were not armed either, because they didn't even use pickaxes in this mine, fleeing was their best option.

The odds were against them. There was no battling these two-foot long, red colored bugs, who had eight-inch stingers!

Audera followed the plan to the letter, too. She had the three-hundred other bugs follow and protect her team, along with the three slaves which had followed them across the mine so far.

Bardeelus' sister, and the two other slaves by her side, hadn't ran away with the rest of those slaves, no. They preferred the familiarity of this group, rather than running around aimlessly across the forest.

It was perhaps the best decision too, because these three slaves and the rest of the team got escorted by three hundred, able-bodied bugs! It was the safest bet, and they reached the exit in no time. 

After that point, there was the matter of not getting followed, by the four-hundred or so enemy scorpion people. Bardeelus managed to push this whole mine of people towards a great disadvantage, but such superiority may not last long. 

So after they got out of the mine, it was smart to do a simple, but strategic move. 

"Have the 'hot foots' melt this exit down. We gotta throw everything we have against the scorpions." Bardeelus guided. 

Erdeta, who had been scared shitless so far, didn't want to idle around anymore. She had to point out the obvious.

"Are you blind? The scorpions can turn stone into dust in seconds, so this'll just slow us down, rather than them." She said.

"It won't, we're not gonna watch them bugs smooch some stone." Bardeelus said, "The bugs will do all the work, we're bouncing."

It was the most noble thing to do. This entire colony of bugs escaped unharmed so far, and even when the scorpions break out of the mine, they may not be able to hurt the bugs. 

Normal water was the only thing that could kill these red bandits immediately, so it wasn't even cruel to bring them out here, near mother nature's radiant greenery. When Audera would loosen her magical grip she had on them, these bugs may not even wait around; They can just melt their way back underground.

With all of that considered, Bardeelus' request was carried out. The three available 'hot foots' started melting the exit down, with their effective, heated legs, while the team made a run for it. 

The flexibility these bugs had against stone was mesmerizing. They slit the hard stone upon will, and managed to drop large boulders across the exit in no time. The idea was effective, because the exit got blocked and sealed shut in under five minutes!

By then, Bardeelus and his team were gone. Virtually no one could follow them, and since this plan went so well, he and Erdeta could indulge in a little side-task now; He wanted to find, and kill the many scorpion scouts which roamed the forest. 

His plans were really effective so far, but he also had to make sure that the scouts couldn't report back to the mine later on. There were plenty of slaves that broke free, and he wanted to make sure that they didn't end up there, in the same mine again. Regional information had to be repressed!

"We have time," He thought, "Though, it's getting harder to keep my slaves alive."

He left the four slaves which he brought from the camp, near the mine's exit. They were to shoot against any human that got out of the mine, which should prove effective. 

Though, he wished that these slaves would die a bit sooner. The burden of keeping their hearts pumping, became more overwhelming the further he walked away from them!