John was tense.
Every onlooker around was tense.
But none of them could truly grasp the depth of the tension felt by the three woodpeckers trapped inside the Iron Dome.
Inside, the world had turned into a dark hell of endless, deafening noise.
The metallic clanging was overwhelming, pounding against their minds, rattling their very bones.
"I can't hold on anymore!" chirped the pecker who had cast the Iron Sphere Wall.
But his voice was swallowed by the endless noise.
No one could hear him—not even the two at his side.
In desperation, he clawed at the others, trying to alert them through pain.
The other two, stunned by the noise, flinched at the sudden claws scratching their thighs.
The pain snapped them out of their stupor—reminding them that the real danger was far from over.
Cracks began to spiderweb across the Iron Dome.
More and more cones grew out from the giant tree, endlessly firing at the battered shield.
It had turned into a brutal machine of destruction.
