Thus, the three druids started a bloody battle to the death with the invading swarm in this crude stone hall that was no more than ten square meters.
The excessively narrow terrain gave neither side too much room to dodge or move. The only thing they could do was use their bodies of flesh and blood to endure the enemies' assault and retaliate with their most wicked attacks. Battle techniques and means of murder were inconsequential in such a scenario. The only useful things were strong physical defenses and ferocious offenses.
At first, the two tanking druids could still hold off against the wild strikes of the swarm with the protection of Barkskin and Bramblethorn Armor. However, when the green shield was scratched into shattered sparks by the hive, the Earth Mauler had no choice but to roar and cover himself with a layer of stone armor. The Giant Raging Ape also did something similar and covered his body with a yellow armor.
They had both chosen to transform into earth magical beasts that were known for their toughness. As such, they could still hold off the enemy for a bit longer through their abilities, even after losing their elementium protections.
The treant being protected by them in the middle was also now surrounded by hordes of beetles. He could only lift his wooden legs and stomp about as much as he could. His thick arms had also turned into long tree whips, violently lashing at the dense swarm.
Insect blood splashed everywhere as shells cracked and splintered.
The entire hall tremored and shook.
Hoarse battlecries filled the air, along with the sound of pounding fists and the deafening chittering and chattering.
The black tide of insects gradually covered the three towering silhouettes in the stone hall; it was difficult even to see them now. One only knew that they were still alive and stubbornly fighting by the occasional insect corpse that got flung across the room.
Just as the three druids were slipping up against the ferocious swarm, a few black silhouettes climbed up above them along the walls. The next second, an order was given as the six magical mantises split into three groups. They all lunged down from above and stabbed or slashed with their exceedingly sharp limbs at the bodies of the druids.
Aaaaaaah!
A pained, loud cry reverberated throughout the stone hall, spreading in every direction through the tunnels and the cracks between the rock layers.
…………
A group of three druids was fighting its way forward in another underground tunnel.
Suddenly, they heard that low, gravelly roar of agony from the depths of the underground. A druid that had transformed into a jaguar lifted his head and betrayed an expression of immense shock and fury.
"It's Tor! Something's happened to his squad."
This druid had an extremely close relationship with Tor. His heart felt like it was boiling in oil when he heard the agonized cry of his friend, and tremendous anxiety and anger overtook him.
Despite how much he increased the speed at which he struck with his Shadow Claw, he was incapable of finishing off this group of several hundreds of insects. He was helpless in the face of this emergency.
The druid in the group that had transformed into a woodpecker calmly arranging its feathers had a sudden shift in expression. A dangerous and murderous light gleamed in the woodpecker's eyes. The bird leaped forward as its body rapidly started to swell and distort.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed from a harmless woodpecker into a Firelion shrouded in magical flames.
His lithe and powerful body had just formed, and the surging fires had already burned the remaining beetles in the tunnel to a crisp. His intimidating lion's head turned back and shouted out, "Follow closely!" He then turned and charged into the distant darkness without looking back.
Along the way, the raging fires on his body occasionally stretched and shrunk, scorching the beetles that were continuously squeezing out of the cracks in the walls. The druid quickly leaped into the depths underground.
These scattered swarms of insects could not possibly stop the advance of such a powerful Second Grade firelion!
The two First Grade druids immediately followed after that scorching path of flame in joyful surprise, closely following behind the Second Grade druid master.
Just as the druid master quickly entered a new tunnel after a fork, the path he was previously in mysteriously collapsed.
The two First Grade druids stopped their feet in shock!
Before they could even figure out what it was that had happened, the chattering sound in the tunnel grew louder and louder. The dark, black swarm emerged from various tunnels, ditches, and cracks, trapping the druids in here. Behind the squirming swarm, four black shapes were also silently approaching.
A dozen seconds later, the death throes of two druids also rang out of this place– sorrowful and tragic cries!
…………
Bug Adept Billis had to send out two intermediate First Grade magical mantises with every group as insurance for dealing with those beginner First Grade druids. Moreover, with the tide-like swarm, the druids that had their escape path cut off had no chance of fleeing!
Billis, who had found his ticket out of this sticky entrapment, would have trouble bringing such a tremendous number of insects with him.
To thoroughly squeeze every bit of utility out of the remaining twenty thousand insects, Billis didn't mind committing to such an extravagant and wild strategy!
The bug adept utilized his familiarity with the labyrinth and his comprehensive grasp of the battlefield at all times to toy with the enemy, working expertly with strategies such as isolating, cutting reinforcements, interventions, and fixed ambushes. Billis trapped all the druids in a sea of insects at the price of exhausting his swarm, then proceeded to lay traps and bait as he liked.
Once a First Grade druid was isolated, Billis would unhesitatingly strike out, even if he had to lose thousands of insects to accomplish his goal of killing the druid. He would either collapse the tunnel and separate the enemy or simply send out the swarm to stall the Second Grade druid. At any rate, those trapped First Grade druids couldn't dream of escaping unscathed once Billis found an opportunity to strike!
With the masterful use of the labyrinth's advantage and the rapid exhaustion of the swarm, the casualties to the druids underground started to rise exponentially.
The hidden Second Grade druids didn't seem to realize the severity of the issue at first. By the time they started to sense life auras vanishing quickly in succession, they could no longer hold back. All of them burst out with their full force!
At this point, the number of insects had also been drastically reduced from its initial twenty-one thousand to its currently meager four thousand.
Billis sensed the constant explosions of energy flux in the labyrinth and finally gave the order to retreat.
All surviving insects seemed to have gone mad at that instant, wildly throwing themselves at what remained of the druids. Bug Adept Billis used a secret tunnel to gather with five of his magical mantises as well as a thousand insects carefully picked out from the swarm in a spot underground.
The Burrower that had just hatched was laying here, taking large bites out of the druid corpses sent over by the insect army. It had only been half an hour, but its powers had improved tremendously. It had evolved from a young worm to a grown worm!
"Let's go!"
Billis hissed under his breath while cloaked in his black robes.
The Burrower–now thicker–started to crawl toward one side of the wall like a massive snail. The speed at which it moved was almost infuriatingly slow.
However, the moment its fat intestinal body touched the stone wall, its concentric formation of sharp teeth pierced the earth, and the Burrower started to suck. The rock layer that was meant to be even tougher than steel had a one and a half meter long tunnel dug out of it.
Don't judge the Burrower based solely on the fact that its entire body was made of flesh and fiber. It was important to note that Burr
owers were the best option when dealing with earth and rock layers.
Much like a swimming fish tossed into the water, the initially fat and slow body of the Burrower suddenly turned agile. A smooth and wide tunnel appeared before Billis' eyes at a rate visible to the naked eye. The shaft was still quickly spreading forward.
Billis nodded in satisfaction as he lifted his leg and jumped onto a magical mantis. The mantis then dove into the tunnel with him upon it.
The other magical mantises quickly followed after, as the one thousand insects following at the very rear marched forward along with him while also trying their best to destroy the tunnels behind them.
As large clouds of dirt and sand collapsed from above, this tunnel that had just appeared was quickly covered and buried under thick sand and dirt.
Chapter 676 Player and Chess
"Someone's got their eye on us now!" Alice casually said.
She was currently, elegantly, sitting in front of a wooden table, slowly spreading the tarot cards in her hand.
The back of every single tarot card was carved with delicate and mysterious patterns.
Apart from some eye-catching colors in the patterns, the cards only had meaningless magical lines on them, especially to the eyes of outsiders. However, in the eyes of the Fate Witches, every wave and turn in these patterns were soaked with an indescribable aura of mystery.
These patterns were formed from twisted letters and symbols that only diviners could accurately decipher!
It was clearly a damp and dark underground stone hall.
Yet, if one were to look at Alice's elegant and casual appearance, her delicate and extravagant silk robe, the expensive velvet tablecloth upon the table, and the flashing crystal ball at a corner of the table…
Greem had a mysterious feeling in his heart. He felt as if he were inside a breezy hall of paradise, holding a crystalline wineglass in his hand, swirling its contents, and enjoying the fragrant scent within as he silently listened to the sweet words of a beautiful diviner.
Perhaps this was a unique aura of Fate Witches!
They could always take someone's mind beyond reality and place them in an enchanting and fantastical scene.
Greem rubbed his right fingers together and confirmed that there was no such crystal goblet in his hand. He then awkwardly sat straight and pursued a question with a frown on his face, "Can you confirm who it is that has their eye on us?"
"Well, there's definitely one clone of a Moonlight Goddess among them (advanced Third Grade)!" Alice was still slowly flipping the tarot cards over, "We have already offended her thoroughly. Do you believe me? The moment our positions are exposed, a portal will instantly open before us, and swarms of Second and Third Grade powerhouses will emerge from within."
"Second and Third Grade powerhouses…" Greem sucked at his teeth. His head ached.
The Crimson Clan was only a newly-established adept clan right now. Most of its clan members were no more than beginner or intermediate First Grade. If they were to run into the clone of the Moonlight Goddess with their current strength, the enemy would crush them as easily as she would crush ants.
The reason they could still live on so comfortably at the moment was due to their stealthy and constant movements. If the enemy intercepted them in Garan, hehehe; the terrifying consequence was one that Greem didn't even want to imagine.
"Moreover, that Moonlight Goddess' clone isn't the most troublesome of them all." It almost seemed like Alice wasn't aware of what she was saying. She was still talking as slowly and casually as before.
"You mean, we have even more troublesome enemies to deal with?" Greem's frown deepened.
"Of course!" Alice pursed her lips and smiled. The damp and dark stone room was instantly lit up by her smile, "That pretty girlfriend of yours did a good job. She even managed to catch the attention of the main elven god, Saoirse! Fortunately, Saoirse only cast down a manifestation of her holy will. Her combat power isn't that strong."
Greem laughed awkwardly and intentionally ignored how Alice referred to Mary. Instead, he carefully asked, "How strong is your ‘isn't that strong’?"
"Probably just beginner Fourth Grade!" Alice's smile became even brighter.
Holy crap, beginner Fourth Grade.
Greem's feelings were practically falling apart!
The Fourth Grade divine manifestation of the elven chief god's will was probably nothing to the Fourth Grade Pale Witch. It would be like a meat bun challenging a dog; that clone would be done for. However, if she were to deal with them, then even Third Grade Dark Witch Uzzah would not be able to escape with absolute certainty! As for the remaining adepts? They would most certainly be condemned to death. There was no chance of survival.
Greem then frowned as he spoke.
"This is the main reason you have been forbidding the flying ship from mobilizing?"
"Of course! Over the past few days, the two goddesses have been keeping their eyes fixated on the southwest coast. If we dare to show ourselves, the next group of people to intercept us would be a large group of high-grade spiritualists."
"Then, are we safe here? There has to be at least one or two gods amongst the elven pantheon that specializes in divination and prophecies, aren't there?" Greem was suddenly tense again.
"Hmph! The elves would already have made their way here by the time you thought of that!" Alice rolled her eyes at him unamusedly, "Isn't that why I had my witches carve so many anti-divination arrays on the island over the past few days? It's all to obscure the scrying and senses of the elven gods."
Alice seemed to have been reminded of the Fate Witches that died during the last battle upon saying this. Her eyes silently turned red.
If they wanted to master the powers of fate, the Fate Witches had no choice but to sacrifice the magical powers they had formerly possessed. However, without the protection of their magical powers, every single Fate Witch was as frail as paper.
These witches who claimed to have control over the powers of fate could only latch onto certain powerful factions if they wanted to establish themselves in the tumultuous and dangerous world that was the World of Adepts. The Fate Witches might have a pair of eyes that could see through the complex world of possibilities, but they did not have sufficient strength to alter or obtain anything.
For example, Alice herself had severely exhausted her life due to the excessively frequent use of the powers of fate. Her remaining life force was not sufficient to sustain her until her advancement to Second Grade.
Thus, if she wanted to take the risk and undergo advancement prematurely, she had no choice but to steel herself and enter this Faen Plane populated by pantheons of gods.
The practically powerless Alice had only managed to establish herself in Garan with the dedicated support of Greem and his subordinate Crimson Clan. The current situation might still be shrouded in mist and clouds without a clue as to the best step to take next, but at least she had successfully secured a seat at the table.
The entirety of Garan was like a massive chessboard. The only ones who were qualified to make moves upon it were either gods or Fourth Grade witches like Rimura. Even Third Grade witches like Uzzah could only be used as chess pieces that charged forward mindlessly. They had no ability to influence the outcome and direction of the game.
Alice was only First Grade now and was even less qualified to play against the gods.
However, the powers of fate were truly mystical. There were plenty of times where they didn't rely on face-to-face confrontations against the enemy to acquire victory.
What she needed to do now was to secure her position as a player and silently observe the changes and state of the chessboard. Then all she had to do was wait until the time was ripe to use all her power to snatch away the most insignificant chess piece from the enemy's board!
One could say that Alice's most significant advantage was, in fact, her immense weakness!
It was because of how weak she was that no chess piece or player woul
d treat her as a noteworthy character alongside the gods and the Fourth Grade witches. That then gave her the possibility of laying out the board and influencing certain outcomes in a calm and composed manner!
However, it was still far too risky to attempt to shift the direction of the chess match, even with the combination of Fate Witches, Dark Witches, and the Crimson Clan. Over the past few days, Alice had been hesitating between advancing and retreating. She had been even more frustrated over the chaos of the chess match.
However, Alice couldn't help but acknowledge the power of Greem's subordinates. Forget the fact that this mysterious fire adept was such a powerful individual himself; even the few subordinates he had somehow recruited were all so unorthodox and weird.
Mary was a Second Grade vampire after all. She led her vicious blood knights and blood elves, running from the west coast to the north and extending the fires of war to the north-central section of the Fantasy Forest.
That Bug Adept Billis was even stranger. He was only an advanced First Grade adept, yet he was jumping about with all the liveliness in the world despite being surrounded by Second and Third Grade elves near Greenwater City itself.
It was important to note that Greenwater City was currently a military stronghold! Even the number of Fourth Grade powerhouses and god messengers probably exceeded five, not to mention the Second and Third Grade combat professions that likely numbered in the double digits! An insignificant and tiny bug adept was digging through their very beds and had yet to be exterminated.
This…
Alice tilted her head and thought for a moment. She couldn't find the appropriate words to praise this cute bug adept!
In truth, it was the multi-pronged distractions of Bug Adept Billis and Bloody Queen Mary that allowed the central mountains that had always been shrouded in the dense mist of fate to be ever so slightly exposed.
Even though Alice could not yet divine anything concrete about the area, this was an excellent omen!
At the very least, she had already managed to divine some of the information related to the Staff of Divination.
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