The rain fell in sheets, showing no sign of stopping. The ground was already saturated into a muddy swamp, the water rising up to ankle-deep.
Michael's heart pounded in his chest, watching in growing horror as the Titan Spawns leaped into the trench, their dark forms filled with water.
Isha's arms blurred as she unleashed one [Lightning shot] after another, killing any Titan Spawns that were in the water. But he knew she could not continue on like that, her eyes were bloodshot like everyone else.
Instead of continuing to attack like Liam, who sent a volley of [Whispering Arrows] at the roaches, or Nairobi who hurled [Fireball] after [Fireball], Michael paused, thinking.
Michael knew that simply blasting away with spells was an exercise in sheer futility. To defeat this tide, they needed a plan, a strategy. Blindly attacking them would only extend their time of eventual defeat. They had to think of something.
An idea formed in his mind, but he was not sure whether it would be any good or not. If it did not work, he would simply be wasting his Mana for nothing. No, not his Mana, he had more Mana than he could ever use—it was his strength and ability to continue casting his spell he would be throwing away.
But he had to take that chance, didn't he? There was no other option.
Michael, turned to Isha. She seemed to know more spells than anyone else in the group. "Isha do you know any spell that can split the pool water between us and them?"
Isha, face streaked with rain and grime, nodded. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing complicated, but I'm not sure if it will work or not."
Isha sighed. "Well, any strategy is better than nothing."
Isha halted her Lightning spell, her arms dropping to her sides. With a deep breath, she focused her attention on a different spell. The ground beneath their feet vibrated, humming like a phone in vibration mode. Then, with a surge of power, a line of rock erupted from the earth. It was no thicker than an average person's leg, but it was solid, stretching across the battlefield, parallel to the trench that encircled the village. The spell split up the pool of water between them and the tide of roaches.
No sooner had the rock formation finished forming, Isha resumed her assault on the Titan Spawns, electricity arcing through the water with crackling fury.
Michael focused his mental image for the [Thermo Domain] but instead of imagining a dome of required temperature, he imagined it as a large rectangular prism with its height just enough to cover the pool of water. Maintaining this mental image was a demanding task, far more challenging than the simple creation of a dome.
The pool of water in front of them, separated by the stone formation before their feet began to change. Ice crystals formed on the surface of the water, spreading like a spiderweb. But he was working with such a large volume of water—it put an immense strain on Michael's mental and Mana reserves, the freezing process slow.
"Whatever you are doing, do it fast," Isha said. "I cannot continue on. I am too exhausted … If only I had something to deal with Mana exhaustion."
Michael blinked. Didn't he have a Coral Stone that could be used for just that purpose? At least, according to Liam.
He produced the pouch of coral stone from his pocket—he never went anywhere without it—and picked out four stones from within it and proffered it to Isha.
Isha smiled, then laughed. "You are not completely useless after all."
Insufferable girl! Did she have to quip now of all times?
Nairobi and Liam took their own share of Coral Stone as well. Nairobi had as much Mana as Michael. And Liam was drawing Michael's own Mana, so everyone was equally exhausted.
Michael crushed the coral stone in his hand with his Mana and power surged into him, the exhaustion he had felt before for using Mana non-stop puffed away like a mist in the sun.
Isha, who was next to him, sighed with relief. "This is much better."
The speed of her [Lightning shot] increased. The impact of each strike was devastating, sending shockwaves through the water.
Nairobi's Fireballs grew in size and intensity, each flame killing one roach and wounding more than a few of them.
Even Liam's [Whispering Arrow]—though not as effective as the fire spell—produced a deeper dent on the roaches' carapace than before. Two arrows were enough to break their carapace and a third to kill them.
Yet, no matter how many blasts of spells they hurled towards the roaches, the hordes never stopped coming. Eventually, the pool of water in the trench was crowded with enough dead that others could simply cross it by stepping over the corpses of their fellow monsters.
Just as the first roach stepped beyond the second trench, the pool of water froze completely. Turning into a giant slab of ice that would have resembled a figure skating rink if the ice wasn't brown because of mud.
The giant roach that stepped into the ice slipped, its own momentum sending it spinning like a top. The Titan Spawns that followed suffered likewise. Michael had never thought that a day would come when he would watch scores of giant cockroaches spinning like a ballerina.
Ha! His plan had worked. He couldn't stop himself from laughing, tears in his eyes.