The eerie sound of screeching filled the air as the monsters cried in pain and rage, witnessing countless of their brethren's deaths.
Countless monsters' bodies littered the battlefield. Even after that, the onslaught showed no signs of the end.
"Let's push through it." The leader commanded.
""Yes"" The team answered in unison.
A green hue flared around the leader's body as wind psions started to swirl and gather around him. He pointed his bastard sword forward. The air around him whirled and shifted as the wind formed a protective barrier that cocooned him.
Bom! Swoosh!
He vanished from the spot, leaving behind a big, massive crater. The ground trembled under the impact of his departure, dust and debris swirling in the aftermath.
The rest of his team followed, each of them moving in a blur that left afterimages.
The wind shield surrounding the leader sliced through any monsters that dared to approach. Blood spraying across the ground as he cut down the creatures.
"To the left." Lilis shouted from behind, guiding him the right way.
Nodding his head, he took a turn to the left. As they ventured, the monster's strength increased with each wave, reaching A and A+ rank, but that didn't pose much of a problem to the leader.
Boom!
Suddenly a loud crash reverberated through the area as his path was blocked by a monster. He looked at the monster with a slight surprise.
The monster had an imposing figure; its length reached a span of 100 meters, far taller than other monsters he had seen. And it had golden eyes that shimmered in the darkness. Aside from other bee monsters, its wings were beautiful golden wings that almost looked like butterflies's.
"Hmm, it stopped my movements." Surprise was evident in his face, but it didn't last long; by stopping him, the monster had gained fatal injury.
Burst!
With his wind imbued punch, the monster burst into pieces. "Is this the queen?" He asked Lilis, only to see that she shook her head in denial.
"No, I can sense a more powerful monster ahead of us." She said, pointing her fingers to the front where this monster came.
Looking to the front, he saw a swarm of monsters with golden eyes and wings approaching them, their speed faster than the monsters they fought before.
"More than 200 of them," he mumbled. "Prepare for battle; since the monster stopped me, it must be S-rank or above." He commanded. Gripping his bastard sword, he took his stance. Mana rippled around him intensely as the hue oozing out of him changed from green to light blue.
Wzum!
He disappeared from his spot and appeared in front of the first monster leading the group.
His sword glowed intensely as he put mana into it, and with a clean single motion, he cleaved the creature in two.
"Let's go." He called out, his voice sharp and authoritative.
Behind him, the others unleashed their mana, their bodies glowing as they readied their weapons. With a burst of speed, they launched at the monsters.
The leader didn't wait for them to join and support him; instead, he went on a killing spree.
He leaped on to the monster's head, driving his straight into its eyes, the golden orb bursting with a sickening sound as thick, warm fluid splattered on his body, bathing him with the golden liquid.
Imbuing his legs with mana, he crushed the monster stomped, causing the skull to crack and burst.
Without wasting any seconds, he launched at another monster, ending it by creating a big, passable hole in his body.
"As expected of our leader, he took four of them down in a few seconds." He said it with a tone of admiration and amazement. Their leader's name was Lucas Veldiorak, SS ranker, 50th in world ranking. So they didn't have any worries since they fully trusted their leader.
"Focus on fighting; one mishap could lead to death." Lucas angrily said.
"Yes, sir." shaking off his thoughts, he concentrated on the fight.
His body started to glow in golden as he fought with the monster. Although he couldn't one shot the monster like his leader, he did put up a good fight, but what was most interesting was that every time he got an injury, it rapidly healed without a spot.
"Heh, an healer going on close combat!? Guess the Asclepius family is slowly changing." The leader commented as he observed the blonde haired youth.
After confirming they are alright and doing well, he focused on dealing with the monster. After 10 more minutes, they completely wiped out the swarm of monsters.
"Let's go. If we take any break, more monsters will be coming," he said, taking out a high-ranking mana recovery potion he gulped down.
Once again casting a protective barrier with his wind element, they started running to their destination.
Minutes stretched into nearly half an hour, and they almost covered 100 kilometers, but they couldn't spot a single monster.
"Hmm, why can't we see any monsters here?" Lucas muttered.
"Are we going in the right direction?" he asked Lilis, growing suspicious as he couldn't see the signs of enemies. Seeing her nod, the leader's suspicion increased.
'Either they grouped with the queen and are waiting for us, or they are hiding somewhere, but that is not possible. Lilis has extraordinary detection ability, so she would have sensed. I think the queen is waiting for us'
"Let's stop here and replenish our stamina and mana." Lucas said, bringing them to a halt.
""Yes sir""
As the others rested, Lucas approached Lilis. "Can you detect where the monsters are?"
She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then suddenly her eyes shot wide open. "It seems the monsters are gathering at the queen's side." She said it instantly.
"And large swarms of low ranking monsters are approaching here; with their speed, it will take at least 3 to 4 hours. But the good thing is that the backup has arrived and is fighting the monsters."
"So we have to hurry, huh? Good, you can rest now."
"Yes." She nodded and sat with a group of people.
….
"Let's go now." After resting for fifteen minutes, they started to move. They grew nervous as they got closer and closer to their enemy hive.
After all, they are only people with A rank to S+ ranks, with most of them being A+ and S- rank, but all of the soldiers' combat power far exceeds their actual ranks and were selected for this mission.
But the problem lies with the swarm; that's why they are nervous since they have to fight prolonged battles.
"Fear not; as long as I'm here, I will do my best to keep you guys safe." Lucas flashed a reassuring smile, trying to ease the growing tension.
"We arriv–" Lilis started to say, but her words were cut short as the eerie shrieks of monsters filled the air. The soldiers immediately stiffened, gripping their weapons tighter.
Schwee! Schweee! Schweee!
"It seems they detected us." Taking out his sword, he prepared to battle. "Are you guys ready?"
""Yes sir""
"Kill to survive, survive to kill."
""Kill to survive, survive to kill," they said in unison.
It's a rule that teachers teach every student in school and the academy. Kill to survive: If you need to survive in this world, then you need to kill whatever poses a threat to your life.
Survive to kill: these words are meant for hunters; their whole job is to survive and kill, survive again and kill again. Even if it's other races or humans, you need to kill them without exception.
This rule also applies to growing in strength. This world is not a peaceful place; constant danger lurks here that could pose a threat to your life, so if it's to gain strength, you have to take the extreme path to survive.
The surrounding air began to glow as the team released their mana, creating a vibrant display of different hues. The ground rippled under the intense pressure of their combined energy, causing the monsters to shriek in alarm as they realized the danger they faced.
The swarm launched at them with terrifying speed, leaving blurred afterimages in their wake. Their golden-glowing stingers were aimed at their enemies with deadly intent.
Lucas was the first to act. Gripping his bastard sword, he raised it high, the mana swirling around it causing the very air to distort.
「World Splitter」
He swung his sword downward, taking another stance, he swung horizontally and then vertically.
All of his slashes seemed slow, graceful, yet powerful and elegant. Stopping midway, he looked at the swarms of monsters, and seeing they were still arriving at him and his team, he smirked.
"It seems like they haven't realized anything." In a few seconds, their bodies moved bit by bit. Sensing something was amiss, they instantly stopped themselves, only to fall into multiple pieces.
Thud! Thud! Roll! Roll! Roll!
One of the monster's heads rolled toward Lucas' feet. Without a second thought, he stepped on it, his gaze fixed on the next wave of creatures. Releasing his killing intent, he taunted the monster.
Smash!
Schwee!
The monsters cried frantically and rushed at the soldiers with growing rage.
"Even though they're above A rank, they still can't clearly think. What a noisy bunch." Lucas commented, shaking his head.
"Let's go"
""Yes sir""
Enveloping their bodies with mana, they rushed at the incoming swarms. Gripping their weapons, they unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Spells and skills lit up the battlefield, overwhelming the monsters. Their emotional frenzy made them reckless, and they were caught in the crossfire of devastating strikes. In mere moments, dozens fell, their golden eyes to turn hazy.
'Are they really above S- ranks? Lucas thought as the monsters were dying quickly. 'But they are definitely the same, and where is the queen?' He looked at Lilis. 'She is not detecting any abnormalities. Something's amiss.'
After thirty minutes of fighting, they killed all of the monsters. Again, another swarm approached, but this time the amount was double the previous one.
….
After a few more swarms, each with double the amount, they exhausted most of their mana reserve and stamina.
"Huh, sir–"
Boom!
Before she could complete her words, a loud explosion resonated.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Wing flapping sounds reverberated throughout the place. The debris slowly settled down, revealing more than 50,000 monsters. Inside their pack, one monster stood out. The monster reached a span of 400 meters in length; its golden mixed with silver eyes and wings shone, and there was a small crown on the head of the monster.
Without warning, a blinding light burst from the creature. The team shielded their eyes, and when the light finally dimmed, they found themselves staring at the scene with shock. All of the monsters were falling to the ground, like their life force sucked out.
Amidst this, a lone figure stood, a figure of a female human who is stark naked, showing her voluptuous body.
"H..u.ma…ns"
Shiver!