Not long after the columns of liquid earth regained their natural rigid state, the stream of red chitin started to push and shove its way out of the narrow opening.
While some of them stopped to feast on the bodies of their fallen brethren, having no qualms about consuming those of their own species, most of them lusted over the fresh and juicy humans that were just waiting to be devoured.
For some reasons that were unknown to humans, human mana cores were far more potent than those of both Magical Creatures and Unknowns.
While the other two might have much more mana than humans, the mana of humans was far more pure.
It was to the point that consuming the mana from the mana core of a deceased human was far more beneficial than doing the same for any other creature.
This rule applied for both non-human monsters… As well as for humans themselves.
Driven into a ravenous frenzy at the smell of such pure mana, the chitinous monstrosities were practically climbing over each other for the chance to claim the sublime delicacies for themselves.
A decision that threw their ranks into disarray ended up impeding them instead.
There was only so much space, after all.
As the first wave of rock crabs, including the one that attacked Ginny earlier, reached the five humans, they barely had enough space to freely move enough to launch a proper attack.
While their overall height was around that of an adult human, they were about two to three times wider.
Being clumped against their brethren, they couldn't gain enough space to properly swing their claws.
The force of an attack was dependent on the mass and acceleration of the striking object.
Without being able to fully move their chitinous red arms, while their mass was unchanged, their swinging claws had significantly less acceleration and thus couldn't deal blows heavy enough to pose a proper threat to the five humans.
In fact, all of them were able to almost effortlessly parry the attacks without breaking a sweat.
Controlling a battlefield's terrain was a frightening ability. In the hands of a skilled wielder, its effects were especially devastating.
It just so happened that Captain Rick Price happened to be one such person.
While killing the fully conscious Rock Crabs was significantly more challenging than when they were still dazed, thanks to him, it was still quite manageable.
…Although it wasn't without a cost.
Smashing his war hammer at the head of one of the frontmost Rock Crabs, Rick let out a small grunt as his hammer bounced off, seemingly doing minimal damage to its target.
His face was covered in sweat, as deathly pale with exhaustion.
Considering how much mana he consumed in a short while since discovering the Rock Crabs, his mana core was almost running on empty.
However, he didn't have the option of taking a break or even stepping back for a moment to catch his breath.
If he were to back off, that would open a gap in their defences, increasing the pressure on the other four.
All he could do now was pray… Pray to somehow hold out long enough until his comrades eradicate the remaining Magical Creatures.
But that was easier said than done.
As his war hammer bounced off the creature's carapace, he was left wide open to an attack by the Rock Crab, an opportunity it didn't hesitate to use.
Swinging its claw, it swatted Rick, sending him flying a few meters back.
(BOOM)
"Arghh!"
Although the attack wasn't that strong due to the limited space, since Rick had already lost his balance, it wasn't too hard to push him back.
Before the exhausted captain could pull himself back to his post, his chitinous assaulter pushed forward, aiming to thoroughly utilize the gap Rick left behind to push past the human's defensive line.
If the creature could manage to do that, it would have much more space to work with and could then utilize the true strength of its monstrous claws.
Not only that, but it could attack the humans from behind, launching a pincer attack with its brethren on the other side.
The pressure on the defending humans would be far worse and could flip their current advantage…
However, just as the chitinous creature tried to push forward, a green semi-translucent wall suddenly appeared out of thin air, causing the monster crab to crash into it.
(BANG)
The translucent wall flickered as it withstood the force of the Rock Crab's body slamming into it head-on.
Without wasting a second, a certain auburn-haired youth standing nearby quickly stabbed his longsword at the green wall, but instead of being knocked back like the Rock Crab, his sword seemingly slipped right through it.
Going straight through the wall, the sword continued its momentum into the creature's foaming mouth, directly piercing its brain.
Before the creature could react to the sudden attack… It was already dead.
Although Blaine's sword wasn't lit up with white light anymore, since he had driven it into the creature's weak point, it instantly killed the Rock Crab.
As Rick pulled himself to his feet, he eyed the energy wall, a trace of recognition passing across his eyes.
He threw the auburn-haired youth a look of gratitude before rushing over to the location Blaine was guarding moments prior.
Blaine had killed one of the Rock crabs at the front of the horde and used its body as a sort of makeshift barricade.
While this earned enough time for him to rush over to patch up the hole that had opened in their formation, it wouldn't be long before the other crabs would climb over their comrade's corpse to continue their assault.
Luckily, this was enough time for Rick to arrive and take over Blaine's old post.
As soon as he managed to kill his target, Blaine dismissed the green wall of mana, and his sword lit up once more with resplended white light.
With a resolute look in his eyes, Blaine readied his blade to kill his next victim.