Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix
Chapter 1248 - 1248: Scream

"A new foolish species arrived in this zone, and with their pathetic numbers, they decided to pick a fight with us…" The insect queen said. "Small brain primates, I will make you regret this."

The ground began to shake once more, and several gusts of wind emerged from the ground once more. Before long, countless amounts of flies began to leave those holes as well and move to the sides and tried to surround Rain and Sealyn.

Still, they had some contingencies as well… before the beasts could finish their encirclement, they were bombarded by countless mana swords coming from behind Rain and Sealyn… the members of their squad, who were hidden inside their domains and invisible, decided to join the battle.

Rain had instructed the members of their squads to wait until a critical moment before revealing themselves. However, it seemed that their interpretation of a critical moment slightly differed from Rain's. As the insect queen and her swarms began their encirclement, the squad decided it was time to intervene.

Despite the timing, their appearance was a game-changer. Countless mana swords materialized behind Rain and Sealyn, launching a relentless barrage at the approaching insectoid horde. The attacks were precise, coordinated, and highly effective. The advancing reinforcements were met with a formidable wall of magical blades that halted their advance and inflicted heavy damage.

Rain couldn't help but acknowledge the effectiveness of their squads' intervention, even if the timing wasn't exactly as planned. The monsters faced a new threat from the rear, leaving them sandwiched between Rain and Sealyn in the front and the invisible squad in the rear.

"We should go all out and force her to come to attack us," Sealyn said. "Charging toward her with that wall of insects on the way won't be a good idea. I feel sick after listening to their bothersome sound."

"Agreed, show her what you can do, but don't use anything too special," Rain said, and then he used his mana to summon a blue crystal, and then he broke it.

It has been a while since Rain copied the skills of the Gemini tribe. Regardless, that proved to be highly effective as Sealyn felt her water magic reaching new heights. She immediately summoned several giant vortexes of water and made them move toward the wall of flies.

"She doesn't know the meaning behind holding back…" Rain thought and then sighed.

"She is holding back, only using half of her strength," Elisabetha said. "That is the power of her talent added with the effects of Nigel's relics and your buff. It would be even more insane if this planet had an ocean."

Rain could tell that it seemed that the title of best water mage was finally back in the hands of someone who deserved it. Now that Rain thought about it, he wondered if he had been a better water mage than Seadrei… he was pretty sure that he had been a smarter mage, though.

Regardless, the flies tried to move away from the spells, but a bunch of them were caught by the attacks before they could do anything. Those who escaped were hit by Rain's arrows.

"This a lot more fun than I expected," Rain thought. "Changing my fighting style to suit one like this might be too much, but I guess I can think of ways to use it alongside it. I need some ways to attack without expending a shit ton of mana, after all."

Rain almost had one million mana points, but he was still obsessed with efficiency. That was the kind of person he was. Regardless, while he was thinking along those lines, the insect queen reached her boiling point after watching her soldiers being massacred like that.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The insect queen shouted.

Even though Rain and Sealyn were hundreds of kilometers away, the sound of the enemy's voice made them feel uneasy, and their focus began to wane… Sealyn was controlling four water vortexes, but two of them fell apart because of that, and Rain stopped firing his arrows.

At the same time, the flies began to change. Instead of dark and grey stripes, they turned red and black completely. Their presence changed as well; it became a lot more ominous, and Rain could feel the power of corruption coming from them…

"This must be the power of gluttony… you should be very careful now," Elisabetha said.

".. Keep a tight formation and be ready to retreat as soon as possible," Rain said. "Remember our goal here."

Sealyn looked like she had a few things to say about retreating at that moment, but she didn't voice them. She wanted to stick to the plan, but while seeing the enemy in front of her, she didn't feel very compelled to retreat like that and lose such a golden chance.

The once orderly swarm of flies now resembled a turbulent cloud painted in ominous hues of red and dark black. As the menacing cloud surged forward, the buzzing of wings reached a feverish pitch, creating an unsettling cacophony that echoed through the air. The sight alone was enough to send shivers down the spines of Rain, Sealin, and their companions.

As the cloud approached, the incessant noise emanating from the flies grew louder, and the guttural sounds that escaped their mouths heightened the eerie atmosphere. It was as if the swarm itself hungered for something, and the members of Rain's group understood with a sinking feeling that they were the intended prey.

The unsettling sight of the approaching red and dark cloud made the skin of everyone in the group crawl. It was a moment of foreboding, a realization that they were about to face a more formidable and insatiable threat. The swarm's hunger was palpable, and the air seemed charged with malevolence as the flies closed in, ready to feast on whatever crossed their path.

"Sealyn, I will trust that you will make the right call when the time comes," Rain said. "You should know that the enemy isn't showing herself for no reason."