The sounds of thousands of sharp legs spread as they moved over one another, accompanied by the high-pitched screeches of those worms.
The smell of ash mixed with blood seeped into the air while information flowed into Caius’s mind from the thousands of souls around them. Some were moving away from them and continuing on their path.
But many were surrounding the area around them.
Individually, they were neither powerful nor dangerous. They were Rank 1... around the peak of Rank 1.
But there were many of them... and they were hungry.
Amidst all this, the six stood in a circle while the monsters rushed toward them at terrifying speed.
Caius pointed in a certain direction, the same direction those things had come from. "Elliot, take the lead and open a path for us."
The latter nodded, and the circle rotated, placing him at the front.
Leaving only a few meters between them and forming a circle to cover every direction, the monsters had already reached them.
They should have only reached waist height when standing near them, but what advanced toward them was a wall of worms crawling over one another in utter madness while their screeches filled their ears.
Even amidst all that chaos, those things were still fast.
But in the next moment, a tangible pressure descended upon their bodies, making them slower and heavier.
It was none other than gravity, Elliot’s ability, which he rarely used because it affected his allies too.
But now that he had advanced to Rank 3, he could somewhat control its area of effect, allowing him to exempt the space around them from its influence.
Because of that, the effect wasn’t very strong, but at least it made them a little slower... and that was all they needed.
Ellen clenched her jaw while the blades floating in the air split and multiplied until they reached thirty, then she extended her hand forward as every blade shot out with speed and force under her will, piercing through the rising dust toward the wall of worms.
The blades pierced the scales and passed through into flesh. Some died from a single strike, while others needed two blades in their bodies to die... or more.
But every time a worm died, another climbed over it and devoured the corpse within moments while the sound of sharp teeth breaking and chewing bones echoed out.
The blades emerged from the corpses, stabbing and tearing through more and more. ’How disgusting.’
For some reason, those insects reminded Ellen of a certain person.
Beside her stood Leona with her sword. Her blue eyes shone with a strange light while essence condensed around her blade as she cut down every worm that approached them and passed through Ellen’s rain of blades.
Her movements were swift, graceful, and more than that, almost perfect.
She struck the right place at the right time, and every strike killed the enemy in a single instant without giving them any chance to gather.
Even the piled-up corpses acted as temporary barriers slowing their advance... even if only for a few moments.
Her blue hair swayed while her sword passed through scales and split a worm’s body in two, and immediately afterward, without even looking, she thrust toward her right side at great speed while feeling some resistance in her hand.
Then without delay, she pulled back her sword, leaving the lifeless corpse crashing onto the ground.
On the other side, Izel raised her hands toward the monsters while gritting her teeth.
’How disgusting.’ She thought.
Flames formed before her and created a wall several meters high, spreading its scorching heat.
The monsters burned while the disgusting smell of their charred flesh filled the air, and the sound of their collective screams sent tremors through the area.
But despite that, they still surged forward endlessly, piling atop the flames and feeding them.
"Just let this crap end already."
Beside her, Kyle held two long daggers in his hands while essence shimmered across their surfaces, and every movement of his hands left traces behind.
He moved beside the wall of flames, finishing off any monster that passed through it with a single fatal slash or a strike that immobilized them until the flames devoured them and stole their lives.
True, he was an expert archer, but using arrows here wasn’t the best option.
Whether because his stock wasn’t infinite or because the distance was far too close.
So all he could do now was support Izel and protect them from this side.
"Kyle, to the right!" Izel shouted, warning him about the group breaking through from his right side.
But Kyle had already calculated that and seen it. Then he was there.
One of the worms leaped toward him, but to him its movement was far too slow, so before it could even reach him, he had already slashed through the air, carving a massive wound that nearly split it in two.
Before its body could hit the ground, he continued cutting through the air with the same dagger and momentum before flipping the dagger in his hand and stabbing another through the front of its head.
The moment he felt the dagger pierce flesh, he pulled back his hand while shifting his attention to another, then another.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the other battle at the rear of the formation.
There, Caius was maintaining their back line.
Essence flowed through his body and strengthened it. His muscles tightened beneath his skin while his swords shone, forming arcs amidst the dust and blood.
His vision was blurry because of the overwhelming chaos, but everything flowed into his senses.
Every movement of his hand created an arc of light passing through the wall of worms and cutting down many of them at once.
He stepped toward the monsters while placing his weight onto his front foot as his waist twisted slightly, charging his strength before unleashing everything in a single slash.
His sword tore through the air as it reached the piled-up worms before passing through them as though they were nothing.
In a single moment, five souls vanished before him while the mangled corpses fell onto their siblings who welcomed them as ready-made meals.
And before the others could begin devouring their siblings, his other sword was carving through their bodies and stealing their souls, sending them elsewhere.
Blood splattered through the air and covered his body.
The worms gathered on his right side and nearly surrounded him, but at that moment he pointed the tip of his sword toward that area while essence gleamed along the edge of the blade.
In the next moment, condensed essence shot forth and plunged into the grotesque mass before a powerful explosion erupted, sending a shockwave several meters out.
Limbs and shredded remains flew into the air while dozens of souls vanished from that direction, and before the remains of the corpses could hit the ground, he had already carved through another group of worms.
One group after another, that was how he maintained the entire rear by himself, exterminating dozens of worms within mere moments.
Drowned in the stimulating scent of blood, he almost forgot they needed to escape.
Until he sensed what was happening behind him.
At the front and head of their formation stood Elliot, pressing down on the swarm surrounding them and slowing it.
And he was also the one who would create their path out of this.
Placing his weight on his feet and balancing himself against the ground, he held his sword with both hands while essence surged into him and light formed along the blade, condensing until it overpowered sunlight itself.
He stared at the massive swarm rushing from the front, then releasing all the power he had gathered, he performed a horizontal slash through the air.
A loud sound thundered around him while a massive arc of light formed and devoured the space ahead.
Along with every worm within his field of view.
It took a moment for the light to fade and for him to see the result of that attack.
Ahead of him, corpses burned and tore apart while a path several meters wide and long had been carved through the swarm.
But even after all that power, and after killing dozens of them in a single strike, the gap would be filled again within moments.
Well, that was if they did nothing.
Without hesitation, Elliot shouted to everyone. "Let’s move forward!"
With that, he stepped forward first while the effect of gravity slowed the monsters ahead of him, followed by Kyle and Izel on the right, and Leona and Ellen on the left.
Then finally Caius from the rear, leaving an explosion behind him that erased dozens of souls from existence.
Their formation advanced through the endless swarm while death harvested dozens of souls every moment.
Until now, everyone was still relatively unharmed while carving their way out of this.
But it was obvious that wouldn’t last long because fresh blood soon flowed.
Blood that didn’t belong to those worms.
Pain invaded Ellen’s consciousness as she looked down at her foot where one of those sharp limbs had burst out and pierced into her leg, tearing through her clothes and digging into her flesh.
"This is bad."