Clard was still overwhelmed by the increasingly insane Ant Bees. Their attacks became more unpredictable. They could strike from unexpected directions—even without launching any visible attacks. One after another, soldiers under Clard’s command were killed.
Clard turned and saw one of his soldiers fall with a wound on their neck. As if something had stabbed their throat. It made no sense. Clard was sure someone had attacked his soldier, but he didn’t know how it was done.
"Invisible Ant Bees. I’m sure they’re the ones doing this, but..." He squinted his eyes, trying to think harder. "This can’t be the work of magic-using Ant Bees. When they were killed, there was no change whatsoever. Even... the larger Ant Bees can disappear."
Clard’s eyes kept scanning. He tried to identify what type of Ant Bee was behind all this. He kept thinking and searching, but seconds later, Clard sensed something strange on his shoulder. He quickly turned. A small spider lifted its two legs.
Just as the spider was about to stab Clard’s neck, he quickly blocked the thrust. He immediately swatted the tiny spider away. Its body fell down.
As he fired a shot, the spider suddenly vanished. Completely vanished, as if its presence couldn’t be detected anymore.
Clard flew higher again, but two fireballs suddenly launched at him. He raised his hand and threw his spear.
The two fireballs exploded. Clard’s eyes were sharp. He now knew there was a new kind of Ant Bee. One that could become invisible.
"Can it teleport too?" He still didn’t know.
But one thing he was certain of—the invisible Ant Bee didn’t possess the same magic abilities as the ones below.
"I suspected it. The invisible ones aren’t magic-type Ant Bees, but a different species altogether."
He had figured that out, but it wasn’t over yet, because the Ant Bees remained troublesome. Clard looked to the other side; the troops led by Gramn were still holding strong, but the Ant Bees were starting to catch up.
This wasn’t good news. Clard had to make a decision, or his forces would lose. That would be utterly humiliating.
"Where’s the backup force? Why haven’t they arrived yet?" Clard complained.
Baam! Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
Another fireball hit him. This time it managed to injure him, though not seriously. But this proved that the Ant Bees were extremely skilled at exploiting gaps.
They were slightly smarter than the average soldiers he led.
"Looks like I have no choice," Clard said.
He originally didn’t want to intervene much, thinking this would be an easy battle to win, but the situation clearly said otherwise.
Clard flapped his wings higher. His eyes glowed, and the feathers on his wings began to shimmer faintly. The wind around him swirled wildly, creating a vortex that drew hot air around his body.
"I admit, you’re a pain," Clard clenched his fist, then opened one palm downward, "I’LL FINISH YOU ALL AT ONCE!"
His body was surrounded by red light. He began chanting a spell. He was preparing to unleash a large-scale attack. It would kill many Ant Bees, but consume a lot of his Mana.
From his hand, a bright red light emerged—a giant fireball shot downward into the cluster of Ant Bees.
Silence for a moment. Then—
A massive explosion shook the ground below. Fire lashed out like the tongue of a dragon. Dozens of Ant Bees burned instantly. Their bodies melted before they could scream. The ground was scorched, and the air became heavier than before.
Clard didn’t stop. He dove down at high speed, his spear glowing with electric energy.
One spear pierced through the body of a larger Ant Bee. Some Ant Bees tried to use earth magic to block Clard’s blast, but with a single throw of his spear—
The earth shield the Ant Bees had created shattered. After that, he unleashed ’Flareburst’ again. Over and over.
The Ant Bees scattered, but Clard wouldn’t let them escape.
"Help me!" he shouted.
The other Sky Birds began hurling their spears and casting their spells. It caused the Ant Bees to lose focus—at least it should have.
"Aaarrrgh!" one of the Sky Birds screamed.
He fell with his neck nearly severed. When Clard turned in that direction, he saw a small Ant Bee staring at him.
The gaze of that Ant Bee was sharp, as if it was targeting Clard.
"You... I’ll kill you!" he shouted.
But just as he said that, the Ant Bee seemed to smile. Then it disappeared.
"Sir, above you!" shouted one of the Sky Birds.
Clard turned and was shocked to see a giant Ant Bee above them, dropping down.
"Damn it." Clard clicked his tongue. "Move away!" he shouted.
Clard quickly retreated, but some Sky Bird members were crushed by the Ant Bees. Their heavy bodies drove them slightly downward.
When they tried to remove the Ant Bees pinning them down, they couldn’t. They were gripped tightly.
"Let go of me!" they screamed.
They were hit by fire magic, and their bodies fell below. They died along with the Ant Bees that had pinned them.
Clard saw it all with his own eyes.
"They... are geniuses. How is this happening?"
Clard thought the attack he launched earlier had thrown the Ant Bees into panic and confusion. He was dead wrong.
When he looked down, he clearly saw the sharp gazes of the Ant Bees aimed directly at him.
It made Clard feel challenged. "I shouldn’t have underestimated them."
As Mana surged from Clard’s body, suddenly Ant Bees the size of a palm appeared in front of him. Not one, but five at once.
He was shocked. He wanted to attack immediately but was flung away. The five Ant Bees clung to Clard’s face.
His vision was blocked.
"Damn it. Get off me, bastards!" Clard cursed.
His body was hit by three simultaneous attacks. He fell straight to the ground. The five Ant Bees on his face fell with him and died.
Clard’s body slammed into the ground. Burn wounds covered several parts of his body.
When Clard stood up, he was immediately surrounded by five large-sized and dozens of smaller Ant Bees.
Clard knew this wasn’t a good situation. He braced himself. "You think you can defeat me, huh? Don’t even dream of it," he declared.
The Ant Bees showed no fear. They charged and attacked Clard with all their might. A fierce battle erupted.
No Ant Bee would return to their hive, because their master was poisoned. They were protecting their master with their very souls.
Death was a small price for them.
Their master was everything.