Kora POV

Things were looking pretty dire for them. Despite having several Tier 5s on their side, they were still getting pushed back. The Deepcore Ants were advancing relentlessly. They were using their Tier 3s like fodder, but each wave did more and more damage to the arrays placed around the camp.

It was like a siege, and they could do nothing but thin out the numbers. Unfortunately, their numbers were so massive that they were barely making a dent.

Squads were constantly getting injured, but there was no other choice. If they allowed the ants to act freely, they would rip apart the array and enchantments in no time. This required them to set up a defensive plan that at least impeded them. Unfortunately, that meant injuries and occasionally a few deaths for the unlucky few.

Additionally, their Tier 5s were being countered by the ants’ own Tier 5s. She didn’t know the exact number of them, but there were enough that Elder Leon had come back with multiple injuries all over his body after he scouted the situation.

Plus, the ants didn’t seem interested in finishing it quickly. They had set up a perimeter of their own, trapping the camp within a barrier. No communications or teleportation skills worked inside this barrier. People’s mana was running low, too. The barrier separated them from the outside world and somehow restricted the rate of their mana regeneration.

She suspected that the Tier 5s were aware of this, and that was why they hadn’t made any drastic moves. They needed mana more than anyone, and they would feel the effects more than anyone. Potions existed, but they were of limited supply.

From what she could tell, the ants were planning to wear them down slowly, and Kora was starting to believe that it would work.

People were getting nervous. Each time a squad came back with injuries, fear continued to rise.

She was currently standing in the middle of a meeting where the elders were planning what to do. It said a lot that she was invited, too; not many Tier 4s were invited. Only those who led their own groups or held important roles attended these meetings.

Zev was one of these people. He was standing beside her, and while he didn’t look outwardly nervous, she spotted him rubbing the sheath of his sword with his thumb. Which, for him, was basically announcing his nervousness. He knew that they were in a bad position, too.

She glanced off to the side, where she spotted the people from the Inferno Array Sect. They had only sent two Tier 5s. A man and a young woman. The woman seemed fine, if a little inexperienced, but the man had been… difficult. He was an arrogant sort of person.

That didn’t make coordinating with the Inferno Array Sect any easier. But the man was quite skilled, so at least he wasn’t completely hopeless. He may not be very likable, but he knew how to set up an array.

The arrays were a big reason they have been able to hold back the ants as well as they have. Without them, they would have had to fight them much sooner. The issue was that they were trapped inside them, and with fewer options each day that passed.

Elder Huan stood at the center of the room, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, I called this meeting to organize a few things. First of all, we can’t stay here for much longer. The mana restriction is something that will only hurt us in the long term. We need to do something before it starts to really hurt us.”

“Good luck with that. I don’t know if you’ve seen the army of monsters out there, but we can’t fight them,” the male elder from the Inferno Array Sect scoffed.

“What do you suggest? That we sit here doing nothing while they slowly destroy the array?” Elder Leon shot back.

“At least long enough until we find a way to break through and request some reinforcements from our sect. We have been working on a way to get a message out and are close.”

“Not close enough,” Elder Leon shot back.

“Closer than you got when you tried to break the barrier on your own and came back with your tail tucked between your legs.”

Elder Leon took a step forward, and the elder from the Inferno Array Sect stepped up too. Both of their auras ignited, and all of the people who weren’t Tier 5, which included almost everyone, took a step back in worry.

Elder Huan was not having any of it, though. His aura tore through theirs decisively. “Enough. This is not the time to argue with each other and throw around insults.”

A warning look was given to the younger elder of the Burning Sun Sect. He obviously didn’t like it, but Elder Huan was his senior and someone high up in the sect, so he had no other choice but to quiet down.

After Elder Huan made sure that he wasn’t going to cause any issues, he turned to the other elder.

“With all due respect, Elder Gregory, we can’t take that risk. I don’t mind giving you more time to analyze the barrier trapping us, but we need to figure something out in case that doesn’t work out. The corruption is another concern; if we don’t do anything, the corruption will start to infect our weaker members.”

Despite his usual prideful attitude, Elder Gregory seemed to have a semblance of respect for Elder Huan and nodded. “Understood. But I can’t promise you much help from our sect; most of our efforts will be focused on taking down that other barrier.”

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“That’s fine. As long as you can send over enough skilled array users to help with the plans.”

“That should be acceptable.”

Elder Huan nodded and turned to Elder Leon and Elder Amara. “I need both of you to investigate where their queen or leader is. She might be close by, and the quickest way to deal with them would be to kill them. Hopefully they aren’t Tier 6; if that’s the case, then we are dead anyway.”

Then, before waiting for their confirmation, he turned to the other group leaders, like Kora and Zev. “I have created a list of where I want you and your teams. They will lead the other disciples. Each of you will have a dedicated group of healers and potions allotted for use, but you will be responsible for the more dangerous tasks. We are going to send out teams to take out some of their Tier 4 commanders. If we manage to do that, then their ability to coordinate will take a hit.”

The elder looked over at Zev by her side. “I’m going to give command of your team to Larson. In the meantime, I want you to go hunt down that Tier 4 commanding the ants on the east side of the camp. They seem to be of the support nature, which makes them a prime target. Get in and get out fast. Don’t take more risks than necessary. With your skills, you should be able to escape before they collapse on you.”

Zev bowed his head. “Undertood, Elder.”

“Good, does anyone have any questions regarding your tasks?”

Nobody raised their hands.

“Then get going. We don’t have a lot of time and can’t fall behind.”

Kora gave a short bow and followed the rest of the people out of the room. However, before she could, Elder Huan called out to her. “Kora, stay behind for a moment.”

She turned back around and headed over to the elder. “Is there something I can do for you, sir?”

“I need you to focus on purifying the corruption rather than killing ants, okay? Your flames are extremely effective on the corruption, and I need you to stay fresh in case the array gets broken.”

“Of course, I have already begun cleansing any remnants of corruption that’s infected the array and the surrounding area.”

“Good.” Elder Huan nodded and rubbed his chin.

“Any word on Julius?”

She frowned and rubbed her sweaty hands against her thighs. “Not yet. But we haven’t had any communication since we’ve been trapped, so we don’t know if he’s tried to make contact.”

Elder Huan sighed and shook his head. “Well, perhaps it is better that he isn’t here anyway. Safer for him this way.”

***

Julius POV

There was a lot more distance between him and the camp than he expected. He’d already been traveling for a good day or so, but still hadn’t come across it. He could have been lost, but he didn’t think so. He was still heading north, which was where they’d entered the wastelands.

He was about to head down and relax for a few moments when he suddenly felt a brief flash of mana. It was so slight that he almost didn’t detect it, but his body moved on its own. The time down in the tunnels had sharpened his instincts to an extreme degree. He leaned out of the way and let the claws whistle past his face.

He supercharged his hand with aura while [Calm Before Ruin] was activated. The entire world fell silent as time slowed. Unlike the eerie calmness and void he experienced from the skill before, this was different. It was like that warmth inside his chest was finally unleashing itself. Everything, from his mind to his mana, felt energized.

His hand tore off the creature’s head before he could realize what was happening. When his mind and perception returned to normal, his arm was covered in blood, and his head felt slightly tingly.

The form of the Tier 4 monster that attacked him was falling out of the sky. It was a small creature, around the size of his head, and looked more like a blade than a creature. It was also covered in flames and was still flickering around its body despite the fact that it was already dead.

The creature had been moving at extreme speeds; it was only because he detected the faint spark of mana that he reacted in time. It reminded him of that little birdy he’d met before, but only this one wasn’t as cute.

It was only after a few moments that he remembered that he should have let it hit him. He needed to test out the requirements for his skill evolution, and that creature would have been the perfect little helper.

He sighed. Hopefully, another angry and hostile monster would attack him on his way back.

***

He prayed, but to no avail. He only came across one other monster on his flight back, and it didn’t seem interested in him. It could see it looking at him, but it either didn’t care about him or didn't see him as prey because it went on its merry way.

On the bright side, he spotted familiar landmarks, indicating that he was getting close to camp. The issue was that he could feel a faint amount of mana and corruption from that very same direction.

He upped his speed and hid his presence as best as he could. He also decided to go higher. When he finally arrived, he was shocked by the scene below.

He had a feeling where those tens of thousands of ants he’d seen before went. Before his eyes was a sea of ants, all surrounding the camp that the Burning Sun Sect set up. There were constant flashes of light as the sect's disciples must be fighting these ants from behind the barrier.

There was another barrier encapsulating the one the sect put up. And he had a feeling that this barrier was the reason why he’d barely sensed any corruption in the first place. Otherwise, the amount of corruption would have been many times greater.

Even more worrying were the brightest aura signatures he sensed mixed throughout the ant horde. There were at least ten of them, and the signatures were clearly Tier 5s. They were at least just as strong as the Tier 5 he’d just faced, if not more so.

He cursed. This was a problem. And he immediately took out the communication token he got from Cassandra. He flooded it with mana and began to send a message out to her. He wasn’t able to establish a connection with her. She must have been busy and was about to leave her a message, letting her know that something serious was going on.

However, just as he was doing this, he felt a sudden movement from below. He barely managed to dodge out of the way of the pincers about to crush his face. Instead of his face, the pincers tore into his shoulder, almost ripping the limb straight off his body.

Somehow, the ant must have sensed the token's activation and tracked it.

It was shit luck, too, because this was one of the Tier 5s he managed to sense, not just some random Tier 4. The message was unfinished, but he decided that it would have to be enough and sent it before another swipe took his head off.

He felt something reach out and disrupt the message, and he didn’t know if it actually transmitted. He hoped it did, because he couldn’t really check. He was a little busy making sure he didn’t get killed by this Tier 5.