Chapter 657
The black tide of bugs continuously spewed forward.
These tiny yet strange black bugs swarmed together and wildly climbed atop of each other. The pile of black insects slowly increased in height, quickly swelling into an odd, writhing humanoid shape.
The face of this odd humanoid was an ugly bug’s face made of tens of thousands of squirming black insects. The bug man lifted his head and looked around him. His baleful gaze cut through the dense green sea and landed on the towering tree platform.
Sixty-seven elves.
One war dancer and three sword dancers.
Three elven archers.
One pegasus knight in the reserve corps.
Two treants that weren’t even a thousand years old.
Where to shoot? What to shoot at?
It was an ocean of squirming insects everywhere below the trees. She wouldn’t miss even if she were to close her eyes. However, was it worth it to use such a valuable explosive arrow to delay the advance of the insects by just that bit of time?
The instructor had never doubted her power and ability before today. She had always believed that she could defeat any enemy and any opponent with the elven longbow and explosive arrow in her hand.
This confidence of hers was also a conviction that the elves had gained over so many years.
But now, she hesitated. She was confused. She was lost!
For the first time, she drew her bow and nocked the arrow, but she had no idea where she was to shoot and whether she was supposed to shoot.
“Quick, sound the tree whistle.”
At this crucial moment, the war dancer was still the more composed and calm of the two.
Tree whistle? The tree whistle!
The eyes of the archery instructor immediately lit up upon hearing the shout. She tossed the bow in her hand to the assistant at her side and rushed to the edge of the tree platform. She took out an odd green tree whistle and placed it at her lips to blow it.
“Careful!”
“Dodge!”
A few hurried shouts rang out from behind her.
As expected of a fighter that had undergone a strict training regiment, the archery instructor glanced from the corner of her eye and instantly discovered several odd black silhouettes lunging at her.
The archery instructor leaped upward and dodged two strange green scythes that slashed down in a cross. Her nimble feet quickly stepped upon the side of another pair of scythes and used this tiny point of contact to dodge aside agilely.
She drew her dagger in the air and went by the third black silhouette pursuing her.
The archery instructor let out an agonized scream as her right arm was severed along the shoulder. Blood splashed into the air. She barely managed to hang on and parry the enemy’s attack before somersaulting onto the center of the platform. She crouched upon the ground and used her only remaining arm to brandish the dagger and protect herself.
Ci! Ci! Ci!
A series of elven arrows fired in a barrage. Crisp ringing sounds echoed out as they were slashed down by the terrifying scythe-shaped limbs of the strange creatures before them.
Mantis!
The ones that had secretly struck at the archery instructor were three odd mantises.
The reason these mantises were described as ‘odd’ was that they were far too big.
If these mantises were to stand up straight, they would each measure up to one and a half meters tall.
Such a massive mantis was a rare sight, even in the Fantasy Forest with its dense population of magical creatures!
These mantises were pitch-black in color, and the surface of their bodies was a weird shell that carried with it a metallic gleam. They had two semi-translucent pairs of wings on their backs– one large and one small. They also had three pairs of exceedingly sharp jointed legs beneath their abdomen. A pair of horrifying scythe-like appendages filled with sharp teeth were brandished in the upright front half of their bodies.
Earlier, these three odd mantises had relied on their quick speed and fearsome scythe limbs to ambush the archery instructor and defend themselves against the barrage of arrows.
“Who are your commanders? They dare attack us, and they don’t have the courage to show their faces and fight us? Have him come out.” The war dancer waved his two blades and stood in front of his injured companions, shouting furiously at the approaching mantises as he did so.
Sadly, his taunting did not affect these magical mantises.
The three magical mantises beat their thin wings rapidly as their flat and sharp bodies dashed forward swiftly while leaning close against the ground. Their scary scythe-like limbs even caused odd afterimages to appear and leave behind the sound of air being slashed apart.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of metallic impacts rang out in quick succession. The war dancer barely managed to use his agile movements and tight defense to fend off the attacks from the three mantises. However, the difference in strength caused his entire body to tremble every time he parried.
With no option left to him, the war dancer was slowly forced backward. The area between his thumb and forefinger on the hands in which he held his sabers had already started bleeding.
Blood dripped upon the floor. It was a frightening sight.
With his cover, the injured archery instructor was finally able to find the time to blow that jade-green tree whistle.
A strange soundwave undetectable by ordinary people started to echo in the woods and ripple outward into the distance.