The chickens lashed and pecked. Whenever they had a chance, they would eat their victims, and their auras would grow a tiny bit stronger. The wolves hunted in packs. They preyed on vulnerable animals and retreated whenever there was danger. The toads were sparse and nimble as they spat bubbles everywhere. These small bubbles were not as destructive as the Bubble Trap Toad's, but they felt like a ram when they hit. The mantises were the hardest to spot in the nighttime. They jumped around the battlefield and their front legs cleaved everything in sight. The ferrets acted very normal, aside from the pouring miasma that flooded from their feet. Every other animal steered clear of them, fearful of their poison clouds.
The 'commanders', the Rank 2 Beast Lords, lingered in the back and occasionally shouted their orders in their own way. For the most part, the battle was played out by the normal Rank 1 Beasts. The Beast Lords would only step in, if another Beast Lord did so first. That was how they restrained each other. Although their intelligence was not particularly high, their instincts and awareness were spectacular. Some human commanders could learn a thing or two from them.
As the battle continued to intensify and spread, the Featherwind Sect birds were glum. Elder Terus's Bloodline Ability could hide an area from ordinary senses; however, hiding was all it could do. It was still physically there. Beasts could interact or intrude into it, if they discovered it. Hence, Elder Ludin supplemented the Bloodline Ability with a large barrier to block anything from entering. His barriers were frightfully strong, since they could withstand a ship crashing into it during the skirmish over the Maelstrom Gulf. They could hold against the assault of hundreds of animals handily. The only caveat was if those Rank 2 Beast Lords did not enter the fray. With their martial techniques and magic spells, they could quickly deplete his strength and break through.
Elder Argo assessed the map that Protector Avin left behind. It was incredibly large and elaborate as it showed every single tunnel, cavern, and pit inside. Ice crystals marked where people were. Since it was created with the existing ice, it was not attached to a spell. It could last forever. Because the ice crystals did not show the person's identity, Elder Argo had no way of knowing which was Elizabeth, Freon, or Nassandra. In other words, he would have to save everyone. Perhaps, that was Protector Avin's goal. That annoyed him. Although he had been in the human world for more than a year at this point, his opinion on humans never went up. Rather, it went down. Humans were deceitful and disgusting. The idea of saving them sickened him.
His Martial Energy moved regardless. The ice crystals were immobile, so the longer he dallied, the more it would diverge from the present. There was a time and place for everything. The Featherwind Sect would get their day. He just had to be patient. As he shelved those thoughts, he used three martial techniques in succession. Martial Energy left his mouth and formed a floating ball of light that alternated colors every few seconds. It was pleasing to look at. Using a second ball, he inserted it into the ice map as a marker. The position mirrored the first one. Then, with his second martial technique, he could control the ball's movement and send it into the cave. Naturally, he would stay outside. He was a bird. Cramming into a cave was plain suicide.
The ball entered the cave and as it travelled, it unravelled and left behind a bright trail. That way, once it found the survivors, they could follow the trail back to the surface. As for what they would encounter or fight against, he was not really interested. That was the limit of support he could provide. His martial technique flew through the tunnels at breakneck speed without hitting anything. Elder Argo's masterful prowess with Martial Energy was shown here. Interference strength was steadily building though, not just outside the caves, but everywhere. It would only get harder to maintain his techniques as time went on. The people inside would have to be fast.
Somewhere inside the caves, Nassandra was overjoyed to sense Protector Avin's True Perception. She was confused why he was here, except that mattered not. As a Rank 3 King, there was nothing he could not solve! Little did she know, her uncle was currently battling five Beast Lords, and he did not have the leeway to help her out. It was the Featherwind Sect who acted in his place. Her companions, Tolin and Evylin, did not share in her joy. The boy was still groaning and bleeding from where that insect pierced his leg. His tears had drenched his face wet. He was in a sorry state. And although Evylin had wrapped his wound, she was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. She was just an old lady after all. She could not keep up. Neither of them could. Only Nassandra had a positive outlook.
That was when Elder Argo's martial technique came flying at her. The sudden ball of light whizzing around the corner… scared Nassandra to the point she jumped, screamed, and nearly pooped herself. She wanted to cast an ice wall to defend herself, except she was too slow. Light filled her vision. The tragic girl raised her arms, shut her eyes, and surrendered to her fate, thinking she was going to die. Her heart was pounding like crazy, and it felt like her chest might explode. Despite that, nothing happened. Was she safe? She peeked through a sliver of her eyelids and saw that light floating harmlessly in front of her. A second later, it dissolved into the air. All that remained was a faintly glowing trail that stretched into the tunnels.
Nassandra's knees went weak, as she exhaled sharply. Evylin asked her what happened, but she was unsure how to answer. It should have been her uncle, except that energy did not resemble his at all. In fact, it was not even Magic Energy… Just what was it? And that trail, should she follow it? She decided to. In the end, she had no idea that the Beast Lords could use Martial or Magic Energy. The suspicion that it might have been an enemy luring her over never came up.
"We need to go. Can you move?"
"I thought you wanted to recover more. Are you okay?" Evylin asked worriedly.
Nassandra shook her head. "There's no time for that." From what she could tell, the interference strength was already eating away at that light trail. It would disappear eventually.
Tolin gritted his teeth and bravely announced, "I… I can walk! I won't slow you down!"
She looked at his bandages, which were dyeing red. He was clearly not okay, but she nodded softly. The boy pushed himself up and stumbled. His grandmother quickly caught him except the woman was barely standing herself. Neither were in good condition. Still, they would need to manage. Nassandra assessed herself. Her backlash from earlier was gone, and her mental energy was mostly recovered, so she could cast spells again. Her Core did not recover much though, because it was around two-fifths of her full capacity. As for her brother and uncle, her Magic Perception did not sense anything. Even that True Perception did not occur again. She took a deep breath and gathered her resolve.
Just as they prepared to leave, they spotted five insects attracted by the glowing trail. The bugs spotted them at the same time and scurried over. The sound of their sharp legs hitting the rock sent shivers up Tolin and Evylin's spines. They were petrified from the fear. However, Nassandra had learned from her mistakes. She was prepared now. Her Magic Circle flickered into reality as a gigantic sheet of ice sprung forth. Shing! The dreary cave was abruptly transformed into a wintery wonderland, as everything was covered in a layer of ice. The insects were frozen solid underneath. Tolin and Evylin were speechless while an icy breath left Nassandra's mouth. This was the solution she arrived at. Since she could not harm the insects directly, she would immobilize them instead. It consumed a lot of Magic Energy, and her spell would disappear once she lost concentration, except this was the cleanest and safest method. Simple, but elegant.