"Black Scarab, individually, they're much weaker than the Sand Wolves." Seraphine started sharing information about the beetle.
"But we're facing thousands of them at once." She continued. "Just the sheer numbers would drown you."
The massive cloud was thrice as big as the sand dragon. Brand imagines himself bracing tight while confronting the massive cloud head-on.
"Facing head-on is impossible, yeah." Brand reaffirmed his thought. "Let's try another approach."
His eyes were fixated on the tumbleweed across the desert.
***
He had several strategies in mind.
Distracting it with sound? It wouldn't work; the beetles were too loud to be distracted. Their collecting wing-beating sounds were similar to those of a thunderstorm.
If so, how about diverting their path?
Let's imagine them as a river flow. When the current was too strong. What could he do to reduce their force?
He could either build a structure or look for an alternative, as constructing one was not an option for now.
Brand looked at the terrain nearby, searching for any durable-looking structure.
There was something that caught his eye. he missed it earlier as it didn't mean anything to him at that time. However, it's different now. He needs anything that could boost his survival chances.
Lying there were skeletal remains of a massive monster, and the rib cage was intact.
'That'll be our defensive dome.'
Brand kneaded tumbleweed together into a rope and tied the rib cage with other parts of the skeleton, using them as anchors to the ground.
Next was to strategize for his exit. Black Scarab's natural habitat was underground, so they were sensitive to light as well.
Luckily for Brand, he has a strong light source—himself.
Brand looked at his hand. The tan skin color slowly turned pale, eventually silver with metallic shine.
Brand dismissed his cover of Essen, revealing his own cyborg skin. His silver metallic skin now shines brightly under the sun.
In fact, it was so bright that Seraphine even had to close her eyes when looking at him.
The whole deactivation of his Espionage Mode took three seconds.
That's a great start!
He only intended to test the deactivation speed, so he quickly reactivated the cover. He would need to time it right for maximum effect.
After he finished his preparation, he faced the Scarab Swarm.
"Approximately 5 minutes until interception, ready?" Seraphine asked him with anticipation.
While waiting for the collision, Brand repeatedly runs the simulation in his head. The sequence of skills to be executed. He seemed lost in mind, so that he only returned to his senses after Seraphine shouted,
"They're here!"
Seraphine was an ethereal being, so she wouldn't be affected by the swarm. But she was showing nervousness currently.
"You can do it!" Seraphine cheered.
With Seraphine's cue, he deactivated his Espionage Mode, canceling the Tribal Warrior's cover.
His silver metallic skin returned and glimmered under the bright sun. This happened right before the swarm entered the vicinity of the skeletal structure.
He would serve as an insect repellent, as it was the beetles' nature to avoid light. The timing was crucial; it needed to be right before they started to clash.
A deviation of timing would cause the swarms to cover the sun above Brand, rendering his light reflection strategy useless.
Luckily, it worked.
The swarm began to divide to avoid Brand as much as possible. About half of them were diverted.
But even this could only buy a little time, as the swarm was fluid. A disturbance could repel them shortly, but they'll still gather together.
The next layer of defense was the skeletal remains. The skeletal structure held strong in its position, with extra stability from Brand's effort in strengthening its anchor earlier.
Most of the Black Scarabs that clashed onto the skeletal structure were deflected and flew to the side. This helped to filter half of the numbers charging directly at Brand.
Brand now faces the remaining quarter of insects head-on.
He braced himself tightly, mimicking the turtle shell stance in boxing, and held the Debuff Cubes he prepared in his hands.
As the Black Scarab collided with him, he split the cubes, lowering the insects' power, which was in contact with him.
The bombardment of the beetles felt like getting shot by a Gatling gun, at least that was how it sounded.
Each shell hitting him was the size of a tennis ball.
Even though his skin was hard enough to withstand the fangs of the Sand Wolves, facing the hundreds of beetles, he felt like he would lose consciousness at any moment.
"Hang in there!" Seraphine cheered. "Five more seconds before activating GHOST!"
Brand braced the full five seconds while questioning his decision. At least he now knows that his blood was still red, even after the body modification done on him.
"Now!" Seraphine shouted.
As soon as Seraphine shouted, he activated both 'Might' and GHOST Mode, boosting all his stats, especially his strength, for a total of 56%!
He put down his turtle stance and grabbed a strong bone to use as a club. He held his position and was brandishing it with all his might, striking down the beetles that were still rushing on him.
[You have leveled up.]
Brand heard a voice ringing in his head.
He didn't bother to check on his stats; he just waited for Seraphine's voice, as planned.
"New skill gained, Reverse Strike! Circulate mana in your arm!" Seraphine shouted urgently.
Brand followed her guide and tried to circulate mana in his right arm.
Crimson mist began to emit through his skin. At the same time, he felt oddly refreshed.
"Those were the damages you accumulated; some of the damages were converted into energy, which would be added to your next strike." He could hear Seraphine faintly.
Time to wrap up this, as the swarm was also coming to an end.
Brand poured all his strength into this one strike.
"Reverse Strike!"
The crimson mist enveloped the bone club he held in his hand and trailed behind his swing.
When Brand finished the swing's arc, the crimson mist pushed forward like a crescent moon, without stopping.
[Reverse Strike]
[A crescent-shaped wave of energy that follows the path of the strike's swing.
+100% received damage added to the power for this strike.]
The Black Scarabs hit by the crimson energy wave were extinguished upon contact with it.
They were instantly disintegrated.