BOOM~
As the last Flame Fire Vermilion Centipede on the battlefield crashed to the ground, the survivors from the academy all let out a collective sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the expressions of the two Insect Masters from the Red Centipede Tribe turned grim.
The thick, black fog from moments before had obscured their vision. Only now did they realize that Lord Fei Lie—a man second in power only to their leader, Fei Ming—had vanished without a trace.
"Where is Lord Fei Lie?" The Insect Master on the left didn’t immediately opt to retreat. For one, the members of the alien race below, along with the traitor Aketu’s Green Moth Tribe, were also grievously wounded. They could still put up a fight.
For another, he simply refused to believe that the mighty Lord Fei Lie could have been defeated.
"Lord Fei Lie... I’m afraid he’s already fallen." The Insect Master on the right was not as optimistic as his companion. His gaze swept into the distance, where he could just make out a severed limb from a Flaming Sun Flying Armor. He swallowed nervously and said cautiously,
"Brother, maybe... we should retreat. Let’s get Lord Fei Ming to come and help us."
"Retreat? Do you think we can even get away? You think this pack of aliens will just let us leave? Fei Yu, I’ll draw their attention. You watch for an opening and be ready to flee. You have to get word of what’s happened here to Lord Fei Ming, do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand." Fei Yu glanced at the members of the alien race, who were already forming a loose circle around them, and nodded with a grim expression.
It seemed that in their tribe’s culture, there was little room for dwelling on the partings of life and death. Even with Fei Lie’s demise and the loss of his own Soul Beast, he felt only a touch of sadness, not overwhelming grief.
"Cough, cough... They’re probably getting ready to run."
Han Ning rubbed his throbbing temples, having keenly noticed the change in the Insect Masters’ expressions above.
He then surveyed his own remaining forces.
Yin Yi had fought through multiple battles. Her Spiritual Energy was mostly depleted and she had sustained some injuries, but she still had the strength to fight.
Egg Pancake, the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, and Fei Lin were completely out of commission.
Aketu had been caught in the crossfire while commanding his swarms and was now severely injured.
The entire Green Moth Tribe was devastated. Barely any of their cyan flying insects remained in the sky. All their Insect Servants had been wiped out. Only two Extraordinary Level Soul Beasts belonging to Aketu’s paternal uncle were left, holding off the attacks from the remaining Red Centipede swarms.
On the academy’s side, Han Ning could no longer see a single human’s Extraordinary Soul Beast. Only a dozen or so straggling Awakened Level Soul Beasts remained, assisting the Green Moth Tribe’s assault.
The Beast Masters who commanded the Soul Beasts had fared relatively better. Among the teachers and students with Extraordinary Level Soul Beasts, nearly two-thirds were still alive, though the vast majority were injured.
As for the Awakening Level Beast Masters, Han Ning hadn’t had a chance to do a headcount, but judging by the number of surviving Soul Beasts, the outlook was grim.
"Han Ning, it’s all up to you now. Our Soul Beasts... they’ve all fallen." Just then, Teacher Zhou staggered over. His once jet-black short hair had, in a battle lasting less than an hour, turned completely ashen white.
Even his once youthful face was now etched with countless new wrinkles.
Seeing Teacher Zhou’s weathered and weary face, Han Ning’s heart ached with sorrow.
’Teacher Zhou is only in his thirties,’ Han Ning thought. ’He’s so young, yet he looks like a decrepit old man. It’s obvious he used some kind of Spiritual Power Talent and pushed his body far beyond its limits.’
He took a deep breath. "Teacher Zhou, don’t worry. Leave the rest to me!"
He took another deep breath and sent a mental command to both Yin Yi and Aketu.
’Use everything you have. Don’t let a single creature from the Red Centipede Tribe get away, whether it’s an Insect-man or just an insect.’
"Ling!!"
Sensing her master’s grief and rage, Yin Yi forced out what little Spiritual Energy she had left. The light from the twin swords in her hands flared once more, and with a blast of air in her wake, she shot forward.
A dense barrage of Emerald Flower Thorns filled the sky, like a hauntingly beautiful green blizzard. Ethereal and silent, they drifted down toward the remaining swarms.
PFFT PFFT PFFT~
Any insect from the Red Centipede Tribe pierced by the Flower Thorns instantly exploded into a bloody mist and plummeted to the ground.
With no War General Level Soul Beasts to interfere, Yin Yi had become the absolute ruler of the battlefield. She flew at high speed, slashing rapidly as one Soul Beast after another fell before her.
Seeing this, Fei Ling remained completely unmoved. He coldly watched as Yin Yi frantically reaped the lives of his forces, seeing her slash her way toward him at incredible speed.
Just as she was about to break through the swarm’s defenses, a fiery light flashed in his eyes, and his Spiritual Power began to burn violently.
Terrifying crimson flames erupted from his body, engulfing him completely in a pillar of fire that shot toward the sky.
At the same time, the body of an Extraordinary Level, Fire Attribute Flaming Sun Flying Armor in front of him suddenly swelled and, like a vacuum cleaner, began to madly absorb the flames radiating from Fei Ling.
"HISS!!"
As Yin Yi broke through the outer defenses and slashed her way closer, the flames surrounding the Flaming Sun Flying Armor all turned a shade of purple, similar to the one that had belonged to Fei Lie.
WHOOSH~
Feeling the scorching aura of the flames, Yin Yi halted her advance for the first time.
"Go! Now! Get out of here!"
Fei Ling, now a human torch, roared as he levitated and, like a moth drawn to a flame, plunged into the body of the Flaming Sun Flying Armor.
Behind him, Fei Yu didn’t hesitate. Without leaving so much as a single word, he mounted his Soul Beast and flew north with all his might.