The Self-Confounding Battlefield

Attacks of every shape and form wove a net of destruction across the sky.

The acid breath of bioengineered behemoths, the energy beams of Alchemy Constructs, the meteor summons of elemental giants—the Wizards' expendable units unleashed their first volley at the same time.

The sight was nothing short of spectacular. Countless millions of attacks, trailing streams of different colors, plunged toward the black insect tide like a meteor shower flying in reverse.

But Benjamin's heart sank.

Zero point three seconds before the attacks were about to land, the black ocean "came alive."

It did not move as a whole. Instead, it evaded through precise, node-like maneuvers.

In the area directly before him, tens of thousands of Sickle-Skull Race members suddenly scattered to both sides. Their movements were so synchronized that they made one's scalp crawl, opening patch after patch of blank space amid the black tide.

The Wizards' attacks screamed past, striking only air and earth.

Explosions erupted in those empty patches. Flames, frost, corrosive acid, lightning—every kind of energy impact spread outward.

But in the next second, the surrounding Sickle-Skull Race moved again, revealing the gigantic individuals behind them, their bodies embedded with intricate patterns.

Those patterns began to glow. The attacking force that had been spreading rapidly quickly weakened, until only the surging elemental storms remained, overturning the surrounding Sickle-Skull Race members.

"They're absorbing energy!" A more experienced Level 5 Wizard beside Benjamin cried out. "Those are the foundational patterns of a combined casting array! They want to use our power—"

Before he could finish, the patterns on the gigantic individuals flared brighter.

The absorbed energy transformed into visible streams of light that spread along the ground, swiftly pouring into the carapaces of the surrounding Sickle-Skull Race.

The sheen on those carapaces visibly deepened, while the glow within