The hissing of the black beetles instantly filled the entire damaged core chamber. The scarlet glow in their compound eyes merged into one, like malevolent sparks flickering in the dark. Tide-like masses surged in from every direction, sharp mandibles opening to reveal tiny rotating drills lined with energy serrations.
The attack came without warning, swift as lightning.
The nearest several dozen beetles had already pounced, spewing hair-thin energy spikes trembling at high frequency from their mandibles!
"Fall back!"
Neji shouted lowly as the ripples in his Rinnegan abruptly spread!
Shinra Tensei!
An invisible repulsive field erupted around him, violently blasting away the beetles that had lunged close. They crashed into the swarm rushing in from behind, causing a burst of chaos. But there were simply too many beetles. The ones sent flying quickly regained their footing, while more skirted the edge of the repulsive field and attacked wildly from above, below, and both flanks!
Shadowweave flickered through the swarm, the short blade in her hand becoming a blurred streak of light. With every flash, several beetles had their core joints precisely severed, losing their mobility and collapsing into smoking, limp wreckage. But against the seemingly endless swarm, her attacks were little more than a drop in the ocean. The beetles' shells were exceptionally hard and resistant to energy; Shadowweave had to pour considerable strength into her blade to break through them, draining herself heavily.
More troublesome still, these beetles appeared to possess some form of collective intelligence. Their attacks were methodical: some engaged them head-on, some tried to circle around and attack the storage unit Neji was connecting to, and others even began spraying corrosive acid at the surrounding metal debris, attempting to trigger collapses or bury their targets.
Neji maintained the repulsive field against most of the frontal assault