The man who had punctured Liora’s tire gave one final look at the vehicle he had just sabotaged and sneered with satisfaction.
Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction from the swarm. A few of the terrified survivors spotted his movent and quickly followed him, their instincts screaming that staying in the path of the bees ant certain death.
But not all of them were lucky.
As the swarm closed in, several unfortunate souls were too slow, their legs faltering from exhaustion and injury. The mutated bees struck with deadly precision.
One woman was stung straight in the neck, her scream turning into a gurgle as the venom spread like wildfire through her veins. Another man fell to his knees, clutching his stomach, his skin already turning purple where the stinger had struck.
The venom worked fast, too fast for them to completely react. Their muscles seized and eyes rolled back in just a few seconds. The fallen thrashed briefly, then went still, their faces twisted in agony.
anwhile, the humr that carried Liora and her group had co to a stop. The front tire was completely blown out, the wheel bent and smoking. And now, it was surrounded by the bees from every direction.
The bees hovered from every direction, their shadows flickering across the windows, their stingers tapping the reinforced tal like they were testing for weakness. Loud, continuous buzzing filled the air like a haunting chorus of death.
Inside the humr, tension coiled thick in the air. Everyone had fallen silent.
Liora stared at the swarm outside, her jaw clenched tight.
Her precious humr. Her beast of a vehicle was damaged by a filthy bastard. Her eye twitched and her fingers curled slowly into fists.
Of all the things that could have happened, this bastard had dared to ss with her humr. She could forgive betrayal. She could even forgive cowardice.
But this? This was war.
Beside her, Chen Wei muttered, "We can’t stay in here. If we wait, they’ll chew through the damn body of the vehicle."
"Agreed," Liang Zihan said, tightening his gloves and gripping the door to get outside.
Zhou Yinuo looked grim. "We’ll need to create a diversion or push them away for even a second. That’s the only ti we’ll get."
Liora turned to Eli and gently placed him on the back seat again. Her face softened as she crouched to et his wide, misty eyes.
"Eli," she said softly, brushing a strand of hair away from his forehead, "you stay right here, okay? No matter what happens, don’t co out. Don’t open the door. Just wait until I co back."
She handed him a pack of snacks—Eli’s favorite—and patted his head with gentle affection. "Be good. Big sis will take care of the bad bugs."
Eli nodded earnestly, his little hands clutching the snacks tightly. "Mm," he murmured.
The others couldn’t help but smile at the soft exchange, even amid the chaos. It reminded them what they were fighting for.
Zhou Yinuo placed her hand on the door and took a deep breath. Her eyes sharpened with resolve.
"Wind surge—now!"
A sudden blast of fierce wind exploded from her palm as she swung the door open. The powerful gust scattered the bees montarily, pushing them back like leaves in a storm.
Without wasting ti, they all burst out of the vehicle one after another. Weapons were drawn and powers were activated.
The fight began.
Liora led the charge, her body moving like a shadowy blur as she summoned a steel-reinforced pole from her inventory and slamd it through one of the bees mid-flight. Its body crunched and slamd to the ground, twitching violently.
Chen Wei followed behind, his image was already a blur between bees. He zipped between bees with uncanny speed, his knives flashing. Every strike landed with deadly precision. "Die, you oversized wasps!"
Liang Zihan twirled her spear, slicing through the wings of the bees and using her strength to slam them into the pavent. Zhou Yinuo kept controlling the wind to maintain distance, slashing through bees with wind blades every ti they regrouped.
And then ca the screech of tires behind them.
Zhao Ren’s jeep returned with a sharp U-turn, dust flying.
The others had realized sothing was wrong. Liora’s group hadn’t followed. They had turned back, and the scene before them hit hard.
The humr was damaged, and a swarm of mutated bees was attacking them. All of them were busy fighting.
Zhao Ren cursed, leaping out of the jeep. "F*ck! Who the hell dared to sabotage us?!"
Ji Ming stepped down next to him, unsheathing a silver-bladed sword that shimred with a spatial ripple. "No ti to waste. We’ll deal with him later."
Yan Lin, calm and composed as ever, spread her fingers wide. Water shot out of her palm and coiled into a whip, slicing through several bees midair. At the sa ti, vines burst from the cracked soil, entangling insects and crushing them with brutal force.
Yun Shou arrived next, electricity dancing across his fingertips like wild sparks. "Let’s fry so bugs!"
His bolts arced through the air, striking multiple bees in one blast, their bodies exploding into sticky ichor.
Shen Haoran followed, flas blazing in both hands. With a roar, he launched fireballs into the air. "Burn!"
The sky lit up with fire and crackling lightning.
i, the team’s only healer, didn’t stay behind either. She carried a large dagger and a curved machete, slashing any bee that dared get too close. Her eyes glowed with focused intensity as she moved to back up the fighters, patching minor injuries instantly and applying speed boosts to those faltering.
The battlefield was pure chaos—but organized chaos.
A deadly dance of wind, fire, water, electricity, and steel.
And at the center of it all, Liora fought like a demon unleashed. Her movents were fluid, precise, and furious. She wasn’t just fighting to survive, she was venting her anger in this fight, first because of that coward and last she was furious with herself.
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