Isaac moved again, darting through narrow gaps with clean movents. He ducked a claw, drove a sickle into a soft under-arm, then kicked off the body and backflipped into open space.
"Pin from the sides."
The swarm split, circling the boars and lizards like hunting dogs.
But sothing else changed.
The swarm shifted.
Not just in movent, but in purpose.
Isaac’s eyes sharpened as the locusts broke apart into groups, each cluster flowing with eerie coordination.
Hopper let out a sharp chirp and took flight, rising above the chaos, his wings humming with focus.
Small units followed his lead, breaking into formation squads, each one hovering like a stormcloud over designated paths.
The first group peeled off to the left.
The second group rose to the canopy.
The third tunneled low, dragging debris behind them like bait.
A flank from the left.
A pincer from above.
A feint to bait one golem into a shallow pit the swarm had carved open.
Every move flowed from Isaac like instinct, his mind syncing with the swarm.
He made signals, and each squad answered without hesitation, mini-attacks that cut clean and retreated fast, throwing the enemy into confusion.
Then, for the first ti...
The insectoid creature moved.
Not his body. Just his eyes.
They narrowed.
Focused.
Now he looked interested.
Isaac stood in the center of the chaos.
He exhaled.
Then sothing massive stepped forward.
The earth didn’t rumble, but it sank.
A heavy, four-legged creature enters the battlefield. Its upper half was humanoid but bulky, hunched, and plated in crocodile-like scales. No hands, just warhamrs where fists should’ve been. Dried blood stained the weapon-arms. Its eyes glowed pale orange. Intelligent. Focused.
Isaac appraised it.
"S-class..."
He didn’t even have ti to breathe.
The monster lunged.
Its hamr-arm swept sideways like a falling tower. The Swarm Guard shattered instantly, locusts thrown like paper in the wind.
Isaac crossed his arms to block, but it wasn’t enough.
Crack!
The blow launched him like a ragdoll. He crashed against a thick tree trunk, splintering it and dropped to one knee. His ribs scread. Blood dripped down his temple.
Pain blurred his vision.
He could feel the Abyssal Overdrive stir, whispering like a hunger just behind his eyes.
But Isaac shook his head.
"No."
He stood slowly.
The monster charged again, snarling.
Isaac didn’t et it with rage. He t it with precision.
[Skill Activated: Reaper’s Spiral]
He launched forward, spinning his Twin Sickles in a tight arc. Sparks flew as they scraped against the monster’s armor, cutting deep but not fatal.
The beast swung a hamr down.
"Swarm Wire!"
Threads of locusts shot out like cords, tying to trees, wrapping around the monster’s arm and halting the hamr mid-swing.
Isaac ducked under and leapt up.
He pulled his axe from his back.
[Skill Activated: Reaper’s Boorang]
He hurled his axe, spinning end over end. It caught the S-class across the neck. Not enough to kill. But enough to draw blood.
The beast snarled.
Isaac’s feet hit the ground. He wasn’t done.
He kicked off the earth, axe in both hands, and slamd the flat of the blade into the beast’s chest.
It stumbled. Arms wide.
"NOW, Swarm Tripwire!"
Dozens of thin black cords shot out from the dirt.
One around its ankle. One around a tusk.
The creature twisted. And fell.
Isaac landed behind it. One breath held.
Both hands gripping the axe.
[Skill Activated: Abyssal Smash]
He swung down.
Clean. Brutal. Final.
The blade slamd into the creature’s back and split it in two, from spine to soil.
A wet crack.
A tremor.
Then silence.
The beast twitched once.
Then collapsed, folding apart, steam rising from its split core.
Isaac stood over the corpse.
His swarm circled above, silent and waiting.
His breath was heavy. His clothes were torn. His axe stained.
Sitting on the thick tree branch, the insectoid king clicked its mandibles, a low chitter that echoed with quiet amusent
At last...
The insectoid king moved.
Slowly.
One step at a ti.
He stood from its seat in the hollow of the massive, dead tree.
It stared down at Isaac.
No mockery.
No applause.
"Interesting.... You carry his blood. But you are not him."
Isaac’s grip on his sickles tightened.
"Now tell , who are you?"
"I was once called The Shatterclaw. First General of the Abyssal Legion. Swarmborn."
Then he spread his both bladed-hands.
The wind changed and the earth cracked open.
From the hollow trees and broken earth, they ca thousands of blue-glowing locusts. Their bodies were larger than normal, sharp-edged, like a cross between mantis and locust. And unlike wild monsters, these locusts moved together in perfect formation.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
They moved like soldiers.
"Show how much of him you carry, impostor."
Isaac didn’t move. Not yet.
Hopper buzzed nervously.
’Those aren’t just locusts. They’re ancient. Part of the original swarm. This... is a command test.’
Isaac nodded once.
He raised his hand.
His own swarm erupted and positioned from his back, hundreds of locusts bursting into the air in a perfect arc. Hopper flew off his shoulder and took formation, his glow pulsing brighter than usual.
The two clouds circled each other above the field.
And then...
They clashed.
CRACK!
The sound was like thunder. Wing t wing. Claw t shell. In the sky, a storm of insects exploded.
Isaac shouted his first command.
"Spiral Rush. Forward Break!"
His locusts twisted into a spiral, aiming for the enemy’s center. But the General didn’t flinch.
"Counter Bind. Arrow Split."
The ancient swarm responded with unnatural precision. They split midair, forming an arrow shape, piercing through Isaac’s spiral and breaking it apart.
Isaac’s swarm scattered.
His eyes narrowed.
They weren’t fighting like monsters.
They were fighting like a trained army.
Ten minutes passed.
Isaac was losing.
His commands were fast. Sharp. But the enemy swarm adapted faster. They blocked every bind. Cut through every rush.
’We can’t beat them like this,’ Hopper said.
"I know."
He knelt to one knee, sweat dripping from his chin.
Then...
Sothing flickered inside his mind.
A mory not his own.
A vision.
The being.
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