Chapter 5: Enemies Like a Tide (Part 1)

The Soul-Calming Cauldron flew out, and Halechi exclaimed in surprise, “Can’t we use Spirit Beasts?” He thrust his spear forward, instantly piercing through the face mask of a Purple-Armed Man and flipping the man aside, knocking over another one.
Guo Shier smiled slightly. He cast a spell and said, “Protect me!” The Soul-Calming Cauldron swelled rapidly, growing to nearly the size of a water tank. He slapped it, and with a buzzing sound, a beam of colored light emerged from its mouth, along with countless tiny black dots.
Those tiny black dots quickly grew larger, turning into swarms of Desert Black Spotted Mosquitoes.
At first, everyone was stunned, then overjoyed. Though not particularly strong, these mosquitoes were far more formidable than the Purple-Armed Men. Guo Shier slapped the Cauldron again, releasing another beam of light and more black dots.
Desert Flying Ants, like a torrent, surged out along with the colored light. After some time of breeding, the Black Spotted Mosquitoes and Flying Ants in the Cauldron had multiplied significantly—their numbers had increased several times over since they were first placed there. These insects were originally meant as food for the Spirit Beasts, but they turned out to be extremely useful at this moment.
Tens of thousands of Black Spotted Mosquitoes and tens of thousands of Flying Ants appeared simultaneously, charging at the Purple-Armed Men. Guo Shier released only a small portion; he needed to test whether they could be recalled. If not, he wouldn’t release more, as they were still meant for the Spirit Beasts.
The Black Spotted Mosquitoes were large and extremely greedy. They descended in swarms, causing the Purple-Armed Men to emit shrill screams. A few mosquitoes could drain a person’s life force in just a few seconds. In no time, they wiped out entire groups of Purple-Armed Men. Everyone worked together to clear the area around them, finally stopping exhausted.
After nearly a day of non-stop fighting, the seven of them didn’t even have time to catch their breath. They stared blankly around.
The Black Spotted Mosquitoes truly were terrifying creatures of the desert. They circled in the air, seizing opportunities to descend in swarms and kill hundreds of Purple-Armed Men in an instant. The Flying Ants did the same—acting in groups, they would pounce on a Purple-Armed Man before five or six of them tore him apart.
Zhen Wuji sighed in relief and said, “Shier, if you had released them earlier, we wouldn’t have had to fight for so long.”
Guo Shier replied, “I forgot.”
Everyone collapsed to the ground.
Halechi couldn’t help but curse, “That bastard… I almost died from exhaustion. Instead of using free labor, he made us fight to the death. Sigh…”

Guo Shier tightened the Soul-Calming Cauldron and directed the swarms of mosquitoes and ants to charge forward. Due to the purple mist, it was impossible to see clearly at a distance, so he had to follow the swarms. The others had no choice but to follow as well; if they stayed put, who knew if those Purple Armored men might appear from behind—everyone was terrified of them.

The Purple Armored men finally began to retreat, having no other choice. If they continued to charge, no amount of additional soldiers would be enough to counter those monstrous mosquitoes and ants. If there had only been seven of them, their numbers might have allowed them to exhaust the enemy’s strength, but with so many strange creatures appearing, even the Purple Armored men were alarmed. Though not very intelligent, they knew continuing like this would not work.

They came in like a tide and retreated like a tide. Moments later, aside from the pungent smell of blood and corpses everywhere, not a single Purple Armored man was in sight. Only the Black Spotted Mosquitoes and Flying Ants remained, sucking blood and feasting on the corpses.

Guo Shier sensed that the Black Spotted Mosquitoes and Flying Ants hadn’t been affected by the forces of this world—perhaps they had been, but he could still control them, so he felt relieved.

Zhen Wuji sighed, “They’ve finally retreated. If they were just a bit stronger, their numbers alone would have made it difficult for us to leave.”

They had only seen such an encirclement tactic with mutated insects before; it was the first time they’d encountered humanoid monsters, especially ones that were intelligent beings like the Purple Armored men. What they didn’t understand was that in this world, the lower-level Purple Armored men were extremely unintelligent. The truly intelligent ones were a different group of experts, and it was these lower-level ones they were facing. Only the Purple Armored men with sparse patterns had some intelligence, and above them were even more advanced ones who truly possessed combat skills and wisdom.

Suddenly, the Black Spotted Mosquitoes in the distance became chaotic. In an instant, Guo Shier realized dozens of them had been lost. Alarmed, he exclaimed, “Some experts are coming!” The Soul-Calming Cauldron flew out, quickly recalling the Black Spotted Mosquitoes and Flying Ants. He didn’t want to lose too many; if he couldn’t return to the World of Talismans, he would never find such tamed talisman insects again.

With a swirl of colored light, the Black Spotted Mosquitoes and Flying Ants were recalled, and then Guo Shier put away the Soul-Calming Cauldron.

Thud! Thud! Thud…

Heavy footsteps echoed. Zhen Wuji and the other seven waited quietly, each holding a weapon formed from their sacrificial treasures. Halechi said, “It seems there aren’t many Purple Armored men coming this time.” His judgment was accurate—only a dozen or so Purple Armored men emerged from the purple mist.

These Purple Armored men were very different from the previous ones. In Guo Shier’s eyes, it was obvious at a glance that these were the elites among the Purple Armored men. As these dozen or so Purple Armored men appeared, another large group emerged from behind them, each of them bearing sparse patterns on their bodies.

These dozen or so Purple Armored men were nearly three meters tall, tall and strong. Their purple biological armor was nearly black, covered with dense patterns. The colors of their facial armor also varied. The most eye-catching were the three leaders at the front, whose facial armor was dark golden. At the top of their armor were two spirally shaped red horns, about half a foot long, while the bone blades at the joints were silver-white, emitting a cold glint.

Guo Shier silently counted—there were a total of fifteen such special Purple Armored men. Even if two fought against one, there would still be one left over on the enemy side. He just didn’t know their strength. As for those Purple Armored men with sparse patterns behind the fifteen, although there were hundreds of them, he didn’t take them seriously. He knew their strength was average; they might surprise people if caught off guard, but after fighting them, the seven of them would basically no longer fear those people.

The horned Purple Armored man at the front made a series of rustling noises. One of the fifteen stepped forward, shaking his head back and forth as if choosing someone. After a while, he pointed at Guo Shier and clapped his claws, emitting an unpleasant, shrill chirping sound from his facial armor. Guo Shier doubtfully pointed at his own nose and then at him.

The Purple Armored man shook his head and took a step forward, pulling out a strange weapon from his back.

Halechi joked, “Oh… bro, does he have his eye on you?”

Guo Shier snapped, “Look at my size!” He was frustrated. Out of all those people, they chose him instead of the others. Was he really that weak? He became extremely annoyed and muttered, “Just because I’m lazy doesn’t mean I’m easy to bully. Damn it, I’ll show you what I’m capable of!”

The weapon in the Purple Armored man’s hand was very strange, resembling antlers of a moose, with sharp thorns branching out everywhere. It was completely black, except for the deep red tips, like streaks of blood. It was unclear what material it was made of.

Guo Shier stepped forward, but the Purple Armored man waved his hand back, and the other Purple Armored men quickly retreated, creating some distance between them. Guo Shier held the long sword formed from his Moon Blade, staring coldly at his opponent. Though they didn’t speak the same language, they both understood each other’s intent: it was a one-on-one duel.

The man in purple armor pointed at himself and let out a hissing sound—strange in nature. If translated based on the sound, it meant “Yayacha.” Then he pointed at Guo Shier. After a brief moment of thought, Guo Shier realized the man was saying his name was Yayacha. He nodded and pointed at himself, saying, “Guo…” Yayacha couldn’t pronounce the word “Guo,” and Guo Shier couldn’t pronounce “Yayacha” either; their vocal cords were vastly different, just as a sheep could never roar like a lion. Halechi asked softly, “What’s Shier doing?” Zhen Wuji replied, “I’m not sure… It seems like they’re introducing each other by name?” His guess was based on Guo Shier saying the character for “Guo.” Meili asked in confusion, “What are they doing, exchanging glances?” Guo Shier almost fell—such an outrageous statement! Exchanging glances with a man in purple armor? That man was nothing but a biological mask; it was hard to expect him to show any expression. Hearing this, Halechi couldn’t help but laugh. He nodded repeatedly, saying, “Yes, yes… They’re not exchanging glances at all… Haha.” Yayacha didn’t understand Halechi’s laughter, as their race didn’t have an expression like laughter. He gently waved the antler-like weapon in his hand, emitting another series of strange noises, then leaped forward, his weapon hissing softly as its blood-red tips emitted red glows, shooting toward Guo Shier. Guo Shier dodged slightly, and the red glows passed by his side with a hissing sound. His pupils contracted—he saw that when the glows passed, space itself seemed to crack, showing terrifying power. If hit accidentally, it would likely be impossible to withstand. He roared and swung his moon blade at him. Yayacha easily swept him away again with his strange weapon. This time, Guo Shier didn’t dodge. His moon blade transformed into dozens of golden glows to meet it, but his body darted to Yayacha’s side, and he swept with his left foot. Yayacha didn’t have time to react and was knocked aside with a loud thud, flying away while screaming in pain. With Guo Shier’s now formidable physique, that kick could even break steel pillars. Yayacha rolled on the ground several times before controlling himself. He suddenly sprang up, letting out a shrill scream, and charged at him again like a madman. It was clear he wasn’t injured, though he was in a mess and clearly enraged.

Guo Shier felt a slight stir in his heart as he realized the Purple Armored Man had quite good defenses, though he didn’t pay it much mind. It was obvious that Yayacha was a master of this world; if even he couldn’t block her attacks, then she would be far too weak. The two immediately engaged in combat, clashing fiercely. It was purely a close-quarters battle, the type that professionals in the Spellcraft World were worst at. By the time professionals reached the Altar level, they generally abandoned close combat in favor of ranged attacks, which were far more powerful. Using close combat meant a significant drop in strength. This was also the dilemma faced by Guo Shier and his companions—they had to resort to such tactics to defend against the forces of this world. Fortunately, Guo Shier still had the skills from his past life, coupled with a body as strong as that of a professional, not inferior to his opponent at all. Moreover, the sacred treasure within him provided additional defensive support, making their fight extremely intense.