Chapter 136: The Umbrella
Chapter 136: The Umbrella
The Sky Controller Floating Spider arrived before the Spider World, finding a lack of entrance to allow its entry. It hurriedly transmitted its voice, bouncing the contents off the surface, intending for the lingering senses along the silk rope to transmit it to the source.
But for some reason, despite it trying numerous times, the Spider World showed no signs of action, barring any entry. It was like a perfectly isolated world, anything that happened within it was blocked from the outside world.
Faint ripples formed across its surface, colliding with one another, either negating or fusing to form a larger ripple. The Sky Controller Floating Spider used four of its psychic arms, with each holding blades in their ends, all Tier 5 Artifacts. It focused its attacks on an area where many ripples formed, trying to drill its way to the inside, feeling a premonition that something bad had happened in there.
Its final psychic arm coursed through Vi Ha Su Warlord's body, negating all traces of the influence Jyovic Bone had infused into it, extracting the foreign flesh and blood in a matter of seconds. The excess flesh and blood fell on the ground, forming a tiny pool, squirming like maggots for a couple of seconds before turning placid.
Vi Ha Su Warlord's body soon began to regenerate, recovering from its wounds in a matter of seconds, achieving peak battle strength immediately. Its gaze turned sombre, gazing at the Spider World in fluster, transmitting its voice to the psychic arm hovering next to its body, "We have to hurry inside. Facing against Jyovic Bone alone is dangerous; Vu He Su Warlord died without warning even under our watch."
"Leave it to me; I'll make an entry point within 10 seconds. Hide behind me and sneak up on Jyovic Bone when an opportunity arises." The Sky Controller Floating Spider said, using all five of its psychic arms to attack a particular spot on the Spider Dome.
Suddenly, its actions paused, transmitting the message to all the Tier 5 Floating Spiders, "We faced an information crack in the northwest of Marble City; Marble City has been alerted. Make a retreat, now!"
It raised its attacks to the maximum, impacting the same spot with perfect accuracy, soon forming a pin-sized hole. A psychic arm entered through the hole, surrounding the gap while exerting fore, widening it soon to a size capable of fitting its 4-metre sized body.
The Spider World was important to them; not just due to the cost it took to create it, but also due to the lives inside. They were all at Tier 3 and Tier 4, composing significant battle strength, with many of them elites, possessing the potential to become Tier 5 Floating Spiders in the future.
While it was busy trying to enter the Spider World, the other Sky Controller Floating Spider spotted two black dots approaching them from the west.
Trailing behind the two dots was a long black line, marching forth like a silent meat grinder, masking a suffocating presence. The Sky Controller Floating Spider pushed away Ankrakhen Light, shouting in its home language, "Their main force has arrived. We have to retreat now."
Suddenly, each of its senses, trained through numerous battles sent a multitude of warnings, instilling in it a threat that was a level greater than Jyovic Bone. It hurriedly retracted its psychic arms, wrapping around itself, forming five layers. It did not have enough leeway to shield the others, despite the frightening speed of its psychic arms, signifying how hard-pressed for time it was.
Its heart suddenly began to beat in frenzy, pumping the blood through its veins at an alarming rate. Its muscles contracted and expanded, shivering in fright, seeking to break out of control. This forced the Sky Controller Floating Spider to shield itself even tighter, using the maximum length of its psychic arms to surround itself, forming a massive cocoon.
The other Sky Controller floating Spider, the one that had been attacking the Spider World too did the same, enveloping the Floating Spider Warlordwith sparks around its fistswithin its barrier.
As for Vi Ha Su Warlord, it stuck right next to the Sky Controller Floating Spider, falling under the protection of the psychic barrier.
As for the Floating Spider Warlord with arms of frost, it was caught in an awkward position, having to face the attacks of Ankrakhen Light who suddenly focused all his strength on it. It then watched the muscles on its hand squirm, looking like many worms were dancing underneath.
Having witnessed the actions of Vi Ha Su Warlord and the insight the Sky controller Floating Spider had provided, the Floating Spider Warlord flew towards the sky, raising distance from the two approaching dots.
Its skin was ripped off, pulling out the muscles from within, grabbing hold of the nerves. Many blobs appeared on its skin, attracted towards the two dots, hurriedly severed by a pair of sharp nails.
Now that they were within a kilometre in sight, their figures were clearly outlined; two humans, a man, and a woman sporting a similar base facial structure, seemingly siblings.
Seeing their appearance, the Sky Controller Floating spider shot towards the sky, grabbing hold of the Floating Spider Warlordthe one with a pair of frosty arms, sporting numerous bone-deep injuriesusing one of its psychic arms, making use of the speed of a Sky Controller to the full extent. In the span of two seconds, it had arrived at an altitude of 15 kilometres from the ground.
The two of them looked at one another, arriving at a decision. Without any suspense, they flew west, staying beyond the attack range of the other party, heading towards their home, shuddering in fright as they glanced below.
Hubert Bone dropped his arm, heaving out a breath, glancing at the Spider World. He controlled his faintly shivering body, putting on a strong front. His previous attack that influenced the environment consumed more than half the energy in his Heart Crystal within an instant, putting a massive strain on his body.
Watching two batches of the Floating Spiders take off towards the skies, Hubert Bone glanced at his sister, Havita Bone, motioning towards the Spider World through eye contact. Havita Bone made a beeline towards it, looking ready to engage in battle.
'Four of them escaped, two Transformers, and two Sky Controllers; no, it was five, the fifth barely had a presence.' Hubert Bone arrived above the Spider World, exerting his influence on it, making the surface squirm, soon opening a large holefor human entryin a matter of seconds.
"I am done here," A voice resounded through the area as Jyovic Bone flew out, carrying with him two thumb-sized spheres. He placed them on his stomach, allowing them to seep inside as the armour parted way.
Ankrakhen Light arrived at the scene, seeping a psychic arm into the Spider World, watching its interior. With a face filled with shock and surprise, Ankrakhen Light exclaimed, "As expected of the hero of the Flying Throne Raid. An exemplary work as usual."
"Thank you," Jyovic Bone nodded, "I have restrained all the Warriors; I had to kill the Espers though since they proved to be troublesome. But, the restrained ones are all elites, enough for us to conclude this mission."
Four psychic arms entered the Spider World, bringing out one truck after another, placing them on the ground. A dome soon flew out, carried by the psychic arms, displaying the soldiers, most of whom were alive, only suffering from a state of severe energy depletion.
"They survived thanks to Wunris Marble," Ankrakhen Light felt his vision blur. He turned around, gazing at the setting sun, sporting a tired expression; fatigue filled his face, seeking to experience prolonged rest.
Faint visions clouded his mind, putting his thoughts into disarray. Ankrakhen Light closed his eyes, taking more than a minute to control his emotions, stabilising his mental state.
'It is time I retire. I am on the verge of losing control.'
"I will bring this back to the city," Ankrakhen Light was just about to wrap his psychic arms around the Spider worldafter taking measures to prevent his energy from being absorbedto move it when Jyovic Bone touched its surface, causing it to tremble once, the vibration coursing through the entire Spider World.
The Spider World moved forward, soon picking up pace. Seeing his actions, Ankrakhen Light exclaimed once again, letting out a sigh, "The rise of the Bone Family is unstoppable."
Jyovic Bone then murmured something to Havita Bone, pointing at a certain crater on the ground. Followed by a nod, a pair of transparent wings appeared on her back, carrying her towards the location.
Havita Bone landed next to the mangled remains of Wunris Marble, and hovered her palm above it, exerting her influence, having activated her unranked Skill. The bloody mess squirmed under her sight, converging towards the mangled body, seeping into it, ballooning it in size.
Soon, flesh, blood, organs, bones, nerves, etc. everything that belonged to his body made their way inside, allowing the skin to warp it perfectly. A slightly malnourished body of Wunris Marble, looking no different from his usual self except for the lack of life appeared, laid on the ground, placing his hands above his chest, sporting a defensive posture.
"If you hadn't tried to protect the others, considering your strength, you would have easily survived until reinforcements had arrived." Havita Bone murmured, sporting a complicated expression, filled with sadness, mixed with traces of ridicule, mockery present underneath them.
"After all, the loss of a Sky Controller can never be compensated. There are only so few of you across the entirety of Marble City." She sighed, carrying his body in her arms as she flew towards the Spider World, landing on its surface.
Seeing his lifeless body, Ankrakhen Light broke down into tears, having landed next to him. He held the body of Wunris Marble and screamed in pain, no longer having the demeanour of a senior Esper.
They shared a lot of history, having braved through numerous trials of life together.
He was a friend Ankrakhen Light confided in, having worked their way up, finally becoming Administrators. They planned to spend their days in such a manner, retiring one fine day, passing on the torch to the younger generation, watching them grow up while they themselves grew old.
"You were not supposed to die," Ankrakhen Light shed tears without restraint; his emotions affected his body, causing it to minutely shiver, increasing the frequencies of the images flashing past his eyes, clouding his mind.
The eyes of Jyovic Bone had faintly reddened, watching the scene. He then noticed Ankrakhen Light's state, prompting him to act in a hurry, fishing out a thumb-sized sphere from his stomach.
"Pass the torch to the next generation before you burn out." Jyovic Bone placed his hand on Ankrakhen Light's shoulder, giving him a yellow, thumb-sized sphere. "Sorry, this was all I could retrieve in time."
Holding the yellow sphere in his hands, Ankrakhen Light's eyes regained some clarity, feeling his vision turn clear. He held the yellow sphere dear to his heart, turning still, looking no different from a statue.
Hubert Bone noticed the truck numbered '0' finally arrive at the scene; he formed a pair of transparent wings on his back, carrying him towards it. He entered the truck and brought out a Ground Controller who possessed the Unranked Skill Regen.
Held in his hands was a palm-sized fruit, looking similar to a ripened mango. The moment he landed on the Spider World, the Ground Controller began to treat the injuries of Ankrakhen Light.
Soldiers trailed out from all the trucks, treating the soldiers that were part of the detached force. They also packed all the Tier 3 and Tier 4 Frenzy Beasts, making use of the restraints they made on the spot, thanks to the Ground Controllers from the Marble Family present at the scene.
"They are all drained of energy. Their muscular structure also seems to be weakened while their bones have fused into a singular structure, caging them." A Ground Controller marvelled at the sight, taking a glance at Jyovic Bone standing atop the Spider World.
Watching it move towards Marble City at a slow pace, Hubert Bone arrived next to Jyovic Bone, standing in silence, watching the setting sun. No words were exchanged between them, like two statues that were frozen in time.
When the final rays of the sun had disappeared, Hubert Bone looked at the individual beside him, one who had aged in the reverse by more than 10 years in the past 2 hours, "Have you recovered your Skills?"
"Yes," Jyovic Bone nodded, taking in a deep breath of air, disregarding the bloody tang mixed into it, "I have also recovered my Sync Rate to 100 percent; the Trait of Growth and the Trait of Severability, what a frightening pair they make."
"But," Hubert Bone looked at his face once before turning around, allowing his voice to linger at the area, audible only to the designated individual, "You have already put an end to two products that resulted from the frightening pair."
"Two down, two more to go."
Jyovic Bone listened in silence, showing no change in expression. He glanced at the sky, noticing the appearance of the stars, "When you are the umbrella, it is your duty to brave through the storm. The moment a hole appears, the grass underneath suffers."