Chapter 180: Graduation Ceremony (4) (2/2)
”But, I feel like they would pose a problem.” Haesha pointed at the sky, watching the River Whales stir up. A couple of Spindle Bees had arrived before the column of water, buzzing in the air as they flew around one another.
Of the two, one Spindle Bee positioned itself stably in the air, pointing its stinger towards a River Whale swimming through the water. With a buzz, it shot forth its stinger, flying back a metre due to the recoil.
The stinger pierced through the column of water, its momentum slowed down by the resistance offered. But, it still had retained sufficient speed, thanks to the River Whale positioned along the edges of the column of water.
The stinger pierced the skin of the River Whale, drawing forth some blood. The wound wasn't deep enough to be a threat to the River Whale, thanks to its large size and the toughness of its skin. But, it still served to irritate the other party.
The River Whale branched out from the column of water, covering its body with a thin layer of water, forming a water trail attached to the source. It chased after the Spindle Bee that hurt it, producing sounds inaudible to the other party.
But, the sounds it produced, though inaudible was visually apparent, thanks to the wave patterns forming in the layer of water surrounding it. The River Whale flew more than 30 metres from the column of water, chasing after the escaping Spindle Bee in fury.
The speed of flight of the Spindle Bee was equal to the chasing speed of the River whale, preventing the distance between them from being reduced. Only when it had flown 50 metres from the water column did it realise its mistake, one blinded by fury.
It swerved its body in the water, trying to retreat, watching itself surrounded by more than 20 Spindle Bees, two of which were at Tier 2. One of the two Tier 2 Spindle Bee—an Area Controller—unleashed two psychic arms, slapping them on the layer of water, splashing them to the sides.
The River Whale increased the force of attraction it exerted on the water, trying to pull back the displaced water while trying to return to the column of water.
The other Spindle Bee—an Amplifier—flashed around, arriving before the area where the water had been displaced, pointing its stinger at the skin of the River Whale undefended by the layer of water. Its stinger shot forth like a bullet, piercing through the skin of the River Whale, drawing out copious amounts of blood.
Within a few seconds, its stinger regrew. The Amplifier Spindle Bee flashed around, arriving at a different side, coordinating with the Area Controller Spindle Bee that used its psychic arms to disperse the layer of water in the attacking location.
The two of them coordinated and wounded the River Whale, killing it in the span of 10 seconds. At the moment of its death, the layer of water surrounding it lost its cohesiveness, falling down like rain.
The 20 Spindle bees pierced their stingers into the flesh of the dead River Whale, using them as the anchors as they flew around, carrying the carcass while heading towards their nest.
Treading through the gaps between two successive rock pillars, one that allowed three people to walk side-by-side was Rakh Veera and group, numbering 25 in total. The sides of the rock pillars were covered by spider silk, as a means to detect any organism that treaded through their territory, also to act as a warning mechanism.
In occasional places, attached to outgrowths in the rock pillars were a thick strand of silk, forming a rope that stood vertically, stretched taut. Attached to their other end, and floating in the air were spheres, made of spider silk, one per each rope.
They were structures resembling a Spider World, but weren't one to be exact. Spider Worlds were created from an Unranked Skill while the ones currently were an imitation, built using their natural ability to weave a web.
Their sizes spanned between a radius of 2 metres and 5 metres. Housed within them were Floating Spiders, safe within their defensive structure, and also keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
”Water incoming,” A Cadet pointed at the top, having noticed the battle between the River Whale and the Spindle Bees.
”Brace for battle,” Rakh Veera commanded everyone, having noticed the situation, and at their plight of being unable to rush forth through all the coiling spider threads that were sprawled over the terrain. They didn't have any spots to take cover, leaving them in the open.
”I'll try to negate as much of the commotion as possible,” One of the two Area Controllers said, changing the shape of her psychic arm, shaping it into a wedge whose sharp side faced up.
The water droplets fell on the wedge, not making much sound as they slid over the surface. But, this process still outlined the shape of the psychic energy barrier, also preventing the other Area controller from perfectly directing the incident light, allowing their figures to be visible as patches from time to time.
”They have spotted us; shake off the water droplets before re-enacting out our invisibility.” Rakh Veera held his spear, pointing the tip towards the ground, making an inclined angle.