Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Most gorgons were very close to the Commander-level, while the weakest medusae were at the Warrior-level. In comparison, the lamias had the widest range of levels. The Servant-class lamias were a plague throughout Africa.
In addition to them, another species had a similarly-sized population, a mutation of the lamias called the Crawlers. A lamia could give birth to an entire nest of them in a week. These Crawlers were not an ordinary breed. They had strange and twisted bodies, and their numbers were on the scale of a plague. They had barely had any defenses, and even the weakest Basic Spell could take their lives, but they had the fangs of snakes and tails of scorpions, and were agile, cunning, and unavoidable. Battlemages in Egypt did not die that often to the lamia, but to Crawlers that ambushed them out of nowhere!
The demon creatures attacking from the south of New Suez consisted mainly of Crawlers and lamias. They were gathering at the outskirts of the south of the city, looking like several black streams from high above. The streams accumulated into a huge black horde, writhing with disgusting forms!
“To be frank, the advancement of magic has brought us too much entertainment. Everyone stops staying at home and reproducing at night. Look at these demon creatures, I bet they always hold orgies when they are bored. It’s the only reason they can reproduce so rapidly. Their numbers alone are enough to crush us!” Zhao Manyan observed.
“We humans emphasize optimized breeding, but look at these strange Crawlers. Their main purpose in life is to poison a living being bigger than them to death. They have no other goals in life,” Mo Fan remarked.
Mo Fan had read a lot about the demon creatures in Egypt when he was convalescing at the Parthenon Temple. Greece was actually pretty close to Egypt, so their cultures had a lot of similarities.
“Aren’t you afraid?” Heidi asked, rather confused.
“Not really; they should be afraid of us, instead! It’s unlikely these low-level existences can harm us, but I can’t say for sure about the rest of the passengers,” Mo Fan said.
“Well… Heidi suffers from fear of crawling insects, so please keep an eye on her later,” Brianca told them softly.
Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai gasped. They all looked at Heidi, and noticed her face turning pale with a nervous expression after taking a glance at the demon creatures.
“What are you laughing at? You must be afraid of something too!” Heidi grunted, vexed when she saw them smirking.
“No wonder Miss Ceylan insisted you come with us. If you can’t overcome your trypophobia, you are as vulnerable as an ordinary little girl when you are up against species of spiders, mice, and insects. Unfortunately for them, I’m the nemesis of these high-density species!” Mo Fan declared.
The flames of the Ardent Sunset were most effective against weak demon creatures in high numbers. The Crawlers might not be a kind of insect, but they definitely suited the Ardent Sunset’s appetite! Therefore, Mo Fan was not worried that the plane was about to land in the middle of a battlefield.
Besides, there was a Super Level with four Super Elements on the flight, too! They might not even have to do a single thing for the demon creatures to be taken care of!
—
The plane began to descend. The passengers started praying instead of cursing meaninglessly.
The miasma produced by the lamias lingered in the air. The plane suddenly found itself in a dim twilight rather than the bright afternoon sun. It was very easy for ordinary people to be poisoned.
The snakes and scorpions fed on the rotten flesh of the undead, but were also the servants and guardians of some powerful undead at the same time. The filthy gas they were emitting constantly was similar to the deathly auras of the undead. Therefore, there was always a pungent smell when they appeared on a huge scale.
“It’s been a while since I last had some exercise,” Mo Fan mused.
Heidi had trypophobia, but Mo Fan was the complete opposite. Little Loach had not collected any Soul Essences for some time. The Soul Essences he had collected last time from massacring the undead were all consumed to pay off the debt of using the Demon Element. He needed some Soul Essences to strengthen his Lightning Magic now!
Mo Fan’s control of the Lightning Element was not as impressive as the Fire Element, so he could not alter the form of Lightning Magic as he pleased. If he could strengthen the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Spells further, he would be able to use his spells differently. It would be extremely beneficial, especially with the twelvefold amplification of his Lightning Magic!
“You shouldn’t waste your energy if the soldiers are going to protect us,” Mu Bai said.
“Yeah, don’t forget why you are here!” Zhao Manyan added.
“I was just saying!” Mo Fan protested.
—
—
A troop of Mages in brown military outfits had cleared a path on the landing field.
“Meos, this is the last flight. We are going to retreat immediately as soon as it lands,” a tanned Captain spoke up.
“Alright, ask your soldiers to be on guard, don’t let the Crawlers break through the perimeter,” Meos said.
“There are too many of them. It’s impossible to keep them all out, but we’ll protect the passengers at all costs. After all, the reputation of the country’s aviation is at stake,” the Captain nodded.
Most of the paths on the airfield were sealed off. The designated path was lit up with indicators to guide the descending plane.
“By the way, did they turn the lights off on the path that was overrun?” Meos asked one of the authorities of the aviation company after a sudden thought crossed her mind.
“I’m not sure! The control room is no longer accessible because of the Crawlers. We weren’t able to operate the lights. Most of the personnel had been evacuated. I’m only here to turn on the lights of this path,” the person said.
Meos lifted her gaze and stared in the direction that the plane was heading to through the cloudy mist.
The plane suddenly swayed from its approach path and glided along another path that was a certain distance away.
“Damn it, didn’t the pilot notice the lights of this path had just been turned on!?”
“The interference to our communication devices is too strong…”
“Quick, we must make our way to path B6 now. We have to get rid of the Crawlers before the plane lands!” Meos blurted out.
The platoon of a hundred soldiers was dumbfounded. According to the plan, the plane would land securely on the path they were guarding. Once it came to a stop, they would escort the passengers away; mission accomplished! They did not expect the pilot would land on a path that was long overrun by the Crawlers!
——
The noise of the plane was deafening. The huge international plane glided down from an altitude of four thousand meters and gradually approached the ground amid a strong turbulence.
The lane was crawling with eerily-shaped scorpions and insects around the size of a fist. As the plane landed at high speed, the wheels crushed the demon creatures and left three shocking trails of black blood along the ground!
The lane was around three thousand meters long. The plane traveled fifteen hundred meters while it slowed down, crushing around five to six hundred scorpion-like and snake-like demon creatures as it did. The corpses were smashed into pieces with blood and bodily fluids smeared across the lane. A foul odor spread rapidly in the air after their deaths.
The foul odor immediately attracted their comrades. As a result, black crawling creatures rapidly approached the plane from both sides and the rear while it was still slowing down. The creatures soon surrounded the plane.
“Didn’t they say soldiers would be here to protect us!?” the Arabian man screamed. He had already wet his pants.
The other passengers were on the verge of losing their minds, too. The plane had landed right in a nest of the Crawlers. Anyone would be overwhelmed by the sight of the creatures advancing toward them in one wave after another!
“EgyptAir is seriously the most unreliable aviation company I’ve ever seen. It looks like we are on our own.” Mo Fan rose to his feet and cracked his knuckles.
The cabin crew did not dare open the door. These Crawlers were not too strong, and although their numbers might be overwhelming, they were unable to tear through the sturdy metal of the plane.
The pilot and the cabin crew were dumbfounded. They had no idea what to do.
Ugly black scorpions were crawling over the windows now. They were tearing at them, wildly driven by base instinct to attack the living humans inside the plane!
“The army will be here soon, everyone, please stay calm!” the head stewardess tried her best to steady the passengers.
“Are they going to climb inside… AHHHH!” a woman suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.
The people turned around and were shocked to see an eerie scorpion around the size of a fist inside the plane. The creature had managed to sneak into the plane out of nowhere. It was crawling nimbly along the walls.
The scorpion leapt at the woman even as she screamed. It was pouncing right for her neck!
Mu Bai was the closest to the woman, and reacted in the nick of time. He flicked his finger and fired an icicle at the scorpion. It struck the creature in mid-air and nailed it to the wall!
“They must have snuck inside through the wheels. These creatures are small enough to move through the gaps,” Mu Bai observed.
“It’s more dangerous inside here. Head stewardess, open the door!” Mo Fan ordered.
The space inside the plane was too confined. Mo Fan did not dare use his magic here. He was afraid that he might hurt people by accident!
“Are you out of your mind? Aren’t they going to rush inside if the door is open!? I don’t want to die!” the young man with a huge nose seated behind them shouted.
The guy was constantly showing off before, demonstrating how knowledgeable he was during the flight. He was obviously trying to catch the attention of the two gorgeous women, Brianca and Heidi. However, he was being pretty brave if he did not wet his pants under the circumstances. He had no sign of his previous demeanor; he was screaming at the top of his lungs instead!
“We have to leave the plane as soon as possible. The Crawlers aren’t a hassle, but if we stay until the lamias show up, we won’t have any chance to run away,” Mo Fan continued evenly.
If they waited until the army was here, the soldiers would only be retrieving their corpses. In the end, they had to handle the situation themselves. However, there were more than a hundred passengers on the plane. It would be a little tricky to keep them safe from the overwhelming number of Crawlers!