After surviving the sinister sneak attack from the ambushers, Phoebe's team already pulled out their weapons and warily observed the surroundings.
The people they saw appeared to be Martial Artists as they could barely feel their Mana Fluctuations. To be specific, the Mana Fluctuations seem to be coming from their weapons and equipment instead of their bodies.
So they only guess that they are facing Martial Artists instead of Magicians.
They are wearing simple leather armor on their bodies and they were ones that the Manipulators hated to use…
At this moment, Phoebe and her team can feel the killing intent coming from these people.
"They don't seem to be Manipulators… However, don't lower your guard… Automatons might still appear." Phoebe reminded as she drew her scythe.
Cold air started spreading in the surroundings…
She remained at the center of the group waiting for the enemies to enter her range.
"Hmm?"
As she was observing the enemies, she realized that most of them were female and she couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this.
After all, if they weren't just female knights or martial artists, they might actually be Celestial Beings!
This may not stop her from fighting them but she may no longer be able to protect her squad members.
"This is our chance… Fourth Squad! Cast the Malevolent Miasma…"
Seeing that all the enemies dared to show themselves, Paige knew that it was her only chance to surprise their enemies.
Phoebe didn't stop her from doing this and even signaled for her team to follow her instructions…
Soon, a block fog started spreading in their surroundings.
Vincent saw all of this and knows that it was faster and deadlier than the ones cast by Belch's team. Nevertheless, he wasn't worried about its lethality as he knows that Luna will do something about…
Instead, he looked at Nerissa who was itching for battle… She was perfectly hidden and placed her Automatons behind the members of the Creed to cut off the path they used to enter their Formation Art.
That's right… Their opponent this time is already inside the Formation Art and it will be activated once Nerissa triggered it.
Vincent left the Formation Cores to her since he has other things to do…
Mana Drain…
After standing at a perfect range, he was able to start using his touchless Mana Drain… Since this Tier 2 Mana Art is already in a Perfected State, he can already use it on an area instead of a specific target.
This time, he aimed to drain their mana from their feet…
Apparently, the miasma affects his touchless Mana Drain so he has to avoid it.
"Absorb Corruption…"
Luna's Bloodstone Armament glowed brightly and started sucking all the miasma that the enemies are spreading.
Its bright red glow attracted the enemy's attention so they immediately realized what was going on.
"No wonder Belch and the others are defeated. They already found a way to counter this technique…" Paige muttered after seeing the miraculous ability of the magic tool that the female knight was using.
However, her voice doesn't contain a hint of panic as she even found it interesting…
It was the same for Phoebe as she was observing their enemies…
Although she wanted to immediately attack… She knows that her enemies this time weren't Manipulators who are relying on Automatons. She has to know the enemy's combat style so she can decide what to do…
"Try all your Corruption Techniques and see if they still have other tricks aside from that red stone…" Phoebe commanded.
"Yes… That's what I was thinking… Everyone, don't hold back…"
As soon as Paige said this, everyone started releasing their Corruption Techniques… These techniques were normally what they used when they were dealing with Manipulators.
Focused Decay!
Stagnation...
Air Corruption…
Mind Corruption!
Mind Corruption!
Mind Corruption seems to be the most casted ability as it wasn't only fast but it was also effective against enemies that needed plenty of concentration.
However, they suddenly noticed the difficulty in casting their skills. They felt slower than how they used to. Furthermore, the female warrior with the red stone dissipated these attacks again.
"Turbid Air Formation Art? There are also a couple more Formation Arts… It's beguiling and trapping formation art…" Phoebe commented after seeing the weakened and slowed attacks of the squad members.
'Do they think this is enough to fight against me?!' Phoebe felt she was being ridiculed by her enemies…
'I guess I was being too careful…'
With this in mind, she decided to act…
Whoosh~
With a wave of her scythe, a form of energy in a red crescent shape came out and destroyed the Formation Arts…
Bang! Bang!
Two Formation Cores were destroyed at the same time… The power coming from her scythe was too much and could easily destroy the Formation Art that was enhanced by Vincent's ability.
What she released seemed to be different from the Corruption Energy that the others were using.
"Normal corruption energy is ineffective… Use your weapons and martial arts!"
"Hmm?"
As Phoebe thought that it would be a lot easier for them once the Formation Art was destroyed, she realized that a stronger Formation Art or perhaps a stealthy Technique was draining their energy… She couldn't find where it was coming from and could only face the incoming enemies.
The female warriors drew their blades and daggers as they surrounded their group… At this point, the Miasma they released was already fully removed by one of the female warriors.
She can tell that these female warriors weren't targeting her and were focused on her subordinates… It was a good strategy but it wasn't enough…
As soon as they charged forward, Phoebe also found her target.
She targeted the one who had dissipated their miasma and was planning to kill her first. Once she did that, they can freely use the power of corruption again.
A red light started accumulating in her eyes and as she was about to release the power of her eye, she noticed a projectile aimed at the back of her head. It was flying extremely fast and she had no other choice but to dodge...
Her long-range attack was canceled as she realized that a group of Automatons have appeared behind them…
She still can't find the Manipulator controlling this but it didn't matter.
"There are weak Automatons behind us… Destroy it first!" Phoebe commanded as she can't be bothered with it. They were mostly Silver Tier Automatons and using her Legendary Grade Scythe for it would be a bit too much…