The Dawn of the New World

Through narrowed eyes, Hao Xuan carefully examined the hulking monstrosities across from Rhisiat. It was hard to ignore them either way and in his eyes, they were the primary threat right now.

Each one of them was 5-8 times bigger than an average grunt and quite unique in their physical forms.

About five of them were left in total, at least from what he could see.

The two at the front had a massive carapace on top of their heads like a beetle and it was quite obvious their primary purpose was to charge through the front lines using brute force.

Almost every part of their bodies was covered in layers of hard, black exoskeleton that increased their defenses tremendously.

At approximately six and seven meters of height each, they were the largest among their ranks.

The other three were smaller but much faster. Where the first two were walking on all fours these three stood on two legs. Two pairs of disjointed forearms decorated the top half of their bodies each of which were lined with multiple rows of curved spikes on the side and a sharp blade in the center.

They could both cut and maim with deadly accuracy by extending their forearms to twice their usual length.

They kept a low profile and hid among the swarming grunts and only ever showed themselves when it was time to attack.

But the more Hao Xuan looked at them the stranger they appeared in his eyes just like the rest of the swarming grunts. And from where he was standing he could see almost the entire horde and its movements reminded him of some simpler plant-based lifeforms.

Rather than being separate individuals each grunt acted in unison with the horde as a whole.

Whenever a grunt fell another stepped up and took its place and so on and so forth but they weren't really acting alone.

They made space for the sneaking ones and separated like the red sea even before they came close. Sometimes there was not enough space in which instance the gunts would just stand where they were and be squashed under the larger creature's feet.

"It's like they are all connected...like they are all one."

He watched for almost a full minute before it became clear that was indeed the case. It was like the entire horde was being controlled like one massive organism. The grunts were the cells that made up the majority of the body and the other creatures were the specialized cells created for specific tasks.

Although it looked absolutely chaotic from up close but from a distance there was a harmony in the overall system.

"It might really be the case. I think all those creatures are being controlled by something else to a great degree. And if I'm not wrong these monsters came from the prison in which case they are the spawn of that corruption that was locked inside of it, the 'flood' as they called it. I can see where they got the name, it looked like an ocean from afar."

His mind raced with thoughts of its origin and what meaning it could have.

"Either they are working off of raw instinct, in which case it would be a lot more chaotic...or they are more like a hive mind, something like a shared consciousness. It wouldn't be the first time, there are several species that do that. But that means there is one that controls them too."

"Killing it would either cause the rest to simply lose their minds or go berserk, but both of those results would be better than what is happening right now."

He looked down at the back lines where many of the cultivators were sitting cross-legged trying to recover their Qi.

"They won't last more than eight or nine minutes. I need to find the 'link' and-"

In the distance, black clouds rolled over the horizon from the same direction where more and more grunts were pouring in without end. Something just changed there that caught his attention.

In his eyes the sky was on fire but those clouds were still black, almost like a scar constantly expanding outwards.

He could see numerous specks of light gathering under those clouds somewhere, slowly building up the spiritual energy of the area.

"Or is it there? Could it really be controlling them from so far? Such powerful psychic energy- Wait! That's it!"

Quickly focusing on his eyes wisps of chaos Qi ran toward his head and created a barely discernable film in front of his retinas.

It was like a filter that allowed him to see the world differently and that he did.

There was a sea of dim white light over the horde similar to the white specks of spiritual energy but a lot less distinguished in their forms. In fact, it had no real form and presented itself as a free-floating cloud of mist.

"That's the disparity created in the atmosphere when a powerful psychic force rips through space. I have read about this before. Some gifted individuals were able to see it and foretell the coming of the hive fleets."