The Clackers’ strategy was simple and effective. After having surrounded their preys, they swarmed them in a one wave rush. The ones on the ground tried to overpower them, while those on the trees threw spider webs the size of a tablecloth.

All the while those that kept hanging from their threads spat poison non-stop, aiming for their eyes.

Lith did his best, using water magic to turn his hands into razor-sharp blades and cutting off everything that came too close, but there were simply too many. He wasn’t used being ambushed, and never encountered such situations.

All the spells he had at hand, both true and fake magic ones, were aimed toward bigger single opponents, he had no idea how to manage a swarm of small enemies.

The girls were faring much better than him. As soon as Phloria had seen the Clackers, her father’s teachings had kicked in, and she had quickly conjured a tower shield made of white-hot rocks.

It served as both offense and defence, since her own magic could not harm her. Spiderwebs would burst into flames like made of paper, the poison would just fizzle without any effect, while everything that touched the shield would lose its limbs if not its life.

From the moment she had recognized the nature of the enemy, Mirna had stuck her back against Phloria’s, using her protection to put her War Mage specialization to use.