However, these monsters differed from the classic Aliens in several key ways. For instance, the one Li had just kicked apart didn't bleed the Aliens' signature acidic blood. Moreover, their heads weren't the elongated shape typical of Aliens, but rather a flattened, circular form resembling an enlarged ant, with massive mandibles flanking their foreheads.
Regardless, the reality was that Ikezawa was now surrounded by these creatures. Only then did he belatedly crawl out of the tent, his scalp prickling at the sight of the swarming horde.
"Where the hell did these things even come from...?" he muttered just as the Ant Aliens surged forward in a frenzied wave.
Instinctively, Ikezawa retreated half a step. But quickly realizing retreat was impossible, he gritted his teeth and charged headfirst into the tide of monsters.
Thanks to his exceptional dynamic vision and reflexes, Ikezawa could now clearly track each Ant Alien's movements. Crouching slightly, he dodged the first creature's pincer jaws and tail stinger, then delivered a devastating uppercut to its mandible.
Bang!
With a dull thud, a visible dent appeared in the Alien's jaw as it was sent flying backward, crashing into several other Aliens behind it and momentarily slowing the swarm's advance.
The Alien Ikezawa had struck landed with its limbs twitching uncontrollably. Though not quite dead, it was clearly incapable of further combat.
"It works!" Ikezawa exclaimed, emboldened by this initial success. But his joy faltered as three, then four, then five Aliens lunged at him simultaneously.
In the next instant, Li called out softly, "Duck!"
Without hesitation, even with the Aliens nearly upon him, Ikezawa obeyed his teammate's command. He immediately crouched and covered his head.
A dark shadow swept overhead. Li, gripping two Aliens by their tails, swung them in a wide arc, sending the entire first wave of attackers crashing back and clearing the area around the trio.
Under the immense centrifugal force, the brains of the two Aliens, temporarily wielded as weapons, were nearly flung from their skulls, and their internal organs were crushed into a pulpy mess. They were undoubtedly dead.
Witnessing this, Ikezawa glanced at the Alien he had battered half to death, then surveyed the battlefield Li had cleared with a single strike. "Not bad," he muttered. "She's just... a tiny bit stronger than me. No big deal."
Though Li had cleared the field with one decisive move, few of the Aliens she had sent flying were actually dead; most were merely injured. Discarding her makeshift weapons, she drew a bow.
Despite her usual focus on close combat, Li was fundamentally an archer.
With a graceful leap, she landed atop a nearby bare tree. Balancing perfectly on one toe at the crown of the tree, she nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring taut.
Each arrow tore through multiple Aliens, ripping them apart before burying itself deep in the earth, vanishing without a trace.
Note that the arrows didn't merely pierce—they shredded. Headshots resulted in the Aliens' entire skulls exploding, while body shots cleaved them cleanly in two at the waist.
Li's arrows were as different from ordinary arrows as a high-caliber anti-tank sniper rifle is from a pistol—a world apart.
Most remarkably, Li's speed was astonishing. She could effortlessly nock three or four arrows simultaneously and still maintain extraordinary accuracy.
It's worth noting that Lingsha had learned Li's bow and arrows were crafted from relatively common materials in this world. Though made of wood, they possessed exceptional flexibility and incredible toughness, rivaling that of alloys. With conventional bows and arrows, the strings would likely have snapped the moment Li drew them.
Turning to her own actions, while the other two were engaged in combat (or at least, Lingsha assumed Ikezawa was), she wasn't idle either. A pale crimson 'Scent' rapidly spread outward from her, enveloping the entire battlefield—hundreds of meters in all directions—except for a small 'safe zone' she carefully maintained around Ikezawa and Li.
The aliens' movements visibly slowed. Within just five seconds, they went from leaping and scrambling about energetically to staggering around like drunkards.
Ten seconds later, some had already collapsed face-first onto the ground. By twenty seconds, not a single monster remained standing on the battlefield.
"This..." Li lowered her bow, glanced at Ikezawa, and immediately turned back to Lingsha, her eyes wide with curiosity and admiration. "Sister Lingsha, how did you do that?!"
"Did you defeat them all?"
As she spoke, Li hopped down from the tree, her bright eyes fixed on Lingsha. Stars seemed to twinkle in her beautiful pupils, and her tail wagged furiously, her eagerness practically overflowing.
Lingsha chuckled softly and shook her head. "Just a little trick. They're not dead—they're just asleep."
Indeed, it was a 'little trick.' Lingsha had simply released the anesthetic scent from her incense burner. However, in medicine, dosage is just as critical as the effect itself.
One sleeping pill can ensure a restful night, but ten can be fatal.
Lingsha had done something similar. She drastically increased the concentration of her Anesthetic Scent, estimating that the Aliens wouldn't awaken for at least a month or two—if they didn't starve to death first.
Even if they survived starvation, their bodily functions would be severely damaged upon awakening, making it virtually impossible for them to live normal lives.
Ikezawa retreated as well. Throughout the entire battle, he had been the only one in real danger; Lingsha and Li had emerged completely unscathed. He scratched his head, feeling embarrassed. He had sworn to protect them, but now it seemed the roles had been reversed.