The bombs fell into the cluster of Vishaps surrounding the Moonlight Stones, exploding one after another. The shockwaves flipped over the ones closest to the blast radius, while the air pressure pushed away those slightly further out.
The blinding flash of the explosions, the ear-splitting shrieks tearing through the air, and the tremors running through the ground successfully attracted the attention of their kin watching from the periphery.
However, this dense barrage did not weaken their desire to attack. After a brief commotion, more Vishaps raised their heads, elemental light glowing once again in their maws as they fired orbs of light upward. Yet, despite the moving mass of crimson fire being so conspicuous in the air, the group of Vishaps below showed no intention of chasing; they simply remained in place, continuing to spew their attacks.
Coppelia had anticipated this. These creatures could not fly. Since they could cover the area with ranged attacks, they naturally saw no need to expend effort in pursuit.
While maintaining the stability of the shield to intercept the few light orbs that were difficult to fully evade, she threw the remaining bombs down one after another. This time, her targets were the Vishaps hiding at the edges, those who seemed intent on staying out of the affair. Explosions blossomed across various parts of the Vishap herd, further intensifying the chaos and their roars of fury.
"Lower altitude!" she shouted.
Columbina immediately controlled their flight trajectory, taking the two of them into a dive. Finally, skimming almost right against the ground littered with gravel and weeds, she began to speed along the edge of the Vishap herd, heading straight for the distant shallow shoal.
At the same time, Coppelia focused her will. The hemispherical shield surrounding them changed shape; it contracted and extended, transforming into a flowing cylinder of Geo element that wrapped tightly around their bodies, continuing to provide protection. Her hands were not idle either—she threw blazing Pyro fireballs and leaping Electro orbs randomly into the surroundings, not seeking precise hits, but solely to create more visual effects and booming noises to continuously provoke the Vishaps.
The elemental orbs coming from behind did indeed become sparse. Coppelia found a moment to glance back. A few Vishaps were still attempting to spew attacks, but those orbs either mistakenly hit their kin crowded in front, triggering new howls of rage and shoving matches, or were blocked by protruding rocks and dense, dark blue meadows along the way, exploding halfway into useless fireworks of elemental energy.
With their ranged attacks obstructed, the Vishaps' anger evidently reached its peak. Their low growls turned into high-pitched roars. They no longer stayed in place; stepping out with their thick limbs and twisting their bodies, they merged into a dark tide, beginning to chase after Coppelia and Columbina in droves.
The area around the pile of Moonlight Stones instantly became much emptier. The mass of black Vishaps was now hot on Coppelia's heels, their heavy footsteps merging into a rolling thunder.
Coppelia saw her opening and waved a single hand behind her. A powerful gust of wind generated out of thin air, pushing and pulling, sweeping up the Vishaps chasing from the rear and sides, forcing them to change direction and surge together toward the position of the shoal.
In an instant, hoarse beastly roars, the chaotic sound of splashing water, the whistling of wind pressure, the scraping of skin, and the explosions triggered by sporadic elemental reactions mixed and reverberated within the underground space, creating an incomparable clamor.
Relying on continuous harassment and agile maneuvering, the two finally succeeded in luring the large group of Vishaps to that broad, shallow shoal. By now, the limbs, bellies, and heads of these pursuers were all covered in splashing stream water and mud from the tidal flats.
Coppelia glanced back again. The shoal was already packed with restless Vishaps. They bared their fangs and brandished their claws; occasionally, one unable to hold back would leap up fiercely to pounce, but Columbina would avoid it with a nimble turn or ascent. The Vishaps that missed lost their balance in the strong winds Coppelia maintained, crashing headfirst into the muddy water or knocking over their neighbors, the scene descending into utter chaos.
It was about time.
"Stop!" Coppelia gave a low shout.
Almost at the same moment she spoke, Columbina hovered abruptly, turned around, and pressed her hands virtually against Coppelia's shoulders and back. Massive energy surged into Coppelia's body without reservation.
Coppelia converted all of this incoming power. With the dense group of Vishaps on the shoal as the center, a violent tornado rose from the ground! The eye of the wind tightened, and the powerful suction pulled the Vishaps at the edges inward, packing the already crowded group even tighter. Even some of the Vishaps further away who were still hesitating were drawn in, sliding helplessly toward the eye of the storm.
Tightly bound by the sudden, violent airflow, the Vishaps found struggling difficult. The tornado swept up a large amount of standing water from the shoal, turning it into a sudden "heavy rain" that poured down on their heads and faces. The curtain of water blurred everything, severely interfering with their vision. Several Vishaps closer to Coppelia struggled to leap up in a counterattack, but the moment their bodies left the ground, they were immediately swept out of control by the turbulent gale, flying backward to smash into the center of the lizard pile.
Seeing that the effect of "grouping" had met expectations, Coppelia shifted her will again. She mixed a massive amount of Cryo element into the spinning wind.
The freezing aura spread rapidly with the wind, filling the entire tornado in an instant and making immediate contact with the stream water soaking the Vishaps' bodies.
Crack! Crack-crack—!
Dense and distinct freezing sounds rang out in patches. On the shoal, dozens of Vishaps, caught in postures of baring fangs or struggling, were swiftly covered in a thick layer of pale blue hard ice. They transformed into a group of frozen sculptures in various poses, stiffened in place, unable to move.
The flowing water of the shoal provided a nearly inexhaustible source of Hydro element. Coppelia only needed to maintain the rotation of the wind and the continuous infusion of Cryo element to keep this group of Vishaps controlled in a "Frozen" state for a long time, utilizing the [Swirl] and [Frozen] reactions.
Despite the bombing and luring just now, these Vishaps had suffered very few obvious external injuries aside from their anger and confusion. Coppelia knew that while it wasn't impossible to wipe them all out relying on elemental reactions, doing so would consume a massive amount of elemental energy and place too great a burden on Columbina. By comparison, choosing control was less costly and avoided destroying the monster ecology of this area.
"Now!" she whispered.
Columbina was already prepared. She immediately took Coppelia and soared into the sky again, this time flying directly over the shoal filled with ice sculptures, sweeping rapidly toward the pile of Moonlight Stones.
En route, a few scattered elemental light orbs shot from the side. A small number of Vishaps that hadn't been swept into the tornado or were on the periphery remained unfrozen. Coppelia casually threw up a small Geo shield to block them. These sporadic attacks could pose no effective hindrance to the pair moving at high speed.
She also glimpsed several Vishaps running in panic toward the largest deep-water pool, leaping in and vanishing beneath the surface. She paid them no mind.
On the distant shoal, the sound of shattering ice began to ring out sporadically, and angry roars became distinct once more. The Vishaps frozen earliest were already breaking free of their restraints. But they fell into even greater chaos for the moment, spinning in circles or colliding with kin who had also just thawed, unable to organize an effective search yet.
Over on this side, Columbina had arrived above the pile of Moonlight Stones. She didn't waste time landing to absorb them; instead, she hovered, spreading her arms. Below, the Moonlight Stones piled like a small hill floated up one by one on their own, circling around her body and emitting a soft, clear radiance. Having done all this, she immediately grabbed Coppelia, turned around, and flew at full speed toward the hidden cave entrance the Seelie had pointed out to them.
Stepping into the relative safety of the tunnel, the raucous roars and chaos behind them became blurred. Coppelia's shoulders and back, which had been tense all this time, finally relaxed. The chaos below was the Vishaps' problem now.
"Let's go," she turned and said to Columbina. "It's time to go back."
She walked a few steps forward but sensed that her companion had not followed.
Looking back, she saw Columbina still standing in place, head bowed. On the ground by her feet, there was now a layer of shimmering white dust.
"The attraction..." Columbina raised her head, her face lacking the anticipated satisfaction. "Has not completely disappeared..."
____
New Story: ZZZ: Mr. Ethereal Does Not Want to See a Tragedy
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