Wind Zone 9, in the expansive lands that painted a desolate picture, 15 trucks trailed across a beaten path, forming a long line. The numbers plastered on their surface ranged from 101 to 115, the tracks formed on the ground deeper than before.

The weight of each truck had increased by a multiple, thanks to the contents they carried. In truck numbered 108, a figure sat in its control room, watching the surroundings in alertness. The figure looked like one in his fifties, sporting a slightly tired expression.

He had already activated his domain, encompassing a circular area with a radius of more than 9 kilometres. Held in his hand was a crystal, pink in colour, the size of a rice grain. It had five stripes on its surface, the aura emanating from it made the air flicker, creating faint sparks that sought to ignite the volatile substances in it.

"Sir Marble," A man walked up to him, performing a salute, "The coast is clear, for now; the estimated time for the destination is 3 hours. Our Relics are also ready to be activated at a moment's notice; we can begin a sprint towards Marble City should the situation necessitate."

"Good," The man, Wunris Marble nodded, "Keep a vigilant eye; we have kidnapped a large portion of their younger generation. They wouldn't sit still and let us reach Marble City without a fight. Inform everyone to recover their energy; we might engage a fight any moment."

"Yes, sir!" The man saluted, took a step back, and turned around, grabbing hold of a mike placed on the control panel. He spoke a couple of sentences through it, sensing the message echo around the truck, the contents also relayed to the other trucks.

Wunris Marble created a psychic arm, forming a cocoon around him, shielding him from harm, also blocking all senses from penetrating through it. At his will, innumerous blood tendrils seeped out through the pores on his face, soon forming into his Caterpillar, the process taking less than a second.

The crimson Caterpillar's body was segmented into six, with five of them sporting a slightly darker shade than the remaining part—the tail segment. The Caterpillar expressed zero emotions, standing perfectly still upon landing on his palm.

It swerved its head, taking a glance at Wunris Marble, opening its mouth, "Second…Wunris…is…unwilling…to…appear."

"Then, shall the two of us die together?" Wunris Marble spoke out calmly, bringing the Tier 5 Brain Crystal towards it using a psychic arm.

"Fine," The Caterpillar lifted its arms, grabbing hold of the Tier 5 Brain Crystal, bringing it towards its mouth. It then opened its mouth wide, gobbling the Brain Crystal in a single gulp.

A burst of psychic energy coursed through the blood tendrils, bursting many of them due to the sheer volume flowing through them. Wunris Marble frowned a bit, feeling a bout of pain transmitted to his senses.

A psychic arm flashed around, coagulating the splattering blood into a sphere, collecting the dissipating psychic energy into it, bringing it towards the Caterpillar's mouth.

He glared at the Caterpillar, "Nice try but, I am used to your attacks. Try better if you want to take control of me."

"Second…Wunris…accepts…defeat…this…time," The Caterpillar lifted its hands, feeling the sphere of blood mixed with numerous Brain Crystal fragments. Had Wunris Marble directly absorbed them into his body, it would have been akin to a poison.

Even though he would be able to swiftly deal with it, the fraction of a second when his focus was distracted would have been a prime opportunity for his Wisdom Parasite to initiate its process, leading him to lose control.

The Caterpillar soon swallowed the blood sphere, its actions slower than before, the transmitted contents enough for the remaining blood tendrils to withstand. "Second…Wunris…will…try…again…next…time."

Saying its piece, the Caterpillar dissolved into blood tendrils, absorbed back into Wunris Marble through the pores on his face. Wunris Marble inspected his Brain Crystal, feeling it fill up at a steady pace, soon on the verge of brimming at full capacity.

He also inspected his mental state, unwilling to give the Wisdom Parasite any opportunity. Only then did he sense something, looking at a soldier banging on the cocoon he had formed in increasing fluster.

'It managed to distract me to the extent I forgot to keep an eye out there,' Wunris Marble admonished himself, quickly making out the situation through his domain as he retracted the cocoon.

"Sir, we detected a Spider World heading towards us from the northeast, estimated distance is 20 kilometres." The soldier iterated, sending the contents through his psychic energy, the transmission taking naught but an instant.

"Their size?" Wunris Marble disappeared from the spot, appearing overhead the truck. Except for the Espers in charge of the message transmission and protecting the goods in the truck, the remainder filed out.

All the fifteen trucks picked up their pace, having activated the Relics in them, creating a minor gust along their wake. The trucks hovered in the air, creating a gap of 10 centimetres between the ground and the tyres.

The Warriors charged out, running alongside the truck, easily keeping up pace. They were long since battle-ready, able to head out into battle at a moment's notice.

Every Warrior donned battle armour, made from Frenzy Beast carcasses, mixed into the materials created in Marble City—Artifacts equivalent to their Tier. A thin section was placed in the area of their chest, safe holding a Quill—a Refined Relic obtained from Espers a Tier lower than them.

Held in their hands were weapons ranging from swords to spears, focusing on close combat—also Artifacts of their respective Tiers.

Similarly, the armours donned by the Espers were Artifacts of the same Tier. Their backs sported a circular segment, half of it enclosed while the other half was open, allowing a set of chakrams to peak out.

The number of chakrams held by each Esper varied based on their Tier, with Ground Controllers having four. They also had a pocket type mechanism on their thigh, strapping a spindle. Each Esper held two spindles, Artifacts of the same Tier as them.

Some Espers also held an arm length rod in their hands—a Refined Relic at Tier 3—to make use of the bizarre Skill in them to turn the tides, should the situation necessitate.

Wunris Marble floated in the air, hovering 10 metres above his truck. Held in his left hand was a Refined Relic, at Tier 4. Held in his right hand was an Extracted Relic, possessing Tier 4 prowess. They both possessed powers that would complement his battle strength. The other Espers too held similar Relics, the only difference being their lower Tier as compared to his.

They had two missions to execute: one, collect the flesh and blood of the Frenzy Beasts that had died thanks to Psychic Ancestor Marble; two, capture Tier 1 and Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts that were to be used in the military academy, and other institutes for research and production.

After they had captured a sufficient amount and had collected enough flesh and blood of the dead Frenzy Beasts, a force detached itself from the 9th Trail—headed by five Tier 5 beings, the team of Jyovic Bone and co—and proceeded towards Marble City, to deliver the supplies.

The main force of the 9th Trail proceeded further into the Wild, collecting the flesh and blood. The outburst of Psychic Ancestor Marble had killed all the Frenzy Beasts in a 200 kilometre radius around the city. So, the ground they had to cover was immense.

Moreover, 200 kilometres was just the area that suffered a total wipe-out. The actual fatality stretched even deeper.

Wunris Marble took charge of the detached force since an Esper had to be present in the scene, to protect the trucks. Warriors were experts in one-on-one offence while Espers were experts in aerial offence, defence, and shielding, making them the perfect candidates to protect goods and take charge of transportation.

The detached force was lead by Wunris Marble, the sole Tier 5 Esper taking charge of the operation. Below him were 75 Tier 4 soldiers, split between 15 Ground Controllers and 60 Shifters.

Each Truck that left on the mission had five Tier 4 soldiers and 1000 Tier 3 soldiers. Truck numbered 0, the main truck that acted as the command center for the mission had five Tier 5 soldiers, and 2000 Tier 4 soldiers.

The detached force had sufficient strength to defend themselves from most threats. Moreover, with a Sky Controller taking the charge, they could move unhindered despite all odds, minimising the damage suffered should a situation occur.

"The Spider World has a radius of 263 metres," The soldier from before floated beside Wunris Marble, hovering a couple of feet lower. "They have taken measures to shield from electromagnetic waves and our other detection methods."

"When they come in range, I'll probe them myself." Wunris Marble nodded, gazing at a massive sphere heading their way, feeling apprehensive. The size of the Spider World dictated the strength of the Frenzy Beast in charge. They were the signature move of the Floating Spiders, the strongest Frenzy Beast race, ones who were situated to the west of Marble City.

The radius of the Spider World ranged from 100 metres in case of it being led by a Tier 5 Floating Spider, with the biggest recorded in history spanning 313 metres in radius. It was by a Tier 5 Floating Spider that eventually climbed the stairs to Tier 6, becoming their third Ancestor.

The sphere—possessing a radius of 260 metres, covered with chequered silk ropes, blocking everything hidden within—flew towards them, covering 4 kilometres each second, blasting the air along its trail.

Its motion was silent, having broken through the sound barrier. The path trailing behind it, separated by a few kilometres was accompanied by intense sounds akin to rumbling thunder. Huge gusts of winds were stirred up, conjoining into a whole, forming twisters, equidistant to one another.

The Spider World soon approached their location, showing no signs of stopping, looking intent to ram into them. Wunris Marble condensed a ten metre long marble spear—yellow in colour, condensed from his Unranked Skill, Marble Sonata—infusing all five of his psychic arms into it, hurling it with a shout.

Due to a lack of support, his body began to freefall, stopped at the next instant by a psychic arm that appeared beneath him, forming into a platform to support him. It was actuated by the soldier hovering beside him.

The marble spear appeared before the Spider World in the fraction of a second, puncturing into it. Numerous silk ropes coiled around it, seeking to stop its march, failing miserably. Wunris Marble went all out in the first instant, striking with all his might, giving them no time to react.

The moment the marble spear punctured it, he spread his domain, seeping it into the Spider World using the hole as the entry point. His expression turned pensive, raising his vigilance, transmitting a message to everyone under him.

"Abandon the trucks and run!"

The Spider World unfurled itself, starting from the punctured area, opening like the maw of a prehistoric beast, revealing the thousands of Floating Spiders squirming within, with a significant portion of them at Tier 4.

Attached to a thick rope situated in the centre, concealing their aura were seven Floating Spiders; they each possessed Tier 5 strength. Two of them activated their domain, overlapping them on Wunris Marble's, destroying his sensory capabilities, and blocking him from attacking in all directions.

The silk topes that made up the Spider World blotted out the sky, casting an enormous shadow on them. Hearing his command, every battle-ready soldier began to sprint towards Marble City, with none of them showing any hesitation.

Judging by the demeanour exuded by Wunris Marble as he gave out the command, everyone readily comprehended the situation. There was no hope for victory; should they try to fight back, their only fate was total annihilation.

"Dammit," Wunris Marble let out a sigh, having created a massive marble barrier, wider than the Spider World, shouldering the brunt of the attack.