"They're coming" Roland announced as he shifted his gaze to the stairs.

As soon as he said that, everyone heard a loud and eerie screech.

They looked up and saw a swarm of bats flying out of the shadows. There were thousands of them, filling the air with their black and flapping wings.

They had red eyes and sharp teeth, which seemed intimidating. They also had a bloodthirsty and malicious intent!

The squads had to keep their Magic Zone active to fight against the pressure they were emitting.

"They were the minions of the Vampire! They must be tougher than normal bats Don't hold back!" Drake announced as he activated his Eagle Eye Spell.

Aside from seeing from afar, this eye spell was also considered to be an investigative spell that was as good as the Inspection Spell of the Mystic Arts.

Soon, the bats swooped down on the Arcanists, attacking them with their claws and fangs.

They tried to bite them, scratch them, and infect them. They tried to overwhelm them with numbers in order to kill them.

However, although they might be numerous, their opponents were still elite Arcanists who had accomplished several combat missions in their lives. They wouldn't panic so easily.

The Arcanists fought back, defending themselves with their spells and Mystical Artifacts. They used their elements, their skills, and their abilities.

Specifically, they deployed Wind Barrier, Evil Warding Totem, Fire Wall, and Pulsating Wave Spells to block the bats.

Some of them even use a few Talismans and other Mystical Artifacts to repel the bats.

In the meantime, Clovis didn't even cast any spell to stop the bats However, as soon as they had gotten near him, they would immediately back away as if they had sensed their death.

As for Pearl, she simply stuck close to Clovis to avoid being targeted by the bats.

"Whoa~ There are so many of them I can't even see the other squads" Pearl commented as her vision was now blocked by the sheer number of bats coming at them. It seemed that they were endless!

Even the numerous Fire Spells from the Blaze Fan Squad and Ember Spirits of the Ash Squads weren't stopping the bats from coming at them.

Luckily, the numerous bats being killed weren't piling up on the ground. They were actually dissipating or merging into the shadows.

"It's interesting how you were able to use your Draconic Aura to scare the bats away." Pearl softly muttered as she was able to guess how Clovis was avoiding the bats' ire.

"Oh You can tell? Not even Roland can feel the Dragon's Essence." Clovis commented in surprise.

"Of course. I'm the Tower Master. How would I fail to notice that?" Pearl replied with a grin on her face. She was certainly proud of herself.

Nevertheless, this ineffective defense didn't last long, as the leaders of the squads started cooperating to create a larger space so they could work together.

They formed a circle, facing outward and covering each other. Once again, they cast their spells, creating a larger barrier to help their offensive Arcanists to counterattack.

"Haha! Kill them all!" Drake shouted as the Shadow Knights Squad in his team were actually full offensive Arcanists. They had already withdrawn their black rapiers as they started cutting off several Bats at once.

With the help of the other squad, they managed to hold off the bats, but they couldn't get rid of them. They were too many and too persistent.

They kept coming and coming, like a never-ending wave.

However, Drake was still happy seeing how the Shadow Knights were able to kill more bats. Apparently, he had also used his Beast Arts to support these Knights and strengthened them in the process.

If they continued like this, he believed that Clovis wouldn't be able to assert his dominance.

Nevertheless, after eight minutes had passed, most of them were reaching their limits. It means that their Special State was about to end!

"Not good!"

"I'm about to reach my limit!"

"Me too!"

"This is bad! We should've arranged for a rotation!"

"If we've known that we would be facing an unending swarm of bats, we would've done that."

"We're going to die at this rate!"

Aside from the First-Class Arcanists, the others had already started worrying about their Special State, whether it was Phantasm State of the Dark Arts, Titan Will of the Beast Arts, Mystic State of the Mystic Arts, Blessed Sense of the Holy Arts, Martial State of the Combat Arts, or Element Buff of the Elemental Arts, they all wouldn't last forever.

Even Drake, who was previously celebrating how his Shadow Knights were dominating the elimination of the Bats, started worrying.

Soon, one of the Arcanists from Ash Squad ended his Magic Zone He had already extended it for a full minute and was about to consume by madness, however, it was still not enough.

It was followed by another Arcanist from the Revenant Squad, then from the Shadow Knights, and it just continued

Everyone was anxious since more than six people had already left their special state. Their magic zone had collapsed, and they wouldn't be able to cast their spells for a brief time.

Drake and Roland, the leaders of the squads from the two cities, started devising a way to escape as they instructed a few people to look for an exit.

However, at this moment, Clovis finally took action.

Since he was masquerading as a Holy Arts Practitioner right now, he had to conceal his Spells.

He activated his Divine Sense and released his Divinity for a moment.

"What's that?!"

"Clovis?!"

Everyone felt Clovis's aura, which he intended to happen. After all, he wanted everyone to know he was about to do something. This was also to remind Drake about their bet.

Then, he activated his Celestial Art! Aurora's Embrace! This wasn't a Holy Art, but none of them should be aware of it anyway.

Anyway, this was the Spell he thought would be the best to eradicate all the bats at once!

He raised his hand and pointed at the swarm of bats.

Then, he felt a surge of energy and light in his palm, and soon, he saw a flash of color and brilliance in the air as he unleashed the Spell.

Aurora's Embrace!