The incoming void creature was a writhing mass of black tendrils—each tendril large enough to match a train. The creature pulsed with chaotic energy as it suddenly blinked and reappeared before Ross and Ethan.

    With its many tendrils, it swung them at the duo. The two boys barely had time to react to the blink when the tendrils came their way.

    ''Shit!''

    Ross and Ethan cursed as they quickly spun and positioned their weapons defensively forward.

    *BANG!*

    The impact of the tendril strike against their weapons generated a powerful shockwave that blasted Ross and Ethan back several thousands of kilometres in an instant. The others didn''t fare any better as they too were pushed back, but they recovered faster.

    The two hunters'' expressions turned grim as their bodies shook from the shock. Ross and Ethan exchanged gazes, and even through their helm, they could tell—that strike was not normal.

    As hunters matched level-wise with the void creature, their Manastorm state was supposed to make them stronger, faster and react at a moment''s notice. But they failed.

    "They''re stronger..." Ethan muttered in a solemn tone as he looked at the void creatures and observed how they moved.

    "We can''t dwell on that right now!"

    Ross stated and flew back into the fight with Ethan just a few meters behind. Their teammates were already engaging the void creature, but they were being overwhelmed by its many tendrils.@@@@

    Not to mention the void creature would occasionally blink and change its position before striking again—almost like it was aware of what it was doing. Julia and the others had to keep their senses sharp at all times to not be taken by surprise.

    ''These creatures are different from what we''ve been facing since the beginning.'' Ross observed with a dark expression.

    "Good job, everyone," Ross commented as he and the others took a breather. They watched as the remaining squads dealt with their void creature.

    Henry glanced around, his breath slightly hitched, "I don''t like this at all. These void creatures showed intelligence. It was like they knew exactly what they were doing. And those ones look like they are here to gather intel."

    His companions could hear the gloominess in his tone and they understood his feelings. The monstrosity they just faced moved with purpose and evaded their attacks. As for intel gathering... that was an entirely different take.

    "I''m sure there''s an explanation for this," Julia added. "This change is too abrupt to be normal. Something is at play here."

    The C-tier remaining in the back stayed there and just watched as their kin were slaughtered. They showed no intentions of joining the fray.

    The others were done with their void creatures and retrieved the cores. With all the immediate creatures dealt with, all heads turned to the creatures far in the back.

    Ross would have preferred they finished them off, but Class C was still beyond him. Only the teams will C-tier hunters had the capability to deal with them.

    He silently clenched his free hand as he stared at the monsters. ''I''m still not powerful enough.'' His level was impressive for someone his age, but to him, it wasn''t enough.

    "Fall back," Victor''s voice came through their shared channel. "Those things have no intention of fighting and we don''t have to engage. We''ve been ordered to return."

    "You heard the man, let''s go." Ross put his weapon away before flying towards their leader. The others cast one last look at the creatures before turning away.

    Victor watched with furrowed brows as the void creatures also turned around to leave. It was like they were in some kind of agreement to end the fight here. No more were they just mindless creatures.

    ''Things will definitely get chaotic from here on out,'' he mused as his unit arrived around him. With this new discovery on their plate, humans must now revisit everything they knew about void creatures as things had been dialled up.

    They were no longer playing the kid''s game—the big leagues were here and only time would tell what the implications would be.