Chapter 239: The S-Rank Bully; Silas.

The last of the Exploding Flame Bees crashed into the enormous wall of ice.

For a moment, everything went silent.

The battlefield was covered in frost.

Hundreds of bees had been frozen in midair, their orange-glowing bodies trapped inside thick layers of ice. The flames covering their wings had been extinguished beneath Chloe’s freezing power, and the swarm that had seemed impossible to stop was finally motionless.

Silas lowered his bow slightly.

"We did it."

Chloe breathed heavily beside him.

"Yeah..."

She sounded exhausted, but he was still standing; the strain was obvious. Her shoulders rose and fell with every breath, and small flakes of ice drifted from her hands.

Then... Crack.

Silas looked up. A thin fracture had appeared across one of the frozen bees. Another followed. Then another.

"Uh..."

Chloe looked up. The entire mass of frozen bees began trembling.

"Silas..."

"I see it."

The ice covering the swarm suddenly began glowing orange. The flames inside the frozen bodies had not disappeared. They had merely been trapped.

And now... They were exploding.

BOOM!

The first explosion tore through the sky. Silas instinctively raised his arm as a wave of heat swept across them.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

One explosion after another erupted throughout the frozen swarm, causing the sky to light up orange. Chunks of ice were thrown in every direction as the explosions shattered the frozen bees.

Chloe immediately raised both hands.

"Ice!"

A massive wave of frost rushed upward. The explosions were swallowed by ice. For a few seconds, it worked. Then the heat became too much, and the ice began melting.

Water poured from the sky. Within moments, the battlefield had turned into a bizarre rainstorm. Steam rose from the ruined streets as molten ice met the cold ground.

Silas stared upward.

"Are we seriously getting rained on because of bees?"

Chloe laughed weakly.

"I think that’s the first time anyone has ever said that."

Another explosion thundered overhead, and the rain became heavier. Chloe lowered her hands and stumbled slightly. Silas immediately caught her arm.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"I’m tired." She gave him a small smile. "But I can still fight."

Silas looked at her for a moment. Then he looked toward the battlefield.

The rest of Valecrest was still fighting.

Alpha, Alicia, Damien, Neil, Rihanna, Emma, and Godfrey were pushing toward Blackridge Tower while rival academies clashed around them. The path was still blocked, and Chloe had already done more than enough.

Silas released her arm.

"Then rest."

Chloe blinked.

"What?"

"You’ve done your part."

Silas reached behind him and pulled another arrow from his quiver. His expression changed. The exhaustion and casual humor disappeared.

"I’ll handle the rest."

Chloe stared at him.

"The bees?"

Silas smiled.

"The bees."

He turned toward the sky.

The rain continued falling around him. Then something strange happened. A faint pink glow appeared around his fingers as threads spread from his hands and disappeared into the rain.

The threads connected to every frozen bee still hanging in the sky, while his Fate Thread Vision revealed their movements before they happened.

It revealed their weak points, their explosive cores, their trajectories- everything. He pulled the string of his bow.

"Let’s clean this up."

He released the arrow. It shot into the sky and split into many arrows. Dozens of pink threads followed each arrow. The threads wrapped around the frozen bees.

Silas flicked his fingers, causing every thread to tighten. The remaining bees were dragged away from the battlefield and higher until the entire swarm was suspended far above the ruined city.

Silas looked up.

"Now."

He clenched his fist, and the threads snapped.

BOOOOOOM!

The sky erupted.

But this time, the explosions happened far above them. The enormous fireball spread across the clouds, illuminating the entire Blackridge Borderlands.

The shockwave rolled through the sky, but none of it reached the battlefield. Silas lowered his hand, and the remaining fragments of the bees began falling harmlessly into the distance.

Chloe stared.

"You could have done that earlier."

Silas shrugged.

"I was busy showing off your ice."

"You mean I was doing all the work."

"Exactly."

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Idiot."

Silas grinned. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Silas!"

He turned. Neil was several dozen meters away- he immediately moved. His body blurred. In the next instant, he landed beside Neil.

Neil barely had time to react.

"How did you..."

"Later." Silas pointed toward the battlefield. "Where are the others?"

"Still fighting their way toward the tower."

Silas looked toward Blackridge Tower.

The enormous structure stood above the ruins, surrounded by academies fighting desperately to reach it. Then he looked back at Neil.

"We need everyone at that tower."

Neil nodded.

"Right."

Silas’s eyes sharpened.

"Take Alpha and Damien."

Neil frowned.

"Where?"

"Find the substitutes."

Neil’s expression changed.

"The six?"

"Peter, Salmoa, Victor, Natalia, Darren, and Christian."

Silas pointed toward the surrounding ruins.

"They were deployed somewhere else. We don’t know where they are, and we don’t have time to wait for them to find us. I can only point you to where they might be."

Neil nodded.

"I’ll find them."

"Good."

Silas looked toward Alpha and Damien.

"Take them with you. Search the battlefield. If you find any of our substitutes, bring them directly to Blackridge Tower."

Damien frowned.

"And what are you doing?"

Silas turned his head.

"The obvious thing."

Neil sighed.

"I already know I’m not going to like this."

Silas smiled.

"You probably won’t."

He looked toward the tower.

"Everyone else stays here."

Neil immediately understood.

"You want us to guard the checkpoint."

"Exactly." Silas pointed toward Blackridge Tower. "Don’t let anyone take it from us."

Rihanna looked toward the chaotic battlefield.

"And you?"

Silas slowly turned, and his gaze settled on the rival academies. Dozens of students were fighting around the tower. Some were trying to force their way inside. Others were attempting to push Valecrest back.

Several had already noticed Silas standing there. One of them shouted.

"That’s Valecrest!"

Another turned.

"Silas is there!"

A third student raised his weapon.

"Take him down!"

Silas smiled, and this one was different. It was predatory. His pink eyes gleamed as threads began spreading from his body across the ground, across the broken buildings, through the rain, and into the battlefield.

He slowly lifted his bow.

"Well..." Silas cracked his neck. "You’ve all been making my teammates work way too hard."

He took a step forward, and the threads around him multiplied.

"And I’ve been standing around shooting insects."

Another step.

His aura intensified.

"So..." Silas’s grin widened. "How about we make things a little more interesting?"

He pulled the bowstring, and the arrow formed between his fingers, and pink energy gathered around its tip. Several rival academy students froze.

He looked directly at them.

"It’s time to abuse you."