The troops didn't linger. If there was an entity that shouldn't be underestimated, it was the swarm.

"If you would." Stephen gave a meaningful glance to one of his troops.

With a nod of understanding, Natalia took a deep breath before casting her concealment technique over the whole troop.

She had been vital when it came to sneaking into Celestia in order to rescue the civilians. Once again her technique was going to play a major role.

"This is far enough." At a certain point Grandmaster Alice spoke, bringing them to a halt.

In the far distance a settlement stood, one too small to be called a city. It was closer to a small military base with a diameter no more than a hundred meters.

This was their first goal. Conquering the little patch of land.

Even if the mission might have looked easy, with three Grandmasters from Azure and several more from Vespera. The rulers of the city had deemed this was worthy of being their first target for two reasons.

First and foremost, as this was the unit's first mission, it was crucial to conduct a sort of trial. One that would allow them to gauge their team's strength and determine which members worked best together.

The second reason was because they needed the place to serve as a shelter where they could rest. Sleeping on the backs of the mecha tigers, while doable, wasn't going to provide them with enough comfort to restore their vitality to the maximum.

Keeping low, Michael made use of Perfect Vision to scan the place carefully.

Bzzzz!

Over a few structures a dark cloud flew calmly. If one were to observe closer, they would realize that this cloud contained millions of little insect-like aliens that were acting as a single entity.

The beings had spread over the whole perimeter, residing inside and outside the military structures.

"Won't it be beautiful if we light them on fire?" Richard exclaimed, catching the others by surprise. "Think about it, we won't have to worry about being surrounded if they all burn to ashes!"

Alice frowned. "That won't do. We are meant to get rid of the aliens only, not take the whole settlement with it."

Clicking his tongue, Richard shook his head in dejection.

"You are no fun…" He complained.

"Fun?" Karson arched an eyebrow. "Does your empty head even comprehend where we are? Unless we exercise utmost caution, we are as good as dead!"

With a smirk, Richard glanced at Karson.

"And who do you think you are? Barely being in the Middle stage of my realm while I am in the Peak stage… I don't listen to weaklings."

In a bizarre twist of fate, Karson, the arrogant Master that refused to give the proper respect to anyone he deemed weaker, was now receiving the same treatment!

"There is no need to argue." Anticipating trouble ahead, Michael quickly calmed down Richard.

"Sorry, Boss." Richard seemed genuinely apologetic.

'He dares?!'

Naturally, Karson became livid. Richard had claimed to be stronger than him, brushing aside his advice. Yet, he followed Michael's orders without hesitation. Didn't this imply he valued a mere Expert over him?!

Richard chuckled darkly, noticing the way Karson's face was slowly flushing red from rage. On the way here, Ava had complained about how the arrogant Master had treated them last time.

This gave Richard the idea to taunt Karson a little.

Of course, Michael had long realized what Richard was aiming for but didn't interpret. Unless the actions of his crew endangered them in some way, he would let them do as they wished.

The unit began to debate what the best course of action was.

While frontal conflict could work, since this herd wasn't that large, the risk of damaging the nearby structures was high.

In the end, they agreed it would be for the best if they split the aliens apart.

When united they represented a real danger, but divided or in small groups they were as dangerous as a Lesser tier alien. A threat level that anyone in the unit could effortlessly handle.

But for them to be divided, somebody had to enter the place undetected and wreak havoc on their order.

"I volunteer." Michael declared instantly.

'Stacking Fade with Natalia's concealment technique would make me completely invisible to them.' He mused.

"..."

He waited a few seconds to see if the Grandmasters would object, wanting to go themselves. But apparently even they felt reluctant to enter the lair of the small flock.

With a nod, Michael was about to go. However, a hand gripped his arm, halting him in place.

"I am joining you!" Ava proclaimed, her eyes burning with fierce determination.

Since Michael had become a Peak Expert, she had begun to lag behind, being only in the Late Expert realm.

Before Michael could object, she added.

"You don't have to worry about me! I am small, so they won't notice me even if there wasn't a concealment technique on me!"

Michael's eyes narrowed momentarily. Even if reckless, he had to praise Ava's commitment. Ultimately, he judged that going with her would be better than going alone.

As they left the warmness the heating generators of the tigers provided, they stealthily neared the military base.

The other troops spread out, circling the settlement. Their task was to cut down the aliens that would break out from the herd.

"This reminds me of the time we went to rescue Victoria. Remember the wrecked vehicle that the two of us entered?" Ava giggled.

Michael chuckled warmly.

Approaching the target, they eventually became silent. From now on they had to rely on hand signals for communication. Otherwise, speaking out loud would alert the herd of their presence.

BZZZZ!

By now the annoying sound of buzzing permeated the perimeter, drilling deep in their ears.

'Annoying.' Michael sighed inwardly, entering the place.

The reason he had eagerly volunteered for the infiltration was that he understood how the Ro'trah operated. With a small herd present, it was clear there had to be an alien acting as the queen, commanding them.

Killing her would cause the herd to go mad, dispersing around the area.

While Michael fearlessly moved past the cold blizzard, Ava began to rub her two hands together, generating heat. Quite bizarre considering that they were replaced by cybernetics, but to each their own.

"..."

Wordlessly she stared at Michael's free hand.

Sensing that Ava's begun to slow down, most likely due to the strong winds, he gripped her hand gently, leading the way.

A small smile tugged at Ava's lips as they paced forward.

BZZZZ!

The buzzing sound intensified as the millions of creatures cast a shadow over them.

Nevertheless, they ignored the small creatures flying around them, pushing forward.

'It's not as bad as I thought.' Ava realized that as long as she didn't stare at the creatures and they didn't detect her, it was an easy mission.

Reaching the biggest building in the base, Ava gently pushed the handle down, opening the door.

"...!"

The interior was filled with a surprising amount of the little creatures.

However, what caught their attention the most was the being that stood at the center of the room.

It was the queen of the herd…

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