Ever since the blood-sucking bats appeared here, they have never made a single move.

These creatures remain in a particular area, and no one knows what they were currently up to, confusing many who were watching on the scene or the live broadcast elsewhere.

It was hard to imagine that there was an intelligent being behind these creatures, which for them looked to only be waiting for their deaths.

If it were them, they should be running away to hide now since it was foolish to show themselves out like this in an open area.

What do they want to achieve by staying here?

Many had been wondering if there was something else they missed as they couldn't read what was these creatures plan on doing.

Some were laughing at the Awakened's misfortune, sitting back to watch the upcoming show of them being destroyed.

No matter who, when, and where it was, envy exists within everyone. That includes all the Awakeneds that was currently watching the situation.

Though most of them only decided to watch since things like these don't happen often, some of those Awakeneds still couldn't contain the envy and bitterness in their hearts.

A number of them were already powerful, but they would still not like it when they see someone having a bigger potential than their own selves.

An Awakened with a unique skill that was a level stronger than others. An Awakened with an ability that wasn't useful in battles. An Awakened with a power that has limited use. Whoever they are, could see the potential of the Awakened behind these bats.

Even though it could not be said to be one of the strongest, the skill was still incredibly powerful. No one would want to see another Awakened being as strong if not stronger than them.

This is were most of their enviousness comes from.

They all have similar feelings and thoughts; if they couldn't have it, then others should also not have it.

Seeing the Awakened seeking death by preying on a secluded mountain village in broad daylight, couldn't be better for them.

Some who have complete confidence in themselves and their abilities only watched for entertainment and to find some Awakeneds who could be a potential threat or a potential ally.

At the same time, internally, they were looking down on others who call themselves Awakeneds with their puny skills, which were no different from having no abilities.

While everyone's eyes were focused on the scene, the bats suddenly showed erratic movements, flying around as if they were feeling something in their surroundings.

Instantly after that, a thin barrier that looked so fragile enclosed onto every single one of them, preventing them from escaping.

Many people who saw this landed their eyes on the barrier that forcefully trapped all the bats inside.

They observed how the bats bumped on it with full force but still could not get out. All of the spectators examined if it was a special kind of barrier.

Barrier Masters who were Awakeneds with barrier type skills were common around them. It was highly likely that most of the spectating Awakeneds have encountered it at least once in their lifetime.

Barriers aren't rare, and most of them were ordinary ones, which were a skill that could trap weaker beings inside.

It wasn't something to be afraid of when they weren't alone since it wasn't hard to deal with.

If the Awakened contain was stronger than the Barrier Master, the chances are that the barrier could easily be destroyed by overpowering it.

The user will receive no backslash; however, they would then become helpless against their enemy with their skill failing to contain them.

This could be solved by having allies that would support the Barrier Master with their own destructive abilities.

In the event that the barrier was destroyed, the allies would still be there to protect the Barrier Master.

Being a Barrier Master only requires strength. The stronger the user is, the stronger their barrier gets, which was why all barrier users solely put their focus on finding every way to rank up.

Breaking through a small stage in their ranks would also strengthen the power of their barriers.

This kind of ability could be said to be wholly reliant on their ranks and the small stages in between each rank. It could determine whether their barrier would be broken through or not.

There are no techniques that could improve barriers. It was only a simple skill that has the role of restricting their target's escape path or limiting the area they can go to.

No modifications can be done with it, unlike weapon-related skills that can mutate along with its user's understanding.

All the Awakeneds who had this knowledge looked at the bats who were hitting the barriers.

By seeing whether the barrier was receiving damage, they could have an insight into how powerful the Barrier Master is.

It was apparent that the blood-sucking bats were only Rank 1 as if it had reached Rank 2, it would give off an entirely different atmosphere.

With the bats' harmless look, there was no room for doubts that they were incredibly weak and were only relying on their numbers.

A Rank 2 Barrier Master can contain any Rank 1 without much effort most of the time. The only exceptions were those who could naturally counter barriers such as beings with incorporeal bodies.

Few of them also took this chance to inspect what type of barrier it was. The most common one was the energy barrier, which was made from the energy of its user.

There were also others ranging from elemental barriers to dangerous ones like mist barriers. There was also the possibility of it being a new one they haven't seen.

As the show was only starting, a lot of them kept their sights on what was going to happen next since it will only keep getting interesting from this point on.

...

They have started.

Chief Li waited and watched to see how it would turn out. These people were the ones who would have to deal with the bats.

The first one was a Barrier Master that was tasked with trapping all of them in the same area.

The barrier was large enough to contain all those bats inside. Luckily it succeeded with nothing going wrong just like they had planned.

It also helped that the bats could not separate far away from each other. This was what they found out in the past.

The blood-sucking bats were the transformation of a single Awakened. There seemed to be a limitation about them having to always be in a close range with the others.

It was possible for them to run away and make an escape; however, they would have to do it all together.

Although that was the case, it didn't mean they should look down on the skill.

With the bats reaching hundreds to more than a thousand in numbers, catching them once they went into the vast forests would be impossible. It was especially so when there were a lot of caves for them to hide.

Killing all of them while accidentally missing one, meant that every effort they put in would become useless.

But this time they won't be giving them the change to flee.