The moment Theo said that, Mantis didn't seem to hold back anymore.
It turned into a blinding white streak of light and shot forward. Theo finally saw the full extent of the new body's metallic strike up close. One moment it was beside them, and the next it was already halfway across the field. When the apes noticed it, they instinctively started backing away from the terrifying presence.
Yet all creatures, be they intelligent or not, knew one thing:
Numbers were stronger than a single beast.
One of the apes roared, and the others immediately understood. They surged forward together, like an army fueled by adrenaline.
Theo and the others watched as a single beast, barely a quarter the size of an ape, charged straight toward twenty or thirty apes.
When the distance closed and its cooldown ended, the mantis blurred again. In the next instant, an ape's head flew into the air while its body staggered forward for a few steps before collapsing with a spurt of blood.
