The locust swarm beneath the barrier erupted into frantic motion, as if sensing the danger carried by the mist. At first, the captain and his subordinates allowed themselves faint smiles; they thought they had succeeded.
Then those smiles vanished.
The swarm turned violent.
The Locusts slammed into the barrier in a frenzy, thrashing and swarming mindlessly as they tried to break through, the air churning with their maddened assault.
Soon, the mist rose and spread, covering the entire area enclosed by the barrier until it formed a dome of swirling fog. From time to time, members of the locust swarm hurled themselves at the barrier, slamming their bodies against it in desperate attempts to break through, only to be crushed on impact. Their bodies burst into smears of greenish blood that splattered across the barrier's surface.
This happened on every side.
