Ants Attack City

When Luo Jun arrived, the Wildlands Hunter Guild was already in chaos. Luo Jun pushed through the disorderly crowd and rushed straight to the second floor.

"Wait, what are you doing!"

The upper floors are where the guild's leadership works; ordinary hunters need an invitation to go up. Now is a critical moment, and Luo Jun's forced entry attracted attention, with two armored guards stopping him.

They are all at the Foundation Establishment Realm, and their cultivation levels are not low...

Seeing the radiant aura emanating from the two, it was no less powerful than that of Wu Youde back then.

But Luo Jun is no longer the same person he used to be!

He raised his hand and grabbed the spears thrust at him by the two guards. With a burst of strength, he snatched them away. The intense friction even caused the guards' palms to feel a burning pain.

Before they could react, Luo Jun swung his spear and struck, breaking it with two sharp cracks. The force of the blow sent both guards flying, their protective aura dissipating and their helmets severely deformed.

Did you go a little too far?

I'm still getting used to the breakthrough and didn't control my strength well.

After silently apologizing, Luo Jun dropped the gun and rushed up to the second floor, where he ran into Huai An.

"Mister Ye?"

Luo Jun asked, "Is Ling Yi here?"

"The manager is in his office discussing countermeasures with several leaders... Come with me, the manager will be very happy to see you."

"Happy to see me?" Luo Jun didn't understand, but he still followed Huai An to the office, pushed open the door, and found four people standing inside...

In the very center stood Ling Yi, a map of the area around Lingyun City spread out on the table in front of him. To his left stood a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a stern demeanor; judging from his black uniform, he resembled a city guard. To his right stood a woman in her thirties with a capable air, wearing a blue uniform similar in style to the shopkeepers in the city. Beside the woman stood a short, stout White-bearded Old Man; his uniform was plain-colored and of a style Luo Jun had never seen before.

"Mister Ye?"

Luo Jun's appearance surprised Ling Yi quite a bit. Huai'an, who was standing to the side, said, "I was just about to go downstairs when I saw Mister Ye walking towards me..."

"Great!" Ling Yi quickly stepped forward. "Mister Ye, you've arrived just in time." He then nodded to the woman in the blue uniform and the White-bearded Old Man, saying, "Then, you two supervisors, please go and make the arrangements..."

Luo Jun frowned slightly, feeling as if he had run into the line of fire...

"What exactly happened?" Luo Jun asked, puzzled, as he watched the two of them, along with Huai An, leave quickly.

"As you can see, the Ants Attack City..." Ling Yi pushed up his glasses. "Even though we were cautious enough, we still underestimated these beasts!"

"Their intelligence is beyond our imagination. These days, while we are investigating the anthill, the ants are also investigating us. Moreover, they seem to have deduced our movements and specifically chose to launch the attack when we sent out Special Extermination Team and when the city was severely lacking in skilled fighters!"

"What did you say?" Luo Jun frowned. "The punitive expedition took action today?"

"Yes..." Ling Yi gritted his teeth and said, "The Frost Moon Troupe, along with the experts we've secretly recruited in the city recently, have already set off for the Ant Nest under Ling Fei's leadership..."

No wonder Su Yun was leading the team during the day... Luo Jun narrowed his eyes. "Why at night?"

"Although Firemane Ant are active at night, they also leave their nests in large numbers. Taking advantage of this time, the extermination team has a higher success rate in entering the nest and decapitating the ants..."

Luo Jun narrowed his eyes. "How many people went?"

"The Frost Moon Troupe has sent forty elite members, plus those recruited recently, making a total of one hundred and three." Ling Yi sighed, "Now, almost all hunters of Elite-level or above are not in the city..."

Because of pollution, hunters don't stay in the Savage Wilderness year-round. The number of active hunters in Lingyun City is consistently between five and eight thousand, and including guild staff, there are only a little over ten thousand... Of these, Common-level and Senior-level make up more than 80%, and if you exclude Entry Level, there are probably only about a hundred Elite-level hunters or above.

They really came out in full force!

"Where are the Clan Troops?" Luo Jun asked. He had always heard about how powerful the Clan Troops, but he had been in the Savage Wilderness for almost a month and hadn't even seen a trace of these mysterious troops.

"To be honest, Mister Ye, there are currently three Clan Troops stationed in the Savage Wilderness, all on important missions..." Ling Yi frowned and said, "Communication is difficult in the Savage Wilderness, and before the gate opened, we couldn't contact the Main World. Right now, all we can rely on are the resources in the city..."

As he spoke, Ling Yi sighed, "The Lingyun City guild is divided into four departments: Security, Logistics, Artifact Bureau, and Missions."

"Huai An is in charge of the mission department. I've already assigned him to issue missions and organize the hunters to counterattack. The logistics department is mainly responsible for facility operation; their cultivation levels are low and their Combat Power is weak. The Artifact Bureau consists of craftsmen, all of whom are important talents. I've already organized the evacuation and refuge of these people."

Luo Jun nodded. The woman and the Old Man from earlier must be the heads of the logistics department and the Artifact Bureau.

Ling Yi finished speaking and his gaze fell on the last remaining tall, thin man in black.

"The only people we can rely on now, besides the hunters, are Ling Hui's eight hundred-odd guards."

"Now it's estimated to be less than eight hundred." Ling Hui, the tall, thin man in charge of security, said with a grave expression.

"Those damned ants, their attack was too sudden..." Ling Yi slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth.

"Getting angry is useless," Luo Jun said. "The key is how to fight back!"

"According to the visual estimation of the city wall guards, the attacking force numbered over 20,000 Soldier Ant, interspersed with a few purple -Violetgold War Ant, and there were approximately two to three thousand Flying Ant..."

Ling Hui analyzed, "There are over seven thousand hunters in the city. They were caught off guard, but the protective shield has given us time to breathe. As long as we organize ourselves, these hunters, in coordination with the guards and relying on the city walls, should be able to fight off those ants. The key is those giant fireballs!"

As he spoke, he marked five points on the map on the table. "According to the guards' report, those fireballs were launched by giant ants, dozens of times larger than the Violetgold War Ant. There were five of them, resembling five cannon emplacements surrounding Lingyun City. The fireballs they fired were extremely powerful, with a huge splash range, and the Firemane Ant themselves have a high resistance to this kind of fire from their own kind..."

"If the protective shield is breached, the city will quickly turn into an inferno, and in such an environment, it will be very difficult for us to mount an effective counterattack!"

"How long can the protective shield last?" Luo Jun asked.

"Based on the current rate of consumption..." Ling Yi sighed, "At most one hour!"

"These beasts are clever," Ling Hui said. "After we erected the protective shield, the five Cannon Ant quickly stopped attacking. Now, it's just ordinary Soldier Ant spewing fire to wear down the shield. Once the shield breaks, a single volley from the fully charged cannons will set half the city ablaze!"

Ling Yi gritted his teeth and said, "We must kill him within an hour! Otherwise, Lingyun City will be finished!"

It seems the reason I was so happy to see you is because of this...

Luo Jun frowned slightly. "Is there any other intelligence about these 'Artillery Ant '?"

Ling Hui shook his head. "This is the first time we've seen a giant insect that launches fireballs. We don't know its exact strength yet, but judging from the power of the fireballs, it even surpasses a level six monster. It would be best to send an elite team of experts to kill it."

"I can organize three elite squads. I'll lead one myself, and each of the two vice-captains will lead one. We're already selecting members... but there are still two left..."

"I can take one," Luo Jun immediately declared. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. The gates haven't opened yet, and Lingyun City is humanity's only stronghold. If it's truly breached, no one can escape.

"But..."

Ling Yi understood immediately. "We will arrange an elite squad for your command. If Mister Ye returns successfully, the guild will reward you handsomely!" As he spoke, he held up five fingers. "Five hundred thousand Wildlands Coin, plus a Rare-level- quality treasure, how about that?"

Luo Jun nodded, looked at the map, and pointed to the cannon in the north of the city. "Then I want this one!"

Based on the location, this is the one that blew up his house!

"But I don't need any help. Leave your men to guard the city." Luo Jun waved his hand. "I can go myself. But the reward will be doubled."

"One million Wildlands Coin, and one Epic-grade Treasure Item."

(End of this chapter)