1423: Dragons are reptiles too, so classifying them as bugs is perfectly reasonable, bro

"What? The results of the newbies' survey say 'very easy'? No way! I saw them lose two-thirds of their numbers, and they still call that easy? Are all newbies monsters these days?"

In the command center of the Locust Great Wall defense line, Murphy's eyes went wide when he saw the survey results submitted by Lady Rose. He couldn't help complaining:

"Those must be the noobs who logged off early, just making a fuss. I didn't go to the front lines in Abyss City, but I still know what's going on over there. Without the veterans holding the line up front, and Maxim and the Holy Blood Regiment backing them, the newbies probably wouldn't even have made it past the first layer."

"But this is the internet! What did you expect?"

Triss, who was sorting out spellcasting materials nearby, chimed in:

"Even if a bug kills them in one hit, even if they don't last ten minutes in their first battle, even if their personal kill count is zero, none of that stops them from saying 'it's nothing special.' They can't lose face, no matter what.

"But I think those guys are about to eat their words.

"If Mark found dragon bones in a hive on the first layer, then there's a good chance the hives deeper down are already hatching dragon bugs.

"Based on the evolutionary paths we've observed so far, the hives might hatch every viable combat strain at once, then let survival of the fittest play out on the battlefield.

"There's no doubt that dragon genes will strengthen the swarm. Even just thicker chitin with high-grade resistances, sharper dragon claws, and the ability to breathe fire will be enough to open the players' eyes.

"Not to mention the giant strains that are all but certain to appear.