The battle on the third underground level of Abyssal City had suffered horrific casualties, signaling that the newbies had reached their final battlefield.
This was the limit of what the newbies could handle. If they kept going, they'd only be throwing their lives away, so command ordered them to hold the third level and help clear out the swarms. By now, however, the elite players had followed the Holy Blood Battle Group down to the fourth level.
This was the last major hive in Abyssal City. Taking it down would mean the battle for the city was over.
The good news was that the goatmen below had finally finished "integrating" their forces. Despite their own casualties, they were holding off the swarms invading the fifth level, and had also sent several psychic masters to support the decisive battle on the fourth.
The two sides had, in all but name, joined forces. Abyssal City's defense system was finally taking shape.
Even so, when the veteran players charged onto the fourth level, the intensity of the battle still made their scalps tingle.
The most obvious difference was that elite bugs, which served as the vanguard on ordinary battlefields, had been reduced to squad leaders among the grunts of the main hive on the fourth level. They'd dealt with three dragon bugs on the third level, but here, they'd already spotted no fewer than nine dragon-type bugs.
Those creatures guarded the immense hive, which occupied a third of the city. No matter which direction the players advanced from, they would have to face the swarm lords.
It took the veteran players' teams two hours to seize the outskirts of the district and establish a forward base. They quickly reported the situation to Qin back at headquarters. Old Qin didn't waste any time: once