At his command, the Sea of Worms split into dozens of streams. Each moved according to his will, winding and turning without the slightest hesitation.
The instant the Swarm Insects fell into the Sea of Blood, a forbidden power surged back along the swarm.
Leike quickly tasted it—a powerful, vibrant force, yet scalding and reeking of blood.
Moreover, Leike could sense an invisible thread connecting the little crown within his body to the golden crown atop Lu Yuan's head in the distance.
His Sixth Order had been borrowed to begin with. Once that thread snapped, he would likely fall back down.
And now, Leike had finally gained a preliminary grasp of his body and power. It was time to get to work.
Leike sent out a call into the depths of the earth.
It was not a sound exchanged in human speech. It drifted from within his body, now impossible to distinguish between man and insect, seeped deep underground, and floated into the distance.
It was the sound of a mother calling her offspring.
The response first came from underground. The ground throughout Bronze City began to rise and fall without cease. Then, deep beneath the earth amid the mountains outside the city, the wild Swarm Insects stirred at the call.
Pitch-black clouds of insects rose continuously from horizons in every direction, layer upon layer, pressing the already gloomy sky even lower.
In one corner of the sky, the Swarm Insects bit into one another layer by layer, like a great bridge built across half of Bronze City. They crossed the walls transformed from Flesh and poured down toward the Inner City.
The Swarm Insects that entered Leike's range seemed to receive some sort of stimulus. Golden light instantly spread over their bodies, and their forms swelled and bloated.
They