The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Chapter 29: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Corpse Explosion.

Nearly every necromancer knew how to use it. It was less a spell than a specialized combat technique for directing necrotic energy. The principle was to activate the energy left inside undead after they were raised, then force it to follow a preplanned flow and compress rapidly until it reached the point of self-destruction.

In practice, it was just a giant homemade firecracker.

To get the most out of it, all you had to do was put some thought into what you used as the explosive. Against large numbers of unarmored targets, Drowned Zombies, with their copious poisonous, rotting flesh, were ideal. Against naturally tough-skinned light units, as if clad in leather armor, Skeleton Soldiers that burst into a spray of shrapnel-like bone fragments were a much more economical choice.

Si Ming had mastered this technique.

This level of innovation posed little difficulty for him.

So...

Boom—

Twenty chain explosions erupted at once. Each Corpse Explosion made from nothing but bones was as effective as a High-Explosive Grenade packed with plenty of large fragments.

Sharp bone shards flew everywhere, easily piercing the many Night Demons that had tackled the Skeleton Soldiers and pinned them down. More than a hundred Night Demons at the forefront died on the spot, while the ranks just behind them naturally suffered heavy losses as well.

Bone fragments flew.

The shards that flew toward Si Ming were all stopped by his mostly formed Battle Qi Armor. The instant the explosions went off, the necrotic energy used to trigger them quickly flowed back. It had been rendered inert by the many impurities mixed into it, making it temporarily impossible for ordinary necromancers to control. But the moment it returned to Si Ming, the transformation of his Night Battle Qi made it usable again!

Transformed, then transformed again.

Necrotic energy became Battle Qi, and Battle Qi became necrotic energy. The once muddled, chaotic energy rapidly grew pure. In other words, amid this chain of Corpse Explosions, the only thing Si Ming had to worry about was whether he had enough energy and focus.

"I command you to rise!"

The returning necrotic energy surged out once more, swiftly and violently flowing into the remains of the Night Demons that had just perished in the explosions. In an instant, the dead remains became raised bones. Ghostly flames flickered to life, bringing a terror unknown to beasts to these Night Demons, who now possessed a measure of intelligence.

Intelligence wasn't an unqualified virtue.

Panicked howls rang out from among the Night Demons who should have served as the second wave. Their previously immaculate formation fell into disarray, creating the perfect opportunity for Si Ming's forces to act.

Forward.

The skeletons raised their swords and axes, bringing them down hard.

Blood and chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere as living creatures shrieked in agony. Yet these merciless executioners followed a logic of wounding, not killing. They left the badly injured Night Demons on the ground to howl and moan, while they continued their steady, wall-like advance, bringing their weapons down on their next targets.

A brave Night Demon howled and charged forward, swinging a crude weapon, but the Bone Soldiers blocked its advance with their shields. Sharp blades immediately plunged into its chest and abdomen, and it died with nothing to show for its efforts.

A clever Night Demon shouted orders to its kin in a distinctive tone, telling them to hold formation and trigger the rocks and pit traps in the tunnel. But their voices and gestures gave away what made them special. The instant they were spotted, bone javelins and arrows thrown with deadly accuracy by the Bone Soldiers in the rear pierced their throats or chests.

A great many Night Demons died.

Their deaths achieved nothing.

Whenever a Skeleton Soldier was knocked down, torn apart, or smashed to pieces, it was sure to explode before it broke apart completely. And after the explosion, another Skeleton Soldier would step forward to replace it.

The blood-soaked tunnel echoed with the screams and sobs of badly wounded Night Demons.

The Night Demons would eventually run out, but the undead raised by Si Ming were endless.

Roar—

One Night Demon realized what was happening. It tried to stay hidden, hoping to spot an opening in Si Ming's defenses. A Night Demon like this was both brave and clever. Among this newly emerging group, it could almost be considered a leader in the making.

So—

Vrrr—

The air suddenly began to boil. The Night Demon with the potential to become a leader stared in terror as its flesh writhed and churned. An unimaginable heat melted its skin and roasted its bones in an instant. Its blood boiled and vaporized, turning it into an overpressurized pot!

Pop! An ugly-looking balloon burst.

Only then did Si Ming realize that the Fusion Gun could have this kind of special effect on Night Demons, these unusual Xenomorphs. Of course, it was just a minor, insignificant interruption. He simply urged the Magic Wolf beneath him onward, deeper into the lower levels of the subway system.

He was the commander and only opened fire when he spotted a high-priority target. Sometimes he used the Fusion Gun, with its range of just fifty meters but immense power. Other times he switched to the slightly less powerful Anti-Material Sniper Rifle, whose range exceeded a kilometer and whose penetration and destructive power were both excellent. It was a classic Barrett, capable of erasing a Night Demon hiding behind light cover with a single shot.

Every so often, he also let the Magic Wolves under his command stretch their legs. They tore apart Special Forces Night Demons sneaking through abandoned ventilation ducts with their sharp claws and blasts of wind. More often, he carried a Heavy Machine Gun loaded with large-caliber explosive rounds and sprayed the wide areas where Night Demons poured out with sheets of blood and gore.

The Main God's score announcements rang out again and again. His reward points kept piling up. There was no doubt that, as a newcomer who had only just reached the World Two stage, he was eligible to farm points in this world. The side-story rewards were still pretty stingy, but he was earning more reward points than he had expected.

Could I become the only rookie in this round of reincarnation worlds to buy a "Return to Origin" without even triggering the team battle mechanism?

The thought crossed his mind, but Si Ming kept his focus. During brief lulls in the fighting—or, more accurately, the cleanup—he occasionally activated the Nano-Biochemical Suit's supply system to keep his body's nutrients replenished.

The surroundings suddenly fell quiet.

Before Si Ming reached the underground collapse trap he had been waiting for, the Night Demons that had rushed at him in wave after wave, hoping to overwhelm him with numbers, suddenly became sparse. A vast space came into view, unusually broad and perhaps once a major underground station.

Something was hiding here.

It needed plenty of room to move, or else it posed as much of a threat to the Night Demons as they did to it. Soon, Si Ming heard the earth-shaking growl of a gigantic creature.

Grr—

A low rumble, layered with several throaty roars.

Six scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness.

A dog.

So far, only humans and dogs could be infected by the KV Virus and completely transformed by it. The one before Si Ming was larger than an African elephant, with three enormous, bloodthirsty heads.

A mutant creature.

Or perhaps a specialized species bred by the wealthy in peacetime.

Whatever the truth, the creature had now been infused with the KV Virus and transformed into a reinforced monster.

Rumble— The sound of a collapse echoed from afar. It seemed like both a hint and a signal. Then, as a strange, sweet, coppery smell suddenly spread through the underground space, the Three-Headed Giant Dog, which had only been growling in warning, abruptly became bloodthirsty and frenzied.

A fierce gust of wind surged up.

The Skeleton Soldiers at the very front shattered into pieces as if they'd been hit by a truck.

But Si Ming had already activated his first-stage Gene Lock, rapidly gathering and processing the Three-Headed Giant Dog's movement parameters!

He could keep up. There was still time.

The mutant bloodline of the KV Virus had not exceeded the normal difficulty of World Two!

"Come out!"

The ghostly flames in the Bone Soldiers' eyes abruptly went out.

In their place appeared the Spider-Shaped Bone Golem, formed from several dozen Skeleton Soldiers fused together and prepared in advance within Si Ming's Summoning Domain.

It burst out of the Summoning Domain and charged into battle. Before the Three-Headed Giant Dog could reach Si Ming, it collided head-on with the giant mutant creature!

The air cracked.

They collided and bit at each other. The bone mass at the golem's center let out a shriek. The giant dog's massive paws, which could easily smash Xenomorphs, could do no more than leave slight scratches on the golem's spider-like limbs!

The timing was perfect.

The Magic Wolf carried Si Ming swiftly around behind the Three-Headed Giant Dog. He clearly saw a faint glow of fire welling in its throats.

Cerberus.

The thought flashed through his mind, but Si Ming wasn't afraid. The instant he raised the Fusion Gun at close range, the Burrowing Devil Worm—which consumed less necrotic energy but had a much larger body—smashed into the Three-Headed Giant Dog!

The flames it was about to spit out abruptly caught in its throat. While the giant creature was frozen in this enormous opening, Si Ming raised his gun.

Thermal Orbs, fired in rapid succession.

Amid the Three-Headed Giant Dog's furious roars and struggles, they punched straight through to its heart.

Boom— A violent explosion erupted, blasting a huge hole through the creature and tearing apart its upper body. Its three monstrous heads kept thrashing and struggling, but the next moment, they were skewered on the Bone Golem's bladed legs.

It was dead.

It truly had the power to drag a properly equipped first-stage squad into a hard fight, possibly even causing casualties. But it was still too weak to stand against Si Ming.

[Eliminated KV Virus Mutant Behemoth. Obtained 1 C-rank side-story reward and 2,500 reward points.]

At last, a hint of relaxation appeared in Si Ming's posture.

He had summoned all his undead, and none of them were currently in a position to protect him immediately.

So...

If there was a powerful, cunning hero or king among the Night Demons, one who commanded formidable forces besides this mutated Three-Headed Giant Dog, then this was the best moment to send them into battle.

And so, at that very instant, a swift, silent shadow crept out of the darkness behind Si Ming and lunged for his neck.

But then—

Ghostly flames ignited along the blade of the Profaned Greatsword that had appeared out of thin air.