When the Swarm Came Out, Everyone Had to Lie Down

"This time, make it fifty meters."

Bai Zhu's body reacted faster than his brain. The instant he heard the first word, he pushed off the ground and threw himself backward without a shred of dignity.

The next second, the entire forest behind him exploded.

Boom—!

The first muffled blast came from beneath the snow. Then came the dense explosions of the swarm crashing into the shield. Countless vicious metal constructs also burrowed up from underground, clamping down hard on the Holy Knights' greaves and spear shafts.

The shockwave kicked up a wall of snow that slammed into Bai Zhu's back. He was smashed behind a fallen tree trunk, and all that remained in his ears was an endless ringing.

He pressed himself tightly against the trunk, struggling to control his body as it trembled from the violent shock.

"How is this support..."

Bai Zhu gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words through clenched teeth.

"This is a massacre."

In his earpiece, the only response was Milluki's increasingly frantic keyboard tapping.

The explosions did not stop.

The Mechanical Bee swarm that blotted out the sky was like a kicked hornet's nest, madly pouring death into that tiny area. Every red light flashing from their abdomens was a brilliant yet deadly firework exploding against the Black Crystal Shield.

The Holy Knights' formation finally broke.

The one leading them raised his spear and drove it violently into the ground.

"Holy Mark... overload!"

The leading Holy Knight let out a roar like a trapped beast.

The Black Crystal in his chest instantly shone as brightly as daylight, and even blood mist seeped from the gaps in his black armor. The other five seemed to have all their strength drained away, their breaths twisting together in an instant as they poured everything into the shield at the center.

A solid black ripple suddenly swept outward!

Crash—

Large swaths of Mechanical Bees in midair were instantly swept into dust, while the Metal Earthworms on the ground were shattered segment by segment. The tottering Black Crystal Shield was forcibly stabilized.

Bai Zhu's scalp tingled as he watched.

"These tin cans can really take a beating."

Milluki snorted.

"That depends on who's doing the beating."

"Quit bragging and crack that shell first."

"I'm already cracking it."

Bai Zhu poked his head out from behind the tree trunk.

Only

to see the leading Holy Knight gathering all his strength into himself. Ignoring his teammates behind him, he endured the scattered explosions and raised his spear toward the weakest gap in the swarm, preparing to force his way out.

He was going to use his life to tear open this sea of insects!

He could not let him succeed!

A fierce glint flashed through Bai Zhu's eyes. He squeezed his remaining Reiatsu to its limit and raised his hand toward the spear that was about to strike.

"Hado #4: Byakurai!"

A streak of blue-white lightning tore through the wind and snow, shooting precisely past the edge of the swarm and striking the spearhead!

Crack!

The spearhead shifted by less than half an inch.

Yet that half inch was enough. Three Mechanical Bees seized the fleeting opening, slipped through a crack in the shield, and detonated right against the captain's breastplate!

Boom!

The Holy Knight did not even have time to scream before the tremendous force sent him flying. Savage cracks split across the chest of his black armor as he crashed heavily into a distant snow pit.

Bai Zhu could not help grinning.

"That felt good."

However, there was no relief in Milluki's voice. It grew even more solemn.

"It's not over. The remaining five are compressing their formation. They're coming for you!"

The moment he spoke, the Holy Knights ahead actually began to tighten their formation. They had abandoned defense. Since breaking out was hopeless, they might as well launch a suicidal charge at the target of this operation.

Bai Zhu understood at a glance.

"They're charging me."

Milluki saw it too.

"The leader isn't dead yet. The rest are clearing a path for him."

Bai Zhu had just started to retreat when his ankle suddenly tightened.

He looked down sharply and saw black patterns that had somehow spread beneath the snow, coiling around his boots like living things.

"Damn."

Bai Zhu used Shunpo, vanishing from where he stood in an instant.

But the moment he landed, new black patterns lit up beneath his feet and caught him again.

"Don't touch the ground!" Milluki roared through the earpiece.

Bai Zhu forcibly twisted his body in midair, but he was still half a beat too slow. The instant the sole of his shoe brushed the black pattern, a huge pulling force nearly threw him off balance.

"Are these guys treating me like a target?"

"Not a target."

Milluki's voice dropped low.

"Their formation is tracking your landing points."

Bai Zhu felt like cursing as soon as he heard that.

This was trouble.

He could have forced his way through with Shunpo, but now there were traps beneath every step. Wherever he jumped, he was blocked. Wherever he landed, he was sealed.

In his vision, the [Random Bankai] panel flashed wildly, as if urging him to make his final choice.

His thoughts raced.

Ella was still underground.

Illumi's operation had also reached its most crucial moment.

He could not fall here.

Bai Zhu's thumb hovered over the virtual panel. Just as he was about to gamble everything and call upon that unknown power—

"Get down!"

Milluki's shout exploded in his ear like thunder!

Without time to think, Bai Zhu acted purely on instinct and threw himself hard into the snow before him.

The next instant, the entire patch of snow where he had been standing bulged upward, then exploded!

Not Black Crystal spikes.

Metal!

One, two, three...

Countless Mechanical Earthworms, thicker and more powerful than before, burst from deep beneath the snow like lurking deep-sea monsters baring their fangs. Their targets were those charging Holy Knights!

The formation was torn apart instantly, and the Black Crystal Formation collapsed on the spot after losing its support.

"Who told you my 'earthworms'... only came in a few?" Milluki's voice carried a trace of sick delight.

Bai Zhu lay at the edge of a snow trench, watching the once-arrogant Holy Knights get dragged down and shredded by steel constructs bursting from underground. He could not say a word.

"Are you selling these things?"

"Less talking. Fall back!"

"Fall back where?"

"Anywhere. Just run farther away."

Bai Zhu scrambled backward,

but before he had moved three meters, a series of muffled explosions erupted behind him.

The Mechanical Earthworms actually contained cutting charges and grappling hooks. The moment they wrapped around a target, they detonated, specifically targeting the joints of their armor!

The leading Holy Knight knelt on one knee by the edge of the pit, still gripping his spear tightly with his left hand. The Black Crystal in his chest flashed as though it were about to shatter.

He raised his head and stared at Bai Zhu, forcing out a few words from his throat.

"Capture alive... kill... you... first..."

Bai Zhu wiped snow and mud from his face.

"You're already like this, and you're still talking tough?"

The other man said nothing more. He actually poured all his remaining Black Crystal into the core in his chest.

The Black Crystal suddenly flared with blinding light. His entire body became a streak of black radiance and shot straight at Bai Zhu!

His speed was beyond extreme!

The black patterns beneath Bai Zhu's feet lit up again, locking down his movement.

He could not dodge!

Then, an even larger and denser buzzing descended from overhead.

A new "dark cloud" covered the entire forest.

"Fall back!" Those were the only two words left in Milluki's voice over the channel.

The swarm bypassed Bai Zhu and, like a black tornado of death, completely swallowed the charging Holy Knight.

The Holy Knight swept his spear around, and Black Crystal shockwaves shattered batches of bees, but the number following behind them did not decrease in the slightest.

Bai Zhu seized the opening, stomped hard, and forced himself out of the black pattern's range with Shunpo, flipping behind a massive fallen tree.

The instant he steadied himself, a series of muffled blasts erupted behind him.

The leading Holy Knight and the teammates who had rushed in after him were buried beneath the swarm. Having lost their protection, they endured wave after wave of explosions head-on, and the armor plates on their chests gradually cracked.

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Zhu spotted his chance, raised his hand, and gathered what little Reiatsu he had left at his fingertips.

"White Lightning."

The electric light slipped through the gaps between the trees and precisely entered the cracks in the black armor.

The blue-white current drove straight into the core and exploded in the Holy Knight's chest. The Black Crystal on his chest shattered into several pieces at once, and the black patterns along his spear shaft went dark.

He staggered forward two steps, his knees crashing into the snow as his spear slipped from his hand and planted itself beside him.

Only then did Bai Zhu slump against the tree as if all strength had left him, gasping heavily while surveying the pockmarked snowfield before him, as though it had been plowed by artillery fire.

"Is it over?"

"Not quite. One last hit."

Milluki's voice was not relaxed.

"The four in the back aren't dead yet."

Bai Zhu leaned half his body out from behind the tree.

Those Holy Knights were all in terrible shape now.

Two knelt on one knee, one had gaps in both his shoulder armor and greaves, and another's shield was half shattered. The most troublesome part was that they had stopped charging. Instead, they surrounded their leader, seemingly intending to reconnect the Black Crystal energy.

"They can keep it going after all that?"

"They can."

"Then I'll fire another one."

"You're out of mana."

"I still have my sword."

"That sword is a crutch now."

Bai Zhu clicked his tongue. Just as he was about to raise his hand, several lines suddenly appeared in his vision.

[Hidden achievement completed: Survive being hunted by Saints.]

[Achievement Points awarded: 20.]

[Current total Achievement Points: 746.]

[Remaining available Achievement Points: 306.]

[Current total Reiatsu: 7460.]

Bai Zhu glanced at it, and his expression had only just eased when another blood-red notification appeared.

[Congratulations, Host, for triggering the series achievement: Ella's Suffering Holy Infant (4/6) · Save the Lab Rats!]

[Mission prompt: Rescue the pregnant women underground and sever their supply line.]

[System rewards will be issued based on the final number of pregnant women rescued.]

Bai Zhu stared at the words, and even his hand paused.

"Damn system, you really know how to stab people where their hearts are softest."

Milluki was still calling out positions through the earpiece.

"Bai Zhu, the one on the right is trying to run. Finish him first."

Bai Zhu dismissed the achievement panel and looked up at the Holy Knight still crawling away.

"Fine. Let's wrap this up first."

He raised his hand, and the last White Lightning drilled through the cracked Black Crystal.

Boom.

The Holy Knight's body went rigid from the shock before falling straight backward, his Black Crystal going completely dark.

There was silence in the earpiece for two seconds.

Then Milluki's voice came through.

"Confirm it. Are there any survivors?"

Bai Zhu took a breath and swept his eyes over the pockmarked snowfield ahead.

"Do you want the truth, or do you want something nice to hear?"

"Speak plainly."

"On my side, no one's standing for now."

Just as Milluki was about to reply, a string of urgent notification chimes suddenly came through from the hotel.

Then Milluki's voice changed at once.

"Bai Zhu, forget about the corpse."

"What is it?"

"Someone sent out a new list of pregnant women from the underground passage."

"What did you say?"

"A group of people is transporting pregnant women underground."