Insect Armor Warriors
The battle in the forest was drawing to a close.
The momentum of the black Insect Tide visibly weakened.
The Mycelium network spreading from the Blood Taisui remains firmly rooted in the ground, as stable as a rock. Countless filamentous tentacles constantly shoot out, entangle, and harvest, crushing, draining, and dissolving massive amounts of insect bodies every second.
Unlike the lowly Insect Swarm that only needlessly die, the Blood Taisui's plundering never stops.
The essence of blood and flesh, and organic matter from countless insect bodies flowed back into the earth along the Mycelium veins, nourishing the core organism.
Kill the enemy, resupply, and grow stronger.
This is the most unsolvable cycle for parasitic Aberrant.
The more you kill it, the more abundant the Mycelium becomes; the more you kill it, the more profound the essence of the Blood Taisui becomes.
The once overwhelming and surging Insect Tide, after a long period of attrition, was completely exhausted and its manpower was exhausted. All the insects that charged at the front perished, and the gaps in the rear could not be filled for a long time. The thickness of the black wave visibly thinned and became sparse.
The sounds of fighting in the woods gradually subsided, and the balance of power completely tipped.
The beasts, huddled in the distance watching, relaxed their tense bodies slightly. In their primal understanding, the terrifying Insect Plague seemed about to be completely eradicated by these strange underground vines, and the peace of this forest was about to be completely secured.
From behind the Fortress watchtower, Lu Heng quietly surveyed the entire scene.
He could see very clearly that in this fierce battle between the two nests, the Blood Taisui had firmly established an absolute advantage.
The flesh, body fluids, and exoskeletons of common aberrant insects are the purest nutrients. The continuous consumption and replenishment not only prevent the Mycelium network, which had been damaged in the battle, from decaying but also make it more resilient and lush. Fine new filaments constantly grow and spread out from the decaying leaves and soil, making the defense line more and more solid.
The lower-level Insect Tide has no chance of turning the tide.
Just as the entire battlefield was drawing to a close.
From the depths of a distant, dense forest, a deep, muffled roar suddenly erupted.
Boom--
The loud noise pierced through the layers of trees, causing the entire mountain forest to tremble slightly.
Fine dust slipped from between the fallen leaves, the wind suddenly stopped, and the remaining sounds of fighting in the forest were instantly drowned out by this loud noise.
The beasts, who had relaxed, froze instantly, their fur standing on end, an extreme sense of crisis gripping each and every one of them once again.
Lu Heng, standing behind the observation deck, suddenly frowned.
Something's wrong with the sound.
This was no ordinary commotion caused by Insect Swarm or the collapse of vegetation. The force was extremely heavy and the range was extremely wide, carrying a heavy crushing feeling, as if a gigantic entity was brutally smashing through all obstacles and rapidly approaching this place.
A deathly silence enveloped the mountains and forests.
Seconds later, bushes and giant trees deep in the forest snapped and fell one after another, sending rubble and dust flying everywhere, and the destructive traces of destruction stretched forward.
Five tall, upright figures slowly emerged from the dark, dense forest, stepping over the rubble that littered the ground.
Not human.
Its outline is similar to a human, yet it exudes a bizarre and distorted appearance. Its body is tall and upright, covered entirely in thick, dark, hard insect armor. The armor plates are layered and tightly interlocked, covered with ferocious protrusions and grooves, reflecting a cold, hard dark light. Its limbs are long and powerful, with sharp carapace blades growing from the ends of its arms. Its steps are steady, and with each landing, the decaying leaves beneath its feet sink slightly.
It was a humanoid insect, with a fierce aura and a sense of oppression far exceeding that of any other known mutated creature in this mountain forest.
Lu Heng's pupils narrowed slightly, and without hesitation, he released his Mental Energy, instantly completing a comprehensive assessment.
[Insect Armor Warrior]
[Grade: Bronze]
[Origin of creation: A combat unit exclusively bred by the Insect Queen]
[Characteristics: Heavy armor, overwhelming melee combat, extremely strong physique, all-around combat type Aberrant]
A line of information clearly came to mind.
Lu Heng's heart sank suddenly.
Insect Queen.
He had always known that the Insect Mother resided in this forest area, controlling the reproduction of the ordinary Insect Swarm, but he never expected that above the Insect Mother, there was actually a true Insect Queen hidden.
The Insect Mother is only responsible for mass-producing low-tier Insect Soldiers and has no ability to cultivate high-tier combat forces.
The Insect Queen is the true source of high-level combat units.
The Insect Tide that had previously overwhelmed the forest was merely low-level cannon fodder casually released by the Insect Queen.
The real killer move has only just been revealed.
These five Insect Armor Warrior are the ultimate trump card hidden until the very end in this Insect Plague.
Five tall, armored figures slowly stepped into the ravaged battlefield.
The Mycelium defense line, which had previously held an absolute advantage, suddenly froze at this moment.
The fine Mycelium instinctively shot out, like countless slender whips, frantically wrapping around and piercing the five armored Insect Armor Warrior. The strangulation, feeding, and corrosive methods that were invincible against ordinary Insect Swarm all landed on the thick black carapace.
Sizzle--Sizzle--
A series of dense friction sounds rang out.
The sharp Mycelium slammed into the insect carapace, leaving only shallow white marks, unable to penetrate the dense and hard high-level insect carapace.
The Mycelium failed to penetrate.
Its ability to absorb and corrode was completely blocked by the thick armor.
The advantages of the Blood Taisui are completely rendered useless.
It is a parasitic Aberrant that wins by massively entangling, sucking blood and flesh, and corroding the body. It is best at clearing out hordes of low-level grunts. However, when facing high-level heavily armored units that are extremely strong individually, have full defense, and have no weaknesses in their physical bodies, the delicate Mycelium has no chance of breaking through.
The battlefield situation reversed in an instant.
The Mycelium Nest, which had been advancing unstoppably and steadily crushing the enemy just a moment ago, was now completely on the defensive.
Countless Mycelium wrapped around the Insect Armor Warrior's body, but their efforts were in vain and could not cause any damage. Instead, they were torn apart and shattered by the immense force of the Insect Armor Warrior's stride.
The five Insect Armor Warrior were expressionless; their black, shelled faces lacked features, revealing only a chilling instinct for slaughter. They advanced steadily, stepping on broken Mycelium, each step dismantling the defenses painstakingly constructed by the Blood Taisui.
The once dense and lush Mycelium network was forcibly torn open with five huge gaps.
The wild beasts in the distance were utterly terrified and dared not linger any longer. They crouched low, trembling, and desperately retreated, wishing they could bury themselves in the cracks of rocks and the ground to stay far away from these five terrifying humanoid monsters.
Lu Heng stood behind the observation tower, his gaze cold, his thoughts racing.
He saw it all clearly.
The Blood Taisui is ruined.
The parasitic advantage, which is invincible in group battles, is useless against high-level heavy armor single targets. The Mycelium cannot be absorbed, broken, or stopped, and can only be passively crushed and destroyed.
If these five Insect Armor Warrior are allowed to continue advancing, it won't be long before the Mycelium defenses of the entire forest are completely torn apart.
Without the obstruction of Mycelium, the five high-ranking Bronze Insect Armor Warrior will charge straight at the Cliffside Fortress without any hindrance.
The Shelter is in imminent danger.
There was no room for hesitation.
Previously, we could sit back and watch the two sides fight and reap the benefits because the situation was under control. But now, the hidden boss has fully appeared, and the battle has gone beyond the scope of natural balance.
To protect the Shelter and eradicate this Insect Plague, we have no choice but to take action ourselves.
Lu Heng withdrew his gaze and turned to leave the observation tower.
The cold stone wall swept past behind us.
There were no distracting thoughts, no hesitation whatsoever.
Since the Insect Queen was hiding in the shadows and sending out elite armored warriors to raze the battlefield, he would personally shatter her trump card.
The Blood Taisui from the ground was exhausted and could no longer stop these five evil spirits.
Then let him stop them.
The heavy stone gate of the Fortress was slowly pushed open a crack.
A chilly forest breeze swept into the doorway, carrying with it the stench of blood and decay lingering from the battlefield, and the Blood Taisui transformed into Blood Armor.
Outside the door, five tall, jet-black insect-armored figures continued their steady advance, crushing the Mycelium step by step as they closed in on him.