269: Chapter 269 The Swarm Moves

While Zhang Huaiyuan was putting all his effort into resisting the Holy Light Monastery's Faith Legion, the Leviathan Academy, located in the south of the continent, was also quietly taking action.

Above the clouds, countless falcons glided silently; even if satellites from outer space swept over, they would find nothing unusual.

But if someone were to look closely, they would find that on the inner side of the wings covered by feathers, countless tiny, complexly structured eyeballs were packed densely together.

These were modified based on a type of scout insect from the Zerg's main battle sequence.

Although their abilities were far from being that formidable, they could still see the minute textures of grass and trees on the ground with perfect clarity from the sky.

“Those religious fanatics actually all ran off to attack the Time Book House's steel fortress.”

Special encrypted bio-electric waves were rapidly exchanged and spread among the hives inhabited by the students of the Leviathan Laboratory.

“Heh, those guys have always been arrogant; perhaps they think they can quickly deal with that group of lunatics from the Time Book House.”

“Regardless of their purpose, the current situation couldn't be more favorable for us.”

Another bio-electric wave came through:

“The entire western region occupied by the Holy Light Monastery is almost unguarded, with only a few ordinary magic circles running. A single Claw Bug legion could easily conquer the entire territory.”

“Over at the Time Book House, they also seem to be putting all their effort into resisting the Holy Light Monastery's offensive, leaving only one student to defend this side.”

A decisive voice came through the waves:

“Currently, our points are lagging behind. As long as we take advantage of the moment they fight to a mutual destruction to devour and occupy all the territory and hatch enough swarms, they won't be our match even if they have hidden cards.”

“Whether it's a conspiracy or not, this is a golden opportunity! We must act immediately.”

“Seconded.”

“Agreed.”

“...”

After a brief silence, the bio-electric waves reached a consensus.

Almost simultaneously.

Huge hives located in various positions such as the southern jungles, mountains, and crypts began to writhe at the same time.

Inside the dozens of pipe-like chambers at their base, dense clusters of insect eggs hatched rapidly.

In just a few minutes, millions of hideous and terrifying insects swarmed out, their speed not at all inferior to the 'terminator generation one' combat robots.

They rushed to buildings shaped like giant piranha plants and plunged headlong into those gaping maws.

This was modeled after one of the Zerg's common transport buildings, the Nydus Worm.

Its bottom roots could continuously devour most matter, digging out a network of tunnels leading to the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.

Of course, these students naturally didn't have the ability to create a Nydus Worm with that level of power.

However, even as an imitation, constructing a tunnel network beneath the crust of an ordinary planet was an easy task.

Soon, dozens of miles away from the outskirts of the Holy Light Monastery's territory, a tentacle-like root burst through the soil, expanding into a gaping maw.

Countless insects flooded out.

The most numerous among them were like the ones seen back in Relic No. 3, but smaller in size—only about three meters tall, dark red all over, with blade-like forelimbs.

Next were the insects with dense tactile legs and oval-shaped bodies.

These were the most basic unit in the Zerg responsible for construction and resource gathering; their mouths contained acid capable of dissolving strong alloys, which would dissolve everything they touched before swallowing it into a storage sac in their abdomen, then transporting it back to the hive's conversion pit to become universal energy.

As one of the most powerful races in the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.

Their biological technology for converting energy was not at all inferior to the research of the Time Traveler Association; they could convert almost any matter.

Besides these two types, there was also a rare type of giant insect, ten meters tall.

It was draped in a carapace that looked exceptionally thick, leaving a heavy imprint on the ground with every step it took.

The entire swarm army was silent, comparable to the most disciplined troops, and soon arrived beneath the first city.

Bang!

Those giant beetles, over ten meters tall, pushed through the swarm and slammed hard against the city gates enchanted with high-level runes.

Immediately, the entire city wall seemed to vibrate with the impact.

The magic on the wall triggered, erupting in a burst of brilliant white light that violently repelled the beetles and the surrounding swarm, kicking up a cloud of dust.

But this bit of damage was less than an itch to the insects with thick carapaces; instead, it only further enraged them.

With a low growl, it charged and slammed into it once more.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon, the runes on the city wall shattered one by one, no longer able to repel the swarm.

Countless Claw Bugs poured through the gates in single file.

And some who couldn't wait simply leaped up, layering over one another to jump into the city.

With the Holy Light Monastery having moved almost all its guards away, the entire city was completely defenseless and was soon fully occupied.

Oval-shaped insects quickly entered the scene, devouring everything they saw; in just two short hours, the originally magnificent city had completely disappeared.

As if it had never existed.

They built a smaller hive on the spot and began using the resources to hatch more warriors.

Meanwhile, the combat swarm army did not stop at all, splitting into several routes to rush toward the heart of the Holy Light Monastery's occupied territory.

Vegetation, living beings, cities... wherever they passed, everything was devoured and converted into more insects.

Those things that had existed on this planet for long ages had their traces completely erased.

...

At the same time, inside a steel fortress armed to the teeth, the former Chief of the Time Book House, Talix, suddenly opened his eyes.

“Interference waves... as expected, they've come!”

Just now, the detectors he had pre-positioned over a hundred kilometers away had all lost contact simultaneously.

“However... playing with signal interference against me is simply looking down on me too much.”

Talix snorted coldly. A tiny slit opened in the middle of his half-meter-tall giant head, and a signal wire covered in dense branches rose out.

The next moment, in his mind, dense images were displayed once again.

He saw endless swarms of insects surging from all directions like a dark red ocean.

Taking advantage of the time when the signal was interfered with, they were frantically destroying the pre-arranged defensive lines, unknowingly closing in to within twenty kilometers.

But just then, the turrets and defensive facilities that had been operating randomly had their indicator lights flash on as the signal was restored.

A metallic roar erupted from the cold, black barrels of the cannons.

The swarm, which had been happily destroying things, was suddenly caught off guard.

Immediately, dense firelight and fleshly debris filled the sky.

The sleeping torrent of steel woke up completely at this moment, facing the vast ocean of insects head-on.

...