153: Weiyang City has reached its most dangerous moment

The battle formation instantly collapsed, and the surrounding soldiers were submerged by the surging Scythe-Legged Bugs, screams rising and falling.

At the same time, within Weiyang City, the private forces of the major families, led by their respective patriarchs, made their final stand, relying on family fortresses and estates.

They were well-equipped, and there was no shortage of Gold-level powerhouses among them.

However, against the tide of bugs, individual bravery seemed so pale.

A Phase Shifter flickered like a ghost, appearing in the command tower of a family fortress. Its slender body left a trail of afterimages, and its sharp segmented limbs sliced like surgical knives. The heads of the fortress commander and several core strategists instantly flew off.

The fortress's defensive firepower immediately fell into chaos, and the Bone-Eating Beetles and Scythe-Legged Bugs, which had been waiting outside, swarmed in and breached the gate.

Despair, like cold venom, permeated the heart of every person still alive.

The Gold-level bugs seemed endless; kill one, and two or three immediately replaced it!

The low-level Scythe-Legged Bugs and Bone-Eating Beetles were like a tide, piling up bodies to pave their way forward, consuming every ounce of the defenders' stamina and energy.

The defensive lines were steadily retreating, and the safe zone was constantly shrinking.

"Damn it! Let's fight them to the death! We're going to die either way!"

A The Fallen, hidden in the shadows of a sewer exit, watched as an Bone-Eating Beetle not far away chewed up a severely wounded City Defense Force soldier along with his alloy shield, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

He suddenly tore open his black cloak, revealing grotesque bone spurs and twisted energy patterns underneath. In his hand, a ball of foul shadow energy condensed, which he savagely hurled at the Bone-Eating Beetle's compound eye.

Pfft!

The shadow energy, intensely corrosive, didn't kill the beetle immediately but made it emit a pained shriek, temporarily stopping its feeding.

This seemed to be a signal. In various dark corners of the city, The Fallen, who had originally intended to loot or hide, were forced to reveal themselves, joining this chaotic meat grinder of a battle.

They weren't fighting to protect the city, but for their own survival!

These The Fallen knew better than normal humans how ferocious these Void Zergs were—they only regarded humans as delicious food, and no one was an exception!

Once the City Defense Force, the professionals, and even the civilians of the entire Weiyang City were consumed, the next to be torn apart and devoured would be them!

For a time, the fighting in the city's streets and alleys became even more chaotic and brutal.

Human soldiers, professionals, and The Fallen, radiating an aura of corruption, were forced by the bug swarm into a temporary and bizarre "alliance."

One side fought to protect their homes and fulfill their duty, while the other fought for a desperate chance at survival.

They stood with their backs against crumbling walls or behind burning vehicle wrecks, using their various means to attack the surging bug swarms.

Flames, frost, lightning, acid, shadow energy, mental shockwaves, physical bullets, energy beams... attacks of various attributes violently collided and exploded in the narrow streets.

The shrieks of the Zergs, the roars of humans, the wails of the dying, and the collapse of buildings merged into a symphony of destruction.

A Scythe-Legged Bug leaped high, its sharp scythe aiming for a City Defense Force soldier's neck, but it was entangled by a bone-spur whip thrown by a nearby The Fallen, forcibly pulling it off course.

The soldier seized the opportunity to shoot the Scythe-Legged Bug's compound eye, splattering both of them with bug blood.

The soldier and The Fallen exchanged glances, their expressions complex, devoid of gratitude, only the relief of surviving and deep wariness of each other, before they each rushed towards new targets.

On the edge of the chaotic battlefield, a leader of The Fallen, dressed in black leather and wearing a bizarre mask, wielded a bone blade burning with eerie green flames. Each swing could cleave a deep gash in an Bone-Eating Beetle's carapace.

Several equally fierce The Fallen gathered around him, forming a small combat group that charged through the bug tide, leaving bug corpses in their wake.

But his cold gaze occasionally swept over the City Defense Force squad fighting desperately in the distance, his eyes flickering as if weighing something.

Qin Zhenyue saw all of this.

His heart felt no ripple of emotion at The Fallen's intervention, only deeper coldness and heaviness.

Even these rats from the sewers were forced to fight for their lives, showing just how dire the situation had become!

This was not unity, but the death throes of all living beings!

He once again punched a Phase Shifter attempting to ambush him, blowing it apart. The white-gold power of laws still shone amidst the bug blood, but its radiance was a shade dimmer than before.

The continuous high-intensity bursts, slaying Gold-level Zergs, and resisting the energy corrosion of the Energy-Corroding Locusts had caused him immense exhaustion.

A pseudo-Transcendent-level was not a true Transcendent-level after all; the power of laws he could wield was not infinite, and repeated full-power exertions had already forced him to burn his life essence! It was extracting his potential to become a true Transcendent-level!

"Roar—!"

Deep within the bug tide, those few massive Void Shield Bugs, as large as small mountains, which had not yet acted, now locked onto Qin Zhenyue as their greatest threat.

They let out a thunderous roar, spatial ripples violently fluctuating on their dark golden, thick carapaces. They took steps that shook the earth, advancing like a moving cluster of fortresses towards Qin Zhenyue!

Wherever they passed, lower-level Zergs scattered, and even the ground trembled.

Their goal was clear—to crush this strongest human with absolute power and defense!

At the same time, the swarms of Energy-Corroding Locusts in the sky reassembled, their scale even larger than before!

Eerie blue light intensely condensed in their rune-covered mouthparts, forming a blue cloud that covered half the battlefield. Deadly energy orbs were ready to pour down at any moment, targeting Qin Zhenyue and the human defensive lines struggling to hold on around him!

What made Qin Zhenyue's heart sink even more was that behind those advancing giant shield bugs, an exceptionally large Phase Shifter, its compound eyes flashing with cold, calculating red light, was hovering in mid-air.

The frequency of spatial nodes flickering on both sides of its body far exceeded that of its peers, like a precise command center.

Under its "gaze," the previously somewhat chaotic bug tide attack began to become more layered and targeted!

Several squads of Xeno-Rift Ray Bugs were mobilized, their pale muzzles beginning to charge, locking onto several key strongpoints in the human defense line.

And more Scythe-Legged Bugs and Bone-Eating Beetles, as if receiving precise commands, began to consciously intersperse and divide, attempting to completely separate and encircle the human defenders and The Fallen who were forced into the battle!

This bug was commanding!

Qin Zhenyue felt a cold chill rise from his spine.

The sheer force of the bug tide was already terrifying enough; now, they were even demonstrating tactical coordination!

This almost extinguished humanity's last shred of hope for organized resistance.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning blood and the fatigue emanating from the depths of his soul, his eyes burning with resolute fire.

He could not retreat!

He was the last pillar of Weiyang City!

He had to withstand the charge of these giant shield bugs, and he had to take down that commanding Phase Shifter!

"Come on! You beasts!"

Qin Zhenyue let out an earth-shattering roar, and white-gold light once again erupted from his body, like a burning star, actively charging towards the Void Shield Bugs pressing down like mountains!

His fists clenched, and the pseudo-Transcendent-level vibrational power of laws condensed and compressed on his fist, forming two substantial white-gold orbs of light, radiating destructive fluctuations.

However, just as he was about to collide with the foremost giant shield bug... *Buzz*!

A figure blocked his path, and with a light strike, sent the giant shield bug tumbling to the ground...