122: Chapter 122 The squad's progress is hindered; the Zerg attack.

The wind cannot be grasped, and flowers will wither. But a sword is not like that.

Chen Xiaodao's sword traced a silver line in the tunnel ninety zhang underground, moving so fast that the illumination talismans on the rock walls didn't even have time to flicker before the head of a black beetle flew off.

Green blood splattered onto the rune board, hissing and corroding several small holes.

He didn't look at the result.

The moment he landed, he kicked off with his left foot; his mechanical prosthetic joint emitted a faint hum. Using the momentum, he slid three steps sideways and pressed his blade downward, pinning another Worker Ant that had pounced from a crack above into the ground.

The insect's body twitched, its hooked claws scraping against the rock with a harsh, grating sound, like a dull knife grinding against bone.

"The rift on the right! Two of you, hold it!" he roared, his voice echoing in the narrow tunnel.

Two Sword Cultivators immediately backed against the rock wall, sword tips pointing outward, spreading out in a fan formation.

One of them threw out two Spirit Suppression Talismans, sticking them into a recess in the side wall; with a flash of golden light, they temporarily sealed a crevice oozing with slime.

The other knelt on one knee, plunging the blade three inches into the ground to draw upon the faint Spiritual Qi of the earth, forming a spiritual barrier as thin as a cicada's wing.

But this barrier wouldn't last for more than ten breaths.

The spores were coming.

They weren't flying; they were sprayed from the bodies of the Zerg—a grey-green gelatinous substance that clung to the tunnel ceiling like thick phlegm, expanding rapidly upon contact with the air with a crackling sound.

In the blink of an eye, clusters of foam-like material dripped down, corroding upon contact with the spiritual barrier and emitting white smoke.

"It's a sealing spore!" the guard on the left gritted his teeth. "Once this thing solidifies, it can weld the entire passage shut!"

Chen Xiaodao's pupils constricted.

He recognized this thing. Three years ago that night, when Chen Village was besieged, it was these very spores that blocked all the escape routes.

In the end, they only survived by digging a bloody path from beneath the pile of corpses.

Now, the Zerg wanted to use this trick again.

"Ignore the spores!" he growled. "Clear the front first! They want time!"

Before he could finish speaking, the rock layer in front exploded with a boom.

Seven or eight Worker Ants rushed out in a fan formation, their movements so orderly they didn't look like beasts, but rather a rehearsed killing formation.

The one in the lead was slightly larger, its carapace gleaming with a metallic luster. As its mouthparts rotated, they emitted a high-frequency vibration that shredded an incoming Sword Qi.

"A mutated sentry?!" someone exclaimed.

Chen Xiaodao didn't answer; he had already charged out.

The sword was not fully drawn, only seven inches exposed, as a thread-thin Sword Qi swept across the ground, precisely severing the joint of the lead insect's right hind leg.

The insect stumbled for a moment, its speed slowing by half a beat.

That was the beat.

He stepped forward, slamming his left hand against the rock wall to steady himself. The light of the sword in his right hand surged, slashing diagonally from bottom to top, the blade tearing along the seam of the insect's neck armor and piercing straight into its brain.

With a dull thud, green fluid exploded, splattering over half his body.

He shook the slime off his sword, spun around, and slashed again, cutting the second insect pouncing toward his teammate in half.

But the pressure increased rather than decreased.

New insects kept crawling out from the cracks on the left and right; their numbers weren't large, but they attacked in turns, waging a war of attrition.

Worse yet, the spores overhead were gathering in greater numbers and had begun to drip down, hitting the ground with a "pfft" sound and expanding into fist-sized gelatinous masses that quickly connected into a sheet.

The passage was closing.

"Right side! Hack it!" Chen Xiaodao pointed to the western rock layer. "Find the weak point!"

The two team members immediately understood, withdrawing their swords to gather momentum, then leaping up simultaneously to strike with crossed blades.

Spiritual power collided with the rock, emitting a harsh grinding sound; amidst the flying stone chips, they finally hacked open a gap half a person's height.

But as soon as they poked their heads in to look, their expressions changed.

"No good! It's solid rock behind! There's no path at all!"

Chen Xiaodao caught his breath, sweat already sliding down his temple.

He knew where the problem lay—the terrain was too narrow to maneuver; there were too many enemies who could afford to wear them down; and they... their stamina was dropping.

He looked down at his right hand. His knuckles were trembling slightly from holding the sword for so long, and his breathing had become heavier.

The mechanical arm was functioning normally, but his Physical Body couldn't withstand such high-intensity output for so long.

"Can't drag this out any longer," he gritted his teeth.

His gaze swept across the battlefield: the swarm in front had retreated slightly and was regrouping; the defensive line on the left was stable, but the spores had spread to the height of their calves; the new opening on the right was half-blocked by rubble and couldn't be passed in the short term.

The only Breakthrough point was still in front.

He took a deep breath and suddenly smiled.

The smile was very faint, almost inaudible.

Then he sheathed his sword.

Not giving up, but changing moves.

"Meteor Sword Intent — Third Form, Falling Star." he whispered the four words, his voice not loud, but it made all the team members' hearts shake.

The next instant, he drew his sword.

Not slashing, not stabbing, but leaping into the air himself, sword tip pointing downward, like a meteorite crashing to the ground, diving straight into the densest part of the insect swarm.

A sharp sound of breaking wind rang out in the air.

When that sword fell, it felt as if even the tremors underground stopped for a moment.

The blade touched the ground, silver light exploding and spreading in a ring.

Wherever the shockwave passed, four Worker Ants were instantly shattered into pieces; the other three, though not dead, had their carapaces cracked and their movements slowed.

The aftermath swept across the spore clusters, shattering and evaporating large swaths of the gelatinous material, clearing the passage.

"Now!" He roared the command before he had even steadied himself upon landing. "Tighten the formation! Back to back! Don't move until my signal!"

Everyone immediately gathered, the six of them forming a circle, sword tips pointing outward.

He stood at the very front, sword tip touching the ground, his chest heaving, sweat dripping down his chin.

That strike just now had consumed quite a bit of energy.

But his eyes were not chaotic; instead, they were brighter.

He knew the Zerg wouldn't give up just like that.

Sure enough, a few breaths later, the rock crevice on the left suddenly shook violently.

It wasn't small insects crawling out, but an entire section of the rock wall being cracked open from the inside.

A monster twice as large as a normal Worker Ant slowly crawled out.

Its entire body was pitch black, with dark red patterns on its carapace, six hooked legs, and mouthparts split into three petals, like the mouth of some ancient creature.

It didn't rush to charge, just lay there quietly, its compound eyes glowing with a ghostly light, as if it were observing.

"A mutated Worker Ant King?" someone's voice tightened.

Chen Xiaodao stared at it without speaking.

He could feel it—this insect was different.

When it wasn't moving, the flow of surrounding Spiritual Qi was somewhat distorted, as if something was hidden inside its body.

"Don't let it get close!" he whispered. "Ranged suppression! Don't give it a chance to charge!"

Two Sword Cultivators immediately raised their swords, condensing spiritual power to prepare a ranged strike.

But the moment before they could strike, the monster moved.

It didn't pounce on them, but suddenly opened its mouthparts and sprayed a ball of black liquid.

The speed was ridiculously fast.

"Dodge!" Chen Xiaodao roared.

The three barely dodged, but the one covering the rear was half a step slow, and their left arm was grazed.

The fabric instantly carbonized and fell off, revealing the skin—which was turning black and ulcerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Poison!" the person screamed, falling to their knees.

Chen Xiaodao's eyes turned cold, and he hesitated no longer.

He took a step forward, the sword light like snow, aiming straight for the monster's throat.

One man, one insect, charging at each other in the narrow tunnel.

The blade collided with the mouthparts, bursting with blinding sparks.

He used the momentum to flip, his sword veering to the side, executing a spinning slash toward its rear leg joint.

The insect reacted extremely quickly, dodging the fatal wound to the side, but still had a section of its leg severed, black blood gushing out.

It hissed and counterattacked crazily.

Chen Xiaodao was forced to retreat, needing three consecutive sword strikes to block its mandibles' snapping.

He could feel the opponent's strength increasing, its speed also rising, as if some potential had been triggered after being injured.

"Not good, it's evolving!" someone shouted.

Chen Xiaodao gritted his teeth, veins throbbing on his forehead.

He knew he couldn't drag this out any longer.

But just then, a strange sound came from overhead.

Looking up, his heart sank.

Those spores... were beginning Fusion.

The originally scattered gelatinous masses were slowly aggregating, writhing like some living creature, gradually forming a huge spherical body hanging in the center of the passage, its surface constantly bulging and contracting, as if there were a heartbeat inside.

"This is... a Symbiotic Spore Core?!" a knowledgeable team member gasped. "The legendary thing the Zerg use to blockade strategic routes! Once it forms, let alone the six of us, even if thirty people came, they wouldn't be able to break it!"

Chen Xiaodao stared at the constantly expanding spore core, breathing heavily.

He knew what this meant—

The retreat path was almost gone.

And the mutated king insect in front of him was still forcing him to expend stamina.

This wasn't an encounter.

It was a siege.

It was a premeditated strangulation trap.

He looked down at the longsword in his hand; the blade already had tiny nicks.

Looking around, every team member was wounded; some had black, poisoned arms, others had slashed legs, blood dripping down their pant legs.

But they were still standing.

Not a single person retreated.

He suddenly remembered the year he was five, when he crawled out from a pile of corpses, clutching that broken wooden sword in his hand.

Back then, he didn't know what fear was.

He didn't know it now either.

He slowly raised his sword, pointing it at the mutated Worker Ant King that was still approaching.

"Listen!" His voice was hoarse, yet it pierced through the entire tunnel. "When I cut its head off, you immediately concentrate fire on that spore core! Remember, 'immediately'! Don't wait for me to say it a second time!"

No one responded.

Because they all knew that this charge might be the last.

But six people, six swords, all raised up.

He didn't say anything more.

His toes tapped, his figure like lightning, charging once again toward the behemoth.

The sword light tore through the darkness once again.