Chapter 129: The Swarm of Alien Insects

My first reaction upon seeing the system notification was to return to Dragon City. By then, the players within the city were essentially fully prepared, just waiting for the monsters to come and deliver their own deaths.

At that moment, Ye Shuang sent a message: "Hey, brother, the monster siege has begun. That Uncle Zhao wants us to assemble."

I replied: "Understood, I'm heading back now."

At this point, various player factions had gathered in Dragon City, along with forces from other cities who had come to join the fray. Our academy group was assembled in the plaza. I noticed Guardian and Silver Moon glaring at me from not far away; their gazes sent a chill down my spine. Had we not been within the city walls, I have no doubt they would have attacked me immediately.

Uncle Zhao then stepped forward. His class was a Level 45 Knight. He spoke in a deep voice: "For this monster siege, our academy must perform well. The defense of the four city gates must be properly allocated. If one side falls, reinforcements must be sent immediately to ensure the interior of Dragon City is not engulfed by the flames of war! I declare that for this battle, everyone will organize by class. If you have acquaintances, you may invite them into your class groups. As for the specific assignments, you are free to arrange them yourselves. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No," everyone replied in unison.

"Very well, dismissed!" With Uncle Zhao's shout, the students of Golden Dragon Academy immediately dispersed, running toward all four directions. Long Xin walked over and said, "Big brother, our class is heading to the North Gate. Let's hurry and catch up."

"Alright."

When we arrived at the North Gate, a cluster of black dots appeared on the horizon. Long Xin immediately summoned her Great Red Eagle to scout, drawing exclamations from the crowd as she leaped onto its back and soared forward at high speed. Before long, Long Xin sent word: the first wave of monsters was the Earth-Tooth Beasts, Level 45 common monsters. It was clear they were just here to hand out experience points.

I stood directly beneath the city wall. The players behind me consisted of my class members, other melee fighters, and free players. Their task was to form a line in front of the wall and prevent the monsters from attacking it.

Soon, the monsters drew near. "Dragon War!" I whispered. Dragon War instantly appeared by my side. The appearance of a giant dragon startled everyone, who initially mistook it for a monster, but seeing Dragon War’s status as an ally, they abandoned any thoughts of attacking.

A player from our academy behind me shouted: "Classmates, experience, gear, and gold are right before our eyes! If you want them, charge with me!"

The players behind me roared in unison and surged forward in great numbers. "Dragon War, free attack!" With a thunderous roar, Dragon War dove into the monster swarm. A single sweep of its massive tail cleared a path, its black sword tore through the bodies of countless beasts, and its breath attacks were highly effective at clearing the field.

To our massive player legion, the Level 45 common monsters were like wilted vegetables; they weren't much of a challenge for the average players either. In less than half an hour, the first wave was easily wiped out, and there was no boss.

After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, we retreated back to the foot of the wall. About ten minutes later, the second wave appeared. Long Xin acted as our scout again: Flame Beasts, Level 45 common monsters. This wave consisted of two-meter-tall fire-men who could launch fireballs and breathe flames. This frustrated Long Xin and the other Fire-element mages, as their own fire attacks were significantly weakened by the monsters' innate fire resistance. The Water-element mages, however, were in their element. In the end, there was no real difficulty, and we successfully annihilated the second wave at the foot of the wall with less than a hundred casualties.

The third and fourth waves followed the same pattern, though the monsters' attributes gradually increased. Aside from the stronger warriors who dared to charge into the fray, the rest had to keep their backs to the wall, relying on healers atop the ramparts and the suppressive fire of mages and archers to hold the line. Fortunately, there were no losses. By the time the fourth wave was cleared, over two hours had passed.

I felt quite strange; these were all monsters we encountered regularly, nothing like the "Otherworld monsters" the system prompt had suggested. But just as I was puzzled, the ground suddenly began to tremble. Then, with seven or eight booming sounds, everyone saw a number of tube-like objects rising from the earth, their tops resembling giant maws. I didn't hesitate to scan them with my Fiery Eyes: Tunneling Worm, Level 40, Building-type Creature. Description: Tunneling Worms evolve from Creep Tunnels, which are underground structures formed where Creep spreads. They reside in a nest-like structure known as a Nydus Network. Before emerging, they can move freely within the network to any location covered by Creep, carving a tunnel beneath the battlefield. These giant creatures can stretch to incredible lengths, using their own flesh to create passages that quickly transport Zerg warriors to the front lines.

"If there are Tunneling Worms, that means..." Before I could finish, the giant maws of the worms spat out a massive quantity of monsters. These creatures were about the size of a human and charged toward the player legion with hideous, snarling faces. Zerglings, Level 35, Common Beast. Description: Zerglings are the hunting hounds of the Swarm. Under the command of larger Zerg, they cooperate effectively in massive armies. These ravenous beasts love to tear their enemies to shreds with scythe-like claws and fangs.

If these Zerglings were the so-called "Otherworld Army," then they were a Zerg swarm. I truly wanted to know how these monsters had reached this place. Furthermore, a dozen huge insects emerged behind the Zerglings. Instead of attacking, they began to "defecate" on the ground. The purple sludge they excreted turned the ground a deep violet upon contact.

Queen, Level 40, Elite Beast. Description: Beyond hatching various Zerg, the Queen possesses formidable power. She acts as a commander, ensuring the Zerg nest continues to propagate. She can also increase mobility by generating Creep Tumors, which in turn spawn Creep. With Creep, they can build structures further away, and Zerg move at increased speeds across it.

Damn, they even brought logistics support. These bugs were truly thorough. The situation at the front began to shift. Large numbers of Zerglings tore into the player ranks, and the white light of players dying flashed incessantly. Warriors held their ground at the wall, healers kept them topped off, and ranged classes provided covering fire. That was all we could do; if the front line collapsed, the wall itself would come under attack, and if the wall fell, the players' losses would be even greater.

The Zerglings were incredibly fast, knocking the frontline warriors to the ground in an instant. The players on the walls began to unleash their full power: healers threw every recovery spell they had at the players below, archers rained down arrows, and mages hurled spells at the monsters, causing them to roar in agony.

I ordered Dragon War to hold the wall and summoned my other two beast companions, but the Zerg didn't care about their losses. No matter how many we killed, they kept surging forward like a tide. At this rate, once the warrior players were depleted, defending the city would become impossible.

Before the Zerglings were even wiped out, more monsters appeared: Roaches, Level 45, Elite Beast. Description: Roaches can heal themselves at an incredible rate and secrete slime capable of dissolving refined steel. In one-on-one combat, few can defeat these highly regenerative monsters.

This time, it was Roaches, and their level had risen to 45—completely different from what we had seen before. The green liquid they spat was far more potent than anything seen previously; whoever was sprayed died instantly. Ranged players focused their fire on the Roaches, but against these thick-skinned, heavily armored monsters, the players' damage output shrank significantly. Soon, I noticed balls of flesh rolling out from within the Roach charge, speeding toward the warriors. These monsters didn't have much physical strength and could be blocked, but once they were stopped, they exploded. Suddenly, flashes of white light erupted everywhere. These were clearly Banelings; being caught in their blast meant death or severe injury. With their coordination, the monsters had cleared a large patch of open ground in front of our players.

At that moment, several catapults, each eight meters tall, appeared on the city walls. However, they weren't firing stones, but canisters filled with high-explosive charges. When they slammed into the monster swarm and detonated, they caused massive health drops to everything in the blast radius. Such firepower could not be underestimated. Just as the players caught a glimpse of victory, a massive shadow appeared in the sky, and every player's heart sank.