Chapter 43: Trampled Flat
One hundred Demon Beasts formed the vanguard, responsible for reconnaissance, intercepting enemies after battle, and covering the retreat of their own insectoid forces.
Su Xiao watched the surging insect tide ahead. This time, he didn't need to shout 'one gold shield per kill.' He only needed to issue a command. After that, unless the insectoid forces under his control were completely wiped out, the war would not stop. Even if only a single Stinger remained, there would be no rout.
Beneath the Leviathan were countless Stingers, dragging the massive creature forward to increase travel speed.
Baha soared high in the sky, his reconnaissance complete. Considering the insectoid forces' speed, they would reach the battle site in at most 40 minutes. The War Lord title's 'Forced March Rate (Passive)' was no joke.
The ground trembled. After leaving the continuous mountain range, they reached a plain. From here, they entered the territory of the Tiger Wasp Faction.
Bang, bang, bang...
Spikes nearly two meters long shot forth, piercing over a hundred Tiger Eye Wasps in midair. These Tiger Eye Wasps were about a meter in length, their forms ferocious, but under the volley of several hundred Stingers, they were instantly shredded.
After more than ten minutes of rapid travel, a hive about sixty meters tall appeared in the distance. The hive was entirely black, as if built from dissolved black ore, reflecting a metallic luster under the sunlight.
All Stingers halted. Two Leviathans began locking onto the hive. The layers of carapace on their backs spread open, revealing the biological tissue beneath writhing.
Boom, boom, boom...
Half-meter-long living missiles launched, arcing through the air with dark green exhaust trails, converging on the distant hive from all sides.
Each living missile had a different flight path, but the same target. As they approached the hive, a massive swarm of Tiger Eye Wasps surged out—a hornet's nest truly stirred.
The sound of wings buzzing became deafening. As the Tiger Eye Wasps flew out, they were met by the biological missiles.
Boom!
Two hundred and forty living missiles detonated simultaneously. Black fragments of the hive scattered everywhere, along with countless broken bodies of Tiger Eye Wasps.
The Tiger Wasp clan's proud fortress hive, facing the Leviathan specifically designed for siege warfare, had its upper half shattered after the first volley of biological missiles. Only the bottom third remained, and that was riddled with cracks.
Acidic liquid hissed as it corroded the hive. After the hive broke apart, a dark cloud seemed to form as over a million Tiger Eye Wasps poured out.
"Who is it!"
A roar came from within the shattered hive. It was a Tiger Wasp clan member, its eyes bloodshot, its outer carapace hissing.
More precisely, this was an elite individual of the Tiger Wasp clan, responsible for managing the Tiger Eye Wasps and Tiger Wasp clan members in this hive. The Bee Queen had even granted it a name: Sawyer.
The Tiger Wasp Faction was different from the Dia Tribe. The Tiger Wasp Faction had no civilization; they followed a biological evolution path. Their names came from the Bee Queen randomly picking passages from ancient elven books.
Tiger Wasp Sawyer was momentarily bewildered. Its first thought was an attack by the Dia Tribe, but that felt wrong. The Dia Tribe was strong, yes, but not this brutal—no negotiation, no warning, just a sky full of missiles and countless carapace spikes.
Sawyer looked up at the sky. It had darkened, not because the sun was setting, but because the carapace spikes above formed a solid mass.
The Tiger Eye Wasp swarm was engulfed by the dense rain of spikes. After one volley, countless Tiger Eye Wasps were turned into pincushions.
The remaining third of the hive was studded with spikes. Though Tiger Eye Wasps lacked high intelligence, they were equally fearless, immediately swarming toward the insectoid forces.
One hundred and fifty thousand Stingers were divided into three echelons for alternating fire. After the first echelon fired, the front fifty thousand Stingers crouched, and the second echelon immediately launched their carapace spikes.
The Tiger Eye Wasps in the air dispersed, forming a massive black cloud that charged at the insectoid forces.
Bang, bang, bang...
The second echelon's Stingers fired, and another large portion of the approaching Tiger Eye Wasps fell, pattering to the ground.
The third echelon was already prepared, releasing another dense volley of spikes. After that, the first echelon had completed reloading and was ready to fire again.
If more than three hundred thousand Tiger Eye Wasps broke through, the Stinger force would be annihilated. Stingers had very weak defenses and virtually no melee capability.
Round after round of volleys began. For some reason, the approaching Tiger Eye Wasps lowered their flight altitude, forming a wall, with the lowest ones nearly skimming the ground.
In less than three minutes, over 80% of the Tiger Eye Wasps were dead. The remainder were only a few dozen meters from the Stinger force.
All Stingers ceased fire. A moment later, the most concentrated volley yet erupted.
The wall of Tiger Eye Wasps was instantly shattered. Behind them were over twelve thousand Tiger Wasp clan members, their full-body carapaces gleaming as they sprinted at full speed, now just a few meters away.
A Tiger Wasp clan member charged to the front of the Stinger force. Its arm, ending in a meter-long hooked blade, swung, cleaving a Stinger in two. It died instantly.
Though ordinary Tiger Wasp clan members lacked human-level intelligence, they were far smarter than beasts. The one that killed the first Stinger seemed puzzled. It had thought these enemies were strong, but after engaging, it found them weak—a single strike sufficed to kill one.
The Tiger Wasp clan members were like wolves among sheep. The frontmost Stingers of the insectoid force were slaughtered within two seconds, nearly thirty thousand dead.
Just as the Tiger Wasp clan members thought they had a chance of victory, a volley of carapace spikes shot from ahead. Nearly three thousand Tiger Wasp clan members and over five thousand Stingers were turned into pincushions.
Tiger Wasp Sawyer hid behind a pile of its kin's corpses, shock in its eyes. The enemy had just launched an indiscriminate attack, not caring whether allies were caught in the crossfire.
Sawyer looked ahead. Soon, it saw something that chilled it to the bone. A Stinger, mortally wounded by friendly fire, struggled to rise from the ground, fired its last carapace spike, then collapsed and died, completely indifferent to being hit by its own side.
Sawyer would never understand: insectoids have no emotions. The hive is supreme.
Five minutes and twenty-four seconds into the battle, the battlefield fell silent. Over one hundred and thirty thousand Stingers were dead, but fortunately, the Leviathan's second wave of living missiles was powerful enough.
One thousand and twenty Spore Tanks surged forward like liquid, enveloping all the corpses on the ground.
Soon, the Spore Tanks had cleared the battlefield. They coalesced into twelve massive individuals, extending translucent tendrils from their fronts. The remaining twenty thousand Stingers hooked onto these tendrils and dragged the giant Spore Tanks back toward their base camp at full speed.
From the start of the battle to the retreat, it took six minutes total. Enemy reinforcements arrived quickly, but ninety-nine Demon Beasts intercepted and lured away a portion. Those Demon Beasts were doomed, buying time.
Su Xiao stood on the back of a Demon Beast, traveling at high speed. About three minutes later, two explosions sounded from behind—the two Leviathans self-destructing. Su Xiao had deliberately left them behind to prevent the Tiger Wasp Faction from pursuing immediately.
Su Xiao looked at the twelve super-massive Spore Tanks ahead. This was the opportunity for a breakthrough.
...
After the insectoid forces withdrew, near the hive ruins.
Several hundred Tiger Wasp clan members lay scattered on the ground. Leviathan biological tissue was splattered everywhere.
Among the many Tiger Wasp clan members, Bee Queen Carol stood on the back of a giant beast—a fission-evolved form of the Tiger Wasp clan.
"Can someone tell me what happened here?"
Bee Queen Carol's voice was icy. She hadn't been this angry in a long time. Hearing this, the Tiger Wasp clan members nearby all lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.
Though Bee Queen Carol seemed furious, she was actually calm. She didn't pursue immediately. Seeing the shattered hive, she couldn't deny a flicker of unease. She knew well how tough the hive was.
"Follow these drag marks. Find them. Then, kill them all."
Bee Queen Carol's eyes narrowed. A black-gold aura suddenly burst forth, a wave spreading until it covered the entire territory of the Tiger Wasp Faction.
After this wave spread, all Tiger Wasp clan members in thirty-two hives roared in fury. Inside a hive over two hundred meters tall, the slumbering Tiger Wasp Lord Tamisha was awakened.