Several soldiers suddenly grew tense.
The Zerg were simply too powerful. When the Kingdom’s regular legions were sent out, everyone assumed victory was certain—the kind of overwhelming, crushing victory one would expect.
Instead, the outcome was the exact opposite.
The Zerg were the ones who had triumphed.
“The enemy has infiltrated this deep; we must go back and report this.”
The soldier in the lead already sensed the gravity of the situation.
As the investigation captain of this reconnaissance squad, he had a duty to inform his superiors of such vital intelligence.
“You two stay here and keep watch. Wait for me to return after I’ve finished my report,” the captain said, preparing to leave.
The other two soldiers were speechless.
You see monsters and decide to leave us here while you run off to report?
“No need, Captain. Allow me to share the burden of such a troublesome task for you,” one of them said, stepping forward with an expression that screamed he was more than willing to serve.
“No, no, let me do it. How could I let this be a bother to you?” the soldier next to him shouted hurriedly.
“You...”
Just as the captain was about to speak, a rustling sound echoed from the distance again.
“Not good!”
Whoosh—
Several locusts leaped out from the distant woods.
Almost simultaneously, the ground behind the three soldiers suddenly ruptured.
A powerful Tier 5 zergling abruptly lunged out.
This monster, whose strength would have been unimaginable to Xia Jin in the past, had now become the weakest form of cannon fodder.
Pshht—
Sharp blades swung, and two heads were severed from their bodies in unison.
The remaining captain’s eyes widened, his mind going blank. He failed to react even as the locusts’ attack arrived.
A moment later, the captain also met a violent end.
...
“They’re dead.”
Sitting in her dormitory but synchronized with the situation on the ground, Xia Jin nodded secretly.
By now, Linya was well aware of the Swarm’s ambush positions around the academy.
There were many!
An immense number, in fact.
Before anyone had noticed, there were already over 300 locusts and 60 zerglings lying in wait.
The numbers might not seem large, but every single zergling was at Tier 5.
Unbeknownst to the world, the Zerg had already developed to this extent.
The Kingdom had to gather all its elites to form such a powerful main force.
The Zerg, however, only needed resources to mass produce them in a short time.
Against such a civilization, what method could humans possibly use to defeat them?
Starting that day, the insects began their secret operations, blockading the flow of information from the academy.
The method of containment was very simple: eliminate anyone who might discover the Swarm’s presence. The rest were monitored closely; once an opportunity arose, they were killed in a surprise attack.
Almost every hour, new insects arrived from the rear.
Without anyone realizing it, the ground beneath the entire academy was crawling with a dense Swarm... naturally, with the exception of the Magic Department and certain locations frequented by mages.
It couldn't be helped; mages could perform detections.
However, under normal circumstances, they wouldn't cast detection magic on the ground beneath them.
As a result, several times, mages walked right over the hidden insects without ever noticing them.
This continued until nightfall.
Thud, thud!
One zergling after another, along with countless locusts, burrowed out from the ground and charged into the corridors.
The primary focus of the concentrated attack was the Magic Department.
The mages in this academy numbered at least four to five hundred.
A total of 500 locusts and 80 zerglings rushed into the buildings here, beginning to clear out the dormitories one by one.
The next target was the mentors’ building.
Three lurkers struck first with a wave of sharp spines, launching a fierce attack on the first floor dormitories.
More zerglings charged up the building to engage the powerful individuals within.
In truth, the battle on the mentors’ side was much more difficult.
Although lurkers were as strong as Tier 7, their single-combat capabilities weren't necessarily superior to a mentor of the same tier. However, their powerful area-of-effect attacks—especially that first wave of surprise strikes—instantly killed three Tier 6 and one Tier 7 powerhouses on the first floor.
The rest of the work mainly fell to the zerglings.
Some students, hearing the commotion, suddenly felt a sense of crisis and scrambled out of bed.
Looking out through the windows, they could see insects sprinting down the hallways of the building opposite them.
Some students shrieked, only to be killed instantly by the monsters that smashed through their doors.
Once their numbers reached a certain point, even small locusts were highly effective against mages who were generally between Tier 1 and Tier 3. Practically no one could break through the offensive line they formed.
In an instant, the Magic Department had become a chaotic battlefield.
Taking a broader view of the entire academy, everything was actually under Zerg surveillance.
A massive number of locusts emerged, blockading every open space between the academy buildings.
The few areas that didn't receive much attention were departments like art and literature. Students there, awakened by the noise, ran into the hallways and could see at a glance the insects crawling back and forth across the academy grounds below.
Every locust had a clear objective. Some stood guard between the buildings to relay messages, while others, led by zerglings, ran to the academy’s perimeter to prevent any student from escaping.
For this wave of the attack, Xia Jin had dispatched a total of 800 locusts, 200 zerglings, and 8 lurkers.
Rate on N.U.
