Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle…
Through the forest, the elite forces of Heavens Hall swept past like a gust of wind.
As they neared their destination, the [Worm Nest], it seemed the enemy had sensed their approach. From within the cavern ahead, countless poisonous insects began to stir in agitation, then swarmed together, crawling rapidly toward their direction.
Before they could even get close, Heavens Hall's team encountered the oncoming tide of monsters.
Seeing the massive swarm of insects closing in, the members of Heavens Hall halted their advance.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
A chorus of chilling screeches echoed through the forest, the number of creatures growing denser by the second.
They surged forward like an ocean wave, crawling over one another until they formed a thick, heaving carpet of bodies.
Anyone with trypophobia would probably have exploded on the spot just from looking at it.
The sheer scale of the swarm was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
Around the battlefield, aside from the Heavens Hall members, a large crowd of spectators had already gathered. Professionals from all nations, here to "watch the show."
The number of onlookers had already surpassed that of the fighters themselves.
Confronted with this sight, even the spectators felt their scalps tingling.
"Why are there so many damn bugs?"
"Duh, one of the Top Ten Beasts, the Larva, is nearby. These things are obviously summoned by it."
"Looks like there's about to be a bloody massacre."
"Don't be so sure. Seeing a swarm like that, I bet even the Dragon Nation people won't dare move! Brotherhood runs deep, sure, but when disaster strikes, everyone runs for themselves. People are selfish by nature."
The speaker was a professional from the Batan Empire, "At least for us in Batan, if this happened, we'd rather lose a few brothers than have everyone die in vain."
"Well then, let's see what kind of spirit this Dragon Nation has!"
———
On the battlefield —
At the front stood Heavens Hall's vice president, the Level 155 fourth-tier Martial Saint · Overlord Blade. His long spear was planted into the ground as his eyes burned like fire.
He gave a cold command: "Kill!"
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
At his shout, every member behind him drew their weapons in unison.
The next second, the entire force surged forward with the momentum of heaven and earth collapsing, charging straight into the insect horde!
At the same time—
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
The poisonous creatures howled and shrieked as they too launched their attack, sweeping toward the humans like a black tidal wave.
Each insect was already at the Level 155 peak of the World 28.
Though individually they were common-grade monsters, because they were within their home territory, the Worm Nest, they were empowered by the Territory Aura, increasing their overall combat strength by 20%.
So, compared to normal Level 155 monsters, their effective strength reached Level 156 to 157.
One or two of them weren't a problem.
But now… the endless sea of them had formed a beast tide.
Their combined aura felt like it could swallow the heavens.
The surrounding spectators, overwhelmed by the suffocating pressure, unconsciously backed away to the edges of the battlefield.
Only the professionals of Heavens Hall stood firm.
Facing the endless horde, they did not retreat a single step.
"CHARGE!"
With a thunderous battle cry, the whole team surged forward like an unstoppable storm.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the front line, the knight professionals stood shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a wall of shields.
Each activated their SSS-rank defensive skills, creating an unbreakable frontline barrier.
A moment later, countless massive insects slammed against the shields.
The sheer impact failed to make even one of the knights flinch.
Behind them, the priests cast waves of healing and buff spells, showers of green light rain that fell upon the knights, reinforcing them.
At the same time, the archers and mages behind took advantage of the cover, launching their long-range attacks over the front line.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows and magic spheres streaked through the air in perfect arcs, raining down into the swarm ahead.
With damage two to three times higher than normal, they annihilated the entire front section of the Level 155 poisonous insects in an instant.
The spectators watching were utterly stunned.
"Holy crap! How are they hitting so hard? Did they take steroids or something?"
"These bugs have a Territory Buff, their strength's up by 20%! And yet those Dragon Nation professionals are cutting through them like butter?"
"Don't forget, they all got 10 trillion exotic energy from the Necromancer. They used it to max out their gear and skills! If I had that much, I'd hit even harder!"
Back on the battlefield —
After the first wave of insects was wiped out, the swarm behind surged forward, filling the gap and launching new attacks.
The relentless, wave-after-wave assault began to slow Heavens Hall's advance, bogging them down.
Just then, a Beast Tamer's Firebird returned from the front line with a report.
The Beast Tamer quickly relayed the message to the team, "One kilometres straight ahead, five of our teammates are trapped inside the Worm Nest! They need immediate rescue!"
At those words, everyone's morale exploded tenfold.
In that moment, not even the unstoppable insect tide could halt Heavens Hall's advance.
"Brothers! Rescue the team, CHARGE!"
Whoosh!
Overlord Blade thrust his spear into the ground, releasing a massive arc of energy forward. In an instant, the entire front area was cleared, dozens of insects slashed down and torn apart.
With the mages and archers behind following up with concentrated fire, that entire section of the swarm was obliterated in seconds.
Overlord Blade pointed his spear ahead, shouting as the vice president of Heavens Hall, "Change formation! Advance!"
At his order, the front-line knights quickly spread apart to open a path.
Behind them, the warriors surged through the gap, launching their charge.
The moment dozens of fully-geared Level 155 fourth-tier warriors unleashed their SSS-rank Whirlwind Slash, arcs of blade energy swept forward, cutting down every insect that dared approach.
The archers and mages provided heavy suppressive fire from the rear.
The entire army began to push forward steadily, step by step.
Even though the poisonous insects were dense as rain, they became nothing more than prey, cut down by Heavens Hall's advance.
After all, these creatures were facing opponents of unprecedented might.
Every single Heavens Hall member, fully armed in gold gear and wielding SSS-rank skills, dealt explosive damage beyond comprehension.
Martial Saint Overlord Blade, Flame Knight Wu Haotian, Lightning Mage Lin Tian, Rogue Ouyang Ling'er, across the entire World 28, each one was a top-tier warrior who could take on ten foes alone.
Their overwhelming strength made the insects gradually lose the will to fight.
Yet, as Heavens Hall clashed fiercely with the horde, the surrounding spectators, those who had come just to "watch", began to stir.
Some of them… could no longer sit still.
Around the battlefield, several groups of professionals started moving closer to the fight.