Chapter 73: Die! Bugs!
If we compare golem puppets to low-intelligence robots, then “defensive position within offensive” is a combat program input into them.
The credit for cracking this specialty ability goes primarily to the legendary puppeteer Alice from the East, as she completed the core analysis of golem instructions. This instruction can be mass-produced, and combined with the application of soul crystals, it essentially allows all golem puppets produced in Modo City to possess a defensive position within offensive ability right out of the factory. This additional combat effect of the specialty is quite evident, as under the attack of the Fermi Ant Tribe, the losses of Modo’s clay golems have been reduced by nearly half.
“Stone golems advance.”
As Soren commanded the higher-level stone golems to begin advancing, he seized the moment when the clay golem broke through the enemy’s direction.
The intelligence of Fermi ant workers is only 6 points, which means they are about as smart as a wild beast. They completely obey the commands of the ant queen and show almost no fear on the battlefield!
Any battle with the insect tribe will turn into a war of attrition.
Soren had almost anticipated this; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many demons driven up to the upper levels in the deepest parts of the Bottomless Abyss. Below the 450th layer of the Bottomless Abyss, many small planes have been occupied by the insect tribe, something even the earlier Obsidian Demons couldn’t do anything about. Because there are simply too many insects, and the demon armies have no significant advantage in fighting them. As long as the insect tribe has resources, they possess an endless supply of cannon fodder to expend. Just like the Fermi ant city before him, if they were given a month or two, an endless stream of troops would emerge from within the city.
The stone golems punctured into the formation of the Fermi ant tribe like a sharp blade.
At this moment, some larger and more solidly shelled Fermi warrior ants appeared behind the Fermi ant city. Also appearing were the Fermi ant tribe guards with psionic spellcasting abilities, who were enhancing the defense spells of other Fermi ants while constructing a third line of defense.
“Lord of Shadows!”
The figure of Tower Spirit No. 3 appeared beside Soren, bending slightly as he said, “The enemy’s numbers are simply too great.”
“If this continues, it’s likely to attract other Fermi ant cities. The ant queen here might call for help from other ant queens! It could even alert the Mother of All Ants from further away!”
This indeed was a problem.
Soren frowned at this. Although the casualties of the Fermi ant tribe had already numbered in the thousands, the other side showed no signs of retreat. Behind them was a vast army of ants; there were only about 30,000 ants in total in this city, but currently, it seemed that about 30,000 had gathered. They were not ordinary soldiers and seemed to have no fear whatsoever—no matter how severe the casualties, they wouldn’t take a step back, even if they had to bite off a chunk from the clay golem upon death. If this continued, it would purely be a battle of numbers, and even if Modo City could win, the cost would be enormous. Soren did not want to see the battle develop into such a scenario.
——”Meteor Strike!”
As if the losses were becoming unbearable, Tower Spirit No. 1 began preparing a legendary spell.
In this situation, normal nine-ring spells wouldn’t be very effective; at most, they would kill a couple of hundred Fermi ants, which was insignificant against their massive scale. Currently, the only legendary spell capable of clearing the field was ‘Meteor Spell.’ However, the Meteor Spell does not distinguish between friend and foe, and one strike would probably obliterate all the golem puppets.
As Fermi warrior ants entered the battlefield, the losses of the golem puppets gradually increased.
Modo City had already lost hundreds of clay golems, and other stone golems had also sustained severe damage. Although the iron golems could exert control, it was still too early to deploy the main force before the ant queen appeared.
The Fallen Witch appeared beside Soren, frowning as she looked at the stalemate before them, whispering, “The enemy’s formation is very dense!”
“I think we could try mobilizing the Arcane Crystal Superconducting Pulse Cannon for a shot!”
The Fermi ant tribe inherited the nature of ants.
Anyone who has seen a large group of ants knows that these creatures preferred to cluster tightly; many golem puppets had been torn apart by them this way. However, such dense formations can also easily become targets for spell strikes and other area attacks. The lethality of spells is limited because mechanical beings have high resistance. But if it’s the Arcane Crystal Superconducting Pulse Cannon from the top of the Arcane Tower, then the effect would be terrifying.
At these words, Soren’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Can it be done?”
The Fallen Witch immediately replied, “It should be possible to try. But you will need to use your divine power to stabilize the portal.”
——”Saint Form!”
Soren responded with action, instantly entering his saint form, golden radiance enveloping his figure.
As divine power gathered, Soren’s figure floated into the air, then pointed at the sky!
——”Change Space [Divine Power]!”
——”Plane Teleportation [Divine Power]!”
Soren directly altered the spatial laws of the mechanical realm with divine power. Only deities with lower-tier divine power could temporarily alter the laws; even legendary wizards couldn’t do this.
A portal opened.
On the other side was connected to Modo City’s Arcane Tower.
Gloria was now on standby at the very top of the Arcane Tower, following the guidance of the High Priest’s psionic energy. The Arcane Crystal Cannon at the top of the tower was aimed at the stable portal that had appeared directly in front.
“Arcane Crystal Cannon charging!”
“10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1… Charging complete!… Target locked!… Fire!”
A dazzling beam shot out.
The energy cannon shot directly into the portal, and the next moment it passed through the portal and appeared inside the mechanical realm. Soren had only witnessed such a tactic last time when the Godslayer faced the Spider Queen; now, it was his first time using it himself.
Boom!
The brilliant, scorching light instantly turned five clay golems along the path into dust, then crushed everything Fermi ant-related in its path, evaporating them all in an instant, leaving a vacuum zone 15 meters wide and three kilometers long in front of the battlefield. Behind it, all the dense Fermi ants, whether worker soldiers or guards, were completely evaporated. The final explosion of the Arcane Crystal Superconducting Pulse Cannon struck a beehive-like structure, leaving a gigantic hole, causing the entire building to collapse.
The battlefield fell into dead silence!
This shot directly wiped out thousands of Fermi ants, instantly splitting the enemy into two chunks, with the center a lifeless death zone.
At this moment!
Even Soren was a bit shocked.
Because the attack of the Arcane Crystal Pulse Cannon was truly terrifying. He felt that in a non-divine state, he would probably withstand only one or two shots at most with a divine shield; no wonder spellcasters during the Arcane Empire dared to challenge the gods!
“Iron golems and diamond golems can advance now!”
Even the fearless Fermi ant tribe seemed to be thrown into chaos by the power of this shot, and it was likely that the controlling ant queen felt the fear.
As the diamond golems stepped into the battlefield, the situation began to clarify immediately. The diamond golems had over 80% damage reduction, and the damage the Fermi ants could inflict upon them was incredibly limited, allowing them to advance unimpeded. Often, the attacks of dozens of Fermi ants only nicked the diamond golem’s surface.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Just when Soren thought victory was certain, a strange tremor suddenly came from the back of the Fermi ant city.
Then he saw a mass of pitch-black shadows rising on the distant skyline, quickly flying toward Soren’s position. Upon closer inspection, it was a large group of Fermi ants; however, unlike other ant tribes, these Fermi ants had wings on their backs.
“There are even flying troops?”
Soren’s expression was a bit surprised. It seemed that his attack had instilled a profound sense of crisis in the ant queen. These flying ants were clearly aimed at Soren, seemingly intending to carry out a beheading operation.
Hundreds of flying ants quickly approached.
However, Soren had no thoughts of retreating at all, for he was undoubtedly the strongest one on the battlefield. It was a sheer dream for the ant queen to succeed in a beheading on him.
——”Elemental Legion!”
——”Demon Avatar!”
With the opening of a portal, an elder wind elemental appeared, followed by a giant fire elemental, and lastly, a fire elemental elder.
Simultaneously.
The temperature around surged sharply, and fierce flames suddenly erupted from the ground, revealing a demon over three meters tall, holding a massive beheading sword in one hand and a fiery whip in the other, roaring, “Die! Bugs!”
Fireballs shot out one after another.
Next, this powerfully-armed Balroth Fire Demon soared into the sky, its broad demon wings engulfed in blazing fire, needing no technique whatsoever, simply transforming into a giant fireball as it charged into the dense mass of flying ants.
A swing of the beheading sword sliced them in half.
A flick of the fiery whip sent several flying ants plummeting. The attacks of Demon Soren showed no formality, relying entirely on the sheer brute force of his Balroth Fire form to bully these winged ants.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With his demon wings unfurled, Soren was the absolute ruler of the skies. Only a giant dragon would qualify to contest him in a direct aerial battle; as for the winged Fermi ants, no matter how numerous they were, they were but a swarm of bugs.
They had barely approached Soren when flames began to erupt from their bodies!
Many ants that desperately charged toward the demon avatar, after just one attack, were thoroughly roasted and dropped from the sky.
This was not even a battle of the same level!
………………
(PS: While writing, I played a game called “Unbeaten Legend” and dropped a Durex, which they said they would send me in a couple of days, and I’m also a bit tipsy…) (To be continued ~^~)
