It's new bugs!
They aren't afraid of the dragons' flames, and they're smaller and faster!
The war machines can't hit them!
A dwarf, abandoning his damaged war machine, leaped back onto the deck, anxiously shouting.
Ahead in the sky—
Indeed, about a million densely packed black insects appeared!
Each one was only about the size of a basketball, making them hard to target with the war machines.
Their shiny black armor made them immune to dragon flames.
Only attacks imbued with dark elemental power could bring them down.
But there were too many, and it was impossible to clear them all in a short time.
"Buzzzzz!"
The next second, a swarm of insects lunged onto the ship, beginning to gnaw away at the steel!
On the ground—
New types of war bugs emerged, able to combine into massive bodies over 300 meters tall, meant to counter the stone giants.
The armored bugs were also immune to wind-elemental attacks!
Alice couldn't blow them away.
The One-Eyed Owl could kill them with punches, but it took several hits, and she'd soon be exhausted.
The most unbelievable thing was that some of the bugs could use holy-element attacks!
They effortlessly slaughtered large numbers of goblins!
"No way, is that a holy-element attack? It burns! We need to retreat now!"
Gobu Kuang clutched his searing wound, retreating in panic!
A vast number of holy-element bugs advanced with overwhelming force!
In an instant, the tide of battle turned!
Lin Tian's face grew heavy, and they too were forced to retreat.
Otherwise, they would have been engulfed by the insect swarm.
Seeing this unfold was something no one could have expected.
Lin Tian's expression was dark.
"Damn it, can they really do this? Holy-element war bugs! Isn't this a bit too broken?"
They were demons by nature, yet they could use holy-element attacks!
This was beyond outrageous!
Without any backup plans, resisting was nothing more than prolonging their inevitable end.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted in the sky!
A massive pressure gripped everyone's soul!
The dwarves' colossal sky beast, burning fiercely, plummeted from the sky!
In the distance, it exploded into a massive mushroom cloud!
Thankfully, most of the dwarves were equipped with parachutes and managed to escape.
But this meant the dwarves had no more strength to fight.
They were out of the battle.
Meanwhile, under the holy-element attacks, the goblins suffered devastating losses!
They died in droves!
Only a few million remained, barely able to hold out for another ten minutes!
Watching this scene—
Everyone felt a crushing weight in their hearts.
"I don't believe we can't kill all these bugs!"
The One-Eyed Owl snarled angrily, preparing to charge back into the insect swarm.
Lin Tian hurriedly reached out to stop her.
"Forget it. At worst, some goblins will die. It doesn't really hurt me. Let's retreat for now."
"Is running all we can do?! Damn it!"
The One-Eyed Owl hung her head, utterly frustrated.
Her clenched fists crackled with tension.
Gobu Yue, too, was heartbroken.
Half a year's effort, and yet they still couldn't defeat the Zerg Empire.
Even the ancient dragons were forced to take on humanoid forms to descend to the ground.
Otherwise, they'd be pinned alive by the new flying war bugs!
Everyone wore grim expressions.
They had thought that after this battle, they could finally relax and enjoy their victory.
But now, they were facing defeat instead.
At this moment—
From the rear of the army, Katheryn rushed forward to report urgently, "Your Majesty, it's terrible! A massive horde of monsters is gathering behind us, moving toward us!"
"A massive horde of monsters?"
Lin Tian furrowed his brow, puzzled.
Katheryn nodded vigorously, panting.
"Yes, an enormous horde, at least tens of millions strong!"
"This is really turning into a death trap…" The One-Eyed Owl muttered meaningfully.
Caught between forces from the front and rear, certain death awaited them.
Even escaping was no longer an option.
Despair surfaced on everyone's faces.
With tens of millions of monsters closing in, there was no way to break through and flee.
But Lin Tian tried to rally them.
"Wait, don't lose hope yet. The Zerg Empire wouldn't logically leave forces in the rear."
"Maybe it's just other monsters from the continent, trying to take advantage of the situation?" Alice said heavily, her expression indifferent.
This was indeed a very real possibility.
Lin Tian sighed, looking ahead where the insect army was now within sight, and the ground was littered with goblin corpses.
Almost all of them were dead!
With tens of millions of monsters advancing from behind, this time they were truly doomed!
"Kill!"
A deafening roar erupted from the rear!
A massive horde of demi-human monsters appeared, weapons raised high!
Behind them, a storm of dust stretched as far as the eye could see.
The sheer number of them was evident!
At the front of the army stood a headless knight, its entire body pitch black, clad in rusted armor.
That commanding, fearless presence—it exuded overwhelming authority!
[Gegard: Lv 100
Race: Undead
Profession: Death Knight
Title: Protector of the Homeland, Fallen for the Nation, Demon King…
Health: 4000
Strength: 1300
Defense: 1088
Skills: Death Cross Slash, Immortal Battle Soul, War Charge, Death Judgment…
Equipment: Blade of Death
Overall: 16,999]
Upon seeing the attributes of this figure, Lin Tian's face turned even grimmer.
He hadn't expected that, aside from the Zerg Empire, there would also be a Demon King-level undead creature with such overwhelming power!
"What… what the hell is that thing!" Osius and Grugia exclaimed in shock, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Gobu Kuang stepped forward.
"Boss, a few of us will hold off their strongest fighters. You run from the side—maybe you'll get a chance to escape!"
"Yeah, Boss, we haven't helped you in a long time. Now's the time to do something!"
Gobu Tian, Gobu Shan, and even Gobu Jian all stepped forward.
Osius and Grugia, struggling to suppress their fear, added, "Brother Tian, you saved our lives. I'll use sacrificial magic to hold that terrifying monster back. You and Princess Gobu Yue need to escape quickly!"
"Hmph, trying to show off? Wait until I've had my turn first!" the One-Eyed Owl chimed in coldly, stepping forward as well.
Even the other members of the Dragon Slayer Guild joined in.
These people were not cowards.
In fact, the thought of charging to their deaths suited them just fine!
However, Alice drew her Ominous Blade and spoke seriously, "None of you will die. I will fully unleash the Darkspawn and the Demon Dragon. With Sylph's help, we can hold off the war bugs and monsters. You all can escape…"
A chilling laugh came from the blade, "Kekeke! Yes! That's it! This is the moment I've been waiting for!!!"
"Princess Alice…" Gobu Yue muttered, filled with guilt.
Just as everyone was consumed by sorrow, the headless knight, Gegard, spoke up, "Your Goblin Majesty! Perhaps I worried you, but I am not your enemy—I am your ally!"
"Huh?"
Everyone froze in disbelief at these words.
Even Lin Tian was stunned.
"Ally?"
Gegard then explained, "Protecting my homeland is my obsession. My resurrection is thanks to your grace! Now go, overthrow the Zerg Empire, and claim your reward from His Goblin Majesty!"
"Kill!"
A massive wave of monsters surged past Lin Tian and his companions, charging toward the Insect army!
Even though the Insects had holy-element attacks, they couldn't stop the diverse abilities of the monstrous horde!
For goblins, close combat was a death sentence under the holy-element attacks.
But the demi-human monsters, with their varied abilities, could attack the war bugs from a distance.
The Thunder Bear tribe, with a single strike, chained attacks across thousands of war bugs!
The Harpy tribe, transforming their feathers into blades, sniped the holy-element war bugs!
The Frenzied Giant Rhino tribe simply charged headfirst, impaling the holy-element bugs.
And it didn't stop there.
The Catfolk, Snakemen, Werewolves, and even Rabbitfolk all joined the battle!
Their unique abilities made it easy to deal with the war bugs.
The evolved war bugs, designed specifically to counter Lin Tian and the goblins, stood no chance against these newly arrived demi-human monsters!
The headless knight swung his rusted iron longsword, shrouded in black flames.
Facing tens of thousands of Insect troops, he delivered a single mighty slash!
"World-class Sword Skill: Death Cross Slash!"
"Boom!"
A cross-shaped wave of sword energy swept across several kilometers!
In one sweep, it obliterated every war bug in its path!
The tide of battle shifted once again!
The Zerg Queen, watching this scene, was in utter disbelief.
"Impossible! Where did all these demi-humans and monsters come from?! Goblin, how could you!?"
"Ah, dear Zerg Queen… I'm coming to catch you…" Lin Tian said with a twisted smile, gazing into the void.
Furious, the Zerg Queen screamed, "You think you can capture me?! You think your monsters and demi-humans can defeat me? They're nothing! I'll kill them all!"
With that, she forcibly triggered her evolution and began laying eggs once more!
"Zerg Queen, your body can't handle this!" The Zerg King warned from below, concerned.
But the Zerg Queen had no choice—she had to risk the backlash.
She forcibly laid more eggs, but this time, only three million of them hatched, far fewer than the expected five million.
Two million eggs were dead.
Many of the newly hatched insects died immediately from premature birth.
In total, only about two million remained.
Watching this unfold, the Zerg Queen felt a deep pain in her heart.
"Goblin! Goblin!! Goblin!!! Look at what you've done! Bring him to me! I'll make him my star wrath for life, and make sure he wishes he were dead every day!"
The two million newly evolved war bugs immediately launched into action!
Each one no longer looked like a bug, but rather had taken on demi-human forms!
Their combat strength was formidable, and they wielded holy-element attacks!
"Zerg Queen, should we assist?" the Zerg King asked upon seeing this.
The Zerg Queen immediately snapped, "Fool! I'm too weak now! What if someone launches a sneak attack?"
Due to the strain of her forced egg production, her once-massive body had shrunk by two-thirds.
She now resembled little more than an oversized ant queen.
Recovering from this would take many, many years.
…
On the Frontline
The two hundred million insect soldiers were still far from being wiped out—there were still at least a hundred million remaining.
However, with the relentless assault from the demi-human monsters, their complete annihilation was only a matter of time.
Gegard charged directly into the insect swarm, cutting his way through, and pressed forward until he reached the gates of the Zerg Empire, unleashing havoc everywhere!
As an undead, the armor-clad figure within was nothing more than a swirling mass of black energy.
It was nearly impossible to harm him.
Unless his magic was completely depleted, he could fight indefinitely.
But suddenly—
Gegard became alert.
"Insect monsters in demi-human form? I never expected those tiny bugs from back then to grow this powerful. Zerg Queen…"
A loud thud echoed as the Zerg Queen's expression changed, recognizing Gegard's identity.
"The First Knight of the Age of Chaos, Gegard?! I didn't expect you to resurrect after falling to that Lord of Sin. So, it seems you weren't devoured by the Gluttonous Demon King."
One of the demi-human Insect monsters spoke coldly.
Gegard chuckled proudly.
"That's right. Luckily, I didn't die at the hands of the Gluttonous Demon King. Otherwise, I'd have let a little bug like you rise to power!"