For the Beastmen, the Inquisition's strike completely shattered their plans.
Originally, even if humans launched a massive assault underground, the Beastmen wouldn't have feared them. The Beastmen were the true masters below the surface, and only they understood the maze-like tunnels. If humans tried to descend through drilling or burrowing, the Beastmen could easily divide, encircle, and wipe them out.
But the Inquisition warship's blast destroyed those fantasies. The shot didn't annihilate the Beastmen's main hive, but it did carve out a colossal, straight tunnel leading directly to it. And right now, the Vyan Government Alliance's shock troops were in full force, storming down that very passage straight toward the hive!
At this point, talking about flanking or encirclement was a joke—the Beastmen had no choice but to face them head-on!
Of course, even in a direct clash, humans normally wouldn't gain any advantage. If they could, they wouldn't have been beaten back to the point where Jaxintu was their only stronghold.
But this time, things were completely different.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Marcus roared from atop the assault vehicle, firing the mounted machine gun and tearing a giant spider carrying a turret clean into pieces. These monsters were subterranean beasts controlled by the Beastmen—thick-skinned, tough, and difficult to kill. Humans advanced with massive assault vehicles acting as mobile steel fortresses, escorted by gunships and tanks. Soldiers manned weapons on the vehicles or marched alongside them as they pushed forward.
Of course, if that were all, they could never defeat the Beastmen. The reason the Beastmen were collapsing so quickly today was because of the hundreds of towering steel warriors charging at the front.
"Those guys are damn impressive."
Marcus blasted another subterranean spider and looked ahead in awe. It wasn't just their massive size; their firepower was brutal. Marcus watched one of those soldiers fire a single burst that literally cut a Beastman in half. It was like they weren't shooting bullets, but cannon shells.
Even the Beastman flyers couldn't get close. Those riding octopus-like creatures were shredded before they could fire a shot.
And beasts bursting from the ground were sliced in half with ease by the screaming chainswords.
Where the hell did those guys come from?
Marcus had questions—but right now, killing Beastmen came first!
As the coalition army pressed toward the hive, the Beastmen desperately tried to halt their advance. Yet nothing worked. No matter how fierce the Beastmen were, they couldn't stop the steel warriors. The Astral Soldiers raised their guns and mercilessly blew apart everything in their way. The Beastmen couldn't stop their advance at all.
But… the Beastmen were not going to give up that easily!!
"RUMBLE———!!!"
A violent tremor rippled through the tunnel. Marcus paused his machine gun and looked around seriously.
"Hey, any of you hear something?"
"RUMBLE———!!"
Even with all the gunfire, nearly everyone heard the same deep, thunderous roar rising from beneath the ground—and getting closer… and closer…
"———!!"
Suddenly, the Beastmen ahead scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions. At the same time, another Beastman riding a flying beast appeared in the air, raising its staff and roaring loudly.
And then—
"What the hell is THAT?!"
Under the floodlights, Marcus and the others were stunned. Appearing at the end of the tunnel was a colossal worm—dozens of meters tall—opening its gaping maw full of jagged teeth as it charged toward them!
So that was how the Beastmen hollowed out the earth and collapsed cities?!
The sight of the massive worm made Marcus's scalp tingle. He had never seen anything so huge. It was like an unstoppable natural disaster barreling toward them.
At this rate, the entire coalition force would be eaten alive!
"OPEN FIRE!! OPEN FIRE!!"
Fear spread instantly. Every soldier, every tank, every helicopter unleashed everything they had. But their attacks didn't slow the worm at all. In fact, they seemed to anger it—its speed increased!!
Were they all going to die here?!
While the Vyan soldiers panicked, Duanmu Huai's eyes LIT UP the moment he saw the gigantic worm.
Well, well… what a beautiful gift!
He never expected the Beastmen to be so thoughtful, delivering such high-quality teaching material right to his doorstep!
Indeed, to Duanmu Huai, this worm wasn't a threat at all—it was the perfect training subject for the Astral Soldiers. In future battles against Chaos, there would be giant mutated monstrosities everywhere. And the correct way to kill them was simple:
Jump into their stomachs,
Become Sun Wukong dealing with Princess Iron Fan,
Kick upward, strike downward,
And carve a nice big hole from the inside.
Duanmu Huai had been worrying about where to find a good practice monster.
Who knew the Beastmen would kindly deliver one?
Like medical students spotting a fresh cadaver—eyes practically glowing.
"Astral Soldiers, assemble! When it opens its mouth, we charge inside!"
"Wait, Sir Knight, you're going INTO the monster?!"
Bambi and Lorena were shocked. Even Anne yelped in fright.
"We're not going in too, right?"
"No, you three fall back. I'll take the Astral Soldiers inside. You protect the coalition forces in the rear. Don't let them get eaten."
Duanmu Huai waved dismissively. The girls all sighed in relief and quickly withdrew.
Then Duanmu Huai turned to the Astral Soldiers.
"Listen up, brats! In the future, you'll fight many massive enemies—thick-skinned, tough, and nearly impossible to kill from the outside. When you can't pierce their hide, what do you do? Simple—GO INSIDE! Kill them from within! Don't think it's easy. Once you're inside, you'll learn that the internal environment is just as dangerous!"
As he spoke, he looked forward.
"All right! Wait for my signal! When it opens its mouth, activate your thrusters and charge inside! Ready—one, two, three—GO!!"
"ROOOOAAAAARR!!"
The giant worm opened its maw again, trying to swallow everything ahead.
And at that moment, hundreds of Astral Soldiers leapt up under Duanmu Huai's lead and dove straight into the worm's mouth!!
"———!!"
For the worm, this was unbearable—like opening your mouth to eat, only for an entire swarm of mosquitoes to dive straight into your throat.
"ROOOAAARRR!!"
The worm thrashed wildly, smashing forward—but this time, shimmering magical barriers appeared out of nowhere, blocking its path. Frigid wind blasted over it, coating its body in frost and slowing its movements drastically.
"Ugh…"
Anne held up her hands, gritting her teeth.
"It's really strong! Thank goodness Miss Ranni and Miss Filianore are here…"
"I hope he hurries. This monster is too large—we won't last long."
Ranni was raising all four arms, magic pulsing wildly, while Filianore swayed weakly, panting heavily. Freezing such a massive creature was extremely taxing.
Now all they could do was hope Duanmu Huai and the Astral Soldiers finished it quickly.
Everyone wanted this monster dead soon.
Except Duanmu Huai—he wanted it alive a little longer.
He still needed to teach.
"So this is the inside of the worm?"
Around him, the Astral Soldiers looked around in awe—even the battle-hardened Night Sentinels were impressed. Most fighters never fought inside monsters. Except crazy players who loved boarding actions, NPCs rarely thought this way.
But for Duanmu Huai, this was all familiar territory.
"All right, we're not here to sightsee."
Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer.
"We're here for a lesson—how to fight inside giant monsters! Move!"
They advanced. The worm's body cavity was enormous. They even saw remains of swallowed cities—some buildings still intact.
"As you can see, giant monsters are huge not only outside, but inside too. Inside any creature, there are cells, parasites, and various organisms. In humans they're tiny, invisible—but in monsters this size, they may be as large as humans."
He pointed forward.
"Remember: inside a giant organism is its own ecosystem. You may encounter immune-system organisms treating you like viruses—or parasites living inside the monster…"
He didn't finish.
The flesh beneath their feet swelled—then dozens of spider-like parasites burst out, shrieking, leaping at them—only to be shredded instantly by the Astral Soldiers' gunfire.
"Just like that."
Duanmu Huai crushed a parasite underfoot and continued calmly.
"Inquisitor, how do we handle these creatures?"
A Night Sentinel asked.
"Simple. Heart and brain."
Duanmu Huai pointed upward.
"The heart might be tricky—who knows how many it has? But the brain is always clustered and controls the body. Even if you can't kill it outright, destroying the brain will paralyze it."
That was exactly what he did to the giant corrupted dragon in Manaria. No matter how mountain-sized the body was, chopping its brain into jelly turned it into a vegetable. Then you could casually deal with the organs afterwards.
"All right! Listen to my orders!"
Duanmu Huai raised his warhammer.
"Split into two teams—one to destroy the brain, the other to destroy the heart! Move!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Astral Soldiers answered loudly.
For them, this would be an unforgettable real-combat lesson.
(End of chapter)