Abyss Summoner-Chapter 329 - 322: Brutal Battlefield

"What are those guys in the monitoring camp doing? With such a huge swarm, how could they not have detected any signs at all!"

In the council hall, Xu Hongzhuang’s eyes were bloodshot as she loudly questioned those reporting the situation.

She glared fiercely, her phoenix-shaped eyebrows raised, and no one had ever seen this usually silent and reticent girl show such an angry expression.

Xu Hongzhuang was on the verge of losing control.

Anyone hearing that two outposts around the city were wiped out in just over a dozen minutes, resulting in the deaths of more than a hundred people, would be unable to quell the turmoil in their hearts.

If it were a face-to-face battle, Xu Hongzhuang might not have been so furious. At most, it could be chalked up to inferior skills, and there would be no complaints about dying. But! What infuriated her the most was that most of these tragically deceased professionals and civilians were killed by ambush!

It was too sudden.

Just now, a violent earthquake also occurred in East Bridge. Compared to the Economic Development Zone, the situation here was even worse, with tremors reaching as high as magnitude eight. Some temporary buildings instantly collapsed, burying an unknown number of people inside.

A natural disaster.

East Bridge usually has professionals specializing in disaster detection, and in previous earthquakes, they could make some preparations. But just now, this earthquake seemed to appear out of thin air, and even those proficient in detection didn’t know what was happening until the city was harmed.

Because the earthquake came too suddenly, no one could react. The most tragic part was that more than a hundred people were digging an air-raid shelter underground at the corner of a wall to create a refuge during a disaster.

But the strong tremors caused the unfinished shelter to collapse entirely, burying more than a hundred people inside, and their fate was unknown!

Upon hearing this news, Xu Hongzhuang first sent people to calm the surviving chaos, then hurried the rescue.

The earthquake began to slowly subside.

Just as everyone sighed in relief after a while.

The earthquake, which had calmed down only a few minutes prior, suddenly erupted with an incredibly violent tremor again.

The defense personnel instinctively jumped up, gazing at the trembling ground and exchanging apprehensive glances, wondering if a second major earthquake was imminent?

That would be disastrous; the first wave claimed so many lives, wouldn’t the second be even worse? The entire ground might collapse!

This was the underlying worry of everyone.

However, this was not a second earthquake...

It was an even worse scenario.

Because everyone witnessed a terrifying scene.

"Boom!"

With a loud explosion, the ground suddenly spewed forth a large cloud of dust. Vaguely, people could see a swarm of hideous and grotesque monsters breaking through the earth with their variegated insect armor, emitting body-twisting roars capable of piercing through eardrums.

What did they see?

A swarm of insects.

Countless insects drilled out, as if lying in ambush all along, climbing out with no prior notice!

"Insects, insects, they’re everywhere... how can they all be killed..."

Some fear-stricken individuals felt their scalps tingle. As a defense force, facing this endless horde of insects was daunting. The insects seemed limitless, swarming from the ground like locusts, as if without end.

The quantity resembled locusts, but every insect was exceedingly fierce, with the weakest being more dangerous than fierce tigers of the peaceful era. In this calamity, anyone would feel a sense of helplessness deep within.

Although the Sulfuric Acid Insects, Scythe Beetles, and Highly Poisonous Spiders were blocked beneath the city walls, some Scythe Ladybugs, Red Rock Dragonflies, and Corpse Fragrance Demon Insects managed to breach the defense line, directly attacking the civilians two kilometers away.

In an instant, survivors still trapped in the pain of the earthquake faced a terrifying assault. A diligent worker was decapitated by a Red Rock Dragonfly, his body falling stiffly to the ground. A pregnant woman was split in half by a Scythe Ladybug, her body becoming two pieces. A mobility-impaired old woman was targeted by a Corpse Fragrance Demon Insect, who swooped down and slammed into her, piercing her viscera with its poison fangs, leaving her staring wide-eyed and lifeless on the ground.

Fortunately, patrol personnel from East Bridge promptly intervened. Apart from the reserve forces, East Bridge also had a considerable amount of civilian strength. Well-known battle groups stepped forward to confront the enemy. Under such circumstances, even the warriors still loyal to Feng Zhiyong joined the resistance.

No choice, these insects were too terrifying. If they were not eradicated, the entire East Bridge could be breached from within.

But the danger didn’t end there.

While the city was caught in chaos, with countless people roaring and crying, outside the city, the earth churned as more than a dozen chubby insects emerged from the ground.

Drilling Insects!

These segmented, repugnant giant worms, once they broke the surface, caused massive destruction to the ground. Previously-built watchtowers and trenches became useless scrap instantly.

The most dreadful part was that with the appearance of Drilling Insects, other insects hidden underground used their tunnels to emerge from below, significantly reducing their attack time. In no time, dozens of horrifying-shaped insects covered the walls of East Bridge.

The events were too sudden. Before the earthquake struck, workers were performing routine maintenance outside the camp, with dozens of overseers and hundreds of Natives completing daily construction tasks. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

However, the emergence of this insect swarm undoubtedly dragged them into Hell, numbering altogether several hundred. These were no match for ordinary people; they fled for their lives but couldn’t escape the insects shadowing them, and in the blink of an eye, dozens perished amidst screams and wails.

And their deaths were extraordinarily grim.

This was a war between humans and insects, brutal and bloody, leaving no room for maneuver.

Humans slayed insects to defend themselves, while insects devoured humans by nature!

"Mooo..."

An ear-piercing insect cry announced the arrival of a powerful creature.

Nearby came a series of booming sounds, and next—an enormous beetle erupted from the underground, nearly two tons in weight—stomping on the ground like a Tank.

The weary and embattled defense forces, witnessing this, all tensed up, palms sweating, knowing that the real enemy had just arrived.

What can be done?

A profound sense of powerlessness instantly spread within everyone’s heart.