Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

544  The Sovereign Guards

"But still… It's Shane's team. He's the Shadow Strider. The Rank 1 Survivor. He should be able to do it." Another Travis Clone said.

"It's reckless. Even if they could enter the citadel… They'll be swarmed again… But still…" He trailed off, his gaze stopped on Shane's figure who was issuing commands with confidence. "You have to respect the insanity."

The other clone smirked. "Do we intervene?"

A brief silence followed. They listened to the distant sounds of battle—the screeching of locusts, the explosions of bombs, and the rapid gunfire from the turrets and rifles.

The second clone finally spoke. "Not yet. Let's see how far they can go first. I'm sure they planned something up before raiding this stronghold of insect Zombies."

And so, the three clones of Travis remained in their hidden spot, waiting for the result of their siege.

To be honest, they felt that Shane needed at least three hundred people to raid this place. However, not even a dozen people were there. They could only think that Shane should have some aces up their sleeves.

***

Meanwhile, Shane's team breached the gates of Maggotfall Citadel after destroying its gates with Shane's Armored Dash!

As soon as everyone saw the inside of the citadel, they immediately felt repulsed seeing the surroundings.

There was also the stench of rot that was clinging to their clothes and seeping into their lungs.

They immediately used various items to protect themselves from the harmful or toxic miasma spreading in the air. The ground beneath them was filled with the remains of countless insects. Their brittle shells were even crunching as they walked.

"This…" Tundra couldn't help but shiver as soon as he saw that the walls and surrounding structures seemed to pulsate with hundreds of thousands of writhing larvae, creating an unsettling, living-fortress vibe.

"This looks really nasty." Lysandra commented since she also felt disturbed by what she was seeing.

In the meantime, Shane went silent as he assessed their next move. Soon, Cloud was able to scan the whole surroundings and Sol's report was indeed identical to what he found out.

With that in consideration, he no longer hesitated.

"Zephyrion, Sona, Kain—clear the outer walls. Take down those oversized pests before they overwhelm us. We're heading for the main castle."

Zephyrion gave a silent nod before lifting his staff. Soon, some black energy spread outward.

From the shadows, skeletal warriors and other decayed creatures emerged…

"Kill!"

With a flick of his wrist, he commanded them forward, sending a swarm of undead to counter the horde of insects skittering along the walls.

Sona followed suit as she chanted her spell.

A cold mist enveloped her, and with a sweep of her hands, several spears of ice shot forward, impaling multiple insect creatures mid-flight.

Just like that, shrieks of the huge insects echoed as frost consumed their bodies. In just a few moments, it froze them solid before they shattered into lifeless fragments.

Meanwhile, Kain's main job was to protect the two magicians. He was still in his werewolf form as he stood close to the two…

As soon as he saw the insects sneaking through the blindspots of the magicians, he would leap into the fray, tearing through insects and he didn't even mind crushing them with his teeth!

He wasn't afraid of any Zombie virus coming into his system at all!

***

Shane noticed all of this happened and knew that he could trust the three with their task.

"Very well…" Shane then led the rest of the team deeper into the citadel.

At the forefront was Shenlong, the Legendary Monk… He also wanted to engage in battle so he volunteered to be in the front of the group.

It wasn't long before the team found themselves in a vast, darkened chamber. It was a grand hall where they could only sense the presence of two creatures.

Indeed, the moment they stepped inside, two massive figures emerged from the darkness.

"It's those two who killed my Spirit Scouts." Sol muttered. Spirits should be invulnerable to physical attacks but for some reason, these two creatures seemed to have a special method of attacking them.

[ You have entered the chamber of the Twin Kings of Maggotfall Citadel: Scythewing King and Broodmother King ]

[ Defeat them and the doors of the Necrotic Swarm Sovereign will open up for you. ]

The system suddenly notified them.

Shane and the others didn't expect this message at all since they normally get such a message before entering the chamber of the Zombie Lord and not its subordinates.

In any case, the tall Scythewing King was a mantis-like insect with sharp forelimbs and Shane could imagine that it was capable of slicing through steel. It also had multiple eyes locked onto them. Furthermore, it was leaking some green substance like poison as it moved its body.

The second was a bloated Broodmother King. It had a huge and open abdomen… From afar, they could also see that its abdomen dripped with moving larvae!

This creature seemed to be a fusion of a centipede and a wasp queen.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

The ground trembled as it moved forward, releasing a torrent of parasitic offspring to flood the room.

"Spread out!" Shane commanded.

Shenlong took the lead as he dashed toward the Scythewing King without showing any sign of fear. It was as if he was used to seeing such abominations in his life.

Whoosh~

As the monstrous mantis attacked with its sharp limbs, the monk effortlessly dodged or parried its attacks. He was not being overwhelmed even with the huge difference in their sizes.

Shane watched the monk fight the huge mantis alone and not being pushed back in the slightest!

It seemed that he had still underestimated the strength of this person!

Lysandra and Vernon then took aim as their rifles shot the creature's exposed weak points.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A synchronized volley of bullets followed, punching through its broken armor, causing it to stagger back…

It was only a matter of time before they could kill it.

Meanwhile, the Broodmother King released a screech!

It stunned everyone and it soon spewed its larvae in all directions!

"Not good!"

Otto reacted instantly, summoning a wall of fire that incinerated the swarm before they could reach the team. He had actually chanted this spell as soon as the message from the system appeared. So as soon as he saw the movement of the Broodmother King, he was able to cast the firewall and deal with it faster than Shane who was about to use one of his Survivor Skills.

Tundra grinned wickedly as he saw an opportunity.

"Let's see how you handle this."

With a wave of his hand, he tossed a series of stones with planted bombs on them!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The stones were thrown like bullets as he also used his Shane's Adrenaline Burst Token! @@novelbin@@

Just like that, the stones embedded into the Broodmother's flesh.

"Die!"

The instant they detonated, a chain reaction of explosions tore through its body, sending acidic fluids splattering across the chamber.

However, it was still alive as expected of the Zombie Lord's guards.

Shane, however, seized the moment. "Now!"

With this signal, everyone in the team unleashed their long-range attacks.

Thud! Thud!

Various projectiles like bullets, fireballs, lightning strikes from talismans, and others are thrown out.

Shenlong had to move back and was also struck with his Aura Attacks!

"Ahh…" Shane was shocked as soon as he saw that the Scythewing King attempted to retreat! After all, he expected it to be loyal and guard the chamber of the Swarm Sovereign until its death!

Nonetheless, Shenlong was faster.

Before it could escape from the window, he leaped into the air! His fists radiated a golden aura, and with a powerful strike, he crushed the mantis's skull.

The Broodmother King, on the other hand, attempted to unleash one last attack… This time, Sol finally saw how the Broodmother opened its mouth and suck out everything!

This included her summoned spirits and its own larvae!

"I'll deal with this…"

Shane said as he pulled out one of his Mythic-Grade items.

[ Mythic Energy Blade – Eon Edge ]

It was made from the purest crystals of the Anima Civilization capable of cutting through the strongest materials and could emit energy waves to strike distant targets.

With a wave of his hand, an energy wave that cost him 2,000 Spirit Points was released from the Eon Edge and it shot straight into its exposed mouth.

Boom!

The explosive energy wave struck the Zombie's head silencing the creature permanently.

Thud!

[ You have eliminated a Broodmother King Zombie. ]

[ Congratulations! You are the first to eliminate a Broodmother King Zombie, a high-tier zombie! ] [ Hint: Only the first elimination of each Mid-Tier and higher-tier zombie can provide special rewards! ]

[ You have obtained the following rewards: Spirit Breakthrough Potion x2, Experience Boost Potions x2, Zombie Cores x50 ]