Chapter 1193

Second Level, hold the line! Second Level, hold the line!

In the gathering place dug into an isolated island, Tai'er shouted hoarsely, exhausted, constantly commanding the front-line Third Level to retreat.

To block the insect swarm, they had to dig a hundred-meter-deep pit around the gathering place, like a moat, to protect the entire gathering place.

However, faced with the massive number of insects, it wasn't very effective.

Looking at the corpses almost filling the pit, he felt his scalp go numb.

Those dense compound eyes piled together, the hissing insect sounds filled his brain.

This place... is hell...

"No way! Lord Tai'er! Even if we have all the Second Level hold the line, it's useless!"

"They can't hold out; the insects already have Third Level appearing!"

"Even if we can't hold, we must hold! We must let the Third Level rest!"

The trembling of the earth never ceased for a moment.

Tai'er gripped his battle-axe tightly, despair filling his heart.

It was already nearing night on the fourth day.

Wave after wave of insect swarms surged like tides, giving no time to catch a breath.

If it weren't for their sufficient number of Third Level, and if Lord Lei'en hadn't warned them in advance, they would probably have been wiped out.

On the ground, the shattered bone fragments were pitch-black, corroded by the insects' blood.

Just like fighting zombies, when battling the insects they must be extremely careful of the splattering blood. These insects are like perfect biological weapons; even if injured or dying, they inflict massive harm on the enemy before death!

Often, as soon as an Awakened One slightly breaks formation, this swarm of insects will drag them into the mass to tear apart and devour. Nothing excites these monsters more than human flesh. In Tai'er's view, at the fiercest point of battle, a fatigued Third Level who just tried to retreat was hooked by a centipede insect on the thigh.

The thigh muscles were instantly torn out like sinew; in that brief pause of a few seconds, the man, in agonized screams, had his intestines pulled out by these monsters, devoured completely like a rag doll.

There's no room for combat technique; surrounded on all sides by enemies, the only thing to do is exterminate them by any means!

His heart bled.

Tai'er's eyes were bloodshot, his spiritual energy nearly exhausted.

After prolonged combat, the only ones still with fighting strength were the melee specialists; as they fought with their bodies, they were the last hope of the defense line.

But humans aren't machines; they can't rotate rest, not even the Third Level can hold out. A slight mistake means death.

"Ahhhh!!"

"Save me.. save.."

"Buzzzz--"

At the battlefield's center like a grinding mill, massive swarms of flying locusts swooped down like ospreys.

In an instant they snatched several Second Level Awakened Ones; their rapidly opening and closing mouthparts, like a pulverizer, crushed the skulls the moment they caught them. Bloody mist exploded, and before the victims could even scream, several headless corpses twitched and were tossed into the insect swarm below.

The insects, raising their heads and crying, quickly piled into a mound of bugs under the lure of flesh, greedily tearing at chunks of meat.

"It's over... we're completely done.."

Seeing another wave of flying insects emerge, the large numbers of Second Level forced to the front line all showed despair.

Attacked on both ground and air, this group of Awakened Ones, far less mobile than the Third Level, had no way out.

Faced with death, their formation instantly fell into chaos.

Panic spread.

Indeed, they were well-trained, each hand-picked Awakened One; any one of them placed in the Soviet Russia theater would be considered outstanding.

But in the face of this brutal large-scale battle, anyone is just cannon fodder.

Nothing is more despairing than seeing no hope.

If there were even a sliver of hope, they might still have fighting spirit; but now they truly cannot see where the insect swarm ends.

Each wave is stronger than the last, each wave more numerous, and the attack intervals are shortening!

The total casualties in the Soviet Russia theater have already exceeded 30%, soon to surpass the halfway warning line. Even the Third Level has lost over eighty, a ratio quickly approaching that of the Second Level!

Such horrific sacrifice is beyond their endurance.

"We can't win! We can't win!"

"Lei'en simply won't come!"

"Run! Let's run!!"

They wept bitterly.

On the front line, an Awakened One wielding double blades collapsed and dropped his weapons.

He wanted to go home, to return to his own war zone!

His wife still waited for him; the three of them had survived from the Apocalypse to now, and he was their sole support. He didn't want to die here, not even to become a zombie!

Just a second ago, he watched helplessly as his comrade was pierced by a dozen mouthparts, his body turning to jelly, in the blink of an eye reduced to mere skin. Then the insects that lunged afterward tore his body apart, scalding blood droplets splashing onto his face, like the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Even facing a corpse tide and terrifying mutants, he had never felt this desperate.

Lord Tai'er told them a supremely strong one would appear soon, but where is he!? Where is he!?

He only knew he couldn't hold out until then; he would die now!

On a face corroded by insect blood into a honeycomb, the expression was ferociously terrifying.

Reason collapsed.

They had fought continuously for nearly eighty hours, their stamina and will at their limits.

"No retreat!!"

"Who dares retreat! I'll kill them!!"

"Lord Lei'en is on his way! Do you really want to become cowardly deserters!!"

Standing on a slope piled with insect shells, the commanding Third Level Awakened One roared, his bloodshot eyes nearly bulging out.

He also hadn't rested, and even his left hand was completely corroded while killing a Third Rank Tooth-armored Beetle.

But can they escape? No!

There's no retreat; wherever they flee are bugs! All they can do is fight, fight, and fight again!

Even if it's not for Soviet Russia, not for the fate of their own war zone. For themselves, they must carve a bloody path.

However, roaring is useless.

With the appearance of the first deserter, the front-line melee-system Awakened Ones suddenly began to show gaps. The defense line started to collapse at a visible speed.

In an instant, the few Third Rank who had been rotated out within the gathering place instantly felt their eyes almost burst.

The defense line must not be breached!

Once a defeat trend forms, everyone will be scattered!

"Kill back!"

"Hurry back and plug the gap!!"

Under the dim sky, everything was oppressively heavy. The furious commander looked at the returning Awakened Ones with grief and anger; he wanted to strike down the deserter to stop the rout, but discovered he had no spiritual energy left at all.

"All Third Rank, stop resting! Keep fighting!!"

Unable to stop the deserter, realizing something was wrong, Tai'er let out a sorrowful sigh and had to pick up his weapons again, charging toward the insect tide.

A shadow fell behind him, like a stooping old man.

Thirteen minutes later.

As pleas for mercy sounded, the few Awakened Ones who had fled first were mercilessly executed.

Skulls rolled with gurgling sounds onto the ground, landing among the insect corpses.

Although they were deserters, each face bore hollowed scars; they too had once fought bravely.

"Pat"

He lit a cigarette, Tai'er trembling raised it to his lips, painfully pulling at the corner of his mouth as he drew a deep breath.

He sat helplessly on the mound of corpses, silently gazing at the earth.

The battle axe lay at his side, his left hand gripping tightly a communication Prop.

Watching the bloody setting sun of the twin suns, an involuntary wry smile appeared on his face.

"Lord Lein.."

"Where exactly are you..."

"We... really can't hold on..."