Chapter 498: Crimson Star Trapper

Bang!

The biological shield was easily sliced apart.

Sss!

The chief swordsman and guards, unable to keep up with the OriginalBody's movements and pace, were killed in an instant by Sui Meng and the Blood Dragon Blade.

Clang!!

Instead, a metallic wail rang out, halting Sui Meng's continued crushing stance.

It turned out to be that brain bug, or rather the Swarm Lord, who, at an unbelievable speed, swung a scarlet bone blade toward the charging Sui Meng.

Seeing this, Sui Meng had to momentarily hold back his charge, his right hand gripping the Blood Dragon Blade, which clashed with the bone blade smashing toward his face.

The shrill sound echoed throughout the cabin, and the force unleashed by both sides made the entire Nautilus tremble, with visible shockwaves sweeping the surroundings, blasting and shattering the corpses of the chief swordsman and guards.

Unexpectedly, as the lord of an insect fleet, its reaction, speed, and strength seemed capable of matching the OriginalBody equipped with power armor and a dedicated weapon.

The Swarm Lord's displayed power exceeded Sui Meng's modest expectations.

Yet it was only a little.

In terms of strength, Sui Meng was wholly overwhelming; with a single easy push he split the bone blade apart.

Roar!!!

Realizing it could not suppress the OriginalBody, the Swarm Lord let out a loud howl, releasing an extremely fierce, Spiritual Energy‑like resonant shock.

Boom!!

Sui Meng, hit by the shock, stepped back two paces.

Yet the Swarm Lord, instead of pursuing, made a swift decision, concluding that continued combat with the OriginalBody was a dead end, and turned to flee.

At the same time, the earlier roar summoned more chief swordsmen and guards to try to block the OriginalBody.

Moreover, the Swarm Lord continuously emitted shocks, attempting to buy time for the arrival of the chief swordsmen and guards.

Oh?

Sui Meng noticed that the Swarm Lord's series of actions to survive forced him to hold the Blood Dragon Blade horizontally before him to counter the shock, prompting him to remark:

"This bug is quite clever."

After speaking, Sui Meng brandished the Blood Dragon Blade, pointing its tip forward, piercing through the shock released by the Swarm Lord, and strode forward, intent on seizing the opponent's biological tissue for study.

During this, the two sides somehow engaged in a chase.

Countless chief‑type insects tried to block, but without exception each was easily cut down by Sui Meng, not even granting the Swarm Lord a single second.

After a short while, seizing the chance, Sui Meng swung his blade to cancel all shocks, leapt, and sliced straight through the Swarm Lord's biological shield, then…

Pfft!!

The Blood Dragon Blade, flashing dark‑red light, cleaved the massive Swarm Lord in half, spurting blood.

Snap…

The two soft, limp halves collapsed onto the biological deck.

Having finished the kill, Sui Meng did not idle; he immediately attached the Blood Dragon Blade to his back and retrieved from an internal compartment two fist‑sized…

…sealed containment boxes the size of the OriginalBody's fist, sequentially collecting the Swarm Lord's flesh and brain tissue.

Once Sui Meng gathered the samples and returned the boxes to the compartment, the biological deck fully absorbed the Swarm Lord's corpse; it seemed that as long as the Nautilus remained, the Swarm Lord could continuously revive.

Simultaneously, the biological deck began extending numerous tentacles, launching an assault on the lone Sui Meng, as if trying to swallow an OriginalBody.

Little did he know, the only thing that could stop Sui Meng without destroying the Nautilus in one blow was Sui Meng's own obsession to obtain the Swarm Lord's tissue samples.

Thus, after collecting the "Heart‑to‑Heart" samples, Sui Meng unhesitatingly swung his left hand, generating an extremely tiny, ping‑pong‑ball‑sized "Crimson Star", and immediately activated the armor's teleportation device, returning to the Glory Master Class flagship.

?

Because Sui Meng suddenly vanished from the cabin, all the tentacles struck nothing, leaving the Nautilus puzzled about where its target had gone, and questioning what power the "Crimson Star" retained inside it possessed.

Before the Nautilus could figure it out, the "Crimson Star" surrounded by many tentacles began to expand and brighten rapidly, instantly scorching and vaporizing the surrounding tentacles and biological deck.

Arriving outside.

It was swarmed by tens of thousands of living warships, with the Nautilus guarded at the very center; in the blink of an eye, it suffered the continuously expanding "Crimson Star", which inversely devoured it from the inside out.

Then...

Boom~!!!!!!!

The star‑burst light shone throughout Tai Luo Ke Er's cosmos, and the numerous living warships that swarmed and guarded the Nautilus also suffered devastating effects.

Though Sui Meng excels in melee, charging, and duels, his use of Spiritual Energy is far inferior to Magnus, Shengjilesi, and even to his peers Helusi and Loki, yet generating a Spiritual Energy blast capable of destroying a star system remains more than sufficient.

To avoid harming Tai Luo Ke Er and due to his limited Spiritual Energy proficiency, after destroying the Nautilus insect flagship, Sui Meng ceased using Spiritual Energy attacks, instead letting the Trapper fleet deal with the remaining over a hundred thousand living warships.

And the Tai Luo insect fleet, now without the Nautilus and the Swarm Lord, indeed turned from the orderly state Sui Meng had anticipated before the teleport assault into utter chaos, each fighting on its own.

After all, without the Swarm Lord as the hive‑mind node to control and command the whole fleet, the remaining ships were like bodies without brains, left to be butchered by the Trapper legion.

Efficiency increased dramatically.

Yet the living fleet and insects, lacking the Swarm Lord's control, began acting on instinct, recklessly surging toward Tai Luo Ke Er's surface.

Nevertheless, the naval battle was about to be won; even if ground combat grew fierce, with the Trapper legion present, it would not become too dire.

———————

Metropolitan District 10.

As the first area to lose its energy shield three hours ago, and possessing the least military force and a sheriff garrison, Metropolitan District 10 suffered severe damage.

Fortunately, the living saint Celesstin, and the "delicious"-emanating Soldier Boy, attracted the insects' attention, keeping District 10 from falling and holding out until the Trapper legion arrived.

However, in the chaos, some chose to hide out of fear, gradually distancing themselves from the crowd and main forces, eventually becoming besieged.

Moreover, the insects, lacking unified coordination, began wandering instinctively, even entering the district's underground system, which hindered the Trapper legion's clearing and rescue efforts.

At this moment.

At the intersection of District 10 and District 21 of the metropolis, inside a clutter storage in the underground parking of a colossal apartment tower about six hundred meters tall…

"Huff… huff…"

In the dim space, a trembling, faint breathing sound reverberated.

And here, nearly thirty civilians of various attire and status were crowded.

When the energy shield failed, the sudden incident, the ferocious insect assault, and the Law Enforcement Officer busy dealing with the insects caused the evacuation group containing these civilians to splinter.

It seemed that the narrow, relatively enclosed space could give everyone enough sense of safety, so amid the panic, the more than thirty people chose to flee into the building's underground garage and hide in the clutter storage.

After the panic subsided and reason regained the upper hand, people realized the choice was tantamount to suicide, but having witnessed a Law Enforcement Officer easily torn apart by soldier insects, they lost the courage to leave the clutter storage and try to follow the other evacuation groups.

The longer they delayed, the longer it went on.

Believing District 10 had already fallen, they completely gave up hope and stared blankly in the storage…

Waiting to die.

If colonists from the Main Universe or retired UNSC soldiers were present, perhaps they could become their backbone and lead them in attempting escape.

Unfortunately, there were none.

Among the more than thirty hiding in the storage, the overwhelming majority were under forty, having enjoyed Tai Luo Ke Er's peace and tranquility since birth, never having experienced the early turmoil of the Main Universe or Zero Three Universe.

Not to mention, none of them had ever served in the UNSC.

"Roar…! Roar…!"

"!!!!"

At that moment, hearing the low growls of the soldier insects outside the door turned the people in the storage from bewilderment to despair in an instant, their hearts racing as if pulled to their throats.

"Thump…! Thump…!"

Listening to the insects' approach, fear again took the lead.

Among them was a man in his thirties, both appearance and actual age, wearing black dress pants and a white shirt, his forehead beading with cold sweat, yet he possessed the most composed expression among everyone.

The shirted man glanced at the few young girls nearest the automatic door, then at the door switch on the right wall, his brows knit as if wrestling with something, but finally his gaze hardened and steadied, indicating he had made up his mind.

He then hurried to the switch, clenched his right fist, and without hesitation hammered the switch.

Human manipulation caused the previously locked automatic door to swing open to the right, exposing everyone inside the storage.

"??"

Noticing the oddity, the few young girls at the front, still confused, saw the shirted man already at the open doorway, and as he fled outward he seized both girls by the arms and pulled them out of the storage.

Then he violently kicked the two girls, causing them to lose control and fall to the ground.

After completing the series of actions, he finally mustered his strength and sprinted toward the waiting hall that housed an elevator and stairs.

At that moment, everyone realized that while they were focused on listening to the outside sounds, the shirted man had abandoned them to flee alone.

"Roar~!"

Coincidentally, several soldier insects acting on instinct, smelling the scent and approaching the storage, upon seeing the "food" burst out, could not contain themselves and roared, sprinting forward on all four legs.

"Aaah!"

The people who saw the insects charging at them instinctively let out shrieks, the girls' screams being the loudest.

People rushed forward, fearing being torn apart and devoured by the insects as they fled the storage.

Some even chose to close the door again, imagining the metal automatic door could hold back insects capable of ripping armor, not realizing they were imprisoning themselves.

As for the prearranged escape route, the shirted man who ran ahead couldn't help but smile.

Because his plan was already half successful!

Though there was a gamble, the number of insects was about as he expected—only a few—while there were over thirty people, so the insects' attention was quickly drawn to the fleeing crowd.

Even though he had seen insects capable of instantly killing a Law Enforcement Officer wearing a Mechanical exoskeleton, the many decoys gave him enough time to escape.

As long as he could take the elevator or use the stairs to reach the first‑floor hall and then slip onto the street to find a flying craft or vehicle, he could escape to safety!!

The shirted man thought of his plan, and his smile grew ever more evident.

It seemed "perfect," but in fact was riddled with holes, and even his successful exit from the storage relied heavily on luck.

Moreover, as an extremely selfish, self‑centered being, the shirted man would never consider others' lives; what business is it of his?

"Clang… clang…"

"Howl… howl…"

Perhaps too focused on escaping, the shirted man didn't hear the special gunfire and the insects' cries behind him.

"Roar!!"

Yet he heard and saw more than ten insects burst from the waiting hall ahead.

"No!!"

He let out a desperate roar, never having considered that his planned escape route would be cut off at the source by the insects.

"Thump, thump!"

However, he noticed a heavy footfall behind him, a "big lump" sprinting at speed.

Before he could turn to look, the "big lump" swept past his side, charging straight at the oncoming insects.

"Buzz~!!" The Chain Sword's chain spun rapidly.

"Sizzle! Zip!" The chain easily sliced through shells and bodies.

"Howl…" and the insects' dying screams.

After a flash of afterimages, the shirted man saw a figure equipped with a Thunder Hammer Mark VIII, painted deep black and dark red, helmet bright red denoting a Non‑commissioned Officer rank, right shoulder armor bearing a dragon‑head ornament of a Trapbreaker, hand‑holding a Chain Sword, standing amid a field of severed limbs and blood.

"Mince." At the same time, a metallic sneer rang in his ears.

As the Sergeant stepped toward the shirted man, he finally regained his composure and realized the "giant" before him was the legendary Astate, a scion of humanity's ruler, primarily there to rescue him from peril!

"Great, you finally… uh…!"

Yet as the shirted man tried to express gratitude, the Sergeant's left hand clamped his throat, preventing any words or even normal breathing.

The Sergeant ignored how painful it was for the shirted man, then, like carrying a chick, lifted the shirted man toward the junk storage ahead.

At this moment, the Trapper Astate gathered here numbered thirty, all the trapped personnel were rescued, and the previously arrogant, terrifying soldier insects had become lifeless corpse debris.

(End of Chapter)