Chapter 1590: Titanic Insect
-----
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
"Aaaarrggghh!"
Partner mercilessly impaled the Corrupted Zodiacron’s entire body, filling it with holes. Its internal structure and external armor were torn to shreds, and the monsters inside, keeping it alive, were burned to death by her Blood and Cursed Flames.
"Heh~! Master! I’m done! Look at this cool faceplate. Maybe we can turn it into armor?" Partner walked to Maria’s side, carrying the charred corpse of the Boar Zodiacron.
"Oh? You’re done already? Well done," Maria nodded, placing Crimcrow within her shadows for the moment. "Did you know this one?" she asked Vyperion and Quick Hare.
"No, we don’t. Many of the Corrupted Zodiacrons were people we exiled for being too evil," Vyperion said. "Only a few ended up that way due to an accident or something beyond their control, like Crimcrow..."
"They betrayed our kind and, above all, the God King Drakogon!" Quick Hare said angrily. "They deserve no mercy!"
"Alright, well said," Maria nodded, grasping the empty husk of the Zodiacron and using her newest Skill, Mechanical Repair, to restore its destroyed form, reassembling it into new armor for the two of them. "Take this armor and wear it. It’ll protect you better."
"Thank you..." Vyperion said, shocked. "But wearing the corpse of a fellow Zodiacron wasn’t on my bingo card today..."
"You have bingo here?" Maria asked. "Of all things?"
"Well, yes..." Vyperion replied. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, never mind," Maria said. "Anyway..."
She looked around. Fierce battles raged on. Hive Drones continued emerging, and Flying Drones began appearing in swarms of dozens, killing many of Maria’s Nightmare Undead and significantly reducing her army.
One weakness of her Nightmare Undead was that they couldn’t recover once defeated. The Nightmare Power burned their souls and bodies, causing them to crumble to dust upon defeat.
Everyone else was fighting the bugs, helping wounded Zodiacrons on the front lines retreat to the rear, where the Rat and Rabbit Zodiacrons used Medical Kits to heal them, though the kits weren’t very effective.
"Go heal them."
Maria divided her body, creating a dozen Phantom Clones imbued with the Mechanical Repair Skill to assist the Zodiacrons as much as possible.
"Hmph! Puny bugs! You think you can start a war or something?"
Lucifer laughed as he crushed Hive Drones with his foot, using his breath to burn them to a crisp by the dozens. Large swarms of Flying Drones, resembling wasps, were also easily dispatched this way.
"Woo! The EXP keeps flowing!" Nyx said happily, destroying aliens with her breath attack and claws, mimicking her father. They shared a deep bonding moment as they crushed alien bugs together.
"Root, don’t go overboard! Make sure not to harm the soldiers!" Emeraldine commanded. Root’s body suddenly materialized from his tiny spirit form, spreading like wood everywhere, naturally immune to the Hive Insectoids’ acid.
He used his body to shield the injured or those about to be killed, while throwing or crushing the Hive Insectoids as much as he could.
Emeraldine, meanwhile, created wood around herself, shielding against attacks while wielding her Dream Weapon, a powerful Bow, to fire dozens of elemental arrows.
"{Yggdrasil Arrows}!"
Her arrows struck the Hive Insectoids, piercing their bodies and sprouting roots and branches, before exploding into spiritual light, blasting them into pieces one by one.
Nia, Celes, and Alma worked together, unleashing devastating elemental magic on the aliens, who had never faced magicians of such power before.
Nia wielded her Dream Weapon, the Spear of Lightning, to electrocute foes and burn them from the inside out, while summoning windstorms and tornadoes to hurl them away.
Celes conjured powerful tsunamis and spiraling water vortexes that tore apart all enemies. Their acid could harm him and his mother, as they were ordinary humans, but he prevented that, using his Spirits and Magic to create Divine Ocean Spirit Armor for them. The armor dissolved the acid before it reached them.
Alma showcased her new powers, summoning a fledgling Dream Domain of her own creation, an endless ocean that engulfed her foes while swirling around her. At times, the ocean froze, trapping enemies inside before the ice shattered, killing them instantly.
Arthur fought alone, using his phantasmal guardian and spear techniques, blending Yin and Yang for a perfect balance of offense and defense. He leaped from monster to monster, killing them with precise strikes to their heads.
Arachne stood out prominently, transforming into a giant black spider, a Calamity from Yggdrasil, and crushing alien bugs under her massive claws. Her weight and size easily overpowered the creatures.
The Zodiacrons were astounded by their strength, shocked and disbelieving that the "little people" they had looked down upon were so mighty.
They were even immune to the acid! How powerful could they be?
However, as the battle seemed to turn in their favor...
RUMBLE!
Crack, crack...!
The earth trembled. Something enormous, moved underground, shattering the surface and breaking it open.
CRASH!
"GRUOOOOHHHH!"
A massive Hive Insectoid, the size of a skyscraper, emerged, accompanied by hundreds of Hive Drones, including Soldier Types, Flying Types, and the deadly Warrior Types.
While Soldier Types were the most common, often called "Drones," Flying Types could fly and were incredibly fast, with sharp stingers coated in acid capable of piercing the heavily armored bodies of Zodiacrons.
Warrior Types combined the strengths of both, being bulky, fast, and capable of short bursts of flight with their large, armored wings, while wielding sharp stingers and enormous crab-like claws.
"That’s a Titan-Type Hive Insectoid!"
"We’re done for! Retreat!"
"We don’t have the weapons here to deal with those!"
"The Dragon Squads aren’t here yet. We only have rookie Dragons. They can’t handle this yet!"
"Retreat! Run!"
"We must call for Drakogon and the Elite Squad!"
The Zodiacrons still fighting quickly realized the situation was hopeless, even with Maria and her party, as they didn’t yet fully understand their capabilities.
"GRRR...! GRAAAAHHHH!"
The Hive Titan roared furiously, advancing and making the world tremble. Its glowing eyes were fixed on the city’s black walls, intent on destroying them.
As they tried to escape, the Hive Warriors descended with their massive wings, attacking the Zodiacrons with sharp claws, relentlessly striking their armor.
CRASH!
"Aagh!"
"Damn it!"
"Ugghhh!"
As they struggled against the powerful Warrior-Type Hive Insectoids, Maria glanced at the skies, noticing two Zodiacrons hiding within the clouds, observing.
They didn’t emit the corrupted aura of Corrupted Zodiacrons but were normal Zodiacrons from the city.
They were merely watching, neither fleeing nor acting.
"Hm."
With a sigh, Maria raised her hands, and her Aura erupted.
FLASH!
Thousands of phantasmal hands surged from the ground, piercing the souls of the Hive Warriors and shattering them into pieces, killing them instantly one by one.
"Gyaaack?"
"Gruuck?"
"Graak!"
-----