Chapter 176 - 59: [Tomb and Swamp March]

Chapter 176: Chapter 59: [Tomb and Swamp March]

The moment the armor was torn open, an arm-thick Tanned Corpse Worm shot out from the mangled chest cavity of the corpse, its sharp Nether Copper drill aimed straight at Samael’s helmet!

CLACK. Samael raised his shield. The Tanned Corpse Worm smashed against its surface, and he grabbed it with one hand.

It looked similar to the Corpse Worm he had pulled from the festering wound of the Burrower Empress, but this one was far thicker and much larger. Enhanced by a massive number of Nether Copper Components, its facehugger-like body dragged a tanned bone tail meant for shredding flesh, and its sharp arthropod limbs bore a cold Nether Copper plating.

The Corpse Worm wore a fist-sized Nether Copper Hat Helmet on its head. On that eyeless Undead face, scattered teeth meant for sucking fluids and tearing flesh slowly curled into a small, grotesque smile.

"Hello there, new friend," Pulangti’s voice chuckled softly. "Let me see what secrets you’ve hidden in your territory..."

"Not good!" Samael thought, snapping back to his senses. He wasn’t the only one with small-sized scouts like the Rot Root Ball.

Nether Copper implant helmets could shrink to the size of a fist. This meant that, theoretically, other Ghost Knights could also create small, elite Undead scouts. Although a scout would occupy a command slot and lower overall combat power, it served a vital reconnaissance role!

Beside him, Corpse Knights began to fall one after another. Their bodies burst apart, and their chest plates were forced open. Tanned Corpse Worms wearing Nether Copper Hat Helmets quickly crawled out, sprinting wildly toward the center of the High Grass Plain—straight toward the spired building.

Amidst the frantic clawing of limbs from [Nightmare Sprint], the Tanned Corpse Worms dragged their long tails, hurtling toward the center of the High Grass Plain at unbelievable speeds!

Along the way, seven or eight Corpse Knights raised their swords and shields, attempting to block the worms’ advance.

Raising their Nether Copper drills, the Corpse Worms leaped violently. They grabbed onto the armor, crawled through the gaps, and burrowed inside. After churning up the flesh and destroying the internal structures, they burst out of the chests like Xenomorphs and continued their mad dash toward the center of the High Grass Plain.

Before they could reach the center of the High Grass Plain, over a dozen skeletal hands clad in Nether Copper Hand Armor thrust out from the soil. The bone hands fiercely clamped down on their necks. Under immense crushing force, the tiny Undead heads beneath the Nether Copper Hat Helmets were squeezed completely flat.

The wide-brimmed helmets dropped to the ground, and the control vanished. The Tanned Corpse Worms were crushed to pieces by the Nether Copper Hand Armor.

The skeletal hands buried a day in advance had not been in vain. Samael lifted the small, helmeted Corpse Worm in his hand, locking eyes with Pulangti’s elite unit.

"After witnessing your tanned corpse parasites, did you really think I wouldn’t prepare targeted countermeasures?" he asked, staring at the small, helmeted Undead in his palm.

"Oh? Well, it seems your preparations were incomplete." The small, helmeted Undead grinned, speaking in Pulangti’s voice.

BANG! BANG BANG BANG! A continuous string of light explosions rang out.

The Corpse Worms crushed by the skeletal hands in the dirt exploded. Acid seeped into the Nether Copper Hand Armor, corroding and rotting the white bone hands. Losing the support of their Undead skeletal frames, the pieces of Hand Armor scattered across the ground.

The last surviving Corpse Worm drilled out of a Sword and Shield Corpse Knight’s Armor. It dashed through the interception zone of the blown-up bone hands and frantically clawed at the stone slab covering the entrance to the Insect Path network. Squeezing the slab open just a crack, it dove headfirst inside!

"Not good!" Samael thought, instinctively trying to turn back and intercept it, only to hear a flurry of THWACK THWACK THWACK sounds coming from the entrance of the Insect Path network.

After a moment of silence, another BANG echoed from an explosion.

Two Burrowers, their heads splattered with acid, peeked out from the entrance. Clutching large stone clubs made of Molten Stone, they tossed the smashed Corpse Worm and its Nether Copper Hat Helmet out of the tunnel.

With their beady eyes and large nostrils, they sniffed their surroundings before slowly retreating into the tunnel, dragging the stone slab back into place as they went.

The Tanned Corpse Worm had been beaten to death by the Burrowers guarding the entrance of the Insect Path network.

Samael shrugged, looking at Pulangti’s elite Undead Corpse Worm in his hand.

"You’re cooperating with Magical Beasts? You can command living creatures? And you have an underground labyrinth?" The Corpse Worm waved its arthropod limbs. "Ah, no, I’ve seen this kind of Magical Beast before. My tomb was renovated from their underground nests. But how can they suddenly use tools? This isn’t right!"

"You used your command slots on these little things. I’m afraid your frontline combat power has been heavily weakened, hasn’t it?" Samael chuckled softly.

"Uh... Ah? What?" The Corpse Worm stared blankly.

CRACK. Samael snapped the Corpse Worm’s neck. The Nether Copper Small Hat Helmet fell, but Samael caught it in his hand, melting it down into a puddle of scrap Nether Copper.

CLANG! CLANG! He struck his Nether Copper Sword Shield, summoning the Corpse Knights pre-buried in the grass. He equipped them with Nether Copper Bell-shaped Helmets, rapidly replenishing his empty command slots.

Seizing the opportunity, he prepared to launch a counterattack!

"You think my frontline combat power is lacking, do you?" A rumbling voice echoed between the tree trunks of the Great Swamp.

Heavy footsteps accompanied the SPLASH SPLASH of rushing water. A massive body made of humus slowly trudged forward, wading through the Great Swamp.

Foul-smelling, green-brown sludge piled up to form a towering, hill-like torso, with giant palms glued together from roots and humus. Three deformed, grotesque skull faces grew from the sludge, each embedded with a giant Nether Copper Wide-brimmed Helmet.

A Swamp Giant.

It didn’t carry weapons. Instead, dozens of sharp Nether Copper Long Spikes were inserted into its humus-composed body, making it look like a giant cactus beast. Any creature that carelessly approached would be slashed by the filthy long spikes.

"My frontline combat power is lacking, is it?" A massive, crude frame was fixed to the Swamp Giant’s back, and Pulangti’s eerie laughter rang out from a seat within it.

A boat-shaped helmet with a full-coverage, perforated visor poked its head out from over the Swamp Giant’s shoulder. The figure wore light, smooth Nether Bronze Armor with shallow, fish-scale patterns. Broad and sharp fin-like decorations extended from its back and arm guards.

Carrying a giant violin shield on his back, Pulangti raised his Violin Bow and Fine Sword high. With a flick of the bow, he hurled an Acidic Rot Meat Ball straight at Samael.

POP.

Samael dodged sideways. The acid pulp burst open. Amidst a violent HISS, it corroded a patch of tall grass behind him into mush.

The duckweed in the water shifted as dozens of Corpse Hunters, armed with Fish Spear Guns, waded slowly forward, advancing toward the border.