Chapter 1051 - The Second Wave

The goblins ran straight into the locust the moment they stepped through the portal.

Han Wu had placed it directly outside the entrance, its mandibles wide open to chomp down on anything that emerged. Although each bite dealt 8 damage, the goblins were fast. By the time the locust finished one attack and prepared for the next, its target had already changed from the first to the third. At that pace, after all 100 goblins passed through, the locust would land only fifty attacks, each dealing a measly 8 damage.

It’s absolute garbage. Han Wu let out a bitter laugh. The ordinary locust’s performance was painful to watch. His core units were really trashy at the base level. Thankfully, years of his careful cultivation had already changed his locusts’ future.

The goblin army reached Han Wu without taking any further damage along the way. They raised their little wooden clubs and bared their teeth at the immobile Han Wu.

[-4, -4, ...]

Damage numbers floated past his eyes.

At the same time, the Bomber Locust and the Bloodfang Bat sprang into action. The Bomber Locust had a range of five, but every goblin was packed tightly around Han Wu. A single Self-Detonate hit nearly all of them, dealing 10 damage. It was powerful, but the recharge time was painfully long. The next detonation was a full minute away.

On the other hand, the Bloodfang Bat attacked rapidly and dealt 20 damage per hit. It could kill a goblin in ten seconds at most. More importantly, it possessed the Crimson Halo, which drained blood from nearby wounded goblins to heal Han Wu. The goblins were hitting hard, but the Bloodfang Bat’s healing outpaced their damage output.

As the goblins fell one by one, Han Wu collected the Energy Points and treasures they dropped. The 100 goblins yielded 200 Energy Points, which was enough for twenty draws. They also dropped one treasure: an Agility Stone. It increased a unit’s attack speed by reducing its attack interval by twenty percent, but it only worked on units with an attack interval of five seconds or longer.

Han Wu didn’t hesitate. He slapped it onto his Bomber Locust, reducing its attack interval from one minute to forty-eight seconds.

On top of that, the reward for surviving the first wave arrived. Because the Crimson Halo had fully restored Han Wu’s HP, the system treated it as if he had taken no damage at all. He earned an S rating, and the corresponding S-rank reward was a piece of equipment for himself.

[Cloth Armor: All incoming damage reduced by 2.]

Han Wu put it on and mumbled that it was better than nothing. He then looked up at the warning still hanging in the air.

[The second wave will arrive in ten minutes. Strengthen your defensive line. The second wave’s invading creatures will be revealed at the three-minute mark.]

He sighed and spent his 200 Energy Points on twenty consecutive draws.

His luck hadn’t improved much. Sixteen of the twenty were Common locusts again. The remaining four were an Elite Bomber Locust, an Elite Glutton Locust, a Unique Mechanical Locust, and a Unique Dark Cursed Bug.

Han Wu selected the new Bomber Locust and merged it with his existing one. The new life form was a Unique Magma Locust.

[Magma Locust: Unique life form. Attack method: Self-Detonate (multi-target). Range: 10. Damage: 40. Attack interval: 48 seconds. Skill: Magma Burst. After Self-Detonating, it leaves behind a pool of magma that deals 5 fire damage per second for 20 seconds.]

The Glutton Locust was next.

[Glutton Locust: Elite life form. Attack method: Devour (single target). Range: 10. Damage: 10. Attack interval: 5 seconds. Skill: Devour. If Devour deals the killing blow, the locust absorbs the corpse’s energy, and its Damage attribute permanently gains 1 point.]

One was an AOE attacker with a damage-over-time burn effect. The other could permanently grow stronger by devouring its kills. Both had high potential.

Han Wu nodded and moved on to the last two.

[Mechanical Locust: Unique life form. Attack method: Gnaw, (single target). Range: 10. Damage: 20. Attack interval: 5 seconds. Skill: Mechanical Detonation. After killing 10 or more enemies, it releases a single blast dealing 50 damage. It then requires 1 minute to repair itself before it can attack again.]

[Dark Cursed Bug: Unique life form. Attack method: Shadow Nail (single target). Range: 40. Damage: 2. Attack interval: 1 second. Skill: Shadow Stun. Shadow Nail has a 40% chance to immobilize the target for 3 seconds.]

Han Wu studied the numbers. The Mechanical Locust was a charge-up attacker. Its damage output was slightly higher than the Magma Locust’s, but its overall stats were average. The Dark Cursed Bug’s strength lay in its long range, but its damage output was pitiful. Its real value came from the Shadow Stun effect, which slowed the enemy’s advance.

After careful consideration, Han Wu placed the Glutton Locust near himself and positioned the Dark Cursed Bug and Mechanical Locust at the portal entrance.

He then merged the sixteen Common locusts into a single Lord life form. Even at Lord rank, its stats hadn’t changed much. Its Damage had maxed out at 16, which still left it weaker than some Unique life forms.

So this is what my locusts would look like without any cheats, he thought as he stationed the Lord locust at the portal entrance alongside the others.

Three minutes remained until the second wave, so the invading creatures were revealed.

[Hardened Abyss Demons: 200.]

[Hardened Abyss Demon: Elite life form. HP: 300. Movement speed: 3. Attack method: Twin Axe Cleave (single target). Range: 2. Damage: 4. Attack interval: 0.5 seconds.]

Their stats were slightly better than the goblins, but the overall improvement wasn’t dramatic. Han Wu wasn’t worried.

Soon enough, the Hardened Abyss Demons marched through the portal. Unlike the goblins, who had sickly green skin, these demons had crimson hides that made them look festive. They strode in with axes slung over their shoulders, every bit as arrogant as they looked.

The Lord locust at the entrance lunged and bit into the first demon, dealing 16 damage. The Mechanical Locust and the Dark Cursed Bug opened fire right behind it.

Until it had killed ten enemies, the Mechanical Locust was limited to basic attacks that dealt 20 damage per hit. The Dark Cursed Bug peppered the demons with Shadow Nails, considerably slowing their advance. The Lord locust kept biting away, one bite after another.

Together, the three units chipped away at the Hardened Abyss Demons’ health.

Han Wu knew that their firepower wasn’t enough to kill any of the demons at the entrance. The real killing force was the lineup waiting beside him. He knew what awaited the demons once they reached him.