Chapter 74: Humans, Submit to Me!

Cheng Zhan, with a backpack full of mortar shells, struggled through the mud towards the Empress. Along the way, he saw his teammates who had fallen into the pit before him. Most were still unconscious, but a few, like himself, were beginning to wake up, groggy but aware.

Among them was the team's demolition expert. Seeing Cheng Zhan's determined crawl, he quickly understood the captain's plan and whispered:

"Captain Cheng, that won't work..."

"You need to remove the safety fuses from the mortars, then use this to detonate."

He pulled two blocks of standard C4 explosive from his pack:

"C4, this has the punch!"

Cheng Zhan took the explosives, stuffed them into his pack, and exchanged his grenade's pin with the C4 detonator. He looked over at his unconscious comrades and gave the demolition expert a somber nod:

"Hold steady."

"This is all the Empress's trap. I let everyone down, make sure they don't suffer much."

The demolition expert spat out mud and nodded solemnly.

Cheng Zhan took a deep breath and continued his crawl forward.

His ability was unique; besides enhancing his physique, it granted a cloaking effect.

As the top soldier in the special forces, Cheng Zhan had a talent for disguise, which his awakened power amplified, allowing him to blend into his environment, undetected by Black Spinal Bugs, let alone lower-level Red Beetles.

This concealed ability was his ace, developed through combat experience.

The cloaking lasted only minutes, like his physical enhancements, insufficient for escaping the underground nest.

But it could be his last resort against the Empress.

As he crept closer, screams erupted behind him. Turning, he saw thick, segmented limbs pierce his unconscious comrades' shoulders.

Awakened by excruciating pain, they screamed in agony.

These were lv9 Red Beetles, each with two-meter-long folded limbs, now impaling the special forces' shoulders, hoisting them like garments to present to the Empress.

Some tried to resist, but even late-stage first-tier awakeners found escape impossible amid the throng of insects.

The oppressive underground environment and their injuries sapped their strength and morale.

A few lv19 veterans, mustering strength, snapped the Red Beetles' limbs, landing on the beetles' shells to flee.

With enhanced strength abilities, they could briefly boost their constitution by 30% in extremis.

With a base of 150, this pushed them near the Tiger Spinal Bug's 200 constitution.

Such power and speed made traversing through the low-level Red Beetles easy.

High constitution also aided rapid recovery from injuries.

As long as vital organs weren't hit, wounds could scab over quickly, preventing further harm.

With keen eyesight, they spotted four or five tunnels leading outside, illuminated by the cavern's green glow.

Hope flared as they saw escape routes.

Then the familiar figure appeared again.

This time, not one, but a pack!

Over a dozen Tiger Spinal Bugs guarded the Empress's lair, her personal guards ensuring its security.

They wouldn't allow prey to escape the Empress's grasp.

The lv19 soldiers were swiftly batted back by the Tiger Spinal Bugs' massive six- or seven-meter mandibles.

Thrown heavily among the Red Beetles, their freshly scabbed shoulder wounds were pierced anew, the searing pain nearly causing them to faint.

One demolition expert, clenching a grenade, dropped it among the Red Beetles, producing only a dull thud.

It killed a single beetle, its shell absorbing the blast.

With their last resistance crushed, the special forces were delivered to the Empress.

The towering creature, over thirty meters tall, was the high-tier lv32 Empress that had attacked Haicheng's southern outskirts, aiming to encircle the Thirteenth Army with another high-tier bug.

Having devoured half of Haicheng, it advanced to lv33, growing larger, needing only half of Wu City's biomass to reach lv34.

To minimize losses, the Empress absorbed human brains, gathering intelligence on human strategies, and sought spies as inside agents.

Unfortunately, such opportunities were rare.

Captured humans were either too weak to endure parasitism and mental control, or too low-ranking to access strategic data.

But now, it had its chance.

Watching the humans struggle, the Empress summoned the lv19 escapees.

It extruded thick, writhing tendrils, each splitting into five barbed segments.

These specialized mouthparts deftly seized the escapees' heads.

Barbs pierced their scalps, locking them in place, while needle-like probes punctured their brains, akin to oversized mosquito proboscises.

The brain pain eclipsed scalp agony, silencing their screams. They watched helplessly as their minds were devoured, their nervous systems subsumed by the Empress.

Meanwhile, hidden on the cavern floor, Cheng Zhan witnessed his comrades' horrific deaths, realizing the Empress's intelligence far exceeded human assumptions.

High-tier bugs understood humans thoroughly, anticipating this probe.

It was a meticulously crafted trap!

Fear, dread, and rage welled up in Cheng Zhan, driving him to action. He rose and lunged at the Empress, only fifty meters away.

But at that moment, dozens of Red Beetles preemptively blocked him, pinning him to the ground.

The Empress's hundreds of eyes focused on the human pinned beneath the beetles.

Cheng Zhan felt his mind seize!

Under the Empress's aura, his thoughts slowed, almost halting.

Then, guided by the Empress, the nearly unconscious Cheng Zhan was impaled by a Red Beetle's limbs and brought forward.

After observing the human, the Empress emitted a satisfied hiss, withdrawing its oppressive psychic force.

Regaining consciousness, Cheng Zhan checked his numbed arm, relieved to find the detonator still clutched in his hand.

He was thirty meters from the Empress. Detonating now would be futile.

He needed to get closer, ideally within touching distance.

As he steeled himself to continue his suicidal mission, the tendrils clutching his comrades suddenly spoke in unison:

"You are their leader and seem respected among humans..."

"So humans... submit to me!"

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