Chapter 387: March
Freya could not help but sigh as explosions reverberated through the sky. The cacophony of blasts echoed across the battlefield, a grim reminder of the hive mind’s relentless adaptability. Each detonation was meant to weaken the Leviathan forces, but the enemy was constantly adapting, growing smarter, and hindering their moves. No matter how good a strategy was, it would not work forever; they were forced to constantly improve or risk being overwhelmed.
She gazed across the ranks of soldiers beside her. The worst part was not the failure to activate the Echo Bombs the right way but the impact it had on the morale of the troops. Facing a massive and intelligent army full of creatures that felt no fear of death and were willing to sacrifice their kind without a second thought was not something normal humans were prepared to do. The Leviathans were a relentless force, their collective consciousness making them a formidable opponent.
Luckily, all those here were people whose minds were powerful enough to survive the apocalypse and had undergone rigorous military training. Their willpower allowed their hearts to endure the pressure and remain firm in their battle formations. The soldiers stood resolute, their faces hardened by determination. They knew what was at stake.
In the distance, the road of sacrificial drones continued marching forward, activating all the Echo Bombs in their path. Each explosion sent plumes of smoke and debris into the air, but the drones pressed on undeterred. They reached the end of the plain before moving back, and not just that—they began consuming the dead and wounded of their kind, leaving not even a drop of black blood behind. It was a chilling sight, the hive mind efficiently recycling its fallen to fuel its advance.
After the entire plain was considered secure, the hive mind acted once more. The army of Leviathans marched forward, the drones taking the lead, their pincers echoing like the drums of war once more. The rhythmic clacking created a haunting melody, a steady beat that signaled the approach of destruction.
As the Leviathans closed in, now only three thousand meters away from the frontline of the Xaos Forces and Turkin soldiers, movement stirred within the walls of the fortified Kuro Mountain. Massive machines began to glow with magical matrices as mages channeled their energy inside. The air hummed with arcane power, and in the next moment, they fired hundreds of flaming boulders nearly five meters in diameter. The fiery projectiles arced through the sky, leaving trails of smoke and embers in their wake.
Grand Marshal Anglius and Major General Theodoro exchanged small smiles as they watched the boulders soar. It brought back memories of the first major clash at the Silent Wind Military Base when they faced an army of twenty thousand demons led by an Abyssal Champion. Back then, such numbers felt like a death sentence, but now they didn’t even cross their minds.
Unfortunately, just as they had improved, so too had the enemy they faced. It was the first time the hive mind encountered these types of flaming boulders, but it was quick to react. Tens of insect-humanoid Leviathans raised their claws, firing powerful darts toward the incoming projectiles, trying to intercept them before they could land. Sharp projectiles whistled through the air, colliding with the flaming boulders.
However, the premature explosion of those boulders did not save the Leviathans. The moment they were struck, the boulders detonated, unleashing hundreds of flaming and sharp debris into the hive. Fiery shrapnel rained down upon the drones and aerial units. While the blast was far from enough to harm the sturdy Leviathan warriors, it easily decimated the drones and damaged the aerial units.
Freya allowed herself a small smile as she observed more than ten thousand drones perish under the barrage, with many more wounded. It was just the beginning. Immediately, a second barrage of flaming boulders was fired, filling the sky once more with blazing missiles.