Chapter 404: One million nine hundred thousand and forty-two
The eyes of all the Leviathans glowed with murderous might and an intense desire for slaughter as they marched after the retreating human forces. The hive mind was unwilling to give them a moment of respite, eager to take advantage of their exhaustion and completely annihilate them.
Earthquakes and landslides were no longer viable options for the defenders; they were now so high upon Kuro Mountain that such tactics would harm the humans as well. It would be months before the volcano could recharge, making a new volcanic eruption and rivers of lava out of the question. It seemed there was nothing the human forces could do to stop the charging swarm of drones.
However, there was no way Overlord would not have planned for this. Once all the human forces crossed the wall into the summit of Kuro Mountain, he sent the signal. Fifty Lightning Mages raised their hands and began to chant their spells, their voices harmonizing into a powerful incantation. As their chanting reached a crescendo, they unleashed torrents of lightning that crackled and arced with raw energy.
The Leviathans noticed the sudden surge of magical activity, but the hive mind was confident. There was no way fifty Lightning Mages could halt the advance of millions of drones. But then, the hive mind observed something unexpected—the lightning was not targeting the swarm directly but instead was shooting upward into the sky.
Both Leviathans and humans gazed upward, drawn to the massive cloud of smoke that had been covering the sky and extending across the inner ring of Kuro Mountain. For weeks, the volcano had been releasing that smoke, wild energy charged within it, but without control or guidance, it remained in a static position—a sleeping giant waiting to be awakened.
As the lightning from the Mages fused into the smoke clouds, the electrical charges within grew more and more powerful. The clouds began to roil and churn, darkening ominously as energy built up to a critical point.
Suddenly, a deafening crack echoed across the mountain.
"BOOOOOOOM!"
After that thunderous blast, massive arcs of lightning began to fall from the sky. They flooded the inner ring, each bolt carrying immense destructive power. The lightning struck with indiscriminate fury, obliterating anything in its path. Drones were incinerated instantly, their exoskeletons exploding under the sheer force of the electrical discharge.
The use of this natural phenomenon surprised the hive mind. However, while the lightning arcs were overwhelmingly powerful, they were simply too spread out. Thousands of drones would die in the march, but many more would reach the walls to the summit. Recognizing this, the hive mind sent the signal, and the Leviathans continued their relentless advance across the lightning-streaked terrain.
The Xaos Forces and Turkin soldiers watched as the swarm kept pushing forward despite the lightning barrage. Yet, they showed no fear. The next moment, the wall that divided the summit from the inner ring began to glow. Intricate magic matrices appeared all around it, their lines and symbols pulsating with energy.