Chapter 92 : The Prematurely Hatched Swarm — The City’s Full Strength Rallies to Battle!
Chapter 92: The Prematurely Hatched Swarm — The City’s Full Strength Rallies to Battle!
Next.
Lynn did not hesitate in the slightest. His figure turned into a beam of golden light and shot into the sky once again.
He hovered above the civilian district of Lemon Port, where the sick were most numerous.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly spread open his hands.
Buzz—!
Pure golden brilliance.
Centered on Lynn, it surged outward like a tide, sweeping across the entire city.
It was as if a second sun had risen in the night, its radiance gradually spreading across the land.
And wherever that light passed—
The parasites clinging to the hearts of the patients were instantly forced out by some divine compulsion.
They fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and swiftly withered to death.
“Dear heavens!”
“M–my illness is gone!!”
“So that’s it! We were weak because there were bugs inside our bodies!!”
“No wonder eating more never helped, all the nutrients were being stolen! Damn it!!”
“Look—look at the sky! Who is that??”
“What a warm light… is that the Lord above purifying the plague, saving us?!”
On the ground below—
Those who had recovered from their sickness stepped out of their homes one after another.
When they lifted their heads, they saw Lynn shining like a god.
Their expressions naturally filled with reverence and gratitude.
Cheers and cries of worship began to echo throughout the city, at first scattered, then rising into a mighty wave of sound.
On the high balcony of the castle, Baroness Erica Floyd stood watching the entire scene.
Her hands, tightly gripping the railing, trembled faintly.
Too fast!
It was all far too fast!
The enormous trouble that had tormented her for so many days—
Had actually been solved so easily by His Excellency, the one blessed by the Lord!
Erica felt dazed, almost unable to believe it was real.
The oppressive weight in her heart began to ease, a faint sense of relief seeping in—
As though she could finally entrust a heavy burden to someone else.
However…
Only Lynn’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
“Something isn’t right.”
Through his divine sense, he clearly perceived—
Those purified parasites were becoming increasingly restless, one after another!
It was as though his large-scale purification had completely alerted the manipulator behind them.
The other side had begun to strike back!
Sure enough—
When Lynn’s purifying light spread over nearly a third of the city—
A sudden mutation erupted!
“Uwaaaaah—!!”
A scream of utmost agony burst out from a nearby residential building!
Then came a second, a third—
And soon, like a chain reaction, the cries swept across the entire city!
Those infected who had not yet been touched by the Holy Light arched their bodies violently, eyes bulging wide!
The fabric over their hearts tore apart as the parasites beneath their skin writhed frantically—
As though they were greedily devouring the last drops of their hosts’ life force!
“Damn it!”
“They’re trying to hatch early!!”
Lynn’s pupils shrank sharply.
He poured out his divine power without reservation, hastening the purification.
Yet the spread of the Holy Light barely kept pace with the parasites’ frenzy!
One after another, the infected shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye.
All nutrients and the essence of their flesh were drained away—
Leaving behind nothing but skin-wrapped skeletons.
Then—
Splurt! Splurt!
Their collapsed chests were ripped open from within!
Huge black beetles, each the size of a human head, with glossy shells, burst out!
Shaking off mucus, they crawled free.
Their tiny eyes glimmered with malice; their mandibles clicked open and shut with sharp, grating snaps.
What was even more horrifying—
These newly hatched insects did not hesitate for even a moment before turning to devour the remains of their hosts!
Not even the bones were spared!
Within a few breaths—
All that remained on the ground were puddles of dark red filth.
“M–monsters! Monsters!!”
“Those sick people—there were monsters living inside them!!”
“Run!!”
“Don’t go near them!!”
The crowd that had just been cheering a moment ago was now plunged into utter panic.
Crying, screaming, trampling—merged into a single wave of chaos.
The entire Lemon Port had fallen into complete disorder!
Lynn’s face darkened.
His divine sense swept across the city, and his heart sank to the bottom.
The number of those hatched black beetles was horrifying!
Their weakest ones were of the First-tier, some even reaching the Second-tier—comparable to Lickers.
And there were dozens exuding the aura of Third-tier elite individuals!
In total, no fewer than sixty or seventy thousand of them!
It was as if a massive Undead Legion had suddenly appeared within the city!
“Damn it, I miscalculated!” Lynn cursed inwardly.
He had not expected the hatching mechanism of these parasites to be so vicious!
Even without sufficient nutrients, they could still force themselves to hatch—only at a lower level.
But the result was the same—the host would still die, with no chance of saving them!
It was easy to imagine—
If the enemy’s plan had fully succeeded, if every parasite had enough nourishment for perfect hatching,
Then there would have been two to three hundred thousand insects—at least Second-tier, some reaching Fourth-tier!
That would be a terrifying swarm capable of crushing any barony—utterly unstoppable!!
Now, the situation before him was already the best possible outcome among misfortunes…
“Should I use the 【Gate of Heaven】?”
Faced with this overwhelming number of enemies—
Lynn’s first thought was of that divine art.
Its power for sweeping away lesser foes was truly heaven-defying.
But at the moment, it couldn’t be used!
First—
These newly hatched insects possessed only the instinct to devour.
They knew nothing of fear and thus could not satisfy the “intimidation” requirement.
Second—
The 【Gate of Heaven】 consumed a tremendous amount of power.
Back in Oak Town, the angelic projection had been a bugged instance—it vanished after use.
Now things were different.
Lynn’s true body had already reached the Third-tier, so the cost had risen drastically—each activation required at least a thousand Holy Radiance points.
And now, his current incarnation had barely over three thousand left.
He still had to face the boss, the Lord of Rot—
That would be a real battle. He couldn’t afford to waste power now.
“I can only work together with the city’s defensive forces and cleanse them step by step!”
Lynn gritted his teeth, diving downward in golden light.
“Erica! Gather everyone who can fight! Exterminate these insects!”
“Colin! Daniels! Hold the lines and protect the civilians first!”
His voice echoed in everyone’s ears.
Erica was no fool.
She had already realized the situation when the first small wave of insects appeared.
She was now fully mobilizing all available forces in the city, setting up temporary defense points.
Alarm bells rang out as the Magic Tower began operating at full capacity.
All guards, magicians, mercenaries, and merchant guild guards were mobilized!
They formed squads to clear the insects from the streets!
All factions that had once been divided by internal strife—
Now, in the face of survival, were united as one.
They raised their weapons and charged into the alleys.
The battle had entered its fevered stage!
“Hold them back!”
“Don’t let those beasts into the residential district!”
Daniels roared.
His broadsword swung down, slicing an onrushing beetle clean in half.
Green fluid splattered across his body.
“Careful! They can spit venom!”
Colin shouted loudly.
A shield of Holy Light formed in his hand, deflecting a black poison dart flying toward women and children.
“Flame Burst! Release!”
A dozen magicians chanted in unison.
A blazing serpent of fire surged down four streets, incinerating swathes of the insect swarm.
But there were simply too many of them!
The insects were small, fast, capable of burrowing and scaling walls.
Impossible to guard against them all!
Stragglers—soldiers or civilians—were constantly discovered.
The swarms pounced as one, and within seconds, only bloody remains were left!
Screams rose one after another.
Lynn’s golden form flashed rapidly through the city.
Wherever the danger was greatest, he appeared.
From his palm, showers of Holy Light poured like rain, purifying the beetles in large numbers.
Wherever he passed—
The black insects carbonized and disintegrated.
His efficiency in killing—
Matched that of an entire city’s army!