Book 5: Chapter 32 — Swarm Queen
Running through Death Valley's tunnels while being chased by several hundred insects was, Noah decided, one of his least favorite experiences.
The Corpse Flies' psychic drone washed over him in waves, each pulse making his limbs feel heavier, his thoughts more sluggish.
He had to keep casting Wyrm’s Feast as the stacks grew to dangerous levels. Even with his General Infliction Resistance reducing their strength, there were so many of them and they stacked up very quickly.
Wyrm’s Feast has consumed [Exhaustion IV]
Wyrm’s Feast has consumed [Lethargy IV]
A wave of destructive power pulsed out in response, his newly-upgraded ability felling the nearest cluster of insects in a heartbeat, but it barely seemed to make a difference. A hundred Hive Wasps fell to the ground and were replaced by a hundred more swarming in from their slow-moving Queen. Their stingers gleamed with venom, and Noah had no desire to find out what it felt like firsthand. The monsters in these outer reaches of the Valley may be only common and uncommon, but a level 500 acid would be well beyond what his intermediate resistance could handle.
Bun Bun ran beside him, occasionally turning to breathe fire and lightning at the closest pursuers. That bought them seconds, but the swarm was too large to meaningfully thin.
A cluster of wasps dove at Noah from the left. He cut three from the air with his Runeforged blade, but a fourth slipped past his guard.
Tony intercepts! Tony shifted across Noah's shoulder, hardening into an angled plate that deflected the wasp's stinger. Tony will protect Noah!