Chương 577: Chapter : 577

Princess Iris gripped her silver rapier tightly. She stepped to the front of the group. Her violet eyes locked onto the Bug King. She refused to back down.

"Vanguard, stand your ground!" Princess Iris commanded smoothly. Her voice cut through the panic.

"Do not let it intimidate you. We will find a weak point. We must protect the city guards." The city guards stood near the edges of the plaza. They wore simple silver armor. They held basic metal spears. They stared up at the Bug King. They shook with absolute fear. They had never seen a monster of this magnitude. The Bug King looked down at the tiny humans. It did not charge forward immediately. It did not swing its massive scythe arms. It demonstrated incredible, terrifying intelligence.

The monster raised its head toward the sky. The bone crown on its skull began to glow. A blinding, toxic green light pulsed from the crown. The light flashed rapidly. It looked exactly like a magical beacon. The Bug King unleashed a massive, concentrated pulse of dark magical energy. The energy wave exploded outward. It swept across the entire commercial district. It washed over the ruined buildings. It washed over the streets. The green energy wave hit the remaining mutant bugs scattered across the city.

The reaction was instantaneous. The reaction was utterly catastrophic. Ken paused his chewing. He narrowed his dark eyes. He watched the green light wash over a small, defeated green beetle lying near the sidewalk.

"Oh no," Ken analyzed casually in his mind. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"It is an area-of-effect buff spell. The boss is casting a massive stat boost on all the minor enemies. This is the worst game mechanic ever. Now the small bugs are going to get super armor. The developers are really trying to make us lose." The green beetle on the sidewalk stopped twitching. It suddenly flipped back onto its legs. Its green shell turned a sickening, dark purple color. The shell thickened visibly. The bug grew twice its original size. Its eyes burned with bright red light.

The exact same transformation happened to every single bug in the city. The defeated wasps flew back into the sky. Their wings buzzed with a loud, metallic drone. Their stingers grew long and jagged. The centipedes slithered with impossible speed. Their bodies hardened like solid iron. The Bug King had just revived and magnified its entire army. The monster king triggered a sudden, violent reaction in the remaining mutant insects.

The dark magic magnified their physical strength and their absolute durability tenfold. The quiet street erupted into pure, unfiltered chaos. The bugs were no longer weak. They were highly aggressive, incredibly durable killing machines. The real invasion was officially starting right now. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The commercial district turned into an absolute nightmare. The enhanced mutant bugs swarmed the streets. The dark purple shells of the beetles clanked against the cobblestones. The noise was deafening. The bugs moved with blistering, unnatural speed. The regular city guards stood in a defensive line. They held their silver shields up. They pointed their metal spears forward. They tried to protect the civilians hiding in the shops.

"Hold the line!" the guard captain screamed loudly. He gripped his sword tightly.

"Do not let them break through!" A massive, enhanced purple beetle charged at the guards. It lowered its thick, armored head. It rammed directly into the silver shields. The impact was absolutely devastating. The silver shields crumpled like wet paper. The sheer kinetic force of the enhanced bug shattered the defensive line instantly. The guards flew backward through the air. They crashed into the wooden market stalls. Their metal spears snapped in half against the bug's purple shell.

The enhanced bugs easily shattered the established defensive lines of the city guards. The guards could not stop them. The bugs pushed forward. They threw the active combat zones back into severe chaos.

"The guards are falling!" Naomi shouted fiercely. She drew her twin silver daggers. Her green eyes flashed with intense determination.

"We have to help them! Vanguard, move out!" Naomi dashed across the plaza. Her green wind magic swirled rapidly around her combat boots. She moved like a red-haired blur. She aimed directly for a charging centipede. She spun her body in a flawless arc. She slashed her daggers across the bug's purple shell. CLANG! A loud, metallic ringing sound echoed through the street. Naomi stumbled backward. Her wrists vibrated with painful shock. She looked at her daggers in pure disbelief.

The sharp silver blades did not leave a single scratch on the bug. The purple shell was entirely too thick. The durability of the insect was magnified tenfold.

"My daggers bounced right off!" Naomi warned loudly. She leaped backward to avoid a snapping pincer.

"Their armor is like solid steel! Physical cuts are completely ineffective!" Laxmi ran forward. The fire user grinned a wild, angry grin.

"Let me try! Metal melts when it gets too hot!" Laxmi slammed her fists together. Bright orange flames roared to life. She gathered a massive amount of heat. She threw a gigantic fireball directly at a flying wasp. The fire engulfed the bug completely. The bright orange flames washed over the purple shell. The fire faded away. The wasp buzzed its wings. It did not fall out of the sky. It did not turn into gray ash. The enhanced shell completely absorbed the thermal energy. The bug was totally unharmed.

"Are you kidding me?!" Laxmi yelled. She threw her hands in the air.

"They are immune to fire! This is completely unfair!" Zinia stomped her boots onto the cobblestones. The strong earth mage pulled up a massive, thick wall of solid rock. She tried to block a group of purple beetles. The beetles did not stop. They rammed their heads into the stone wall. The rocks exploded into tiny pieces of gravel. The bugs smashed through the earth magic effortlessly. Zinia gritted her teeth. She had to dive out of the way to avoid getting trampled.

"My walls cannot hold them!" Zinia reported loudly.

"Their physical strength is unbelievable!" Sayma pushed her glasses up. Her hands shook slightly. She opened her notebook. She tried to calculate a new strategy. She realized the terrible truth.

"Their stats are multiplied beyond our current output capacity," Sayma stated politely but urgently.

"The Bug King applied a massive, continuous enhancement aura. We cannot pierce their defenses with basic elemental attacks." Ira stood perfectly still. Her pale face showed zero emotion. She swung her high-pressure water whips. The water lashed against a beetle's legs. The water splashed harmlessly. The bug did not even trip.

"Statistically speaking, our offensive efficiency has dropped to zero percent," Ira noted in her flat, robotic voice.

"We are entirely outmatched in this current state." Luna pointed two fingers at a wasp. She shot a bright yellow lightning bolt. The electricity hit the bug's shell and grounded out instantly. Luna yawned a loud, frustrated yawn.

"My lightning is not working. I really want to go home now."