Chapter 211 | Swarm: I Became a Cataclysmic Disaster

“In the deepest, most precious place—it is right there.”

With Celia and the aerial forces active, Elise smiled as she confirmed that Behemoth had successfully disabled the airship fleet and safely passed through the Great Mountains' airspace.

Elise already knew where the Stargate was being built.

As soon as the battle began, she had captured prisoners and tortured them mercilessly until they confessed.

Of course, the exact location was top-secret, known only to a few, but that did not matter.

As long as they had an approximate location, the Great Devourer could find it with its unique and exceptional detection capabilities.

She planned to deploy all the hundreds of soldiers carried inside Behemoth to that suspected location.

“N-No! Stop it!”

In the temporary command post, the dwarven king listened to the reports with growing anxiety. Watching the battle unfold, he rushed outside, his face pale as he looked up at the sky and shouted.

Of course, most of their forces were deployed on the front lines.

To form an airship fleet capable of rapid maneuverability, offense, and defense, they had significantly reduced the defensive forces meant to counter aerial attacks.

Yet, as if mocking their decision, an attack that could not be compared to any simple aerial raid descended upon them.

“Fire! We must shoot it down!”

Those who could be called their last hope mounted a final resistance.

They constructed a joint magic circle, manned their cannons, and aimed them at the sky.

However, their final hope was blocked by Lisette, who flew in at high speed, unfolding her pair of black wings and wielding twin swords.

She plunged down alone to wreak havoc, harming mages and destroying artillery. Meanwhile, Behemoth slowly lowered its altitude, revealing its colossal form and opening its massive maw, as if exposing its empty interior.

“What in the world...”

Standing by the railing, the dwarven king was stunned by the bizarre and overwhelming sight.

The others were the same.

A monster larger than several ordinary buildings combined was floating in the sky, its mouth agape as if to swallow the entire city. The sight was bone-chilling.

“M-Monsters are pouring out!”

Then, countless mutated Great Devourers rained down from its massive mouth.

They crashed to the ground with a violent impact, but immediately rolled to their feet, pouncing on every enemy in sight.

Although the fortresses and bases on the front lines were still desperately holding on with absolute resolve, sacrificing countless lives, more than several hundred Great Devourers had appeared in the deepest part of the Great Mountains—the very place that should have been most heavily guarded.

“Your Majesty, please calm down! We only need to subdue the ones that have appeared here!”

“How is that possible?! All of our forces are currently deployed on the front lines, far away from here!”

The invading Great Devourers ran rampant in the vulnerable heart of the dwarven kingdom, sending the king into a panic, his body trembling.

Natro, a dwarven tech officer, rushed over, begging the dwarven king to pull himself together.

“Our Tech Bureau still has inventory. Although it hasn't undergone full testing yet...”

Natro said with a grave face that there was still hope, and that hope lay in the Tech Bureau he led.

At the same time, a metallic clanking echoed from the distance.

The metallic sound pierced through the screams and shouts caused by the Great Devourer, clearly reaching the dwarven king's ears.

“What is that...”

The dwarven king's eyes widened as he saw it.

The steam engine on its back spewed smoke, and the magic stone on its chest glowed brightly.

A dwarven warrior piloted a reinforced exoskeleton, wielding a massive axe in each hand, splitting the head of a charging spider ant with a single blow.

“Bring it on, you bastards!”

The dwarven warrior roared, swinging his axes.

The power behind the massive, heavy axes was enough to shatter the defense barrier of a Tyrant-grade Great Devourer.

The metal exoskeleton they wore was incredibly hard; neither the sharp mandibles of the gladiator ants nor the venomous stingers of the scorpion ants could pierce it.

“The enemy's new technology.”

Elise showed interest in the powered armor created by the dwarves.

With the power of the equipment, one could exert strength beyond their limits, which was a highly attractive technology for the Great Devourer as well.

Most importantly, Elise intended to devour and absorb everything the opponent possessed.

Even seemingly useless knowledge could yield completely different results when combined with other information.

“To think they could build something like that.”

Lin Miao also marveled from the bottom of his heart.

The dwarven warriors, piloting the roaring, steam-belching armor, fought desperately to stop the Great Devourers trying to rush toward the Stargate.

Though they relied on mechanical power, their earnestness and fighting spirit were undeniable.

Compared to the Great Devourers pouring out of Behemoth, they were few in number, but they held on tenaciously with their familiarity with the terrain, new technology, and desperate determination.

“You will absolutely not pass! Not this place!”

Harnessing even greater magic power through his armor, the dwarven defense captain roared in a booming voice, swinging his axe to block the path and striking down the rushing Great Devourers.

The armor he piloted was larger and stronger than the others.

The dwarven defense captain gripped the massive axe with both hands, while the cannon on his back automatically loaded, firing magic missiles and shells.

“Ha! Are you trying to run?!”

The Great Devourers viewed the dwarven defense captain as a formidable enemy. He rampaged almost frantically, and to avoid further casualties, the Great Devourers pulled their ordinary mutants back.

Since these forces had been airlifted, they could not be easily replenished.

Therefore, they could not afford to waste their troops like water.

Instead, the few Lictors mingled among them stepped forward.

They were created to learn, absorb, and utilize the enemy's magic, martial arts, and other techniques. Since their birth, they had continuously grown stronger through the various battles and experiences accumulated in the hive mind.

“Oh, come at me if you have the guts!”

With his beard flying, the dwarven defense captain shouted in excitement, stepping forward to meet them.

The Lictor knights were larger than beastkin, but thanks to his armor, the dwarven defense captain was large enough to match them.

His axe, shimmering with blue magic power, split the incoming magic and blocked the swinging claws.

At the same time, the small cannon aimed on his shoulder fired armor-piercing shells, instantly piercing the chest of a Lictor knight.

“We won!”

Watching the enemy stagger and fall, the dwarven defense captain raised his axe and shouted.

“Ohhh!”

“The captain won! We can hold them off!”

The dwarven king and the other dwarves gasped in admiration at the sight.

They shook off their despair and saw hope.

The hope that they could win if they fought to the death transformed the dwarves' morale.

The fear and anxiety that had instantly bred from the aerial infiltration and massive raid dissipated, replaced by burning passion and fighting spirit.

“...”

Elise was highly displeased when she saw this.

The emotions the enemy should be feeling were fear and despair.

While willpower alone obviously could not achieve anything, Elise had seen many people whose strength instantly transcended their limits when fueled by emotion.

“Kill them.”

Thus, Elise issued her command.

Kill the dwarven hero who stood at the center of this fiery resistance. Kill the hero, and sow despair and fear.

“Y-You...”

Lisette stepped forward.

Unfolding her wings, Lisette flew toward the dwarven defense captain at high speed.

Seeing her approach, the dwarven defense captain barely managed to raise his axe to block her attack, his body stumbling back.

This elven female warrior was covered in a black exoskeleton, with massive blades growing from the backs of her hands, her long golden hair fluttering in the wind.

Even with the mask and hair, her pointed ears were clearly visible.

'Is this a race against time to see if they can break through? It looks like the Stargate is almost complete.'

Lin Miao could not even sit still. He paced back and forth, staring at the screen.

In the Divine Net forum, some users were posting that the Stargate technology was only a tiny bit away from completion, unable to contain their excitement.

In reality, the Stargate was indeed almost fully built.

Currently, they were channeling energy into it, and many dwarven designers were waiting anxiously for its completion.

And the warriors at the front-line bases and fortresses still fought to the death, believing in only this.

Countless people had sacrificed their lives to buy even a single second.

The Great Devourers swarmed toward the Great Mountains from all directions, attempting to force a breakthrough, but the joint coalition army's resistance was exceptionally stubborn.

Fortresses were deployed at every intersection, and traps were set to keep the Great Devourers from approaching.

Rather than a defense, it was to the extent of isolating the joint coalition army themselves.

'So the airlift is indeed the key.'

In Lin Miao's eyes, if the Great Devourer wanted to reach the Stargate within the allotted time, the best way was to open an aerial path that could completely bypass that ironclad defense line.

【Elise is preparing for the second transport】

Behemoth required massive resources and a dedicated production site. As the largest individual currently within the colony, they had not been able to produce a second one.

After testing and deeming it feasible, she had immediately put it into production, but no one knew if it could be born before the Stargate was completed.

Instead, Elise recalled the Behemoth that had already deployed its forces once, loading it with the second wave of the assault force that was waiting nearby.

The colossal monster opened its massive maw, sucking up the Great Devourers packed tightly on the arid plains in one breath. To Lin Miao, the sight was bone-chilling.

“Begin escort.”

It would be foolish to let such a vital combat asset fly alone.

Flying alongside the flying species, Celia began escorting Behemoth once again.

The dwarven airships, engaged in a fierce battle with the Great Devourer colony's aerial forces, desperately tried to stop them, but the Great Devourers willingly threw away their lives to escort Behemoth and clear an aerial path.

“Danger! That giant monster is heading your way!”

“Could it be...”

The dwarven defense captain caught his breath amidst the frantic communication, clenching his teeth.

Now, reinforcements from both sides—the joint coalition army and the Great Devourer—were rushing to this location.

But the Great Devourers flying through the air were faster.

The dwarven defense captain and the last of the troops had to hold on.

“Just hold on a little longer! That is our only duty!”

The dwarven defense captain roared to his subordinates while swinging his axe.

Lisette parried his attack, using the blade on her other hand to stab toward the dwarven captain, breaking through his armored suit.

Although it was a steel suit of armor imbued with protective spells, the dark green energy wrapped around Lisette's blade pierced through it, tearing the steel like paper.

The engraved spells were shattered, and various mechanical parts spilled out like blood.

“Ugh...”

The dwarven defense captain stumbled, and Lisette did not miss this fleeting opening.

Thanks to her suit, her body was like a spring, spinning in the air and crossing her hands before her chest.

She then charged toward the dwarven defense captain, who was much bulkier than her. In that instant, Lisette's body leaped into the air, spinning as she crossed her hands before her chest.

Beneath her mask, her red and green eyes flashed respectively.

With a series of brilliant slashes, one by one, the arms and legs of the powered armor were severed, falling to the ground with heavy thuds.

When the cannon on the dwarven defense captain's back was also sliced off by the blade, he collapsed to the ground, gritting his teeth.

Before he knew it, Lisette's foot was stepping on the chest of his armor, pinning the dwarven defense captain down.

“You monster.”

The dwarven defense captain disconnected himself from the armor, quickly aiming his pistol at Lisette's face and firing, but a dark blue barrier deflected the bullet.

“Long live the great kingdom! The Earth God will not abandon us!”

However, watching this, the dwarven defense captain burst into a loud laugh. Before Lisette could finish him off, he roared his final resolve and voluntarily detonated the self-destruct device.

Along with the armor's power unit, the self-destruction exploded with immense force, blowing away everything within a few meters of him, leaving not even a fragment of his corpse.

Beneath her mask, Lisette's brow twitched.

For Lisette, who still thought with an elven mindset, self-destruction and the destruction of one's corpse were severe offenses against her sensibilities.

“...Tenacious, and foolish.”

Despite such an explosion, Lisette, protected by her barrier, only had the exoskeleton of her symbiotic carapace ant slightly blackened.

All around, other Great Devourers rushed in from all directions, suppressing the remaining resisting dwarven warriors. They dragged them out of their overturned armor, biting the struggling dwarves with their mandibles, and killing them with venomous stings.

At the same time, Behemoth descended from the sky once more, opening its mouth to deploy the second wave of troops it had brought to the ground.

Pacing anxiously beside the Stargate, the dwarven king looked through the monitoring crystal ball and saw the Great Devourers swarming toward them, unable to help but sigh.