Chapter 450 - Locusts vs Goblins

Nearly 20 million locusts swarmed over Tanuki Town, darkening the sky. Zombies with even a trace of intelligence ducked into the shadows to avoid detection, knowing they would lose their heads the instant the locusts spotted them. Only the dull, ordinary zombies that continued to stumble through the streets, oblivious to danger. The locusts descended on them, devouring their decayed flesh until nothing remained.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Han Wu rode at the rear on his King Locust Dragon, surveying the vast swarm and Tanuki Town below. His battle with Huang Shengjun had devastated the town’s zombie population. Almost two thirds had been wiped out, and the few that remained hid themselves to survive.

With just a casual glance, Han Wu could sense several powerful mutated zombies still lurking within the town, and he burned with the urge to hunt them down. “Once I finish off Huang Shengjun, I will come back for them if there’s time.”

Every powerful mutated zombie represented a crystal capable of granting its wielder a special ability. Those same crystals could also produce a Heroic locust, while stronger ones could produce Lord or High Lord locusts. Even if he chose not to use them himself, he could distribute them among his units. After all, a Heroic life form was a valuable unit.

For now, though, his priority was Huang Shengjun. Han Wu looked ahead and locked onto Huang Shengjun’s main camp.

Huang Shengjun’s expression darkened as he listened to his goblins’ reports, and he growled, “Damn it! That bastard is attacking me at my weakest... Wait, maybe he was the one who infected my goblins! Han Wu, don’t get cocky. Even if I’ve lost most of my units, I won’t let you humiliate me!”

Huang Shengjun pulled a stone from his pocket. It was the most powerful treasure in his divine realm, and he had spent 3 million Energy Points to acquire it. It could absorb souls and form a Soul Giant to fight alongside him. The life form's strength grew in direct proportion to the number of souls it had absorbed.

The stone had already absorbed several million goblin souls, and Huang Shengjun couldn’t help but wonder how much stronger the Soul Giant would become with more. He wasn’t certain, but he believed this would be his key to turning the tide.

While he weighed his options, the battle outside had already erupted. All 20 million of Han Wu’s locusts clashed with the remaining 3 million goblins. Most of the locusts had already reached the Heroic rank, but the goblins were mostly newly born and still at the Common rank.

Han Wu held both the numerical advantage and superior life forms, turning the battle into a one-sided slaughter. The locusts easily tore through the goblins’ defense line and poured into Huang Shengjun’s base.

Huang Shengjun’s surviving powerful goblins had no choice but to join the fight. The Heroic goblins pounced and unleashed devastating attacks. Each of them could block the attacks from ten locusts. Unfortunately for them, Han Wu had a swarm a hundred times their number. If ten locusts couldn’t bring down a single Heroic goblin, then he would send a hundred.

The Heroic locusts’ combined force killed the Heroic goblins. The same outcome awaited the Lord and High Lord goblins, which were surrounded by locusts of matching rank.

Huang Shengjun’s three Goblin Kings grew frantic. They were his generals, and the sight of their subordinates dying filled them with agony.

One of them could no longer contain its rage. It pointed its blade at the locusts in the sky and roared, “Let’s kill them!”

To prevent the Goblin King from disrupting the rest of his units, Han Wu dispatched his newest King locust to intercept it. Since the locust had only recently turned into a King life form, Han Wu didn’t order it to win at all costs. Its mission was simply to stall the goblin until its allies could help it.

The locust heeded his order and dove toward its target. Blades met venom as the two clashed on their own battlefield. Their fight was fierce, but it would clearly drag on since the locust was deliberately stalling the goblin.

Seeing its companion locked in combat, the second Goblin King turned toward the distant battlefield. There were too many locusts, the goblins were losing ground fast as their numbers fell by the second.

Panicked and furious, the Goblin King drew its staff and started channeling a spell. Thick storm clouds gathered overhead, lightning flashing within their depths. If completed, the spell would unleash a barrage powerful enough to kill hundreds of High Lord locusts.

Han Wu wouldn’t let his locusts die just like that. He patted his Locust Dragon to stop it. The Locust Dragon gathered Frost Energy in its jaws and released its frost breath upon the clouds.

The air temperature dropped sharply as hailstones the size of human heads plummeted from the clouds and crashed into the goblin army below. The storm clouds broke apart, and the gathered lightning vanished with them.

Enraged, the Goblin King charged its staff with lightning and fired at the Locust Dragon. The Locust Dragon relied on its strong elemental resistance to tank the lightning strike, then activated its special ability. Bone spikes burst from its body as it lunged toward the Goblin King.

Although the Goblin King excelled at lightning magic, it was frail against physical attacks and fled in panic. The Locust Dragon pursued it relentlessly. It would take some time before anyone knew which of them would emerge victorious as well.

Meanwhile, the final Goblin King noticed that no locusts were guarding Han Wu and assumed that this was its chance. It would personally assassinate Han Wu and claim victory for its God.

This Goblin King specialized in stealth and killing. It concealed itself within the darkness and approached Han Wu without any sound or trace of aura. Just as it positioned itself beneath Han Wu and was about to attack, it suddenly sensed a larger Dark Zone beside it. The darkness radiating from it was denser and purer than its own.

While the Goblin King had frozen in shock, the Dark Zone instantly seized and attacked it. A huge, pitch-black locust emerged from within and started devouring the Goblin King’s Dark Source.

The goblin struggled to resist, but its efforts were futile. Its opponent was a Sage life form, a being far stronger than any King. The Sage locust’s sheer pressure alone was enough to immobilize and imprison the goblin within its own Dark Zone. Death was inevitable.

Less than a minute later, Dark Locust flew back to Han Wu and let out a satisfied burp. Han Wu patted Dark Locust and ordered him to join the others in battle and support his swarm. Then he turned his attention to Huang Shengjun’s position and appeared in front of him.

“Senior Huang, long time no see,” he said evenly.

The two were sworn enemies, and the air between them bristled with hostility. Han Wu’s killing intent surged the moment he saw Huang Shengjun, and the feeling was mutual.

Seeing the junior, whose talent far surpassed his own, Huang Shengjun wished he could go back in time and kill Han Wu before his rise, even if it meant breaking his own principles. Unfortunately, that chance was gone. His only hope now was to defeat Han Wu in this final battle.

Huang Shengjun gritted his teeth and roared, “Han Wu, today we’ll see which of us walks away alive!”