CHAPTER 97: 7,000 C

"Hiss~ did we poke a nest of these carrion beetles?"

"This is too much! How many of them are there?"

"You still call this a 5-star danger level? Might as well label it Yellow 1-star danger!"

Danger levels, like ranks, are divided by stars and color coding.

No color means Tier 1 danger, while Yellow represents Tier 2.

[Carrion Beetle: Danger Level – 5 Stars]

Seeing thousands upon thousands of carrion beetles swarming at them, nobody trusted the dark panel’s warning.

They estimated that at least 5,000 carrion beetles were in the swarm.

"It’s indeed a 5-star danger level. There are only over 7,000 carrion beetles around," Lawrence said after counting the number of enemies.

For a carrion beetle swarm to reach Yellow Tier, it needed to hit 10,000 in number.

"What difference does it make? 7,000 carrion beetles? Might as well just kill us already."

"Don’t worry. I’ll protect you," Lawrence reassured.

Although unsure if he could guard everyone, taking down these carrion beetles wasn’t a problem for him.

"Take cover! Make sure to protect the pathfinders!"

Not wanting to risk their lives, Lawrence dashed toward the swarm, meeting them head-on.

Surrounded by thousands of dark beasts, his expression turned serious as he activated a high-grade armor and drew his sword.

"Boss Noir, get behind us, we’ll protect you!" Elisha stepped forward, ready to face the carrion beetles charging their way.

Though Lawrence drew most of the swarm, thousands still came in their direction.

"Don’t worry about me. Just protect yourselves," Nash said, shaking his head as he brandished his spear-blade.

If it had been a higher-tier dark beast, Nash might struggle.

But for these weak carrion beetles? No matter how many, he would kill as many as they came.

Without waiting for them to respond, Nash quickly charged.

Slash~

[Carrion Beetle Killed: +0.5 Merit]

Slash~

[Carrion Beetle Killed: +0.5 Merit]

Slash~

[Carrion Beetle Killed: +0.5 Merit]

Killing a dark beast with each swing of his bladed spear, Nash began his slaughter feast.

"Haha! As expected of you, Boss!" William laughed, joining the fight.

Clenching his fists, a shockwave echoed with his punch, killing multiple carrion beetles at once.

"This is fun~"

Like a monster on a rampage, William didn’t care about the carrion beetles latching onto his body as he kept attacking.

Meanwhile, watching the two face the carrion beetles without fear, the others felt inspired and dove in to meet the enemy.

So what if there were thousands? As long as they could kill them with one hit, they were no different from ants.

Unfortunately, it was only their wishful thinking.

Facing the carrion beetles, every time they killed one, another latched onto them, corroding their bodies.

"Argh!"

Screaming in pain, most of them couldn’t help but retreat.

"What are you thinking? Just protect yourselves. No need to go out of your way to kill these carrion beetles," Nash said as his hand kept waving, harvesting them with ease.

"Huh~ I’m sorry, we were presumptuous..."

"These beasts were indeed 5-star danger, we thought too much."

"Don’t worry about us, we’ll protect ourselves from the back."

Watching Nash and William kill the carrion beetles so effortlessly, they had thought they could do the same.

Who knew just one carrion beetle was enough to send them screaming?

"Haha! Just go back. No need to worry about us," William laughed as he crushed the carrion beetles clinging to his body into mush.

With his body like solid steel, immune to corrosion, the carrion beetles could do nothing but tickle him.

Obeying their words, the rest fell back, forming a circle as they defended themselves from the incoming dark beasts.

As for the six 4-star void warriors, they stepped forward to help Nash and William.

With high saturation rates and decent combat abilities, they could still hold their ground.

---

Soon, as the battle dragged on, fatigue began to set in, as the void energy protecting their bodies began to run dry.

On the other hand, after dodging every attack as he killed the carrion beetles with minimal effort, Nash hadn’t even broken a sweat.

"Boss, you have to teach me that skill later," William said, feeling fatigue creeping through his body.

If these carrion beetles didn’t latch onto his body and drain his energy, he could fight for a few hours without stopping.

Unfortunately, although his body was strong, without the protection of void energy, he would still be affected.

Draining his energy in just a few minutes of battle, he couldn’t help but envy Nash’s fighting style.

"Just concentrate on your own way of fighting. You can’t learn this," Nash replied.

Unless William was fast, flexible, and highly perceptive, he couldn’t imitate his fighting style.

Instead of going down a narrow and complicated path, he should focus on his strengths.

Looking at William’s punches with splash effect, Nash couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

How efficient would it be if he could do the same?

Unfortunately, he could only kill one at a time.

---

Soon, after a few more minutes of killing thousands of carrion beetles, the fatigue began to show on their faces.

"Hold on a bit longer!" Lawrence shouted from the back as he hurried forward.

Although the battle was nearing its end, it also meant the danger was at an all-time high.

Sure enough, toward the rear, the 3-star void warriors could no longer hold on as swarms of carrion beetles latched onto their bodies.

"Not good," Lawrence muttered, frowning as he saw casualties about to appear.

"I’ll take care of it. You defend this spot," Nash said.

Not willing to see these future recruits die before his eyes, Nash dashed back to save them.

With his bladed spear, he sliced through the battlefield like he was painting a masterpiece, carefully avoiding the skin of their body.

Watching him, they couldn’t tell which was more terrifying: Nash accidentally slashing them, or the carrion beetles melting their bodies.

Fortunately, Nash moved like a machine, too precise to make a mistake.

It felt like every millimeter of the battlefield was under his control, cleanly slicing the enemies just a skin’s width away.

Under this surgical precision, the team finally caught a breath and started to counterattack.

Lawrence also cleared most of the dark beasts around him and rushed to help in the back.