Chapter 90: Spatial Wormhole

Just as the swarm of corrosive mutant larvae was ten meters from the city wall, apertures opened at the base of the wall, and rows of flames surged forth.

The larvae shrieked piercingly, writhing incessantly in the fire. At such close range, their sluggish speed left them no chance to evade. The flames, fueled by a special accelerant, could not be extinguished once ignited, turning both the larvae and the surrounding ground into a sea of fire.

Unable to approach the city wall, the larvae began to self-destruct. Yet, amidst the flames, the effectiveness of their corrosive fluids was greatly diminished—most of the liquid vaporized before it could even reach the ground.

The inferno raged for five minutes. When the flames finally died down, not a single mutant larva remained at the base of the city wall, only the corroded metal surface was left. This was a well-executed defense; had the larvae self-destructed right beside the wall, these otherwise harmless creatures would have posed a tremendous threat to the city’s defenses.

David found it curious that during this entire episode, the primary insectoids outside the city had not launched an assault—they seemed to be waiting for something. He recalled from his studies that the insectoids were indeed an intelligent species, though not all shared the same level of intellect. The higher their rank, the greater their intelligence. Among the primary insectoids, some could even mutate into highly intelligent variants.

He could not tell if this was the situation outside the city, or if something far more terrifying—a secondary insectoid—had appeared. But with the city’s defenses, if a secondary insectoid attacked directly, it would pay a heavy price; such attacks were rare. For instance, heavy laser cannons could harm secondary insectoids only through sustained fire. With their superior speed and stronger defenses, it was nearly impossible for the cannons to lock onto them. Only when several heavy lasers targeted a secondary insectoid at close range could results be achieved.

“Warning: spatial fluctuation detected, activating city energy shield!” The defense system automatically issued an alert.

The shadow attendant hovering above saw a transparent energy mesh envelop the city from within the walls. The energy mesh buzzed with a cacophony of flowing energy, its grid gradually fading until a fully transparent shield remained.

“So this is the legendary energy shield!” David, through the shadow attendant’s eyes, beheld the shield glistening in the sunlight like a colossal soap bubble, marveling at the technology of this world.

To activate an energy shield protecting an entire city required an immense amount of power, necessitating a substantial consumption of krypton crystals—a colossal expense for Peran City. Thus, the shield was never activated in normal circumstances. In fact, David could not recall the city ever deploying it before.

Now that the shield was up, it signaled the arrival of great danger. Notably, the shield did not encompass the city walls; the defense system was positioned outside its boundaries. It was said that except for a certain specialized weapon, most heavy arms could not fire outward from within the shield. Should the defense system be shielded, it would become utterly powerless—a scenario no one wished to see. To entrust the city’s safety solely to the shield was risky; once depleted, the city would be lost.

The shadow attendant scanned the skies, searching for the source of the threat. At that moment, armored soldiers vaulted onto the wall from the passageways, standing in orderly ranks, weapons in hand.

Their heads were completely encased in sealed helmets, so David could not see their expressions, but he recognized them as military personnel. All wore exoskeleton armor modeled after the terrestrial giant lion—standard issue for ground troops.

Among them, he spotted five wielding second-tier weapons.

“Attention! The spatial wormhole may open at any moment. Our duty is to hold the wall at all costs. Behind us are our homes, our families. Federation soldiers never retreat!” Lieutenant Elmer, clad in terrestrial giant lion exoskeleton armor, proclaimed solemnly through his suit’s amplification system.

His words addressed not only the armored soldiers but all defenders atop the wall.

David noted the rank insignia on Elmer’s armor; a lieutenant, wearing military exoskeleton gear—he instantly knew who it was. This was Daly’s father, the captain of the city defense armored company.

He counted about a hundred military armored soldiers—the entire company. It seemed Peran City’s defense force had deployed every military armored soldier.

David was unsure what this “spatial wormhole” was, for the shadow attendant saw no insectoids nearby. Then, as he observed through the attendant’s vision, he sensed a powerful, strange energy fluctuation—a natural perception of the shadow attendant—located a kilometer from the fifth control room, five meters above the city wall.

The shadow attendant turned toward the source. The military had apparently detected the wormhole’s location with some device; two nearby heavy laser cannons swiveled their massive barrels to target it.

Twin beams of blinding light shot forth, piercing the air and striking the spot of the energy fluctuation.

Yet an even brighter radiance erupted. Fortunately, the shadow attendant was immune to dazzling light, unfazed by even the most intense glare.

In that instant, the twin laser beams seemed to vanish, and the attendant’s vision was plunged into darkness as the spatial wormhole appeared.

This was merely an illusion—the wormhole was so brilliant that it overwhelmed all else.

It flashed for less than a second before stabilizing, its fierce light fading. In the sky hovered a portal rippling like water, its edges glowing blue.

The twin lasers continued their assault but failed to hinder the wormhole’s formation.

As it stabilized, the shadow attendant—though some distance away—heard a tremendous buzzing. From the wormhole burst a flying insectoid, bearing transparent wings, an ugly head, and blade-like forelimbs.

“It’s a Rending Flyer! Formation, now!” Lieutenant Elmer shouted.

The Rending Flyer was a swarm-based primary flying insectoid. Although not the strongest attacker among its rank, it was by far the fastest. Its flight made it the most difficult of all primary insectoids to combat.

The first Rending Flyer emerged from the wormhole and was immediately struck by the twin laser beams. Its tough carapace could not withstand sustained fire from the heavy cannons; as a result, its wings were vaporized and its shell charred.

Yet its fierce vitality drove it to instinctively break free of the lasers. Just as it succeeded, a second-tier battle axe, gleaming with eerie blue light, cleaved it in two.

Lieutenant Elmer had made the strike—he’d launched himself from the ground, and as the Rending Flyer escaped the lasers, he used the momentum to deliver a fatal blow with his heavy axe.

“Bravo!” the armored soldiers shouted in acclaim.

Primary insectoids were not easily defeated; even with well-trained teamwork, it usually took five armored soldiers to kill one without casualties.

Of course, it was only because the Rending Flyer had been gravely wounded by the twin lasers that Elmer could finish it alone. Still, to slay a primary insectoid at the outset was a huge boost to morale.

In contrast to the soldiers’ excitement, Lieutenant Elmer felt no joy. That a portion of the insectoid swarm in orbit had chosen Peran City was the worst possible outcome.

He had no idea how many more insectoids would appear. Though the wormhole’s location had been pinpointed, he could not be sure whether his hundred soldiers could hold back the invasion.

As for civilian armored soldiers, he had no expectations. Unless they were veterans returned from service, their combat effectiveness against insectoids was far inferior to that of the military.