Upon learning of the burrowing worm king's appearance in the city, Qin Shilei rushed to the scene immediately.
However, by the time he arrived, the worm king had long since departed, leaving behind only corpses and a dark earthen hole.
He then saw a message on the chat channel reporting the worm king's reappearance in the western part of the city.
Qin Shilei once again rushed over without delay, but was still a step too late.
The worm king had already finished its killing spree and left.
An Qian said sternly, "This worm king is too cunning. It's clearly avoiding us."
Qin Shilei frowned and said, "This worm king will likely dig another tunnel next, letting the outside bugs flood into the city."
He couldn't fathom how the almost-dead worm king could appear in the city to kill so quickly.
Upon hearing this, Wen Zhiyuan and the others who had just arrived had their faces change, a bad premonition filling their hearts.
Tan Anguo furrowed his brows, worried, "If this worm king can freely create tunnels beneath Bei'an City, then our city might not be far from falling."
"There's no need to be so pessimistic," Qin Shilei said. "That worm king is already heavily injured. It probably can't create too many tunnels, and they won't be too far from the city walls. As long as it dares to appear before me, I will make sure it's dismembered."
Despite Qin Shilei's confident words, Wen Zhiyuan and the others were all heavy-hearted.
Tan Anguo even took the initiative to request, "Mr. Qin, could you please help patrol near the city walls? Otherwise, if the worm king appears, none of us will be able to face it."
"Alright." Qin Shilei readily agreed without trying to leverage the situation.
A city wall stretched for a hundred kilometers, and Qin Shilei couldn't possibly cover every inch. He casually chose a section in the middle of the wall and settled in a nearby tall building, resting and keeping watch.
In the room opposite him were several evolvers arranged by Tan Anguo. These evolvers were tasked with monitoring the chat channel. As soon as anyone posted a warning, they would immediately knock on Qin Shilei's door to inform him of the worm king's location.
Just as Qin Shilei had predicted.
At midnight, dozens of meters from the city wall, hundreds of tunnel exits suddenly appeared. These exits were not far from each other, but they were more than twenty kilometers from Qin Shilei's temporary residence.
Countless bugs swarmed out. As soon as they emerged from the tunnels, they dispersed and frantically attacked everything within sight.
After the city's inhabitants discovered the bug invasion, four to five thousand bugs had already entered the city, and their numbers were still increasing.
"Buzz!"
A loud alarm blared incessantly throughout the city. Countless evolvers were jolted awake from their sleep, donned their gear, and rushed towards the city walls.
Evolvers near the tunnel exits had already begun engaging the bugs. Fortunately, Qin Shilei had warned them that the worm king's tunnels would likely be close to the city walls, so a large number of powerful evolvers were already stationed nearby.
Facing the bug offensive, the evolvers were temporarily able to hold their ground.
*Thump thump thump!*
A rapid series of knocks echoed at the door.
As soon as Qin Shilei opened it, he saw someone holding a map, pointing to a location and saying, "Mr. Qin, this is where the bugs have appeared."
Qin Shilei took the map, identified the direction, picked up An Qian, and used his lightning ability to dash towards the location.
In less than three minutes, the two arrived above the area where the bugs had appeared. Cries, screeches, and the sounds of various abilities continuously echoed from below.
Under the bright moonlight, they saw a dense mass of bugs on the ground but no sign of the worm king.
"Let's search separately. Once you find the burrowing worm king, wait for me," Qin Shilei said, then flew east along the city wall, looking down at the swarm of bugs below as he flew.
An Qian also spread her phoenix wings and flew west.
The two scoured the entire area where the bugs had appeared but found no trace of the burrowing worm king.
The battle below was in a stalemate. The bugs could not break through the human defense line and advance further. The humans, likewise, could not annihilate all the bugs and completely seal the tunnel exits. Every second, countless bugs and humans perished. Humans continuously arrived from afar, but bugs also kept entering the city through the tunnels. The battle was exceptionally fierce, the scent of blood so thick it was almost suffocating.
"Let's help clear these bugs first, and then search for the worm king." Qin Shilei asked An Qian to descend and help kill the bugs, while he flew out of the city.
Outside the city, he summoned King Kong and Xiao Qiang. "Xiao Qiang, guide King Kong and destroy the tunnels dug by the bugs." He then warned King Kong, "Don't go berserk. Destroy the tunnels as quickly as possible, or I won't let you out next time."
After speaking, Qin Shilei returned to the city. He didn't charge directly into the swarm to join the fray, but instead hovered in the air above the bugs, gazing down intently.
Suddenly, a Razor Claw appeared within his line of sight. The Razor Claw was faster than the surrounding bugs and was currently tearing the throat of a Silver One-star evolver with a single swipe.
Qin Shilei's mind stirred, and he transformed into a streak of lightning, charging towards the Razor Claw. A silver light flashed, and the Silver Seven-star Razor Claw was split in two by a sharp sword energy.
Qin Shilei once again flew into the air, searching for Silver-level bugs to slay. At this moment, the human forces held an advantage in numbers, but in terms of individual strength, the bugs were superior. Silver-level bugs were not only numerous but also possessed astonishing lethality. If they were allowed to erupt within the crowds, they would cause immense casualties. Therefore, Qin Shilei chose to fly in the air, identifying and eliminating Silver-level bugs. If he encountered a dense swarm, he would also unleash his Devouring Thunder, summoning countless heavenly bolts to obliterate the swarm.
With King Kong outside the city cutting off the bugs' entry points, and Qin Shilei and An Qian leading the evolvers inside the city to annihilate the bugs, after half an hour, all the bugs that had entered the city were eliminated, and the tunnels were completely destroyed.
When Qin Shilei returned outside the city, he found King Kong with several wounds, bright red blood dripping onto the ground. Fortunately, these wounds were not deep and would heal with a period of rest.
"Damn bugs, I'll kill you for revenge." Qin Shilei hadn't paid attention to the situation outside the city and hadn't expected King Kong to be injured.
"Roar!" King Kong excitedly beat his chest, indicating that he was fine and even exhilarated.
"Such a battle fanatic. Then go back to your pet space for now." Qin Shilei waved his hand and recalled King Kong and Xiao Qiang.
Although the bugs in the city had been cleared, a somber atmosphere spread across the battlefield. Aside from the bug corpses, there were countless human bodies. In this single battle, at least forty to fifty thousand evolvers had died.
"This is likely the worm king's strategy," An Qian said with a frown. "It only dug tunnels for ordinary bugs to flood the city, while it hid in the shadows. If this happens a few more times, the evolvers in the city, even if not killed by bugs, will be scared away."
Qin Shilei nodded in agreement, "Precisely. Until this worm king is eliminated, Bei'an City will never know peace."
The leaders of Bei'an City's major factions clearly understood this issue as well. Shortly after the battle ended, they hastily sent people to invite Qin Shilei and An Qian to discuss countermeasures.