Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1484 Rooted in the City
In this world, teleportation belongs to the realm of the gods. Although magic can grant people extremely high speeds, high speed is still not considered teleportation.

"How many more times can this gun be fired?" Krom asked.

“If we bring two people, we can use it many more times, so what are you worried about?” Rosalyn laughed. “Are you afraid we won’t be able to get back?”

"Ha... okay, be careful."

Two alien insects approached. Their appearance hadn't changed much, but their hands had transformed into more formal weapons: one carried a single-handed sword with a round shield, and the other carried two short swords.

“The captain of the guard in charge of the castle, and the noble sons who are about to join the ranks of titled knights. But what are their names again? Krom, I’m not very good at remembering these people’s names, won’t you remind me?” Rosalind looked at the two Zerg.

“It's pointless; they're not the same people anymore,” Krom sighed.

"What are you saying? We were specially preserved in our memories, how could you two first-level bishops have forgotten like that?" The young-looking insect wielding two swords laughed. "But in the past, we would probably have had to be extremely respectful to you two. In terms of status and strength, you two were people we had to look up to."

"Why do you spout so much nonsense, kid? You've turned into an insect and you still haven't gotten rid of that aristocratic air?" Rosalind glanced at it disdainfully. "You were just about to become a titled knight, and you were eaten by insects before you even really got the qualifications. Is that all you've got? Does that mean that titled knights are getting worse with each generation?"

"Your teachings are correct, but I've always been curious about the exact gap between a First-Rank Bishop and us, and whether we've already crossed that threshold—"

Suddenly, two pairs of insect wings unfurled from its back, and with a sudden burst of speed, it pounced on Rosalind. Rosalind instantly raised her knife to block its twin blades.

"--obstacle!"

"Haha, not bad, I do admire your courage!" Rosalyn laughed and swung her sword three times in quick succession. She was even faster than the other two swords when she used a single sword. In an instant, the sound of weapons clashing was heard everywhere.

Now that the two had already started fighting each other, Krom could only turn his attention to the other one.

"I don't have a strong impression of you, but you've had some bad luck."

"They're all guards, no difference." The insect was noticeably quieter. "It's ridiculous. The powerful, influential, and well-informed people in the castle have all fled long ago, leaving us clueless people here to be eaten and then reborn..."

“That’s certainly bad luck, but given the current situation… are you planning to fight me now? Or wait until Rosalyn kills that bug and then fight her? I can only guarantee that your second death will be painless and you won’t wake up again.”

"The sooner we finish, the better..." The Zerg lowered its body slightly. Compared to the other Zerg's fierce swordsmanship, its fighting style was obviously more composed.

"Is that so? What a pity... We two are completely incompatible." Krom swung the mace and brought it down with force. The Zerg suddenly sensed the danger and hurriedly rolled backward. Although the hammer missed, a fine crack appeared on the floor, as if it had been run over by a huge boulder.

After that strike, Krom continued walking forward at a moderate pace.

“The Savior is not good at fighting. Unlike Rosalind, who has her own superb swordsmanship, I rely on magic and props.”

He pulled a thin bullet from his belt and inserted it into a loading port at the end of the hammer handle.

"So we have to finish this quickly."

Krom swung his mace again, the hammerhead leaving a purplish-black trail in the air.

The Queen felt unprecedented anxiety. All the original plans were perfect, but after arriving at the foot of the mountain, there had been no further progress for a long time. The swarm was firmly blocked on that defensive line, and even some positions were hit by counterattacks.

Her animal instincts told her that the situation was bad, and perhaps it was time to consider running away.

Just as the Queen was about to find a weak spot to break through, she suddenly felt the floor beneath her feet shift slightly. Then, her massive body crushed the floor, and several of the soldier insects and alien insects protecting her fell down with her.

"Oh, Tia, I never expected to see you like this again."

After falling, the Queen Insect managed to grab onto the wall and steady herself using her insect-like abilities, but she immediately saw the dead bodies of her two strongest Zerg subordinates. One body was torn to pieces as if erased by an eraser, with several lingering purplish-black marks in the air. The other was cleanly cleaved in two from head to toe, and the person who had slashed it was pointing a knife at it.

"Rosalyn..."

"Don't be so vehement. The little guy you created was too weak; he died with a single spatial slash. Don't blame me for being ruthless; you'll have to take a hit too," Rosalyn sneered. "And I'm assuming you've prepared your last words?"

"You arrogant bastard!"

The Queen of Insects roared, and the surrounding soldier insects and alien insects rushed out together. At the same time, it opened its huge maw—after devouring an alien creature, its mouth had turned into a bottomless abyss, which made it know where the path to becoming stronger lay.

But not now. They are just two unusual books, which are monsters that ordinary people cannot resist, but when facing a first-class bishop, she is the weak one who cannot resist!
A crimson storm erupted once more within the swarm. Rosalind was utterly unafraid of this one-against-many battle. Without even Krom lifting a finger, she single-handedly cut down all the insects on a "death line." No insect could cross it; even the much stronger Zerg were cleaved in two or three strikes.

Seizing the opportunity created by the insects, the queen insect suddenly sprayed a large amount of pheromones from her body. Unlike the previous killing commands, this time it was an inert pheromone. Although it would also affect her own insects, she couldn't care less; escaping was the priority now.

The window next to it was too big for its massive body to squeeze through, but it could still be restored to the size of Tia.

But just then, an even more intense burning sensation emanated from the book pressed against her chest. Her survival instinct was suppressed, replaced by the behavioral pattern she had initially acquired, a pattern that the protagonist of that book would never change—

The Queen's march!
With a sudden thrust of its thick limbs and continued growth of its sharp mouthparts, the Queen launched an attack on Rosalind. The inert pheromones in the air became a crucial factor in its control of the battlefield, as Rosalind's movements had indeed slowed considerably. But just then, a protective shield appeared around Rosalind.

Krom stood a short distance away and cast a spell, then smiled and said, "That's more like it. Purify, dispel, that's what I'm supposed to do."

"Thanks, Krom." Rosalind swung her sword a few times to parry the Queen's attack, then an eye on her shoulder suddenly opened, projecting a deep red light onto the blade. She then took a step forward and twisted her body, simultaneously charging her sword and spear.

The queen insect opened its mouth wide, and an abyss-like blackness brewed within, even beginning to erode the shell on its head. "The End of Thirst" also began to heat up, and the colors of the two different books became increasingly conspicuous on the queen insect's body.

Like the snapping of a string stretched to its limit, the Spatial Slash and the Queen's Devouring Technique struck simultaneously. A visible misalignment line separated the Queen, the corridor, the rubble, and the surviving insects. The upper part slid slowly down the diagonal line. Then, as if space itself understood that it had been cut apart, it began to mend itself. Only then did the concept of "being severed" appear in everything, and the sounds of shattering echoed endlessly.

In contrast, Rosalind's knife was now only a third of its original length. When Devour reached this point, the Queen was truly severed, and the attack came to an end.

Amidst the collapse, Rosalyn glanced regretfully at her sword, sheathing the remaining blade. Although she had considered replacing it, this sword had been with her for twenty years, and now that it seemed beyond repair, it was undeniably a regret.

"Alright, then—"

Just as Rosalyn was about to step forward to retrieve the two strange books, she suddenly sensed the power of the church appearing in the distant city. She subconsciously looked out the window and saw a firework rising into the sky.

That was Charles's signal that he had successfully made contact with the church team that had first arrived to handle matters in Violet City.

"Haha, Crom, look, the church's support is still so swift. It's only been night to dawn, and a team has already arrived. In that case, Violet City can be considered saved."

Rosalind's optimism was justified. After all, the support was coming so quickly. Based on past experience, the divine calamity's contamination hadn't had time to spread, so it was within the scope of what could be dealt with quickly. There was no need to solve the problem in an extreme way.

However, the next second, she suddenly showed a pained expression.

Krom, who had been watching the commotion closely, rushed over and grabbed Rosalind. He cast healing and purification spells simultaneously, but to no avail. He noticed bubbles rising from Rosalind's cuffs and collar, and immediately understood the situation. He then used the most effective spell available to solve the problem—"Compensation."

Some foam appeared on Krom's skin, and Rosalyn's condition stopped deteriorating.

"Rosalyn, you need to get treatment immediately. Go back to the command post in Sector Two; we have prepared enough medicine there."

“Cough, cough, that’s right, let’s go back first… and get the things from that corpse…” Rosalind said, pointing to the Queen’s corpse.

"Can your body handle it?"

"I don't know, so hurry up!" Rosalyn wiped the foam from the corner of her mouth. The joy she had felt just moments before had vanished. This god had only appeared for such a short time, yet the pollution was already so severe?

=
On the defensive line, Lu Ning felt her arms were already numb, and she was only holding on by willpower, swinging her sword to kill the insects in front of her. In the previous scene, she was a general, and she was fighting a surprise attack tactic that was as fast as the wind. But now it was a pure meat grinder war.

The knight who had given her the pointers was lying on the edge of the defensive line, a spear as sharp as a bee's sting piercing his chest. Such unexpected deaths were commonplace at this point, as the number of medical personnel was limited and it was impossible for all those on the front lines to evacuate; the casualties were bound to increase.

In this context, the inspirational effect of that firework's ascent was immense. Lu Ning didn't know its meaning, but many others clearly did, and someone immediately shouted, "Fellow countrymen! The church's support has arrived! If we just hold on a little longer, victory will be ours! Don't give up!"

The loud voice drew Lu Ning's attention, diverting her gaze slightly in that direction. It was a middle-aged cultivator, clearly accustomed to such inspiring words; his words immediately elicited excited shouts from those around him.

Before Lu Ning's somewhat dazed mind could react, the inspiring cultivator collapsed to the ground, a large amount of foam oozing out from under his clothes like a puddle of water.

Next came those who had roared along with him, and other soldiers who had been fighting on the front lines for a long time. They all vanished in an instant, leaving only their weapons and clothing behind.

Lu Ning didn't have time to think about what had happened. The sudden decrease in numbers caused a surge in pressure on the defensive line. None of the insects were subjected to similar attacks; they became even more frenzied, with some even tearing each other apart. Fortunately, after this period of resistance, the number of insects had decreased significantly, allowing Lu Ning to retreat slowly while fighting.

The front line collapsed.

Many of those who resisted most fiercely died, and many of the remaining people were so terrified by what they saw that they lost their will to fight. Fortunately, the church members generally had strong willpower, and although some fled, there was no complete rout.

"I can't stop them..." Lu Ning watched as some insects broke through from not far away, but there were still two soldier insects in front of her working together to fight her. These two soldier insects were not weak either, and Lu Ning could not deal with them quickly. Moreover, there were other soldier insects and worker insects nearby. Once she gained the upper hand, more insects would come over to join forces.

Endless.

=
Why implement the highest lockdown level?

Charles looked at Saint Vaquia, the leader of the church reinforcements who had arrived first, and asked the question.

“Because this deity is extraordinary,” Vajiya said gently.

"The deity has been banished; the Church's firepower drove it out of this world. Its entire descent took place in just half a night! In such a short time—"

“Charles, you are an experienced first-class bishop, so I shouldn’t need to remind you that the severity of divine calamities is never measured by time.” Vagiya looked at his colleague, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “The moment this god descended, everyone, everyone in Violet City and the surrounding area, was already corrupted by it. You took some things for granted and accepted others as normal. For example, right now, the roots that are planted in your bodies and souls are so conspicuous to us.”