Liam tossed a few fireballs at the fattened-up isons flying toward the hive hill as he dashed forward in the same direction cutting right through the swarm that dutifully guarded the structure.
Instantly, dozens of insects came at him and tried to block his path. However, it only took Liam one swing of his sword to clear this lower-level mob. His speed did not even slow down as he continued running forward and reached the hive hill.
Bang! He sent a sword beam slashing down at the hive hill, attacking the invisible barrier. The entire protective layer trembled from his attack, but the next second, something unexpected happened.
Golden runes started flickering around the hive hill, covering the huge structure from top to bottom. Before Liam could land another attack, these runes appeared and formed one more barrier.
Liam took a step back as he could physically feel the strong waves of mana emitted by this rune barrier. Again, this was something else new that he had not seen before.
What were these runes? How was this barrier cast? Did this mean that the golden egg inside this hive hill had hatched?
Liam had seen that patterned egg in the last hivehill as well, but there, it hadn't hatched yet. Now that this one had two more days to grow and evolve, perhaps this one had hatched?
And if this was the ison that cast this barrier, just how strong was it and how high was its level?
"I need to break this down." He slashed down at the barrier, but once again, the thing did not budge. The runes flickered brightly, and his attack was completely nullified as if it did not even exist in the first place.
Liam's gaze turned cold as he called forth the ten wyverns and also Luna. He asked everyone to prepare their strongest attacks and focus on a single point.
He then paused for a moment and summoned Crawford, Dimitri, Hellikatos, and a few more of his elite minions. He also did not forget the two golems.
"Let's see just strong you are." Liam churned his mana core, creating a turbulent sphere of mana around him, and aimed for the barrier.
"Now!" He slashed right at the focal point, and at the same time, the ten wyverns opened their mouth, and beams of elemental attack shot forward at full throttle.
Luna growled loudly and sent a blast of intense scorching flames. Hellikatos, Crawford, Dimitri, and everyone joined in attacking the same spot with their best shot.
Lastly, but not to be outdone, the two golems sent a massive punch at the barrier.
With all of the attacks combined together, a massive wave of energy rippled forward and clashed with the rune barrier.
An enormous explosion of unimaginable proportions rang out.
The impact was so forceful that wind whipped about, and mana in the area became extremely violent. Huge fissures started forming in the ground nearby, and these extended radially outward to several miles.
Sturdy trees, stubbornly clinging vines, everything was ripped apart. Even all the isons near the zone were completely wiped out. The entire area was cleared out.
Liam had already dismissed the soul minions, and both he and Luna, along with the golems, retreated hurriedly. But this alone was not enough.
Liam also created a mana barrier that somewhat contained the explosion, at least in one zone. Otherwise, everyone, including the guild members who were standing at a distance, might have been severely injured.
However, Liam's concern at the moment was not that. His gaze was still fixated on the runic barrier. After all those attacks that nearly laid devastation to the whole place, the thing only trembled ever so slightly.
Liam's face darkened. Just how strong was this runic barrier? He had expected the isons to become stronger in these couple of days, but he hadn't expected this kind of growth.
Would he even be able to break this thing at all?
"No. I just need to keep trying." Liam clenched the sword in his hands and once again dashed forward, preparing to summon everyone back.
However, before he could do that, the other side reacted first.
The huge hive hill shook, and right in front of Liam's eyes, the strong and impenetrable barrier flickered for a moment.
"Hmmmm. Why?" Liam did not know, but this was his chance, and he immediately prepared to rush inside when all of a sudden, another wave of isons shot outward.
And unlike the previous waves, this one was not big at all. It couldn't even be called a swarm. There were simply twenty or so isons. The only catch was…
"Level 80, Level 90, Level 85, Level 96…"
Liam hurriedly observed the newly arrived enemies with his [Inspect] skill, and every single one of them was incredibly strong. All were above Level 80.
Moreover, all of these guys were uniformly tagged as .
His eyes widened in shock. So there really was a queen!
Liam could clearly see the intelligence that glinted in these vicious creatures' glassy eyes. As for the barrier that had momentarily disappeared… it was once again closing back up!
Ka ta Ka ta Ka ta Ka ta
Liam refused to let it close so easily and dove forward at top speed. However, he was quickly blocked by the twenty newly arrived guards.
Though they hadn't had that much time to evolve and become stronger like him or the other human beings or the beasts for that matter, their levels didn't seem to be just for show.
True to their levels, their speed was formidable. They moved in the blink of an eye.
Alex and the others couldn't even follow their movements. It would only take an instant for these insects to slaughter the entire group.
However, the same couldn't be said for Liam. He could clearly see these isons and each and every detail on their body. They might be strong, but that was when compared to normal players.
"Queen's Generals? No, I don't think so. From today onwards, you twenty will be this King's generals." He grinned and started the rumble.