Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

All control is lost!

The elite soldiers of the veteran army were almost entirely paralyzed.

Watching the soldiers in the screen, who didn't flinch or evade even as the bugs tore at them, the generals, far away, still had no idea what was happening.

Aside from a faint sense of palpitations... they were also driven away by an anxious impatience.

Weslin furiously picked up the walkie-talkie, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? What are you doing?"

The voices coming from every corner of the battlefield were particularly jarring, yet no one responded.

Only when a black dot first fled backwards did movements gradually start to ripple across the entire battlefield.

"Run!"

The voice of Bai E was like a wake-up call for those in a deep slumber.

Some of the soldiers snapped out of it as if from a big dream, but still trembled with pale lips.

Not daring to take another look at the newly appeared red monster, they turned around, dropped their weapons, and ran!

Like sands flowing through a desert, streams of soldiers converged into a river, running backwards in terror, utterly disorganized.

The red giant bug, not known for its speed, slowly moved forward, coming up to the closest human Titan-class armed mecha that had plunged into the sea of bugs.

Its arms, which looked no different from the bone blades of a mantis bug, swung, and the towering mecha was instantly sliced into three parts.

The cuts were impeccably neat, sliding down gradually at an angle.

"Thud!"

The noise of it hitting the ground was earth-shattering.

"My mecha! My mecha!"

Hamilton watched in utter disbelief as the core weapon in his hand was destroyed.

Mecha armor was tougher than that of tanks, made from the highest-grade advanced alloy humanity could currently produce. How could this happen... how could this...

"What's going on? What exactly happened?"

Weslin was both shocked and angry. What happened at the front line?

An unanticipated situation unfolded before his eyes, yet no one could provide him with a reasonable explanation.

"Can someone go check it out?"

"No need..." Yue Ying, who had been biting her silver teeth and trembling slightly in the corner, suddenly spoke up, "They won't be coming back."

In an instant, everyone turned to look at the silent Elf Race swords-master.

"Spiritual energy... the collective sea of the Bug Race's spiritual energy far surpasses the will of any individual. That new bug that appeared is the master controlling it all!"

"Bugs have spiritual energy?"

"Isn't their overlord the brain bug?"

This did not match the humans' long-standing observations of the Bug Race, leaving the generals present somewhat puzzled.

Yue Ying shook her head, "This is the reality before us."

Perhaps the Bug Race had two overlords: the brain bug governed internally, while the newly appeared bug exerted control externally?

Perhaps it was also a variant of the brain bug, since the bugs' evolutionary and transformation abilities were strong. When the bugs first landed on the planet centuries ago, they were completely different from now.

But no matter what...

"If they have such strength, why haven't they..."

Why haven't they completely devoured humanity?

In human observations, bugs are gluttonous creatures that covet the biomass of all life forms.

If they haven't eaten you yet, it's because they can't beat you, not because they don't want to eat.

With such a powerful domain of spiritual energy that could instantly control all living beings, they should have swallowed cities whole long ago!

This planet would have been under the rule of the bugs already.

Yue Ying shook her head, remaining silent.

How could she know the specifics?

Her innate sensitivity to spiritual energy allowed her only to make these observations.

And now the most pressing issue was, "How do we retreat?"

The situation had become a rout, and their priority now was to minimize losses as much as possible.

"Go and gather those deserters."

Ice-cold fury burned in Weslin's eyes as he donned his black filter mask and leather gloves impassively, yanking open the car door.

"Let's see what our bravest warriors fear death for!"

"Huff! Huff!"

Even the rear of the battle lines was in chaos at this moment.

The reserve forces had been urgently ordered to halt their advance, the center wavered between fear and ignorance, and some of the front-line soldiers were retreating in a frenzy.

Groups of officers, braving the wind and sand that filled the air, had the corners of their dark green coats blown about by the raging winds of the plains.

The first thing they saw was a soldier retreating from the center line.

"What happened?"

Weslin grabbed him, trying to meet his fearful gaze with his own, "You're safe! Tell me, what happened at the front line?"

The fleeing soldier struggled frantically, yet he was powerless against Weslin's hands, strong as steel bands.

After calming down a bit, he shook his head, bewildered, "I don't know... I don't know..."

Weslin pushed away the soldier, who seemed to have lost his wits from fright, and stopped another one, "What happened!"

"I don't know..."

"What happened?"

"I... I..."

It took stopping several more before one soldier was able to collect his thoughts a bit.

"Commander... I, I became a deserter!" The soldier who had come to his senses was filled with regret for his choice, crying as he spoke, "I'll go back! I will go back! I want to rejoin the battle! I will kill the enemy for humanity!"

"You're very brave! Soldier!" Weslin had no time to entertain the self-redemption of a single soldier and just squatted to look into his eyes, "Tell me, what happened on the front line?"

"The front line... the front line… everyone is retreating!" The soldier knelt on the ground, clutching his head with both hands, "I don't know what happened, darkness covered my mind, fear… I shouldn't have feared! Commander! I want to go back! I want to kill the enemy!"

More chaotic footsteps came from ahead, and Weslin, who could not ascertain much detail, stood up and gazed into the distance.

The slight, cool breeze coming off the Blackrock Plains blew away the obsessions in his heart, and Weslin sighed with resignation, "No need to kill the enemy anymore."

The defeat was sealed.

Fear?

The spiritual energy powers could affect such a vast battlefield simultaneously... This was a significant discovery in the realm of spiritual energy.

Human psychics had never managed such a feat before.

Until a major breakthrough was made in protection against mental-level spiritual energy, this hive would remain an insurmountable mountain for humanity.

The fault wasn't with them, it was not a sin of war.

Weslin felt a mixture of emotions and waved his hand, "Prepare for an orderly retreat!"

…

[???]

All was ???

Even the drop rates marked by a lucky hit didn't show any information about the bug.

What this signified, Bai E was not quite sure, but one thing was certain... it was a creature beyond human opposition.

Instinctively, Bai E started to flee, but after just a few steps, he slowed to a stop.

What about my teammates? My comrades? Everyone?

Hu, You, Dashan, Song Ying…

Looking back, Hu seemed to be struggling a bit, You was rigid and motionless, Song Ying... like a statue.

They weren't dead yet! They couldn't die here!

"I can't just leave like this!"

Having passed the mental fortitude check, Bai E was able to think clearly.

Under the dominion of that mental force, not just humans, but even the bugs had nearly stopped their assault.

They were still far from a complete collapse, and for the moment, it wasn't so dangerous.

Perhaps... perhaps I can save some people?