"Boom! Boom boom boom!!!"

The artillery shells exploded on the swarm of bugs, dealing massive damage and sending the Lickers flying backward with each explosion.

Even so, the firepower from the Rock Armored Gun Worms couldn’t kill the Lickers.

With the talent bonus from life diversion, Fang Heng’s speed surged once again. He charged straight toward the densely packed front rows of the insect swarm, braving the incoming firepower. At the same time, he flung out another stack of runes from his hand!

"Bang! Bang!"

The Lickers that emerged from the runes immediately plunged into the rear ranks of the Rock Armored Gun Worms.

As soon as they approached, the Lickers launched a melee attack.

Their claws slashed the armor of the Rock Armored Gun Worms, leaving narrow, long cuts.

The formation was immediately thrown into disarray.

At the same time, some of the Lickers in the rear disappeared into the ground, using their stealth skill.

Beneath the Rock Armored Gun Worms that were constantly firing artillery, strange movements began to occur.

"Bang! Bang bang!!!"

The ground suddenly exploded.

The Lickers sprang out from the ground, charging at the Rock Armored Gun Worms in their setup state.

In their setup state, the Rock Armored Gun Worms had extremely high armor and some damage reduction, but they were up against the Lickers, which had high strength attributes.

Coupled with the Lickers’ armor-piercing claws, the usual Licker output was often insufficient when dealing with elite-level creatures, but when it came to normal mutant worms like the Rock Armored Gun Worms, they were no challenge at all!

A few regular attacks were enough to destroy the Rock Armored Gun Worms’ defenses.

In just a short while, the entire line of Rock Armored Gun Worms was scattered!

"Heh..."

Fang Heng sneered inwardly.

The evolved Lickers were much more useful.

Their stealth skill perfectly countered the Rock Armored Gun Worms’ special abilities.

Without stealth, it would have been hard to break through the firepower of the Rock Armored Gun Worms’ defense line with just the Lickers.

"Chi! Chi chi!!!"

As the Lickers continued to emerge from the ground and attack in waves, the firepower of the Rock Armored Gun Worms was spread out, causing chaos across the lines.

"Whoosh!"

Fang Heng lightly tapped the ground with his toes and charged deeper into the Rock Armored Gun Worm swarm.

Changing tactics!

Fang Heng transitioned from being a damage dealer to supporting the Licker group by drawing fire.

The concentrated fire from the Rock Armored Gun Worms immediately targeted Fang Heng.

He dodged the attacks he could, and for those he couldn’t avoid, he tanked them directly!

With the life diversion effect, his health stayed at a healthy level despite the bombardment.

Meanwhile, the Lickers in the rear were less disturbed by the artillery fire, and the speed at which they slaughtered the Rock Armored Gun Worms increased!

[Hint: Your zombie clone (fused with Licker form) has killed a Rock Armored Gun Worm.]

[Hint: Your zombie clone (fused with Licker form) has killed...]

Fang Heng’s retina started flashing with notifications.

The kill efficiency had greatly increased.

The number of Rock Armored Gun Worms was rapidly decreasing!

Hmm? Here they come!

Fang Heng rushed into the deeper parts of the swarm and noticed a few elite-level, larger Rock Armored Gun Worms.

In general, the leader-level and elite-level mutant worms had larger bodies and darker colors than regular ones, making them easy to identify.

In their setup state, the elite Rock Armored Gun Worms had faster firing speeds, and their artillery had improved in both strength and range.

The fusion artillery fire rained down on Fang Heng as he stepped into secondary space projection.

"Whoosh!!!"

When he reappeared, Fang Heng was already in front of an elite Rock Armored Gun Worm.

"Boom!!!"

Fang Heng’s great holy sword came crashing down.

The elite Rock Armored Gun Worm was struck squarely by the massive sword, exploding into a cloud of blood mist!

[Hint: The player has killed a Rock Armored Gun Worm (elite mutation), gaining 20 spawn contribution points and 20 honor points.]

[Hint: The Rock Armored Gun Worm (mutated) has been detected, and a modification branch option is available for the player.]

Modification branch option: Concentrated Creature Artillery.

Description: The cannon extends from the zombie clone’s back. When in the setup state, the cannon enters a lock-on attack mode, allowing the player to target enemies within a specific range. While in the setup state, the creature cannot move but gains an additional 50% to ranged defense and 20% to physical defense.

Additional note: This modification requires deep crimson crystal*150.

It’s a ranged artillery modification!

Fang Heng’s mind stirred.

The Rock Armored Gun Worms probably shared the same origin as the Seed of Ouroboros, so they triggered the modification option.

Fang Heng quickly opened the skill menu to check the details.

Great, the Lickers could also accept this type of modification!

In that case, the artillery skill modification would completely make up for the Lickers’ melee-only weakness!

But what exactly were the deep crimson crystals?

Fang Heng furrowed his brow.

Another prompt appeared.

[Hint: The player needs to kill elite-level and higher creatures to collect genetic data and activate genetic modifications. Current genetic acquisition rate: 0.07%.]

Alright, let’s put the deep crimson crystals aside for now. The priority was to activate the modification skill and then check for further details.

Fang Heng raised his head and began to approach another elite Rock Armored Gun Worm.

"Bang!!!"

The elite Rock Armored Gun Worm, unable to move in its setup state, watched as Fang Heng quickly closed the distance and smashed it into a blood mist with his giant sword.

Next!

Fang Heng’s gaze swept across the battlefield, looking for the next elite target.

Under Fang Heng’s leadership, the Licker group slowly pushed deeper into the worm nest.

After nearly half an hour of grinding, the number of Rock Armored Gun Worms rapidly decreased.

The reinforcements that arrived were nearly wiped out.

Had they finished?

His genetic collection mission wasn’t complete yet.

Fang Heng furrowed his brow, leading the Licker group deeper into the worm nest, smashing the dense Plague Mothers along the way.

Soon, a large, four-meter-tall insect nest emerged from the ground.

What was that?

The mother spider of the nest?

"Thud! Thud!"

The giant red insect nest pulsated rhythmically, as if nurturing some powerful life force. Occasionally, Rock Armored Gun Worms detached from the nest, landing and quickly entering setup mode.

The area around the nest was already covered in a dense defensive line of Rock Armored Gun Worms, with two commander-level ones also present.

"Heh... Perfect timing, just the right amount of genes..."

Charge!

The rear Lickers, relying on their stealth skill, emerged from the ground and directly broke through the defense line set up by the Rock Armored Gun Worms, launching a surprise attack from below.

The ground cracked open as the Lickers shot out from the gaps, rampaging through the defense line of the Rock Armored Gun Worms.

In an instant, the swarm surrounding the nest fell into chaos.