With Gunner having gone off to experience the joys of romance and Xela out spelunking in the depths of a ruin, Darius had been left all alone.
Still, he was not bothered by this and simply teleported to the next city, this time a fallen one by the name of Justis City.
It had a Water element Dungeon that was great for giving seafood, minerals, and pearls, but not much in the way of defense.
When Darius arrived outside the city, he noticed that many heads had been displayed hanging down the walls, from the cities' mayor to the various ministers in charge. They had all been slaughtered and displayed as war trophies by the invading empire.
From his position he also some soldiers guarding the entrance of the city. According to the Database their emblems were those from the Hungao Empire, a vicious warmongering empire housing humans, and orcs.
Coincidentally, they were even one of the main parties that had laid waste to the Westerlier Empire. Similarly, they had spared no effort in showing their pikes and blades to poor little Andrato Kingdom.
Darius did not have a single tear to shed when confronted with such slaughter, despite being aware that such was very likely also the fate of the other occupied towns and cities in the kingdom.
It would be idyllic to think that Darius showing up and waving around his documents would solve the situation as it had before.
First things first, he was currently only one Master, and secondly, things could not be solved as easily now that a slaughter and occupation had taken place.
Putting aside the kind of repercussions the Hunago Empire would have to pay, getting someone to spit out food from their mouth was an arduous task that almost never succeeded.
Unlike his previous encounters, the ones that had actually succeeded in conquering towns or cities would just deny Darius' claims and rather attempt to murder him on the spot.
After all, if the 'only' Master of Andrato died wouldn't that be the fastest way to solve the issue?
At least the other forces had the leeway to withdraw. Although their ruler might be mad for their failure, the cost of a failed expedition paled in comparison to the resources they would have wasted if their own Masters became gravely injured or perished.
On the other hand, no ruler would be so understanding if their army came back after already having achieved their task because of the appearance of a single Master. With a city at their disposal, it should be easy as pie to kill him, especially if they outnumbered him.
As such, Darius did not even bother to announce himself at the gate or do his usual mercantile act of socializing. His eyes became a darker shade of yellow and his lips curled upward menacingly.
He took out 50 Bags of Holding from the same slot and released their contents. Immediately, a swarm of bugs manifested and buzzed around as they identified Darius as their master.
He then commanded them to devour everything inside the city, setting free 25,000 Amateur stage bugs to rush in and begin their feast.
Not sure if the first wave would be enough, Darius released another 50 bags worth, which doubled the total from 25,000 to 50,000!
Immediately, screams of horror and fear erupted as the huge bug wave descended on the city starting from the outskirts and heading inwards. Darius simply watched from his vantage point as hundreds of the human, orc, or mixed-breed soldiers were torn apart and devoured regardless of their stage.
Even worse, soon enough hundreds of bugs jumped to the Journeyman stage with a few reaching the Adept stage. As they continued to devour, some of their own numbers were destroyed as valiant fellows fought back.
However, these fellows regretted their actions as the bugs devoured their own kind and leveled up from that.
The ones released this time had the benefit of the bugcloud as well as the bugexperience that the previous group had acquired, allowing for a smoother progression.
As they consumed the soldiers and some fought back, the bugs were exposed to new fighting styles and techniques, learning from them and storing them in the bugcloud.
Eventually, the commander was alerted, and the five Masters that the Hungao Empire had dispatched came out. When they were faced the bug swarm, they paled and tried to run at first.
This was a foolish decision, as the bugs were still weak and developing, so they could likely be slaughtered.
However, the legends of the terror of the Insect race were too resounding to native Faustians, causing unbridled fear.
To compare, it was like driving a high-tech tank and encountering a swarm of one million spiders rushing at you. It didn't matter whether you were in a tank, your instinctive action would be to first turn around and skedaddle the heck out of there.
This action of the Masters created a perfect opportunity for the bugs as they quickly consumed all the other fighters upon noticing the threat. Even the commander was not spared, the Adept bugs killing a bunch before perishing in the end.
It was from this that the first 3 Master bugs were born.
BANG!
Their aura caused the hearts of everyone to shake, even Darius.
At the Amateur stage, the bugs would look like little black beetles that could fly.
At the Journeyman stage, they would look like malevolent bees with claws.
At the Adept stage, they would evolve into large hornets half the size of a human with a posture similar to a pokemon Darius remembered by the name of 'beedrill'.
And now, at the Master stage, the bugs had taken on humanoid forms, but only in shape, making them look like walking mothmen, only that their proboscis was long and menacing.
When the fleeing Masters saw them, their hearts skipped a beat.
They had seen these types of bugs before in the history books illustration. If the bugs that came before were numerous but easy to kill, the bugs that existed after they began walking on two legs were the true reason why the world of Faust had almost perished to exist.
Darius looked on with interest. He too had been researching on the Insect race of Faust and why they were so feared, and his findings led him to believe that he was raising a calamity in progress.
However, he was the mastermind behind this living calamity and he was confident enough to control them.
At the very least, he was confident enough to escape them.
Either way, Darius loved the Insects under his thumb because he was sure that whenever they were deployed it was guaranteed to entertain Vena and whoever else might be watching him.
