Xela gazed at the ashes of the three with a heavy expression, sighing sadly. Darius patted her on the back gently, before leading his group deeper into the area.
Before they could go far though, they were once again stopped by another group of bugs. This time, it was Bloodivore the giant mosquito, Sonicket the man-sized cricket, and Centicreed the train-length Centipede.
[Centicreed - Level 95 Burrower Bug
HP: 45,760/45,760 MP: 2,400/2,400 STA: 24,997/24,997]
[Bloodivore - Level 91 Blood Bug
HP: 17,280/17,280 MP: 12,560/12,560 STA: 5,900/5,900]
[Sonicket - Level 92 Sound Bug
HP: 21,411/21,411 MP: 33,482/33,482 STA: 9,981/9,981]
All three of them gazed at Darius' group with bloodshot eyes full of hatred. It was more than likely that they were aware of the deaths of their three family members, otherwise, there was no way they would allow Darius this far.
Or it might be that they were connected to the same Bugcloud, so they directly sensed the brutal deaths of the three. However, the appearance of three more of them at this juncture - but not all - told that they were trying to stall for time.
Darius smiled. "So it seems like the blood of mermaids could help Lord Beel? But not enough that it's an instant recovery like yours. Hmm, as a True Lord, it does make sense that even such a resource could not be fully effective, especially after suffering such an intense nuclear blast."
His words made the blood of the three Grandmaster Bugs boil with even more anger. The way he casually spoke about how he ruined their lives and caused their spiritual leader great harm as if it was a mere passing act was disgusting.
What's more, they felt extreme fear within for they knew they would die here, and that Darius was right! Currently, Lord Beel was trying to recover as best as he could, but the clan of mermaids they had been trading with were too few and their blood was too thin.
As such, they devised another method that Lord Beel assured would work, but he needed them to buy time. Once he was done, Darius and all those he loved would die, devoured by them day after day slowly, kept alive to feel the pain.
Thinking like this, the bloodthirstiness of the trio was ignited as they roared and charged at the three,
Bloodivore was the fastest of the group and thrust his proboscis forward to stab into Xela, who he identified as the weakest. However, he only met a barrier that was cast by Elven Princess, which his proboscis was not able to penetrate.
"DODGE!!" Sonicket screeched to Bloodivore, who was confused by the sudden appearance of the barrier.
The giant mosquito only had a split second to turn and find a lightning bolt blast towards him. He couldn't even make a sound as he was struck by the attack, turned to ash the very next second as a terrifying damage numeral appeared in the combat log.
-118,800!
Such damage was a concept that seemed shocking and even impossible all things being considered. However, it was actually the norm for Darius now as his gross damage.
The usual magical damage calculation under the Supreme System was [Int x DMG x Crit (if any) x modifiers (if any)] ÷ [Mag Def x Res (if any) x Modifier (if any)].
Darius Int was 440, Lightning Bolt dealt 900% damage, there was no critical, and his skill modifiers were from Spell Enhancement, Magical Mastery, and Elemental Control, all of which increased damage by 100% as well as his equipment modifiers from the Gloves of the Mage and Dragonscale Staff, which gave 1.5x and 2.5x respectively.
(Author's Note: When it says 'increase by 100%', it basically means x2.)
So for Darius's magical damage with Lightning Bolt, it was 440 x 900% x 2 x 2 x 2 x 1.5 x 2.5, which lead to the 118,800 gross damage. Now this numeral was theoretically supposed to be decreased by the magical defense of his target and their modifiers, but the bugs facing Darius had none.
This was why Bloodivore had been vaporized by a maximum level Journeyman spell, despite being a Grandmaster Bug. The Supreme System only counted magical defense as something external.
Unless one had items, equipment, a special physique, or special skills that negated magic such as mages above the Journeyman stage who all had an inbuilt magical shield, one would suffer the raw damage.
Sonicket and Centicreed froze where they were gazing at the falling ashes of their former compatriot without understanding. All they had sensed was that Darius' attack was dangerous, yet it made no sense for a single and simple Lightning Bolt to end the life of a Grandmaster so easily.
They then raised their heads and slowly gazed at Darius with unspeakable gazes. Darius simply smiled and raised his staff, pointing at Sonicket this time.
The Sound Bug panicked and quickly strummed his two back legs together, creating a soundwave that blasted towards Darius. Centicreed, for that matter, circled around the group and spat out a large boulder.
Darius' Lightning Bolt blasted out and collided with the soundwave since they were both elemental attacks. The electrical attack naturally won and struck the giant cricket, sending him not only crashing into the cavern wall, but also shattering his body as his blood-splattered.
Sonicket was practically on the verge of death as his legs twitched weakly. The next moment he was barely freed from an instant demise in the form of Darius' huge fireball by Centicreed who shot it down with a rock, smashing it apart in a fiery explosion.
Centicreed intended to use this chance to rush over and carry Sonicket away, yet Darius fired another Lightning Bolt towards the Sound Bug.
"NOOOOO!!" Centicreed could only impotently roar as Sonicket was vaporized right before his eyes. The Sound Bug had only been able to give his brother a smile before he turned into nothingness, leaving Centicreed in a world of pain.
He then turned to face Darius alone, his hatred reaching its peak. It was no longer possible to feel any more hatred for a foe, and even Darius could feel the heat in that gaze, which felt like opening a hot oven.
However, he paid it no mind as he raised his staff to point toward Centicreed who was now rushing towards Darius crazily without regard for his life.
"Die! Die! I want you to die for me!!" He roared in madness as he spat out a large boulder towards Darius before using his body to slam towards the fellow.
Darius simply waved his hand to the left, using his Intermediate Psychomancy to knock the boulder to the right. Maintaining his posture, he fired a final Lightning Bolt towards the onrushing Centicreed, turning the final bug into ash.
"Goodbye, Anthony…"
Those were Centicreed's last words as he was zapped by the lighting and clarity returned to his mind before becoming nothing.
Darius lowered his staff and continued moving deeper into the tunnels. Xela felt even sadder on behalf of the bugs, but she knew that it was non-negotiable.
A few meters in, they were stopped once again by another trio of bugs, this time a group of eye-catching bugs that were so because of how pleasing they were to the eye.
[Mothlina - Level 89 Support Bug
HP: 24,308/24,308 MP: 45,103/45,103 STA: 3,762/3,762]
[Ladyba - Level 90 Soul Bug
HP: 34,743/34,743 MP: 15,534/15,534 STA: 2,433/2,433]
[Queenie - Level 100 Killer Bug
HP: 56,982/56,982 MP: 45,088/45,088 STA: 24,997/24,997]
A giant moth with colorful wings, a cute purple body, and round, sparkly eyes, a giant ladybug with a spotty carapace and soft eyes that radiated innocence as well as a small humanoid bee with two perky antennae and pretty compound eyes.
(Author's Note: not sure if I've said this before, but Mothlina looks like Venomoth, Ladyba like Ledyba, and Queenie like Ledian.)
Xela's heart softened greatly when she saw them, and she hesitated, but remained quiet. Darius and Gunner observed the pretty bugs in silence. It wasn't that the two could not appreciate cuteness.
They too were moved by it, Darius and Gunner thinking about how much the women they loved would absolutely treasure such bugs.
However, the case was clear and Caesar's words were straightforward. As such, despite their pleasant feelings, Darius and Gunner would not hesitate to do what was necessary.
At this moment, Mothlina hovered forth and spoke in a very pleasant voice.
"Master Darius, must we really do this? Is there no way for us Insects to live in Faust?"
Darius rubbed his chin.. "In truth, I would probably never had stepped a foot in Pokterr to harm any of you like this had I not received direct orders from the Goddess."
