Chapter 346: Chapter 345 Retreat, Terrifying Insect Swarm! Chapter 346: Chapter 345 Retreat, Terrifying Insect Swarm! “Hiss, hiss, hiss!”

The now tedious sound echoed once more as Richard watched the fourth wave of beetles burrow out of the ground.

This time, the beetles were larger in size with their entire shells a silvery color, appearing exceptionally sturdy. The look in their eyes revealed extreme madness and irritability, their mouthparts open wide to show saliva-coated sharp teeth before letting out a shrill sound and charging forward.

Richard’s expression grew solemn, clearly feeling that this fourth batch of Silver Shell Beetles was extraordinary, far surpassing the strength of the previous three batches.

In an instant, Richard activated all the enhancement magic runes of the No.1 Ring.

The Wind Light Spirit, Wind Force, Pearce’s Nerve Sensitivity Technique, Accelerated Recovery, and Bai Ting Boiling Blood Technique were released all at once.

Richard felt his body lighten, arms tighten, skin sting, followed by his heart rate accelerating, and his blood beginning to boil.

“Whoosh–”
Billows of white vapor streamed from his nostrils and mouth as Richard swung his sword with the force of a thousand pounds, aiming a heavy blow at the fastest charging beetle.

“Pfft!”

The great sword’s blade sliced into the beetle’s body, but only penetrated a few inches–the Silver Shell Beetle’s defensive power had multiplied several times over, and even a full-force blow was unable to kill it.

“This is a bit troublesome,” thought Richard, trying to retract his great sword for another strike when the other Silver Shell Beetles surged forward like a tidal wave.

Richard made a decisive call, lips parting to unleash the “Wind Repel” spell, solidifying the air around him like a wall that smacked outwards, flinging all the encroaching Silver Shell Beetles away.

“Pfft!”

Richard pulled back his great sword, raised it high, and with a second full-force blow, followed the initial wound and successfully cleaved the unfortunate Silver Shell Beetle into two halves.

By now, the numerous beetles that were repelled by “Wind Repel” had recovered and were clinging back on like sticky candy.

Looking at the sheer number of Silver Shell Beetles, Richard found it troublesome, not because he thought he couldn’t defeat them, but it would certainly require a lot of physical strength and energy.

Lips moving once more, Richard waved his hand and “Wind Repel” was cast again, pushing back the Silver Shell Beetles for the second time, and flipping his hand, he produced a small vial of golden potion–Divine Blood!

Holding the Divine Blood in hand, Richard hesitated for a moment over whether to drink it. Although the amplifying power of Divine Blood was strong, the cost was significant too. If he used too much, it could likely take a long time to recover.

With that in mind, Richard put away the Divine Blood and took out the Spartan Warrior Potion instead.

“Pop!”

Richard unstoppered the vial and downed an entire tube of the Spartan Warrior Potion. As his strength was amplified, he wielded his great sword and charged at the Silver Shell Beetles.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft…”

A full ten minutes later…

The battle was over.

With the great sword thrust into the ground, Richard stood, pulling out large gulps of salted water from the Space Iron Ring to drink, and took out candied fruits to chew, swallowing expressionlessly to replenish his energy.

Richard had now realized that exploring the underground space of this tomb would likely be a war of attrition, perhaps lasting several hours or even days. From this moment on, he needed to be properly prepared.

Thinking this, after replenishing his energies, Richard, with a hint of curiosity, prepared to delve deeper into the tomb. After all, ever since entering the hall, he’d been entangled with wave after wave of beetles, barely having a chance to explore elsewhere.

But just as Richard stepped forward, before his foot even landed, he noticed the ground of the hall slowly beginning to tremble, followed by the sound of something stirring.

This time, the sound that rose was no longer the “shsha shsha shsha” of sand, but the “whoosh whoosh whoosh” of an uncountable number of beetles approaching.

This!

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…”

The sound grew closer and louder, and Richard’s eyes widened as he saw a dense mass of beetles appear in another corridor of the hall, opposite the way they had come–there were all sorts of types: ordinary Black Shell Beetles, enhanced Silver Line Beetles, elite Double Silver Line Beetles, and the extremely troublesome Silver Shell Beetles…

If the previous groups of beetles were like small squads, then this beetle army was completely different–its numbers were in the hundreds, maybe thousands, making it impossible to contend against them. Even if he could swing his sword and kill ten or even dozens, he would quickly be overwhelmed and devoured.

That said, whether he could really kill any beetles was another matter–Richard saw among the swarm a kind of Golden Beetle he had never seen before, the size of a lamb, being escorted by the rest of the beetles, exuding an extraordinary presence. Clearly, the Golden Beetle was more troublesome than the Silver Shell Beetle, probably requiring Divine Blood to break its defense.

In that case!

Richard narrowed his eyes, thinking of the earlier groups of beetles and now the swarming horde, and couldn’t help guessing: perhaps the previous beetles didn’t just happen to discover his intrusion and so attacked him, which would be very foolish. Now, it seemed like the entire swarm had detected his presence and was attacking without reservation, determined to kill him.

Then…

Richard flipped his hand, and a large White Jade Plate appeared in his palm, engraved with intricate Magic Runes.

Richard activated the Magic Runes on the White Jade Plate and threw it with all his strength into the swarm of beetles.

“Boom!”

A massive explosion erupted, like a thunderclap on level ground, and the entire hall, as well as the corridor through which the beetle swarm was pouring, shook violently from the shockwave. Flames spread wide, claiming the lives of hundreds of beetles.

Magic Rune Spell*First Circle Middle Stage*Meteor Flame Burst!

This was the most powerful Attack Magic Richard currently grasped. It could only be released with the aid of Magic Runes, obviously displaying tremendous power, yet it didn’t have much effect on the beetle swarm.

There were simply too many beetles in the swarm. Even with hundreds dead, the remaining beetles quickly filled the gaps and continued their charge.

Seeing the state of the swarm, Richard’s eyes narrowed to slits, realizing the danger. The next moment, he decisively cast “Wind Repel” repeatedly to fend off the beetles that rushed at him. He then tossed out several White Jade Plates engraved with “Meteor Flame Burst,” using the forceful explosions to delay the swarm’s advance while he quickly retreated toward the entrance.

“Tap tap tap…” Richard rushed swiftly.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…” The beetles chased furiously.

“Boom boom boom…” Explosions sounded off intermittently.

…

After what felt like an eternity.

Richard successfully retreated out of the corridor and returned to the surface.

Afterward, Richard discovered that the beetles did not follow him out. They retreated to the depths of the tomb when they reached a certain distance from the exit as if resolute in their duty to guard.

This was both good and bad.

The good news was, there was no need to worry about the tomb being exposed. The downside was that to explore the tomb thoroughly, he had to deal with the massive, indeterminable number of the beetle swarm and other unknown creatures. It was impossible to divert their attention and strike directly at the heart.

So then…

Standing beside the tombstone, Richard looked at Alex’s main tombstone and pondered for a long time before he used the “Earth Stone Control” Spell, restoring the exposed underground passage to its normal state, and quickly left the cemetery.

As for how to handle the treasures in the tomb, Richard had already made up his mind.

…