Chapter 137: Chapter 137: The Top Students In Action (part 2)

Lian Yue’s eyes narrowed, focusing harder.

“…Am I blind,” she said slowly, “or are those things… rotting?”

The insects around Vermis shifted in response, some falling to the ground, only to crawl again, their bodies just as decayed as the one they had just killed.

Ren Kai stepped slightly forward.

“They are,” he said calmly.

His gaze locked onto Vermis.

“And this one…”

A faint pause.

“…is stronger.”

The air grew heavier.

The insects around Vermis began to move faster.

More aggressively.

They gathered along her arms, layering over each other, forming shapes.

Not random.

Structured.

Armor.

Her right arm became coated in a thick layer of hardened insect shells, forming a jagged, black gauntlet, while her left side shifted, the swarm stretching outward, forming something long and sharp.

A blade.

Made entirely of writhing, fused insects.

It twitched.

Then stabilized.

Vermis smiled wider.

“You’re different from the others,” she said. “They screamed more.”

The ground shifted.

A faint, crawling sound spread across the street.

From the cracks.

From the shadows.

From beneath broken walls.

More insects emerged.

Dozens at first, then hundreds.

Surrounding them, and closing in slowly.

Hao Jin exhaled sharply.

“…Ohh. Isn’t that a bit too much.”

Shen Lu spun one dagger lightly in his hand, lowering his stance.

“Finally, a challenge.”

Cai Wen rolled his shoulders slightly, the steel rings around his arms clinking softly.

“Try not to die, everyone.”

Lian Yue twirled her spear once, her expression calm, focused.

“Stay tight.”

Ren Kai didn’t move.

Not yet.

His eyes remained fixed on Vermis, measuring, calculating.

Then his hand slowly moved toward the hilt of his thin sword once more.

Vermis moved first.

No warning.

No signal.

The swarm beneath her feet exploded outward as she dropped from the rooftop, her body cutting through the air while the mass of insects followed like a black tide crashing down.

“Scatter!”

Ren Kai’s voice cut through the tension.

The ground shattered the moment Vermis landed.

A heavy impact.

Cracks spread across the stone, and the insects surged forward immediately, rushing toward them in a wave.

But the five were already moving.

Lian Yue stepped forward instead of back, her spear spinning once before thrusting out in a rapid sequence, each strike precise, cutting through the front line of insects and forcing an opening.

“Left side, clear!”

Hao Jin charged straight through that gap, his curved blade sweeping in a wide arc, cutting down anything in his path, the force behind his strikes sending broken insect bodies flying.

“They’re fragile alone!” he shouted. “Don’t let them stack!”

“Too late for that,” Shen Lu muttered.

He vanished into motion.

Not brute force.

Speed.

His figure flickered between shadows, his daggers flashing as he cut through clusters before they could gather, targeting the ones trying to climb onto his allies.

Cai Wen stayed at the center.

Controlled.

His arms moved sharply, sending his steel rings spinning outward one after another, smashing into the swarm, breaking formations before they could fully surround them.

“Keep moving! Don’t let them trap us!”

But Vermis wasn’t watching the swarm.

She was watching Ren Kai.

Her smile widened.

Then she stepped forward.

Far faster than before.

Her insect blade lashed out, cutting through the air with a sharp, tearing sound.

Ren Kai drew his sword.

Clang.

The impact rang out sharply.

The thin blade met the insect weapon directly, and for a moment, the two forces collided, neither giving way.

The ground beneath Ren Kai cracked slightly.

His eyes narrowed.

Strong.

Just as he expected.

Vermis tilted her head slightly, her voice almost amused.

“You’re the leader, aren’t you?”

Her gauntlet arm shifted, the insects tightening, hardening further as she drove forward, forcing Ren Kai back a single step.

“You’ll make a good piece.”

Ren Kai didn’t answer.

He moved.

A small turn of his wrist.

His blade slipped away from the direct clash, sliding along hers before cutting upward in a precise counter.

Vermis reacted instantly.

Her body shifted as the insects on her shoulder surged forward, forming a shield just in time.

The strike landed.

It cut through.

But not deep enough.

She stepped back.

Not forced.

Behind her, the swarm surged again.

“Watch it!” Hao Jin shouted.

Too many.

They were adapting.

The insects began climbing over each other, forming thicker masses, their bodies layering together into crude shapes, shields, spikes, even small moving walls that tried to box them in.

“They’re forming structures!” Cai Wen barked.

“I see it!” Lian Yue replied.

She changed her rhythm instantly.

Her spear no longer just pierced, it swept, breaking apart the forming clusters before they could stabilize, her movements fluid but relentless.

“Break them before they stack!”

Shen Lu appeared beside her for a brief second.

“Already on it.”

Then he was gone again, cutting through the weak points she created.

Hao Jin roared as he stepped forward, his blade slamming down hard, splitting apart a thick mass of insects that tried to block his path.

“Then we just hit harder!”

Back at the center.

Ren Kai and Vermis clashed again.

Faster this time.

Her blade came from the side.

He deflected.

Her gauntlet struck down.

He stepped in instead of away, his shoulder brushing past the attack as his sword flashed forward, aiming straight for her neck.

Vermis smiled.

The insects on her neck surged instantly, forming a thick layer that took the hit.

But this time, the blade went deeper.

A thin cut appeared.

For the first time.

Vermis paused.

Her fingers lightly touched the spot.

Then she looked at the faint trace of dark fluid.

“…Ah.”

Her smile widened further.

“You can hurt me.”

The swarm reacted.

Violently.

The insects around her surged all at once, forming a massive shape behind her, something larger, denser, like a second body rising up, its limbs forming from thousands of writhing creatures.

Pressure filled the air.

Hao Jin felt it immediately.

“…That’s not good.”

Cai Wen gritted his teeth.

“She’s getting serious.”

Ren Kai exhaled slowly.

His grip tightened on his sword.

“Then we end it before she goes any further.”

The others didn’t question it.

They moved, in sync.

Lian Yue broke the swarm’s left side. Hao Jin forced the right. Shen Lu cut the center. And Cai Wen shattered the rear formation.

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