CHAPTER 264: CHAPTER 203: NEST SPECIAL OPS TEAM

"This village... is worse than I expected."

Louis stood behind the broken stone wall, with his palm on a piece of crumbling brick, as he gazed towards the village center. The whispers surged like a tide, yet lingered around his ears like shredded flakes in the wind, refusing to disperse.

In the square, the "villagers" moved slowly across the cracked stone slabs like soulless puppets.

Their clothing was tattered, their skin an ashen gray, and their eyes bore the cloudy gleam of dead fish, yet their lips occasionally twitched, mumbling something.

"Don’t you think these insect corpses look... different from the ones we found last time at Cold Pine Ridge?" Eduardo spoke first, his gaze sweeping over the wandering figures, "Those were just controlled bodies. But these people..."

"These insect corpses seem to have a bit of ’self’ left." Louis replied.

"More like semi-parasitic." Eduardo stroked his chin.

"The question is why preserve ’consciousness’? If it’s for control, that’s too inefficient. If the mastermind is doing it purely for torment... that’s quite artistic."

Louis nodded, his gaze falling on the center of the village.

It was a stone altar, about two meters high, its edges weathered and eroded, it should have been a holy place for ceremonies or offerings.

But now the altar had long transformed.

Dark red vines twisted maliciously around it, dense and interwoven, forming a cocoon-like spider web.

The surface of the vines was a semi-transparent membrane-like structure, with what seemed like black-red liquid slowly flowing inside.

"It’s... moving." Eduardo squinted, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

They both saw the vines were not still—they subtly rose and fell, as if breathing.

"Not like accidental wind or vibrations, there’s a life response." Louis squinted at the irregular writhing.

"Or nurturing something." Eduardo added in a low voice, his tone uncharacteristically solemn.

"The Nest?" Louis probed.

Eduardo nodded, "It’s quite possible."

They fell silent, both knowing what that implied.

Eduardo gave his younger brother a sidelong glance, finally speaking in a lowered voice, "Are you sure... you can handle this this time?"

"What do you mean?" Louis turned his head to look at him.

"I know you’ve taken out a Nest before." Eduardo sighed softly, "But that time you had Duke Edmund, a Peak Knight, holding the back. This time... it’s too risky."

Louis answered calmly, "Before you came, you already tried to dissuade me once. I won’t take risks without assurance. If problems arise, I’ll withdraw immediately; the route is already planned."

Eduardo stared at him for a few seconds, finally letting out a light sigh, "Alright, as long as you know what you’re doing."

While they were talking, a steady stream of knights had already infiltrated the outskirts of the village.

Groups of five, moving in coordination, quietly sneaking to the four corners of the village.

They wore a new type of black-silver armor, sleek in design, with special flexible protective layers at the joints, not only heat-resistant but also capable of warding off acid and parasitic stings to a certain extent.

In each group, two carried heavy flamethrowers, their gun muzzles resembling the fangs of a beast, connected by pipes to oil tanks on their backs.

Another carried a specially-designed magic explosive bullet launcher, preloaded with ammunition.

The remaining three were equipped for close combat with cold weapons, complete with spears, heavy swords, and protective gauntlets, and each had a light magic explosion bullet and spare oil bottle hanging from their waists.

During their movements, there was almost no sound, only the faintest metallic friction and the subtle rustle of boots pressing into the earth.

"What are those?" Eduardo raised an eyebrow, showing rare interest.

"That’s the ’Insect Corpse Special Attack Team’." Louis replied faintly, "We suffered losses in the last battle, so I resolved to form a unit specifically to deal with these creatures."

Eduardo’s gaze lingered on the special team members, his brow slightly furrowed.

"What are those bottles hanging at their waists? Petroleum?" He pointed to a row of metallic jars at one soldier’s waist, "Aren’t they going to topple over?"

Louis said mysteriously, "You’ll see in a moment."

The moonlight was dim as the wind swept through the charred ruins of the deserted village, and all the knights were in position.

Louis stood on the dilapidated platform, speaking in a low voice, "Prepare, begin."

The commander beside him kept his left hand behind him as his right hand slowly raised a command flag painted red with golden lines.

"Signal confirmed."

"All groups in position, stealth infiltration."

Five-man knight special team squads, clad in custom black-silver armor, moved like an iron stream cutting through the night shadow.

The night covered them as they silently threaded to strategic points on the village outskirts, taking control and fire positions.

"Magic explosion bullet, prepare."

Light magic explosion bullets were quietly placed in the village center area.

Then, with a barely perceptible gesture, in the next instant—

BOOM!!!

Orange-red flames descended from the sky, like a furious sunset, suddenly detonating in the heart of the village.

Heat waves whipped up ashes, a fireball rose high, instantly consuming everything within a ten-meter radius.

The forms of the insect corpses shattered in the blaze, limbs jerking, convulsing, their flesh and skin blackened and stripped by the intense heat, letting out spine-chilling screams before collapsing lifelessly.

Buildings within a twenty-five-meter radius were affected, wooden houses collapsing with a crash.

The watchtower tilted and collapsed in the wave of fire, as dreamlike "villagers" were awakened and bewildered, being devoured by the flames, screams tearing through the wind.

The ground trembled like a dragon turning over beneath, the scorched earth split into fissures, and the firelight lit up the night sky as brightly as day.

"A good start." From a distant high ground, Eduardo watched the sea of intertwined red flames and corpse shadows, voicing his thoughts in a low tone,