After setting out from the guild base, Liam and the group started wandering around the vast landmass that now constituted territory 6. This region not only consisted of China but almost the entirety of Asia, leaving out only a few parts.
This was a huge chunk of land they had to cover, but to start with, Liam decided to just stick with their country, China. They had already encountered two hive hills in the southern part of the country, so he was confident that there should be more in the vicinity.
However, this confidence was quickly broken down. As the group moved through the various cities and districts at an impressive speed, they were yet to come across a single hive hill.
This did not make sense because there were already two in such close proximity, so why was the third one so difficult to find? Unlike the portals that had popped up in every corner, it looked like the hive hills were rather rare.
"Wait, those two better not be the only hive hills?" Liam even began suspecting something like this because he knew for a fact that only their southern zone was subjected to the whole vampire disaster. So just like that, probably only they were subjected to the hive hill too?
He scratched his head in confusion, not knowing what to make of anything. Nevertheless, he continued with the search. Even if they hadn't run into any hive hills yet, they had already run into plenty of other opportunities.
On one side, Liam's minions were sweeping the landmass and getting rid of any mutated beast that was roaming around.
If there was a bigger nest, then he took a step back and let the guild battle with the beasts so that they could also gain more levels and combat experience.
For the most part, the two golems and Luna remained idle and did not do anything. Liam was also just collecting the passive experience points, along with several portal crystals, by shutting down the portals, which were still open in some areas.
In this way, they were combing through the landmass slowly and patiently, searching for the familiar golden pyramid and the nasty swarm that enveloped it.
Coincidentally, the group also encountered a few survivor camps along the way, but there was no further interaction as they were too far from the guild base, and also, since they had only recently recruited more people, Liam did not want to dilute their base with more strangers.
So while these people watched the wyverns flying in the sky with both fear and awe, the group silently continued moving.
Other than this, they also encountered another magic shop which once again was surrounded by three dungeons in the nearby vicinity.
Liam marked the location of the dungeons, and save for one, he quickly began extracting the dungeon crystals from the other two dungeons.
He did not want to completely shut down the little chance others had to become stronger and survive the apocalypse. So, for now, he decided to let the last dungeon remain functioning.
This continued as the group traveled for a few more hours. Soon, the hours turned into days, and finally, after two whole days, the group came across another hive hill!
And just like before, there was a swarm lingering around this one as well.
"There!" Liam pointed out. "Everyone get ready for battle."
There was no point in delaying things any longer as the guild had been pretty much waiting for this opportunity for two days.
As soon as Liam gave the command, the ten wyverns immediately swooped down and landed next to the hive hill. The guild members jumped down and charged toward the swarm, and the other side also reacted instantly.
Hundreds of thousands of insects immediately began to envelop the small guild group.
In reality, having seventy seasoned combat fighters was anything but small for a guild, especially in these beginning stages of the apocalypse. However, in front of these insects, they only looked insignificant.
The isons shot downward in droves and droves, aiming to completely slaughter the enemies who had stepped foot in their territory. Their speed and strength were impressive as always, as they slashed down at the human beings with their sharp venomous limbs.
But unfortunately for them, they were not dealing with any random human beings this time around. They were dealing with Crimson Abyss.
This was the third time for most people here to stand against these miserable creatures. There was not an ounce of fear in anyone's eyes as they stood firm without getting overwhelmed by the insane numbers.
As for the dojo members who were facing these insects for the first time, their faces only showed a small hesitation, that too lasting for just a second, before they started going all out.
Having been clearing far stronger monsters in the advanced dungeon, about twenty to thirty levels higher than them, these isons were pretty much mosquitoes for these people.
Especially for the granny who stood at the center of the group, this was more so. Unlike the others, the old granny did not rely on any weapons or items and instead was fighting the insects with her bare hands.
However, when one looked closely, one could see that these hands were, in fact, not that empty. There were swirls of mana wrapped around them. The granny was actually brawling with the isons with pure mana as her aid. She was the perfect example of a magic brawler.
Liam was watching her in action after quite a while, and he was immediately surprised by her development. When he saw her, he couldn't help but think of the obvious. Just like Lan Fen and Lan Deming, this granny was also a natural genius.
But the thing was… unlike Lan Fen and Lan Deming, she had also participated in the tutorial. So her growth now would be even more explosive.
Liam checked her level, and she was already at 31, quickly gaining momentum. The other members of the dojo were also showing similar traits, though not as pronounced as the granny.
The guild ranking board was once again going to get a massive makeover!
But the next second, Liam realized that he had jumped to the conclusion too soon. The other members of the guild were also not to be underestimated.
If the dojo members had more combat experience because of their extensive martial arts training from a young age, then these people had more life and death experience and were skilled in battle in their own way.
So each and every single one of the seventy members were pulling their weight impressively. There was already a pile of dead insects beginning to accumulate.
With all of the top-tier manpower of the guild fully in action, this time around, the group managed to get a handle on things much faster.
However, the moment they got their feet firmly planted, the isons immediately retaliated.
***
Mass Release Chapter 3~
Please thank Existenzial for sponsoring this mass release!