Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 211: Ch.210 Airdrop Plan

The scene before them resembled a massive construction site. As long as they kept their voices down, they could talk without worrying about being heard by the swarm.

"There are quite a few of these bugs," Su Ming noted after a moment of observation. "Even though this is just a small part of the swarm, facing this number in a swarm battle isn\'t exactly ideal for our type of attack."

Su Ming noticed that there wasn\'t a clear leader among the bugs, and they all appeared to be of the same type. Each one was about the size of a small horse.

The strength of these creatures was unknown, but based on the size of the chunks they were tearing from the mountain, Su Ming estimated that each bug\'s forelimb strength was around a ton. Their powerful mandibles could probably cut through thick trees like chainsaws.

While his armor should be able to withstand such attacks, the sheer number of bugs posed a problem.

Even if Su Ming could dispatch them with one swing of his sword, that would mean having to kill around 300 bugs. Even if he could swing both swords with lethal precision once per second, it would take nearly three minutes to eliminate them all.

The people in the cave wouldn\'t last that long. The magical shield was already flickering.

Su Ming\'s strength was considerable—he could lift around 35 tons, and his X-metal enhancements had significantly increased his physical power. Over the years, his training had paid off, whether it was sprinting through the city\'s sewers or using various training equipment below ground.

Thanks to the steady flow of energy from the X-metal, Su Ming had grown much stronger, doubling his strength since leaving the DC universe.

However, the bugs seemed to weigh about 500 kilograms each. If sixty bugs piled on top of him, dead or alive, he wouldn\'t be able to move at all.

And like ants, these enhanced bugs would swarm their enemies. Whether Su Ming\'s combat skills could hold up against such a mass assault remained to be seen.

"Cloak, do you think you could toss both of us to the cave entrance?" Su Ming tugged on the cloak wrapped around Holloway\'s head, wondering if it had enough strength to carry them. If it could, they would gain air superiority.

Though Su Ming couldn\'t see Holloway\'s expression beneath the cloak, his widened eyes were visible.

Dr. Holloway peeked out from behind the tree, looking at the cave entrance, which was at the center of the swarm. It reminded him of watching a zookeeper throw meat into a hyena enclosure when he was a kid.

"Do you know anything about these creatures?" Holloway asked.

"First time seeing them, but don\'t worry. They don\'t seem to have energy-based attacks. If they did, they\'d have already used them on the shield."

Su Ming transformed the Godslayer back into a greatsword and drew his second sword, the Nightfall. If everything went smoothly, he only needed to hold the entrance and deal with the bugs from one direction, giving the sorcerers inside the cave a chance to cast their spells.

That being said, the sorcerers hadn\'t used the mirror dimension spell, which made Su Ming wonder if the spell had a flaw or if it could only be used against humans.

It was possible that higher-level Annihilation Bugs could escape from a mirror dimension, but that would take time. The sorcerers inside the cave needed time to escape, so why hadn\'t they used it?

These questions crossed Su Ming\'s mind, but they were secondary. He was primarily trying to estimate the bugs\' capabilities based on what he had observed.

Holloway peeked out from behind the tree again, while the cloak\'s collar stood upright like rabbit ears, nodding to indicate it could carry them.

"Good. Time for a tactical plan." Su Ming pulled Holloway closer by the neck, making him look directly at his mask. His deep, raspy voice began issuing commands: "First, the cloak will drop us right into the middle of the swarm. I\'ll engage the bugs head-on. If things go south, the cloak will pull us out."

Dr. Holloway thought for a moment, not about his own safety but about the people inside the cave.

If the people in the cave saw reinforcements arrive and start fighting the bugs, it would ignite hope. But if those reinforcements were forced to retreat, that hope would turn to despair—falling from heaven into hell.

That wasn\'t his style. He would rather die than retreat.

Su Ming could see through Holloway\'s thoughts immediately. The hero\'s heart was acting up again. Didn\'t he understand the value of retreating to fight another day?

"Don\'t overthink it, Doctor," Su Ming said. "Your job is to gain the trust of the people inside the cave as quickly as possible and get them to drop the magical shield so I can hold the entrance. That\'s your mission."

While Su Ming and the cloak dealt with the bugs, Holloway\'s job was to communicate with the survivors, ensuring the plan\'s second phase could proceed. If they didn\'t open the shield, everyone except Su Ming might be in danger.

Holloway now realized the difficulty of his task. Su Ming was right. If the people inside the cave were too frightened or on the verge of madness, convincing them to lower the shield would be the hardest part.

"What should I do?"

Su Ming shrugged. Maybe sending the Cloak of Levitation to knock on the door would work—after all, any sorcerer would recognize it. But in such a tense situation, verbal communication seemed more reliable.

"Not sure. Maybe you can try yelling something like, \'You\'re a sorcerer! You can cast spells, but can you open the door? Open up! I know you\'re in there!\'"

Holloway\'s eyes turned into dead fish eyes. If he didn\'t realize Su Ming was joking, he\'d be a fool.

Still, Su Ming seemed oddly relaxed, even though he was the one who would have to fend off hundreds of these hideous, unknown monsters.

"Fine, I\'ll give it a try, but if the people inside are too terrified, I doubt words will have much effect," Holloway said quietly, his confidence wavering.

It was understandable. No matter how strong his will was, he\'d only been a masked hero for less than a month, and the creatures they were facing were far beyond his level.

Even Su Ming, when he first became Deathstroke, had been bewildered for quite some time, despite his enhanced brain.

"Don\'t worry. If necessary, I can break the magic shield with my weapons. The people inside might suffer some backlash, though—like coughing up blood or passing out."

"Uh... I\'ll try to talk to them first," Holloway quickly replied.

He had mastered the art of the "Are you kidding me?" expression without even realizing it. Teaming up with Su Ming was proving to be a real test of his inner strength, but he was growing stronger because of it.

If Su Ming knew what Holloway was thinking, he\'d probably tell him, "You haven\'t seen anything yet." If the Avenging Angel survived long enough to see the true big leagues, Su Ming would introduce him to Deadpool. Then he\'d realize how great Su Ming really was.