Chapter 232: THE QUEEN WAKES

Dungeon

"Fucking move!"

Viper-One's squad leader barely had time to finish the order before the hive erupted.

The cavern exploded with motion—too many things moving at once, chitin scraping against chitin, a chorus of clicking mandibles and high-pitched screeches that drowned out the gunfire.

The flamethrower roared, spitting jets of liquid fire that bloomed across the incoming swarm. Screams—not human screams—filled the space as the first wave ignited, thrashing as their flesh melted, exoskeletons bursting from the heat.

But it wasn't enough.

They kept coming.

Fast.

Too fast.

"CONTACT LEFT!" someone shouted—then he was gone. A blur of claws dragged him into the darkness, his screams cut off mid-breath.