Void Beetle Evolution Guide

This is the most efficient method the Wild Hunt can think of. It doesn't even require sending out a single soldier. As long as they are willing to sacrifice a rune, they can make Bervis die a glorious death.

However, Kasha was unconvinced and retorted without hesitation, "The consequence is that the entire city, along with the surrounding area, will be erased from the map?"

"Bervis is already a dead city."

“What about the surrounding areas? We don’t even know how far the rune bomb will affect.” Kai’Sa paced back and forth at the table, looking extremely anxious. “We don’t know how many people will die because of this, or how many will lose their homes forever… We know nothing except that this will kill Bervis.”

“Let Cassiopeia come; the Overlord should be able to calculate the blast radius.” Wild Hunt shook his head, then changed the subject: “But what good will calculating the radius do? If you try to evacuate the residents, with Bervis’s terrifying intellect, she’ll immediately guess what will happen next, and the rune bomb will be useless.”

"This method is still too extreme and should only be used as a last resort. If we still can't defeat Bervis after going all out, then we'll have to use the rune bomb to fight her."

"Let me confirm, are you saying this because you're reluctant to part with the runes?"

The Wild Hunt feared that Kai'Sa would be influenced by the runic consciousness again, and it didn't want to be blown to pieces once more, so it controlled Kai'Sa to oppose it. In its view, sacrificing a few lives for the destruction of Bervis was entirely worthwhile; if Bervis survived, she would devour far more people.

“Absolutely not, I swear.” Kai’Sa looked at him with unwavering determination: “I just feel that if we have to rely on rune bombs to destroy the Void every time, then if this happens a few more times, the entire continent will be wiped off the map. Will Runeterra still have a place to stand then? What will we leave for the world?”

"I understand, you can go back now."

Wild Hunt admitted that Kai'Sa had a point; they could use runes to close the portal between the two worlds, but they couldn't prevent the Watchers from reopening it from the other side.

The clash between the void and the material realm remains an unavoidable issue. The Watchers will continue to attempt intrusion, and each use of the rune bomb causes immense damage to the material realm.

The enemy hasn't been completely wiped out yet, but our own ecosystem has already collapsed. People can be reborn, but once the land is gone, it's truly gone.

Even if Syndra's sorcery runes could reclaim land from the sea, what would be created would be a barren wasteland devoid of life, requiring a long period of nourishment to restore its spiritual energy.

……

Time passed quickly, and a few days later, the Wild Hunt summoned all his followers back, and the Desert Emperor Azir set off as promised.

Wild Hunt had Syndra fly the Royal Chariot into the sky to pick up Azir at the gates of Dawn Oasis. Surprisingly, Azir also had his own flying royal chariot. That's understandable; how could an emperor not have his own mode of transportation? Would he really ride a horse to the battlefield when leading an army?

Besides Azir himself, four other Ascended stood beside him: Aatrox, Varus, Naafiri, and Horaz, all combat-oriented characters who would play a greater role in the upcoming battles. Those responsible for logistics, like Naganek, were sent to Ionia to find Rhaast and other awakened Darkin.

These people were said to be familiar faces, but for most of them, this was the first time the Wild Hunt had seen their Ascended forms. It seemed that the imperial blood he had given them had already come in handy. Azir didn't seem to have intended to bring them along, but it wouldn't be proper for an emperor to go on campaign without anyone to protect him, so these people volunteered to have Azir take them on the expedition.

The unexpected addition of a few helpers was a pleasant surprise for Kasha and her team. However, Katarina was somewhat annoyed because Zolani was howling like a madwoman in her mind, refusing to calm down.

After rendezvous, the two ships flew directly to the southeast coast of Shurima, which is also the lair of Belvis.

Don't underestimate them just because they only have a dozen or so people. If a real battle breaks out, Azir alone can summon a million sand soldiers. The Wild Hunt, after this period of massive troop production, can also unleash a swarm of millions of insects.

Chapter 691 Return to Pierreville

Two spaceships flew over the treacherous terrain of Exeed and across the sandstorm-ravaged desert toward the fallen coastal city.

If they hadn't been traveling with Azir, the Wild Hunt could have instantly traversed thousands of miles to reach their destination. However, Shurima's ancient ships were quite fast, and they arrived in Belvis the next day.

Returning to Bervis, Kasha was filled with emotion. She stood on the railing at the bow of the ship, gazing down.

The once prosperous port city, sacrificed by Malzahar to Bervis, is now nothing but a bizarre and desolate ghost town. The surrounding land is grayish-white due to salinization, and bulging inclines run rampant through residential buildings, casting a terrifying shadow over everything. The horrific monsters that once ravaged the city have vanished, disappearing without a trace after slaughtering all living beings.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, Kaisa could still clearly recall that scene.

The gates of the void connect heaven and earth like a tornado. It is like a giant hourglass, with countless ethereal spirits arranged in a spiral shape, emerging from the lower end of the eye of the storm like fine sand.

Every second, hundreds of monsters descend upon the land, carrying endless destructive desires and primal hunger, spreading outwards in a mighty wave.

Several enormous tentacles descended from the clouds, like the roots of a colossal beast. With a mere sweep across the ground, houses were reduced to ruins and deep trenches were left in their wake.

Giant starfish and jellyfish float in the sky, spewing poisonous fog and acid rain, extending their tentacles to snatch up any humans who try to escape, extracting memories from their heads, and then dropping the empty shells from the sky.

A giant slug made up of countless arms wriggled and crawled, emitting a mournful howl that sounded like a thousand people singing in unison. Like a vacuum cleaner, it dragged the corpse under its body, turning it into one of the thousands of arms.

Even now, seeing such a sight would still make her sway. Wild Hunt resisted the urge to support Kasha; if it weren't for the need to exploit an information gap, he should have kept his disguise hidden.

But they're dealing with an enemy like Pierre, whose intellect is off the charts. It's best to keep their information hidden for now; maybe they can catch him off guard. (The last two lines are a nonsensical string of characters and don't translate directly.)

"Will every place swallowed by the void eventually become like this?"

Azir's booming voice came from another ship sailing alongside, with four other veterans who had fought in the Void War on deck. The emperor himself seemed to have never personally visited the borders, and these veterans could provide him with the answer.

"Your Majesty, the destruction here is far more extensive. However, this destruction is not mere destruction... it seems to be a process of breaking down and rebuilding?" The one who answered was Horaz, who was manipulating the ship's compass while pointing one hand to a street sign. Her ascended form appeared to be some kind of bird, clad in bronze and jade armor, with levitating legs that were reverse-jointed talons, a small wing extending from the back of her forearm, and feathers on her human cheeks.

The road sign Horaz was pointing to was made of discarded chitinous shells and corpses, with a charred, carbonized human arm extending out and bending in the direction of the surrounding roads, clearly intentional.

There are countless similar things. Toy boats covered with butterfly wings are caught by a wall made of withered arms as they slowly fly over it. The arms remove the wings bit by bit, break the mast, and finally snap the keel in half, seemingly foreshadowing their fate.

"Why are you staring at me like that? If I'm wrong, you can point it out." Horaz, who was piloting the spaceship and talking to Azir, was still able to notice Kasha's gaze. These Ascended beings were not to be underestimated.

Although they had fought side by side, Horaz had shown hostility towards Kai'Sa, a great hero of Shurima. The astute Horaz had already deduced that Azir's rash expedition to Bervis was likely coerced by Kai'Sa and her allies.

Whether it's using gratitude as leverage or some other method, this was not Azir's intention.

“No, you’re right. Piervis is different from other Void creatures. What she seeks is not ultimate destruction, but to reshape the world into what she wants, but there is no place for us in that world.”

Kasha didn't want to start a fight before the battle and disrupt morale, so she ignored the hostility in Horaz's words and seriously agreed with her. Then she looked at her other comrades on this mission.

The two most famous Ascended brothers, Nasus and Renekton, did not come. Their task was to manage Dawn Oasis in Azir's absence. Moreover, they lacked experience in fighting the Void, so staying behind to guard the capital was their job.

Aatrox, however, had stopped his madness. He stood silently with his arms crossed, the greatsword clinging to his back like a magnet. His ascended form had been seen before; it wore heavy full-body armor that obscured any beastly features, except for a pair of pure white wings.

Nayafili's appearance was quite different from the wolfhound image she had previously given Kasha. A golden helmet, shaped like a lion, mercifully concealed her face, yet her fierce gaze still emanated from it. A lioness, she was quite fitting for her former brutal and arrogant image, but after being influenced by the pack mentality, she had become much more restrained.

Varus's ascended form is also serpentine, which explains why he calls the other serpent-headed deity his sister. The sniper and the serpent's nature are quite compatible: cold-blooded, ruthless, adept at disguise and concealment, blending seamlessly into their environment, rarely striking, but when they do, it's a fatal blow. After freeing himself from the two kind human souls, he will once again become the most ruthless killer.

These ascendants have not yet unleashed their power and are currently only a little over three meters tall. Once they unleash their power, their height will rapidly increase to tens of meters.

It was truly a gathering of wise men, but it was a pity she couldn't witness the scene of hundreds of Ascended warriors marching together during Shurima's heyday. Giants of various shapes and sizes stood like small mountains among her soldiers; that sight must have been truly magnificent.

Kaisa glanced back at the deck of the Royal Palace. Everyone was there except for Katarina.

Zolani watched as her enemies transformed one by one back into glorious Ascended Warriors, completely consumed by jealousy. This annoyed Katarina, who was trying to find a way to silence Zolani.

"Shurima's daughter, are there still people missing?" Azir asked, noticing Kai'Sa's gesture of looking around.

Kaisa nodded, and Wild Hunt immediately opened a portal on the deck.

Chapter 692 An Unexpected Helper

Leona and Diana, the first two Protoss to emerge from the portal, looked around but didn't seem to have much doubt about their location. They nodded and joined Kai'Sa's group.

They had already spotted the Royal Palace adrift on the sea from afar on the mountain, so this wasn't surprising. What surprised them were the Ascended Ones on the other ship. News of the Ascended Emperor's resurrection had also reached Mount Targon, and this was the first time they had seen their "neighbors."

Next up was Lissandra. Even before she appeared, a chill had already spread, condensing into frost on the deck and causing the temperature to drop several degrees.

This Iceborn chieftain was even taller than a normal Ascended, attracting everyone's attention the moment she appeared. Standing out from the crowd in Kai'Sa's ranks, she seemed more suited to be on another ship.

Lissandra placed her hands on her lower abdomen, her icy gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on the ascendants in the distance. She sneered, "It's quite a strange coincidence that people from the tundra, where there is no sand, and the desert, where snow never falls all year round, can gather together."

“Don’t underestimate us. The territory of the Ascended Empire was once vast. How could we not have seen snow?” Nayafili raised his fist, his voice sounding like a low growl.

Perhaps in her eyes, the tundra where Lissandra lived was nothing more than a desolate, barren wasteland. Shurima hadn't incorporated it into its territory before simply because they looked down on this wretched place, and Lissandra was at best the chieftain of a small, undeveloped village within it—what right did she have to despise them?

“Is that so?” Lissandra’s black lips uttered a cold tone. “While quicksand can travel far on the wind, it is not a stable foundation. Shurima, built on quicksand, has only been glorious for three thousand years, while a rule born from solid ice has stood for eight thousand years.”

Anyone could tell that Lissandra was using the short lifespan of the Shurima dynasty to highlight her own antiquity, and antiquity generally implies strength and wisdom.

“You—” Naafili wanted to say something, but Azir raised his hand to stop him. “Time cannot be the standard for measuring everything. The strength of Shurima lies in achieving greater heights in less time.”

Lissandra smiled noncommittally. What would these Ascended look like if she said she handled the Void invasion far better than Shurima? Unfortunately, she couldn't say; she wanted to keep this history hidden.

There was some movement from the portal behind them again, and Lissandra stepped aside to stand alone. The Frost Witch emanated a chilling aura, so no one wanted to stand near her. Portyl, in particular, had silently retreated behind Sephiroth. (The last two lines are a nonsensical string of characters and don't translate directly.)

The new helper surprised everyone. She wore silver-white armor, had pure white wings on her back, and held a translucent sword in her hand. Yes, this person was none other than the angel of justice, Kyle.

"Why are you here?" Kasha frowned. Wild Hunt hadn't told her that Kyle would be joining the war, and her first reaction upon seeing this stubborn guy was to guard against his backstabbing.

"How did she get here? I need an explanation!" Aatrox was equally uneasy. He already had an extreme aversion to the Protoss. He could still restrain himself when Leona and Diana appeared, but he simply couldn't stand Kayle.

Kayle defeated him twice, once when he invaded Demacia and again when he went to fight Xerath. Each time he was about to succeed, this guy would suddenly appear and thwart him, and now Kayle's sword is stained with the blood of several of his brethren.

This time, the Wild Hunt chose Syndra as its spokesperson: "Kyle is fighting as a prisoner, and to redeem her freedom, she must kill enough Void creatures in this war."

"A prisoner?" Upon hearing this description, everyone noticed the chains burning with shadow flames slowly emerging from Kyle's wrists and wings.

"Why? Why should such a person be allowed to be free?" It's not uncommon for death row inmates to be sent to the battlefield, but Aatrox still couldn't get over it.

“Aatrox, this is a prisoner we captured through our own abilities. It’s not your place to point fingers.” Kai’Sa intervened when she saw Aatrox reaching for the hilt of his sword behind his back. Although she also disliked Kayle, she trusted the Wild Hunt’s decisions.

At this critical juncture, no one wanted to escalate the situation. Aatrox stared intently at Kyle, coldly releasing his grip on the hilt of his sword: "Hmph. I'll be watching you. Don't let me find out you've deserted... or I'll kill you!"

Kaisa didn't say anything more; she wasn't worried that Kayle would desert. Given Kayle's upright and unyielding character, he would definitely fight to the death against the malevolent Void creatures. Thinking of this, she suddenly understood why the Wild Hunt had brought Kayle into the fray.

Faced with the threat, Kyle made no response; only one goal remained in his mind.

Not long ago, the Wild Hunt found her and gave her the other half of the sword. He gave Kayle two choices: either continue to atone for her sins under Morgana's captivity, or take up the sword and go to the battlefield to slay evil creatures.

Kyle naturally chose the latter without hesitation. Her purpose in life was to eradicate all evil, and even if she didn't believe the freedom promised by the Wild Hunt was real, she would not regret her choice.

After Kyle arrived, the portal was temporarily closed.

Wild Hunt has no intention of bringing in Ahri, Elise, Ashe, and the like. They would not only be of no help on the front lines, but would also be a burden, distracting others from protecting them.

Although Ahri wasn't as bad after awakening her ancestral spirit, her soul magic was completely ineffective against soulless void creatures.

The Wild Hunt won't wield the Broken Blade because the undead are just as helpless against soulless void creatures. Of course, void creatures don't have much of a way to deal with spirits without physical bodies either. Sending undead to harass the enemy might be feasible, but then again, the black mist would block out sunlight, doing more harm than good, so it's better not to go to the trouble of it.

"Where are our enemies?" Azir asked loudly once everyone was present.

“Underground, beneath the city,” Kasha replied. “Belvis built his nest underground and named it the Lilac Sea. Many tunnels connect to the Lilac Sea, the largest of which is that deep pit ahead.”

Kassa pointed to the swirling crater left by the tornado in the city center, surrounded by grayish-white craters, like a collapsed valley of death. She had been sucked into the eye of the storm by the light and fallen into the pale purple sea.

"Go deep into the enemy's lair and fight them?" Azir's hawk-like eyes narrowed. "That's not a wise choice."

Chapter 693 The Nest Messenger

With a major battle imminent, she knew very little about the enemy, with only fleeting impressions from years ago remaining in her mind. Kaisa admitted that she hadn't done a good job in gathering intelligence on the enemy.

But what is Bernice? This empress, who devoured an entire city, possessed in her mind all the knowledge that humanity had carefully preserved over millions of years, granting her near-omniscient consciousness.

The more people she devours, the more she knows, and the more terrifying her power becomes... Kasa has no doubt that if she dares to infiltrate the Pale Purple Sea, she will be immediately detected and captured by Bervis.

Even if she manages to escape by chance, alerting the enemy would be a disadvantage. It would be better to engage in a direct confrontation and see who has more backup plans.

"What are your thoughts, Your Majesty?" Kasha, unfamiliar with military strategy, saw that Azir had objections and decided to listen to his suggestions.

"We are in the open, while the enemy is in the dark. Unless we launch a suicide attack, we should not rashly go down into the enemy's lair to fight them. Moreover, judging from these dense underground ravines, the enemy has the ability to ambush from underground, so we should not give up our height advantage."

Azir's figure floated up from the deck, his eagle eyes fixed on the dead city below, his analysis becoming increasingly in-depth: "The Sun Disk should be placed in an open area to exert its power, the best location being above the city, but to maximize its effectiveness, we still need to dig up the ground, exposing the enemy to the sunlight so they have nowhere to hide."

"I agree! We should let Mother Sun witness our bravery." Leona's eyes lit up at the mention of it. The battle at the bottom of the sea had already revealed how significant the impact of sunlight on the Protoss was. If she could get a glimpse of the sun's light, her combat power would undergo a qualitative change, allowing her to fight for three days and three nights without feeling tired.

"Dig up the ground?" Kai'Sa retorted. "If we rip off the ceiling, the enemy will come out in full force."

Azir continued, "Without digging through the ground, how can my army go down and engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat? The entrance is so small, and only a limited number of people can pass through. Are the remaining soldiers just going to stand on the ground and wait in line to jump into the pit?"

"Then why not lure them out? Hold the pass and wait for them to come to us."

"Because we need to seize the initiative. The enemy might not necessarily come out of the pit, and waiting on the surface will only invite an ambush from underground. Besides, the soil here is already hardened and compacted; digging it up will loosen the soil, making it impossible for any lurking enemies to hide, and it will also allow me to use local materials to create sand soldiers." (The last line appears to be a nonsensical string of characters and is omitted from the translation.)

“We are already beyond human comprehension; let's not think like humans. Let the battlefield adapt to us, not the other way around.” Azir sighed. “If the battlefield were in the desert, there wouldn't be so many restrictions.”

“I can help you,” Syndra interjected, floating at the same height as Azir. “I can turn all the land below into sand, which will both open up the ground and create a large amount of sand, perfectly meeting your requirements.”

"Thank you for your help." Azir nodded slightly without being polite; if that were the case, it would be a great help.

Syndra met Kai'Sa's eyes, and seeing that she had no objections, she began to cast the spell. However, at that moment, a familiar figure floated out from the underground entrance, its appearance reminding Kai'Sa of unpleasant memories.

"Wait." Kai'Sa raised her hand to stop Syndra and looked closely.

The humanoid monster had extremely slender, hollowed-out limbs, four arms that were barely thicker than bones, two long, braided tails, three faces with only mouths, and hair made up of countless tentacles.

It floated above the deep pit and stopped a hundred meters away from the two spaceships. With its broken voice, it made a hoarse, mocking sound, calling out Kasha's name.

"Kasha..."

“Uma,” Kasha muttered through gritted teeth. This monster was the transformed form of her childhood playmate.

“Kasha…you have disappointed our Queen.” The monster named Uma spoke in a three-mouthed, overlapping voice, devoid of any emotion. “She gave you a chance to struggle, gave the world time to recover, and you not only failed to appreciate it, but also broke your promise to us.”

"A promise?" Kasha felt a brutal resolve wash over her, and her anger began to rise. "Your so-called promises are nothing but cruel coercion to me! I will kill the Watchers, but only after I've wiped you all out!"

"Daughter of the Void, you believe you have found a weapon to kill her, or a hero strong enough to stand against her. Though you will ultimately fail... you can still try. The price, however, is that she will devour your world piece by piece, and you... will be utterly powerless to stop her."

The Nest Messenger held a ball of liquid void energy in its hands, shaped like a transparent egg. It effortlessly pulled out a section of genetic spiral and inserted it, like a game of cat's cradle… After a strange pulsation, a monstrous malformation slowly took shape within the transparent egg, its jaws gaping menacingly at Kai'Sa through the amniotic membrane.

This cruel arrogance, stemming from her own power, is precisely why Kaisa despises Bervis so deeply. This monster speaks their human language, even her choice of words is so precise and refined… the word "leniency" perfectly describes her attitude towards this world, yet she considers herself incredibly generous. Deliberately misinterpreting threats as promises is like a hypocrite in a coat spouting human language; every word is blatant malice, utterly repulsive.

“If this is the message you’re trying to convey, then there’s nothing more to say between us.” Kai’Sa clenched her fist, and the spray pods began to heat up violently.

There's no need to listen anymore. Piervis's goal will not change; she has always wanted to replace humanity, and there is no possibility of negotiation.

With a thought, a barrage of missiles rained down on the Nest Messenger, scorching purple plasma whistling and splashing, before being blocked by a barrier that appeared out of nowhere.

"It's not that easy after all." Seeing this, Kasha flicked her wrist, conjuring a blade of light, then turned slightly to the people behind her and said, "The plan continues. None of you should interfere with my personal grudges. I'll take care of them right away."