But things didn't end there. The elves retaliated soon after by ramping up the production of mutated fungi spores, which they directed towards the camp of the humans.
These spores were either deadly if inhaled or could quickly germinate into something deadly if given soil to grow. It just so happened that soil is the one thing that the Lignum world is not lacking.
The poisonous spores didn't work because the soldiers had their armor, which could create an air pocket of filtered air around them.
The fungi also couldn't grow because the soil had been sprayed with herbicides and other toxic chemicals designed to kill and inhibit plant growth.
But things became a little strenuous when the elves managed to raise another batch of giant worms and put them to work creating acid rain over the camp of the humans.
This acid rain was indeed problematic, but the human army had installed a large force field array over their territory and were powering it with powerful nuclear reactions.
Even though the acid rain was highly corrosive, it could drain as much power as the nuclear reactors could provide in a second, so the forcefield continued to stand.
This forced the elves to take drastic actions, which they did quickly by sending swarms of insects to attack the human army.
Millions of insects, both flying and crawling, those who possessed biting or piercing mouthparts and those who were small and big, were sent to attack the invaders.
The elves formed a large cloud and a large ocean of insects to drown the force field barrier. The flying insects were so many that the cloud that they formed covered the sun. Day became night immediately.
The crawling insects were a significant problem too. They were so powerful and so hungry that they devoured every tree in their way.
The section of the forest that they had submerged disappeared under the tide of insects. When they clashed with the force field, it actually shook and began to crack.
Kelvin was already shocked when they appeared. His eyes were wide open in shock as he looked at the sky.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. But the quickly disappearing forest and the overwhelming buzzing sound of wings forced him to believe that what he was seeing was real.
Then he took a step back when they slammed into the force field.
The sound of the collision was audible. It was as if a doorbreaker had been crammed against a physical fortification.
Command actually sounded the alarm and instructed every soldier to be at the highest alert. It was as if they were facing a great enemy.
He couldn't believe it how serious Command was taking the situation. He said to Wrath, "Things can't be so bad, right? There has to be something else to this attack."
She shook her head. "I'm afraid it is. If the bugs manage to break down the force field barrier, then you can be sure that the elves will take advantage of the situation to attack us."
"They won't let such an opportunity to wreck us pass by. An army is probably already outside, ready to attack. So prepare for battle."
Soon he received a message from Command through his mark. Every soldier did.
It turned out that what Wrath said was exactly what Command warned them about. The elves were ready for the next round of fighting. This was just the appetizer.
The human army moved very quickly to respond to the threat they were facing. Missions were issued, and soldiers hurriedly signed up to work.
Kelvin had diamond skin, so he wasn't particularly worried about the insects. The only thing he was worried about was that they would gain access to his body through his mouth and nostrils. But that didn't stop him from stepping beyond the force field to deal with the insects.
Besides, his mission was to hold back the insects and reduce the pressure on the force field for five minutes, not to kill all of them. If he and the other soldiers fail, then the barrier will fall, and they will lose their best protection.
Some equipment was quickly distributed by the army to the soldiers so that they would be able to eliminate the insects. They were fire throwers and insecticides.
In a normal situation, these two would be enough to cull the population of the insects greatly. They might even scatter and stop being a threat.
Unfortunately, they couldn't show their full use because of the acid rain. The purple rain doused the fire and washed away the insecticide spray.
These two effects made it so that the fire couldn't burn much of the insects for long, and the insecticide was only killing the soil, not much of the insects.
It was truly two against one. The acid rain and the swarm of insects worked together to attack the force field and bring it down. They didn't harm each other and instead worked very well together.
Meanwhile, any machine that leaves the safety of the barrier would be eroded by the acid rain and submerged by insects. This meant almost every soldier that accepted the mission and stepped out of the barrier to deal with insects failed miserably.
They had to rush back to the barrier or risk dying. Only strong individuals whose abilities could work in this condition achieved any kind of success.
Kelvin was one of these individuals. He had diamond skin from Myriad Physique and Juggernaut's Armament to protect him. Then he had Life Core to attack.
Life Corey's ability to siphon life force is very strong against small creatures with poor strength. Insects counted as one of these vulnerable creatures.
It didn't matter that they were a million or ten million. All that mattered was that they were weak individually, so their lives were easily reaped by his ability.
It was like a wind of death moved through the insect swarm because something invisible was killing them. They were literally dropping dead by the tens of thousands.