Very quickly Randidly ran through his Skill list in his mind Pollen of the Rafflesia Too dangerous and would likely incapacitate Magic Missile No one would even know what they were seeing Maybe it really just was Arcane Orb to make a splash
But then Randidly remembered something He smiled
“Summon Pestilence “
When Randidly used the Skill originally he would generally summon it near him both out of convenience and due to the level of his stats But he had gained quite a few stats since then and when he poured his Mana into it this time he summoned the bugs in the sky At first it was nothing just a few dozens but then it was a dozen dozen and then hundreds and thousands The illusion wrapped around him rippled softly but it was nowhere near the chaotic trembling of before
Randidly showed his teeth It really seemed like his illusion was on its last legs Hopefully this worked
Before long there was a low drone as the bulk of the bugs remained in the sky swirling around each other A few Randidly brought down but those were just meant as scouts When he brought the bugs down he wanted it to seem like an end of days plague Only then would he be able to force even the most stubborn out of their homes Of course the more bugs he gathered and the more he imaged what he intended the stronger the disruption on his illusion was Randidly grimaced His Willpower was so high that even a casual image was strong enough to influence it
So he ceased stockpiling them and let them descend The droning quickly rose in volume becoming something that demanded attention
Somewhere a person looked up
They were the first ones to scream
Then more and more screams joined as the people realized what was happening Carefully Randidly focused his control over them to send the bugs to the windows up in the high places then began to apply pressure by throwing bodies against windows Likely due to his increased Intelligence even the smaller of the pestilential bugs were the size of a human hand and the bigger ones rivaled small dogs When people got a good look at what was trying to get into their house it was no wonder they fled
Of course there were those frozen by fear or those that locked themselves up in a closet to escape but they were in the minority Most quickly got to fleeing in the face of the bugs
“What is that Someone on the frontline report ” Sergeant Phillip said but it seemed most everyone ignored the man They were all taking advantage of the chaos and momentum these bugs granted them and began moving more people towards safety
After clearing another condo Randidly figured most everyone who was going to leave was already leaving Satisfied he turned to go but then noticed a flash of light coming from a condo
The old woman who refused him earlier had come out onto her porch and had set out at least a dozen hairspray cans She currently had one can in her left hand and one of those elongated electric lighters used to light candles in the other
Calmly she lit the lighter and sprayed immolating a dozen bugs that were on her porch Then she delicately set her tools down and picked up a broom to sweep the carcasses off her porch
Sighing Randidly looked up The droning was almost deafening It was shaded in this area due to the number of bugs Yet this woman believed that she could calmly and methodically eliminate them Although Randidly felt a deep loathing for her he certainly had to respect her resolve
Wanting to attempt to save her one more time Randidly started walking towards her condo at a rapid pace Some of his restraints on his physical stats fell away and he moved much much faster than should be possible for a person moving at a walking speed But when he arrived outside her porch she was already ready with a quip
“Foolish bool put some shoes on I just swept the pests over that way You know if my husband was still alive he would sit you down and talk to you about the trappings of manhood but I haven’t the time “
Randidly was about to say HE didn’t have time for this shit when his face abruptly changed to a serious expression Without waiting for permission he vaulted up onto the old woman’s porch It was a small space and he almost hit her while doing it Then he stepped forward scanning his Skill list again
‘Roundhouse Kick will have to do ‘ Randidly thought
When the Level 33 Iguana blasted through the wall it was met with a roundhouse kick Its fleshy body was more resilient than Randidly expected so it was just stunned and he had to move forward and rip its body to shreds with a few Talon Strikes to finish it off His illusion trembled but it held
Chapter 529
It was becoming hard to direct the insects now so Randidly largely let them go buzzing too and fro attacking monsters and leaving people alone As he straightened the old woman was there with her arms folded regarding him frostily
Sighing Randidly said “Look you saw the notifications right A new magical apocalypse has hit earth Everything is governed by the System It lets you grow strong but it also throws monsters like that at you You were stuck in frozen time for the past year and a half and I’m just here to try and rescue you and people like you So stop making trouble and just let me get you to safety “
“Hmph you are single aren’t you young man ” The woman said shaking her head as she walked past him “Still at that age when you get angry at women for forcing you to be honest Well what are you waiting for Don’t just stand there collecting giant bugs in your open mouth lead me to safety
Fuming Randidly closed his mouth and did so
Alan felt a headache coming on when he received the news This was exactly NOT what he wanted
Perhaps it had been callous of him but he had been carefully diverting resources from the rescue missions at the borders to other areas It wasn’t that he didn’t know about the loss of life but Alan believed it was worth it Right now the influx of so many people who didn’t understand the System or the threats that they were facing was undermining everything he had been able to build in the prior months There were so many votes coming into districts that it was almost impossible to keep track of them all
And no matter how much support the Tier initiative received Congress had always been careful to emphasize that voting did not require citizenship They were elitists but many of those that survived the early days of the System had clung strongly to their root beliefs about the nation All could who registered could vote
Still there were very real roadblocks in place to deter a casual registrant Often it would be more hassle than it was worth to spend the time to register to vote You would need an organization supporting such an effort on a vast scale to make it worth it
Which was Alan knew exactly what Father Foster was doing
The speaker cleared his throat “Mr President I believe the floor is now yours to say your piece on the diplomacy issue “
Alan stood casting a glance over towards Senator Firefly The man’s pompous grin was more of an eyesore than his extravagant suit The momentum was shifting in Firefly’s direction and Alan knew that they would likely call this Randidly Ghosthound before Congress to speak Still even Alan was curious what the man could tell them when he was directly questioned
However one thing at a time That victory cannot go easily to Senator Firefly
“I do not want to derail the discussion ” Alan said planning on doing just that “but I want to speak briefly about today’s rescue operations and the refugee issue I just received word that the preliminary numbers are in and across the Zone we have liberated 150 000 Americans I have no doubt they will make splendid citizens of the UHF Congratulations ladies and gentlemen “
Everyone clapped but many did so only out of politeness Everyone knew that the refugees were growing and growing far far too fast to keep up with But It had been in the thousands before Not 150 000 This was two orders of magnitude above what they were prepared for
“Even even the most optimistic estimates stated that only around 30 000 would survive the rescue operations even with our most talented troops there ” One senator said confusion clear in his voice “So so “