Zongman, Rebirth of the Heaven-Defying Kirito

There are 50 people in each group, so five groups would make 250 people.

Tilberu felt that with so many people, even if they faced a large number of cockroaches, they could easily handle it, and might even be able to complete the task ahead of schedule.

Tilberu picked up a pen and quickly wrote down the personnel arrangements on the document.

Little did he know what kind of cockroach nightmare awaited his teammates.

......

SAO Floor 25, Pudding Swamp.

This area is less of a 'swamp' and more of a vast ocean of pudding.

The ground beneath your feet has a pale yellow, pudding-like texture. Stepping on it will only cause you to sink slightly, and it's soft and bouncy. But once you lift your foot, the sink mark will instantly return to its original shape, making it as fun as a trampoline.

At this moment, a team of 50 people is walking through the Pudding Swamp.

They were dressed in the Legion Guild's uniform, with weapons strapped to their waists, clearly well-trained elite members.

Leading the group was a tall warrior named Raymond, level 49, with extensive combat experience, who was the 'legion commander' for this insect extermination mission.

Raymond stopped, took out the commission form from his backpack, and checked the contents again.

Yesterday, a five-person team was attacked by a swarm of cockroaches while hunting in Pudding Swamp and was forced to retreat. The Legion is now tasked with eradicating all cockroaches in the area. Reward: 5 Cor. (Detailed coordinates attached)

After reading the request form, Raymond couldn't help but smile and shake his head: "Tsk tsk, five people being chased by a swarm of cockroaches, how pathetic."

In his view, cockroaches were just low-level creatures. Even if there were many of them, they wouldn't be enough to make five players flee in panic. It was probably because that team was too cowardly.

Raymond then put away the commission form, raised his arm, and turned to face the 50 members behind him.

His voice boomed: "We're at the location of the mission just ahead. Our task this time is 'insect extermination.' Now, anyone who's afraid of cockroaches can step forward. It's not too late to withdraw from the mission!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than the team members burst into laughter, their tone full of teasing.

"Captain, you're underestimating us! We're not some pampered female players, why would we be afraid of cockroaches?"

"That's right! They're just a few tiny cockroaches. With so many of us, if each of us spat on them, we could drown them!"

"In my opinion, this mission is making a mountain out of a molehill. Sending even ten people would be too many!"

Raymond smiled too; in fact, he thought the same thing.

But as the team leader, he put away his smile and said with a serious expression, "That's true, but the president must have a deeper meaning in arranging for 50 people to operate. We can't let our guard down."

Upon hearing this, the team members gradually stopped teasing and nodded in agreement.

They became members of the legion not only because of their strength, but also because of their serious attitude.

"Alright! Let's go!" Raymond gave the order, and the team moved forward again, heading towards the coordinates on the order form.

Ten minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination.

Raymond looked around.

The surrounding pudding-like ground was calm and still; there wasn't a single cockroach in sight, not even a trace of an insect.

Moreover, the pudding surface in this area is somewhat special. The upper layer is a normal pale yellow, while the lower layer has a faint dark brown hue, as if 'caramel' has sunk to the bottom of the pudding.

"Strange, the coordinates are correct, but how come there isn't even a cockroach in sight?" Raymond took out the order form and checked the coordinates again.

One of the team members chimed in, "There's only one monster here. Could we have come to the wrong place?"

Raymond looked in the direction his teammate was pointing and saw a cat-like monster lying on the pudding-like floor—[Magic Puppet Dessert: Mille-feuille Cat]

It was just an ordinary monster, so he didn't take it seriously at all.

“I’m not sure either.” Raymond shook his head. “You guys clear out the monsters around here first to avoid interfering with the mission. I’ll contact the guild leader to check the situation.”

"Yes!" The ten team members immediately stepped forward, weapons in hand, and charged toward the mille-feuille cat.

The ordinary monster was no match for the elite team members and was killed in a few moves. Its body turned into a pile of mille-feuille crumbs, scattered on the pudding floor.

Just as Raymond was about to contact Tilberu, one of the team members suddenly exclaimed, "Captain! Look!"

Everyone turned their heads and looked in the direction the team member was pointing.

A dozen or so small black creatures were crawling out from the cracks in the pudding floor, sparsely making their way toward the pile of mille-feuille crumbs.

The target is [the proliferating G].

Raymond stopped operating the communicator, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

It was hidden under the pudding floor.

The team members also gathered around, looking at the tiny cockroaches and discussing them amongst themselves:

"I never expected to see cockroaches in SAO, I've never seen anything like it in my life!"

"You know what, this cockroach looks quite 'unique,' even shinier than the real ones."

"So small and cute~"

Raymond also went over and looked at the cockroaches that were gnawing on the crumbs of mille-feuille: "Now that we've found them, let's not waste time. Let's clean them up quickly and finish the mission as soon as possible so we can go back."

The team members echoed in agreement.

They took out their weapons, but when they saw the tiny size of the cockroach and then looked at the longswords and giant axes in their hands, they all put down their weapons.

Using such a large weapon to deal with such a small cockroach is making a mountain out of a molehill and could easily hurt yourself.

"Let's just stomp on it!" one team member suggested, raising his boot and stepping on a cockroach.

With a soft "smack," the cockroach was instantly crushed.

"efficient!"

The team members followed suit, lifting their feet and stomping on the dozen or so cockroaches.

The elasticity of the pudding-like surface made their movements exceptionally easy.

In just two minutes, all of the dozen or so cockroaches were trampled to death, and the pile of mille-feuille crumbs were also crushed to pieces.

"Done!" one of the team members said with a smile. "This task was way too easy! I thought it would be much harder!"

"Yeah, you really need to send 50 people for this? The president is being way too cautious this time!"

Raymond sighed as well: "It's probably because the guild leader has been too tired from handling guild affairs these past few days and is under too much stress."

But at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

The pale yellow pudding-like floor beneath my feet suddenly began to shake violently, like a lake churning with raging waves.

The soft pudding kept bulging and sinking, making everyone unsteady on their feet, and they all staggered and clung to their companions for support.

"What happened?!" Raymond shouted, a strong sense of unease rising within him.

"Captain! Look down!" a team member said, his voice trembling as he pointed to the ground.

Raymond looked down, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his face turned deathly pale.

Beneath the previously calm, pale yellow pudding layer, the dark brown layer that they mistook for 'caramel' was slowly wriggling!

Moreover, the range of the wriggling became larger and more obvious, and you could even see countless tiny tentacles sticking out from the gaps in the pudding, constantly swaying!

This...this isn't a caramel layer at all!

They are clearly the brown leather forewings of a large group of cockroaches!