So Rio city is General Gram's home city? and according to the letter, other cities have been attacked. Is the Hive much larger than I initially thought? Did they manage to create tunnels different cities under our noses? If so then I really need to have a word with General Gram.

It took three days until General Gram arrived and let me tell you, the people really welcomed him. The entire city celebrated at his arrival, I wanted to meet him but the streets were so crowded that not even water can pass through so I left and just waited for things to calm down.

It took the entire day for everything to calm down, I asked around for General Gram's home and they all told me the same place... The Dutch Mansion, where Cynthia and I had our first goblin extermination.

I notified Alissa where I was going so that she won't worry about me.

I made my way to the Dutch mansion, I knocked on the gate and a butler respectfully opened the gate for me.

"Welcome sir Blade Knight, we've been expecting you" The Butler bowed respectfully before leading the way.

I was then led to a guest room that was filled with fancy decorations, the chair was made out of wood that was intricately designed and it also had a comfy cushion for my buttocks.

It didn't take long until a 6-foot tall man to enter, he wore simple clothing. His beard covered his neck and his hair was cut short.

"Blade Knight" He sat on the seat in front of me

"General Gram" I nodded my head

"Good to finally meet you, you are here to discuss about the invaders, yes?"

"Yes"

"Where should I start, hmm. Okay, 5 years ago the sky was ripped open. Everyone panicked, it came out of nowhere and everyone thought that the demon king has made a powerful move but in the end, a huge chunk of ice fell down. The ice fell down and destroyed a small village, no one really knew what happened after that, only that the church used every means possible to retrieve that chunk of ice, even the King himself doesn't know the reason why the church went into such means"

"How is this related?" I asked

"You may not be here then but if you were, the same thing happened days before the first sight of the unknown creatures"

"Oh, that makes sense, please continue" I calmly replied but deep inside my mind was in chaos

5 years ago?! if it was 5 years ago then the bugs might've already created a stronghold on this planet. It will take an entire army of soldiers just to even have a slight chance of defeating them but the people of this world don't have the equipment we had in the future.

"Small villages started to getting raided and destroyed, we were baffled, what kind of savage creature would leave such a mess. Every village they attacked was always dyed in crimson blood with limbs and innards as decorations hanged on the roofs of houses or was just scattered on the ground"

The butler from earlier came in and served us tea.

"We started stationing guards to different villages, some survived the attack but some didn't, however, they were also as good as dead. The fear struck them deep and caused them to lost sanity, we now know that this was a serious matter so we decided to form different parties composed of strong and experienced soldiers to investigate this matter. Most of them came back, they reported what they discovered. The Generals, Aids, Councilors, and researchers all discussed this matter in which we all agreed upon that our new enemies are similar to that of a bug colony. We've located some of their bases or hives as they call it but all attempts of attack has failed" Gram just rubs his forehead with his fingers

"So basically, you want me to tell you guys everything I know about them?" I asked

"Indeed, you've been the only one successful in defeating these creatures"

"First off, simple steel won't kill them, their shells are too hard"

"That fact has already been proven true after hundreds of soldiers fled with broken swords and missing limbs"

"Secondly, they have the ability to plant a parasite within anyone, these parasites will control the host and will serve as a spy or a soldier, so far, there's only three of these that I know" Those are the Zombie fly, Gordian Worm, and Paradoxum Worm

"Is there any way of distinguishing an infected human from another?" Gram asked

"...for the Zombie fly, an infected human will still be able to control himself but once the time comes, they will die and from their corpse comes a fly that will kidnap other people to infect. As for the Gordian Worm, they're mostly around rivers and large bodies of water except for the ocean. As for the Paradoxum worm... eyes, their eyes, the eyes of the infected will appear to be the most beautiful jewel" I told him the most important things

"Is there more you'd like to add?" Gram asked

I looked at him and noticed that he has been taking notes this entire time.

"They will use your own people against you, you must be resolved to kill your fellow comrade when the time comes"

Gram pauses for a minute but continues writing

"It's true that they operate much like that of a colony, a queen rules over the workers, If you want to have a chance in defeating them, you must send a party of strong warriors to kill the queen. This must be done while most of her workers or soldiers are out in a war" I suggested

"What happens if we kill the queen?" Gram asked

"The soldiers and workers with no queen to follow will just do nothing or will just kill themselves" I replied

"How will they know?"

"All of the bugs will have a special connection to their queen"

"Alright, is it okay to ask you to come with me to the castle? we could really use your brains in devising strategies" Gram requested

"No, I can't be responsible for the lives of thousands or millions of people" I spoke out bitterly

Not all of our missions went successfully, millions of lives were lost due to our mistakes. I can sometimes dream of them, happily living their lives if only we had succeeded. It was one of the reasons I resolved to myself never to fail a mission.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I'm going on a little dungeon run, it would be really nice to have you as my companion" Gram smilled and asked

"It would be an honor" I replied

"Great, then we will go tomorrow"