Book 10: Chapter 26: Harvests

The Seventeenth Fallen Angel hovered high in the sky. Qin Lun’s icy eyes swept over the battlefield below. After the Advancing blasted through the Insectoid base, the bugs scattered outside immediately began rushing back in a frenzy to save it.

Sadly, without their base for support, the Insectoids’ weakness became clear. Most bugs had lower intelligence than humans. Their strength lay in their high organization and discipline.

Under these conditions, the Bingren pilots—who were individually stronger than the bugs and far more organized in combat—used the time difference to outnumber the scattered insects, slowly destroying the remaining ones bit by bit.

During the mop-up, the Apostles noticed this battle felt different from the previous two. Maybe because they entered the Guidance Mission area, every Insectoid killed on Planet X-352 gave several hundred Shattered Crystals. This made the Apostles fight even harder.

Seeing fewer and fewer bugs returning, Qin Lun finally stopped lingering in the sky. He flew down towards the ruined Insectoid base. Though destroyed, no one had gotten close to it yet.

The Apostles leading the Gith Flight Officers to kill the returning bugs were also testing the base. They wanted to avoid an ambush when they entered.

“Huobiao, bring your squad back! We’re checking the base!” Qin Lun yelled at the MT who was fighting fiercely. Then he and Alex landed near the edge of the massive crater.

Huobiao paused upon hearing the order. He’d thought Qin Lun would call Frank instead. Everyone knew Frank was Qin Lun’s servant. The Patroller Team had noticed the young leader’s slight favoritism before.

But no one felt jealous about it. That was just human nature. As long as Qin Lun distributed gains fairly, it was fine. The image of a pure, shy person he’d shown when they first met had already faded from the Apostles’ minds.

Except for young, playful Bobby, team members like Huobiao, Balin, the Loben brothers, and Bowei were all sharp. Through practice drills, frontline reconnaissance, and this base assault, they understood why the Lost Team chose an “outsider” as the Patroller Team’s deputy leader.

Though Robin might have more fame in the Order Alliance, an Apostle’s real power came from proven results, not reputation.

People like Balin and Huobiao—some were team leaders themselves, others talented elites back home. Joining the Patroller Team meant they still valued the Order Alliance, not ready to leave yet.

They’d had their doubts about such a temporary team, but watching both leaders in action eased their worries. This big victory came at the right time. The Patroller Team was starting to truly come together now, no longer just a collection of lone elites.

Of course, besides Frank and Robin, none of them knew how often Qin Lun might betray allies. Frank wouldn’t say anything, and Robin also kept silent to avoid harming the team’s unity.

Robin had been angry when Qin Lun threatened to leave teammates behind, but when she calmed down, the clever leader realized he’d just been pushing her to be better.

His threats might become real in other Worlds. But not likely in the Gospel World. Here, the biggest threat wasn’t Insectoids or Hismere, but the two other teams from rival alliances chasing after them.

Those teams wanted to show off strength—not crush them completely, but win them over. Fights would often have restraint, without truly deadly intent. Without the risk of losing lives, Qin Lun might not betray his teammates.

At least in this Quest World, the word “companion” held some meaning for him. Still, even though Qin Lun was supposedly helping the Order Alliance this time, both Robin and Kelly knew the Lost Team owed a big debt to the five Serial Killers.

Huobiao glanced at Frank. Finding no anger in the hunchbacked servant’s eyes, he just shrugged and moved his flight crew closer to the Seventeenth Fallen Angel. He decided he’d overthought it. Frank hadn’t undergone his Class Change, while Huobiao was a Second Order MT. That meant Huobiao should take point entering the enemy base.

“Alex, stay here!” Qin Lun gave Huobiao a look, leaving the Gith Flight Officers and their Bingren outside the base.

“Sir, be careful. Even a base without its Protection shell wasn’t totally wiped out by the Advancing. Some bugs must be left inside. If you encounter too many enemies, please call for backup!” Vera urged, concerned.

“Understood!” Qin Lun nodded with a smile. He transformed again, taking the form of the Shadow Gale Panther. He led the way, darting through the gap in the Insectoid base’s outer wall.

“What an amazing replacement power! He projects the summon beast’s talent onto himself!” Huobiao muttered. Seeing the huge cat vanish after a ripple effect, he gripped his round shield tight. Holding it before him, he slipped inside.

Huobiao couldn’t see exactly where Qin Lun was, but through Telepathy, he felt the young man remained close by.

They didn’t enter through a standard entrance but one of the jagged tears blasted open by the Advancing. Their first impression inside the base was intense heat. It felt like stepping into a steamer.

Qin Lun realized his concealment had failed. Huobiao alerted him: the high heat evaporated water clinging to organic tissue, making the black panther mecha shimmer with liquid ripples across its otherwise invisible body. The Shadow Gale Panther’s Shadow Talent was defeated by this strange environment.

Seeing his invisibility failed, Qin Lun dejectedly shifted back to human form. He jerked his chin up at the quietly smirking MT, signaling Huobiao to go first.

The inner walls showed distinct muscle tissue patterns. Radiation heat left by the blast made some muscle-walls look partly melted, wet, sticky, and slightly disgusting.

The two men entered from a gap high up on the base wall. A huge space stretched wide around them. Looking down, they saw a charred pit at the bottom. Smouldering spots glowed faintly in places like dark coals.

Thanks to Insectoid base data Qin Lun had viewed earlier aboard the Advancing, he knew this was actually the hatchery pit—the core structure before its destruction.

Around the pit walls were densely clustered large cavities. These were nurseries, like human baby rooms, used to breed all kinds of Insectoid troops needed for the base.

There were also storage pods for raw materials—mostly organic material from plants or animals. Naturally, the Insectoid storage methods didn’t need explaining. Even Qin Lun felt queasy watching those projected images.

Insectoid “cities” were this simple and brutal. Their society had nothing like human hospitals, schools, hotels, or entertainment venues. Everything existed for one goal: expanding their species. Survival and reproduction were bottomless wants.

Without enemies, they kept minimal defense forces. Propagation and growth were always their main priorities.

Records from native insect worlds taken by the Gith stated a new colonial base could reshape and dominate a life-bearing planet in just three standard solar weeks. The first week was just building the base shell.

Only when facing deadly foes like Hismael or the Gith did their priorities switch from breeding to defense. Viewed this way, Insectoids acted purely defensively. What made them so dangerous to other life was simply their sheer numbers from constant reproduction.

What truly scared everyone was their adaptability. When encountering technologically advanced rivals, Insectoids could biologically mimic and then mass-produce enemy weapons over time, overwhelming them with sheer volume.

However, this terrifying ability had one weakness: spirits like Hismael were uniquely immune. Insectoid biology couldn’t copy ethereal forms or Hismael spiritual technology. This was why Hismael confined Insectoids to one galactic arm long ago.

Patroller Team: Your members have entered the X-352 Insectoid base. Guided Mission ‘Assist in Capturing X-352 Base’ is completed. Personal Mission Reward: 15000 Shattered Crystals, 100 Exchange Vouchers, 7 Contribution Points.

“This counted as completing the Guidance Mission?” Apostles everywhere, even Robin’s team aboard the Advancing, paused. Remembering Qin Lun’s earlier words, they realized he was right—the mission was straightforward.

Its core difficulty wasn’t high; the Patroller Team could easily solo it normally. With the base already blasted open by the Advancing’s main gun, it became incredibly simple.

“Finished is good!” Robin relaxed, then mockingly laughed at herself. Qin Lun’s pressure had weighed heavily on her. She wanted to change, but habits weren’t easily broken.

“Reward’s a bit small.” Bobby rested his feet on the control panel, sulking. He scanned the planet’s surface below.

But his boredom vanished. Qin Lun and Huobiao made a discovery inside the base: giant Insectoid eggs showing faint life signs! Better yet, messages from the Star Void labelled them World-transferable treasures that could hatch into summon beasts later.

This find thrilled the Apostles. Even if these eggs grew basic bugs, elsewhere they’d become High Rank summons. Here in Gospel World they were bottom tier, but taken to other planes…

“Notice: Mission timeline adjusted. Patroller Team triggered Main Quest: The Great Hunt two days early. Extended stay: Two weeks…” As if displeased by their joy, the Star Void interrupted with a major announcement. The first part wasn’t unexpected, but what came next made them swallow their cheers.

“…Based on current calculations, four Apostle teams participate in this competition-type Main Quest. Since Patroller Team’s higher-level members meet requirements for forming a Black Iron Team, its final mission evaluation automatically gains two grades. Base evaluation: Mid-Magic World Silver Grade!”