Chapter 191 - 179: Frenzied Hunt! New Unit ’Insect Queen

Chapter 191: Chapter 179: Frenzied Hunt! New Unit ’Insect Queen

The Demon Suppression Bureau’s regular tasks were classified into four grades: A, B, C, and D.

Grade A tasks involved hunting down Evil Cultivators, Demon Fiends, and other threats that terrorized a state or several counties. Most targets were at the Myriad Phenomena Realm or were True Monarch Primordial Spirits. Their bounties started at no less than 100,000 Merit Points, with some even reaching millions or tens of millions.

Grade B tasks targeted Evil Cultivators and Demon Fiends threatening a single county. These targets were generally at the Primordial Mansion Realm, with bounties ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 Merit Points. The blood sacrifice crisis in Bishui City fell into this category. However, because of the Demon Suppression Cave’s existence, it could actually be considered a Grade A task!

As for Grade C tasks, they involved Qi Sea Realm threats plaguing a prefecture, while Grade D tasks corresponded to the Qi and Blood Realm. These two tiers made up the vast majority of available missions.

Beyond these regular tasks, there was an even higher tier: Disaster Class!

Such missions were incredibly rare and would only be issued if top-tier True Monarch Primordial Spirits ran rampant. If the Evil Dragon trapped within the Demon Suppression Cave completely broke free and devoured a massive amount of flesh and blood to restore its strength, it would fall into this category.

Qin Yu stepped forward. Using his identity token as a Ling State Inspector, he operated the system for a moment. His gaze completely bypassed the Grade A tasks, focusing instead on the other three bounty lists.

Hunt down a Myriad Phenomena Realm expert?

There were hardly any Grade A tasks in the entire Ling State anyway. Not to mention whether he possessed the strength to do so, he wouldn’t do it even if he did. That was the Myriad Phenomena Realm! Killing a Myriad Phenomena Realm expert as a mere Qi Sea Realm cultivator would draw far too much attention.

He was already thrust into the limelight. If someone were to assassinate him now, it might very well be an existence at the Primordial Spirit Realm.

What he needed was simply to acquire enough Merit Points to exchange for the first layer of the Infinite Wonders Skill. He could completely rely on the sheer numbers of his Insect Swarms to grind through a massive amount of tasks. It didn’t matter if the Merit Points for each task were on the lower side.

[Grade B+ Iron-Backed Grey Wolf]: Eradicate the Iron-Backed Grey Wolves in Pingsha County’s Black Wind Ridge (estimated number exceeds 5,000; the Wolf King is at the Late Stage Primordial Mansion Realm). Bounty: 45,000 Merit Points.

...

[Grade B Middle·’Hundred Poison Child’]: Middle Stage Primordial Mansion Realm. Specializes in poison and Poison Arrays. Once poisoned tens of thousands to death in Guang’an City. Likes to use living humans for poison testing. Recently appeared in Dan Hua City. Bounty: 20,000 Merit Points.

...

[Grade C+ ’Grass Dam Swamp’]: Investigate and eradicate the Rotting Poisonous Giant Crocodile Tribe deep within the Grass Dam Swamp. Their strength is roughly at the Peak of the Sea of Qi Realm. Bounty: 5,000 Merit Points.

...

[Grade C Lower Blood Shadow Zhao Kun]: Practices an Evil Skill and has slaughtered dozens of villages. Middle Stage Sea of Qi Realm. Recently frequents the Eastern Wilderness Village. Bounty: 2,000 Merit Points.

...

[D Grade+ ’Double-Headed Wind Leopard’]: A Double-Headed Wind Leopard has appeared around Spirit Platform City. Qi and Blood Like Dragon Realm. Bounty: 400 Merit Points.

...

Qin Yu quickly scrolled through the tasks, examining all of them.

The tasks he could access weren’t limited to Yunlong County. Grade B targets were at the Primordial Mansion Realm and often roamed across multiple counties. Because of this, quite a few tasks listed here belonged to other counties.

The tentacles of his Insect Swarms had already reached the neighboring County Cities, but his intelligence regarding the terrain and local factions further away was still lacking, which would slow down the hunting process. Therefore, he primarily focused on tasks within Yunlong County and its neighboring County Cities.

Demon Suppression Bureau tasks mainly fell into two categories: hunting Demon Fiends, and hunting evil demons who practiced Evil Skills or Demon Skills. The awarded Merit Points were not strictly tied to the target’s strength, but also to their threat level. For example, those evil demons who massacred populations indiscriminately would have extremely high bounties even if their cultivation was relatively low.

"Some of these tasks... the Insect Swarms seem to have already completed them," Qin Yu thought, a gleam flashing in his eyes.

Over the past few days, the Insect Swarms had been expanding in secret. Naturally, they had hunted down quite a few Demon Fiends in the wilderness, and some of these targets were on the Demon Suppression Bureau’s bounty list. For instance, the Rotting Poisonous Giant Crocodile Tribe mentioned in the [Grade C+ ’Grass Dam Swamp’] task had already been wiped out by the Insect Swarms. Their corpses were completely cold by now.

The evil demons practicing Evil Skills and Demon Skills also tended to hide in the wilderness. The Insect Swarms had run into a few of them and conveniently slaughtered them in passing.

"Unfortunately, I can only accept ten tasks at a time. I’ll take a batch first, complete them quickly, and then take the next batch!" Qin Yu thought.

His gaze rapidly locked onto ten tasks. The one with the highest reward was [Grade B Middle·’Hundred Poison Child’]. Areas like the Iron-Backed Grey Wolf territory were simply too far from his Insect Swarms and possessed staggering strength; unless he deployed the Leviathan, it would be difficult to swallow them whole.

As for this ’Hundred Poison Child’, the Insect Swarms had recently discovered an array in a place called Soul Descent Gorge within Yunlong County. The array closely resembled the methods the Hundred Poison Child was known to specialize in. Qin Yu was eighty percent sure that it was the villain’s lair.

When dealing with these old demons, the hardest part wasn’t actually the killing. It was finding them! The wilderness was vast; if they just picked a random spot to hide, how could anyone track them down?

Having finalized his initial targets, Qin Yu walked over to a side counter. The Steward behind the counter was a gaunt-faced old man, but his eyes were incredibly clear.

"Lord Inspector, how may I assist you?" the old man asked in a hoarse voice.

"I would like to accept [Grade B Middle·’Hundred Poison Child’], [Grade C+ ’Grass Dam Swamp’]... and these other tasks, making it ten in total. I will also need their intelligence files." Qin Yu handed over his Token.

The old man took the Token, shot Qin Yu a glance, and operated a Magical Treasure on the counter before returning the Token.

"Lord Qin, some of these tasks have strict deadlines. If you fail to complete them in time, or if a major error occurs, you will be penalized. Are you certain you want to accept all of them?"

Ten tasks, totaling a whopping 43,000 Merit Points. He had seen plenty of "geniuses" who accepted massive amounts of tasks at once, thinking they could easily grind Merit Points. Little did they know, they were gambling with their lives!

Demon Fiends were one thing, but did he really think those wanted old demons were pushovers? Anyone capable of evading the Demon Suppression Bureau’s pursuit possessed extremely vicious and sinister methods. Even if their base strength was average, they usually had some special tricks up their sleeves. Completing even one task was a life-threatening ordeal, let alone taking on ten consecutively.

Even if one didn’t die and luckily completed the mission, sustaining injuries in combat was inevitable. Spending ten days, half a month, or even half a year recovering was commonplace. Furthermore, some of these task locations were poles apart, making travel itself a significant issue.

The Demon Suppression Bureau’s Merit Points were enticing, but they had to be earned with one’s life. They weren’t low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked. Because of this, the experts in the Demon Suppression Bureau usually grouped up to take on missions, distributing the Merit Points based on their respective contributions.

The individual Merit Points might look high, but accumulating them was exceedingly difficult.

"I am certain! Thank you!" Qin Yu cupped his hands in a salute without elaborating further.

Did he even need to lift a finger for these tasks? What a joke!

He hadn’t properly cultivated for quite some time. Having recently acquired the Soul Defense Secret Technique, "Tower of Void", he needed to settle down for a while to improve his Sword Skill, Body Technique, Archery Skill, and the rest.

As for the tasks, the Insect Swarms would naturally handle them. Even for hunting the ’Hundred Poison Child’, the Flood Dragon King would lead a vanguard of Qi Sea Realm Dao Soldiers and overwhelm him with an army of the Insect Swarm!

After accepting the tasks and reviewing some of the mission scrolls, Qin Yu couldn’t help but shake his head. As expected, not a single target on the Demon Suppression Bureau’s bounty list was a decent person. They slaughtered innocents indiscriminately and terrorized entire regions.

Based on Qin Yu’s understanding of this world, if a Martial Artist—especially one above the Qi and Blood Realm—killed one or two people, the Demon Suppression Bureau wouldn’t bat an eye. After all, in a world where personal might reigned supreme, lives were as cheap as grass. Killing a few ordinary people was a trivial matter.

However, large-scale massacres were strictly forbidden! For scum like the ’Hundred Poison Child’, who nonchalantly poisoned tens of thousands to death and abducted scores of people for poison testing, no one could tolerate it.

After uploading all the intelligence into the Mind Network, Qin Yu wasted no more time. He immediately turned and left.

By the time they left the Arresting Department, it was already past noon. Qin Yu and Qin Tianfeng did not linger, heading directly back to the Qin Residence outside the city.

Although the main estate of the Qin Family was actually within the city walls, a behemoth like the Leviathan couldn’t enter. Even if it were permitted, navigating it inside would be a colossal hassle. It was much more convenient to simply reside outside the city.

With the materials and resources obtained from the Cyan Profound Sect, they could easily set up a grand array outside the city and establish a hidden Insect Nest underground. Its security would be even higher than staying inside the city.

At this moment, the area outside the Qin Residence was bustling with activity, packed with a constant stream of carriages and visitors.

A single night was enough time for the news of the Leviathan’s appearance to spread throughout the entire Yunlong County City. Even while it simply lay there, its mountain-like frame remained clearly visible to all. Its terrifying aura left everyone deeply shaken.

However, Qin Yu didn’t need to worry about such trivialities. The Qin Family Patriarch and the Elders would naturally step forward to host the guests.

Upon returning to a quiet room in the residence, Qin Yu’s will entered the Mind Network.

"The Merit Point harvesting plan commences now! Prioritize eradicating the seven designated targets. Simultaneously, conduct live-combat drills for the new Insect Swarm units, prioritizing the hunt for the ’Hundred Poison Child’.

"Deploy a thousand Qi Sea Realm Thunder Rocs to test the power of the Thunderous Assault.

"For the ’Blood Vine Demon Forest’ task, dispatch the Mountain-Splitting Thunder Beasts and run a Daoist Soldier Array simulation using them as the core.

"For the ’Cyan Stone Stream Snow Toad’ task, deploy the newly mutated unit, the ’Azure Wave Profound Flood Dragon’, from the nearest aquatic Insect Swarm branch base..."

In an instant, the Insect Swarms spread throughout Yunlong County and the neighboring counties all mobilized. Even the Flood Dragon King, who was stabilizing the situation at the Cyan Profound Sect’s mountain gate, swung into action.

While browsing the mission board, he had only accepted ten tasks—three of which were already completed. However, that didn’t mean he was restricted to only doing those remaining seven tasks. He could still complete unaccepted tasks and simply turn them all in at once later.

The one thing he didn’t lack was manpower!

"The scale of the Insect Swarms is growing larger and larger. Perhaps it is time to cultivate a batch of mid-level Conductor units. Relying solely on myself to control the entire situation is too cumbersome," Qin Yu thought, pondering as he watched the Gold-devouring Insects being fed into the Leviathan for parsing.

In the past, the Insect Swarm’s primary area of operation was the Wilderness Mountain Range, and their opponents were Demon Fiends. They could just steamroll them with brute force. But as the Insect Swarms expanded and integrated into the Human Race’s cities, the issues they needed to handle became increasingly complex.

This required him to divide his focus much more than before.

"The Insect Swarm’s inherited memories mention a unit called the ’Insect Queen’, which seems perfect. Not only can it assist in breeding new Insect Race units, but it can also handle basic Conductor duties. Perhaps I should figure out a way to cultivate one," Qin Yu mused.