Chapter 29 - 28: Snake Demon Valley and the War Giant Beast

Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Snake Demon Valley and the War Giant Beast

A Demon’s Nest!

The Giant Bear Gene Map had been fully analyzed!

For Qin Yu, this was nothing short of a double blessing.

The Cang Mang Mountain Range stretched for ten thousand miles, and Cyan Peak County was merely on its periphery. The deeper one ventured into its untrodden depths, the more jungle beasts and Demon Fiends there were. It was already a forbidden zone for humanity. With massive numbers of Demon Fiends gathered, it was perfectly normal for a Demon’s Nest to appear. Moreover, the deeper one went, the more powerful the Demon’s Nests became.

What interested Qin Yu the most was the type of Demon Fiends inhabiting this particular Demon’s Nest!

It was, astonishingly, a swarm of Snake Demons!

Snake Demons of all sizes mingled within. There were ultra-large pythons over a hundred feet long, as well as colorful venomous snakes as thin as a finger. The valley was densely teeming with serpents everywhere. Perhaps it would be more fitting to call it Snake Valley.

"Is this a coincidence, or are these Snake Demons connected to Snake Demon Li Tianyi?" A fierce glint flashed through Qin Yu’s eyes.

According to the intelligence from Golden Wind Pavilion, that scoundrel was exceptionally adept at communicating with snakes. He had even gained control of a Snake-type Great Demon whose strength rivaled the realm of Qi and Blood like a Dragon!

This Demon’s Nest was located a mere three hundred miles away in a straight line from No. 1 Insect Nest and the Qin Family Manor. However, traveling on foot would at least double that distance, especially through pathless mountain forests.

As the Black Thorn Eagle circled above, it discovered that some of the Demon Fiends emerging from the valley were far more powerful than the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon! There were no less than three of those ultra-large pythons measuring over a hundred feet long. These were at least Qi and Blood Realm Great Demons—Great Demons even stronger than the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon!

Furthermore, there were hundreds that could truly be classified as Demon Fiends, while ordinary snakes were completely innumerable—a rough glance suggested easily over a hundred thousand. Not far from Snake Valley lay an immense lake. Its maximum diameter exceeded thirty miles, connecting to over a dozen rivers of varying sizes in the vicinity. The lake provided more than enough food to sustain Snake Valley’s existence.

"I must find a way to eradicate them!" Qin Yu made his decision in an instant.

Regardless of whether these snake-type Demon Fiends were connected to Snake Demon Li Tianyi, Qin Yu intended to wipe them out. After the Black Thorn Eagle completed its reconnaissance flight around the perimeter, Qin Yu realized this place was also the optimal location to establish an Insect Nest. Nestled deep in the mountains, it was adjacent to a giant lake that connected to all directions.

No matter how he looked at it, this location was far superior to the sites of his current two Insect Nests, which had only been established out of absolute necessity due to pressing circumstances.

"Continue reconnaissance. I need information on all the Demon Fiends inside Snake Valley! Mobilize the Rapid Insects and carve out a path leading straight to Snake Valley!"

With a single thought, dozens of Rapid Insects surged toward Snake Valley to blaze a trail. After making the arrangements, Qin Yu rode the Black Thorn Eagle back to the Mine Cave of the No. 1 Insect Nest.

Inside the Mine Cave, the entire Insect Nest was trembling slightly. It was clearly operating at high speed, merging the Bear Demon’s bloodline genes with the Insect Race’s genes in its database.

Having seen the success of the Black Thorn Eagle, Qin Yu would naturally choose to proceed with the fusion.

A moment later, the Insect Nest ceased trembling. It had consumed a full 1,300 points of Energy to analyze the giant bear’s genes, and another 500 points to complete the fusion. It was finally finished. As an even more complex and superior Giant Bear Gene Map appeared, a surge of information flooded out alongside it.

"Fusion complete! New Insect Race strain cultivated successfully! Nurturing this Insect Race strain requires 5 tons of Profound Iron and 1,000 points of Energy."

Qin Yu was initially overjoyed, but when he saw the nurturing requirements, his heart could not help but twitch! Five tons of Profound Iron Ore was no big deal. Over the past few days, he had nurtured quite a few Worker Insects. Aside from transporting prey, some were tasked with renovating the Mine Cave and excavating Profound Iron Ore, which the Insect Nest had already preliminarily analyzed in an attempt to utilize it. There were plenty of these materials readily available right here in the Mine Cave.

But 1,000 points of Energy—that was simply bleeding him dry! That amount of Energy was enough to nurture twenty Bone Forging Realm Rapid Insects and five Black Thorn Eagles!

"If it weren’t for the batch of livestock Father sent over, I really wouldn’t have enough Energy." Gritting his teeth, Qin Yu endured the heartache and chose to nurture one first.

A larva next to the Insect Nest immediately began its metamorphosis, while the surrounding Worker Insects sprang into action, transporting the pre-mined Profound Iron Ore into the mother nest.

Nurturing this new unit was different from other Insect Races. The mother nest first had to process the Profound Iron Ore before transporting it via the Fungal Mat into the developing egg. Therefore, the incubation of this new unit was much slower compared to others, and it also occupied a portion of the Insect Nest’s processing power.

"It seems it’s time to nurture some of the Insect Nest’s subsidiary units," Qin Yu thought to himself.

The Insect Swarm was an incredibly complex and massive collective, and the Insect Nest was not its only living structure. In addition to it, internal components like the Evolution Chamber, Decomposition Chamber, and Nurturing Chamber could be independently nurtured as standalone structures to relieve the pressure on the main Insect Nest.

The Evolution Chamber could be dedicated specifically to the evolution of a certain unit. For example, a Rapid Insect Evolution Chamber could focus entirely on researching upgrades for the Rapid Insects. The Decomposition Chamber could be used to break down various substances, converting biological flesh and all kinds of minerals into Energy, or serving as materials for nurturing Insect Swarm units.

He immediately looked at the Insect Nest, and a string of information was transmitted to his mind.

[Name: Dominator of the Insect Swarm.]

[Insect Hive Tier: Tier One (x2).]

[Life Energy Reserve: 4,539 / 10,000 points.]

[Hatchable Units (Tier One): Worker Insect (requires 10 points of Biological Energy), Red-bellied Eagle (requires 10 points of Biological Energy), Rapid Insect (requires 100 points of Biological Energy), Black Thorn Eagle (requires 200 points of Biological Energy), Unnamed New Strain Giant Bear Mutant (requires 1,000 points of Energy, 5 tons of Profound Iron Ore).]

[Current Units: Worker Insect (52), Red-bellied Eagle (80), Rapid Insect (78, 46), Black Thorn Eagle (8).]

The population of the Insect Swarm was growing incredibly fast. Every day brought a drastic change.

An aerial combat and reconnaissance system, with Black Thorn Eagles as the main force and Red-bellied Eagles as support, had been preliminarily established. Though the Red-bellied Eagles had lower combat power, they were cheap to produce. The overall strength of the ground unit Rapid Insects was equally astonishing. The 46 Rapid Insects nurtured later were all of the new strain possessing Bone Forging Realm strength.

"Thank goodness Father sent over a batch of flesh and blood, otherwise it really wouldn’t be enough," Qin Yu sighed. He immediately ordered Worker Insects to metamorphose into one Decomposition Chamber and one Evolution Chamber. Nurturing these chambers did not require much Energy, only 200 points each.

However, Qin Yu knew very well that the subsequent Energy investments would be the real expense! The Evolution Chamber, in particular, was simply a bottomless pit.

The nurturing process for the new strain unit was exceedingly long. After six full hours, just as night fell, the ultra-large egg—which had swelled to five meters in height—finally stopped pulsating.

BANG!

The egg burst open.

ROAR—

Amidst a low, rumbling roar, a War Giant Beast with an appearance similar to a giant bear, yet far more ferocious, emerged within the Mine Cave.

RUMBLE—

Just by shifting its weight, this behemoth—standing 4.8 meters at the shoulder, stretching fully 7.5 meters in length, and weighing over 30 tons—caused the floor of the Mine Cave to tremble slightly.

Though it retained the silhouette of a giant bear, its fur was completely gone, replaced by an insectoid exoskeleton. Unlike the Black Thorn Eagle, its body was not covered in Scale Armor, but rather heavily articulated, thick carapaces seamlessly spliced together! Even its head and eyes were encased in a layer of specialized Scale Armor.

Behind its ferocious head, two rows of half-meter-long spikes ran down its spine from the nape of its neck to the base of its tail. The tips of the spikes gleamed with a cold light, quivering slightly as its muscles contracted, as if ready to pierce through the air at any moment.

Its thick, sturdy limbs were similarly wrapped in exoskeleton armor from wrist to shoulder, with fist-sized bone protrusions bulging at the joints like innate protective gear. Its claws unsheathed from bone scabbards, gleaming with the icy hue of Profound Iron, looking just like rows of lethal Battle Sabers.

Looking at this War Giant Beast, even Qin Yu couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his heart. He stepped forward and gently stroked the carapace on its body. Then, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he unsheathed the Long Saber from his waist and slashed it down heavily against the beast.

CLANG!

Sparks flew amid the ringing sound of clashing metal.

"What formidable defense!" Looking at the nick that had appeared on his Long Saber, Qin Yu then examined the beast’s exoskeleton, which only bore a faint scratch. This behemoth’s exoskeleton was completely composed of Profound Iron!

BOOM!

With a thought from Qin Yu, the behemoth directly charged out of the Mine Cave and began to sprint wildly. The earth shook and the mountains trembled as its terrifying strength plowed through towering trees and shattered boulders wherever it passed. It moved like a true Barbaric Giant Beast, its sheer power utterly unrivaled.

"This new strain will be named the Profound Armor Barbarian Bear! Very soon, you’ll be put to good use."

...

Meanwhile, on the official road hundreds of miles away from Cyan Peak County, several riders approached under the moonlight.

There were five riders in total, all dressed in black robes. Zhang Shun of the Demon Suppression Bureau was impressively among them.

Unlike last time, however, his role this time was merely that of a guide...