Chapter 31 - 30: Going on the Offensive! Battle of the Lair

Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Going on the Offensive! Battle of the Lair

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three consecutive deafening explosions echoed as the multicolored light in Snake Valley shone even brighter, illuminating more than half the valley.

Amidst the violent rumbling, a massive number of venomous snakes and giant pythons slithered out from the valley and the cliff walls in panic. They clustered densely together, creating a hair-raising sight.

It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that the multicolored light gradually dimmed. Only then did the swarm of snakes slowly disperse.

"What is this?"

A Black Thorn Eagle circled high in the sky. From its back, Qin Yu stared intently at the source of the violent rumbles coming from Snake Valley below, his eyes fixed on the dazzling multicolored light.

Countless thoughts flashed through Qin Yu’s mind. Though Snake Demon Li Tianyi had not shown himself, Qin Yu was almost certain that this had to be related to him. Such an anomaly must have a cause.

The Vast Mountains stretched for tens of thousands of miles. Within lay countless Demon Fiends, along with endless Celestial and Earthly Treasures, rare minerals, and more.

Although the Great Wei Court had never developed the region, it was entirely possible that some Major Sects, Major Noble Families, or Martial Arts Powerhouses had left ruins behind in the past. Perhaps one day, a ruin would suddenly surface, only to be claimed by a lucky individual—or perhaps it would trigger conflicts among various powerhouses, sparking a storm of blood and gore.

Similar stories existed in many legends.

The Qin Family had been in Cyan Peak County for less than a century, but as local fixtures, they were quite familiar with the surrounding area. Although they rarely ventured deep into the mountains, they had discovered shattered structures in certain places. Clearly, in an older era, this place was not completely desolate.

Why would the Blood Demon Sect—or rather, Snake Demon Li Tianyi—leave an Evil Demon statue in a mere Tiger Demon’s Nest?

It was for a blood sacrifice!

A coincidence? When there were too many coincidences, it was no longer possible to just be a coincidence.

"This multicolored light might be a legendary Array. If Snake Demon Li Tianyi wants to conduct a blood sacrifice, I’m afraid it is inextricably linked to this. I cannot act impulsively."

Qin Yu adjusted his breathing to calm himself back down. Regardless of what was inside and whether Snake Demon Li Tianyi was there, it was absolutely not something he could covet in his current state.

"I will stick to the previous plan: Hunting and expanding the Insect Swarm."

Strength was the only root solution to all problems! Qin Yu understood this very well.

"Additionally, I need to know what powerful factions or Sects once existed in this region and left their traces here."

Immediately, Qin Yu vaulted onto the Black Thorn Eagle and flew swiftly toward the Qin Family Manor. It did not matter if he did not know; perhaps his father knew, or maybe the other three major families knew. If all else failed, he would just buy the information from the Golden Wind Pavilion.

As an intelligence organization spread throughout the Great Wei Court, their motto was that as long as the price was right, there was no intelligence they could not gather!

That night, three riders departed from the Qin Family Manor under the escort of Rapid Insects, galloping frantically toward Cyan Peak County. Although the core members of the Qin Family had all relocated to the Qin Family Manor, their businesses in Cyan Peak County were still operating normally. They did not need to personally mobilize to collect this intelligence.

The night passed silently.

When the sun rose, three Black Thorn Eagles soared into the sky from the Qin Family Manor. Carrying the Purple Vine Bow and several quivers of special Armor-Breaking Arrows forged overnight by the Qin Family craftsmen, Qin Yu flew toward the Scorpion Demon’s Nest under the escort of two other Black Thorn Eagles and over ten Red-bellied Eagles.

After a night of rapid marching, the main force of the Insect Swarm had arrived near that mountain peak. They were currently resting and recovering their stamina, waiting to launch an attack later.

The Black Thorn Eagles were extremely fast; during a dive, they could even break the sound barrier. Even at a normal flying speed, it took them barely fifteen minutes to reach the gathering point of the Insect Swarm’s main force.

This was the greatest advantage of flying units. Their mobility was far superior to that of ground units.

Amidst the towering mountains and steep ridges, Rapid Insects and the Profound Armor Barbarian Bear had to trek step by step over the peaks. The straight-line distance was over two hundred miles, but the actual travel distance was at least two to three times that. Along the way, they had to face various poisonous insects, wild beasts, and even Demon Fiend attacks, having to fight their way through one slaughter after another.

Only lifeforms like the Insect Race could accomplish this. Had it been any other creature, even a Demon Fiend, it would have been very difficult to traverse that distance overnight.

According to reconnaissance, inside this Demon’s Nest, apart from the Scorpion King whose strength was at the Qi and Blood Realm, there were at least twenty giant scorpions at the Bone Forging Realm, and over a hundred that could be classified as Demon Fiends. The rest of the smaller scorpions were hard to count because there were simply too many, and most of them were inside the mountain’s belly.

"Truly bizarre. How can such a small mountain support so many scorpions?"

From atop the Black Thorn Eagle, Qin Yu looked down.

It was a small mountain, about seven to eight hundred meters tall. The rocky cliff faces were riddled with tunnel entrances of varying sizes—the largest was twenty feet wide, while the smaller ones were only the size of a fist. A dense swarm of scorpions scurried back and forth through them.

Some of the giant scorpions were even carving out new tunnel entrances. Rocks shattered as their iron-like pincers snapped shut, clearly demonstrating immense strength and an astonishing Armor-Breaking Ability.

Riding the Black Thorn Eagle, Qin Yu circled in midair. His gaze eventually settled on the belly of the mountain, where there was a fissure about two meters wide. A sliver of sunlight shone through the crack, revealing some unknown type of moss inside. Many palm-sized scorpions were gnawing on it, seemingly feeding on this peculiar moss.

"Moss?"

A glimmer of realization flashed in Qin Yu’s eyes, and a thought struck him.

As the scale of the Insect Swarm grew larger, its demand for food and Energy also increased. The Insect Swarm also had something similar to moss—the Fungal Mat that naturally oozed out during the Insect Nest’s gestation. This was the foundation upon which the Insect Nest survived.

In the inheritance of the Insect Race, the Fungal Mat possessed extremely powerful capabilities. It could take root deep into the earth, absorb nutrients, and even completely cover an entire planet to provide abundant sustenance for the Insect Swarm. However, upon arriving in this world, this capability seemed to have vanished, leaving behind only the most basic function: keeping Insect Race organs like the Insect Nest and the Evolution Chamber alive. Its expansion capabilities had also been drastically weakened.

"Perhaps, this is an opportunity for the Insect Swarm!"

RUMBLE—

After resting for a while, the Insect Swarm moved.

To deal with this batch of Demon Fiends, Qin Yu had mobilized one Profound Armor Barbarian Bear and eighty Rapid Insects, fifty of which were at the Bone Forging Realm. In addition to that, there were twenty Worker Insects.

Although this force was not enough to form an overwhelming crush, it still held a sufficient advantage.

The cave environment was complex, but the Insect Swarm was equally adept at fighting in such conditions. The "Insect" in the Insect Race was not an empty title. Burrowing holes and tunneling underground were what the Insect Race excelled at most.

The giant scorpions inside the peak immediately sensed the tremors in the earth. One by one, they surged out from the mountain’s belly, hissing and roaring. In mere moments, the mountain walls were crawling with scorpions of all sizes. When the largest of them all, the Scorpion King, charged out, its earth-shattering roar was so loud that even Qin Yu in the sky could not help but cast a sidelong glance.

There was no exchange of words.

The Insect Swarm’s charge grew faster and faster, rushing straight ahead with the Profound Armor Barbarian Bear at the core.

Looking at the Profound Armor Barbarian Bear—which wasn’t even at the Qi and Blood Realm—the Scorpion King let out an angry roar. Without the slightest hesitation, it charged forward to meet them!

BOOM!

The two forces slammed into each other with a monstrous collision.

When enemies meet on a narrow path, only the brave shall win!