Chapter 34 - 33: The Insect Swarm’s Intelligence Network

Chapter 34: Chapter 33: The Insect Swarm’s Intelligence Network

"HYAH! HYAH! HYAH!"

Amidst the towering mountains and steep ridges, five fast horses weaved through the forest. These steeds were clearly no ordinary creatures. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that their bodies were covered in fine scales.

Their hooves resembled claws, and their mouths were filled with sharp fangs.

These were no ordinary horses.

They were the Dragon Horses bred by the Demon Suppression Bureau, capable of traveling vast distances in a single day.

However, at this moment, one of the Dragon Horses stumbled and collapsed forward. The tower-like, burly man on its back was startled. He flipped through the air and landed steadily on the ground.

The four people around him also stopped one after another.

"Captain Li, the horse can’t go on."

Zhao Zhenshan looked at the Dragon-Scale Horse, which was already sweating blood and foaming at the mouth, with a pained expression. There weren’t many such Dragon-Scale Horses in Bishui City.

"Dismount, everyone. Zhang Shun, how far is the Demon Cave where Li Tianyi was discovered?"

Li Wanqing furrowed her brows slightly, her pale cyan vertical pupils shifting toward Zhao Zhenshan. Among the five of them, Zhao Zhenshan was the most heavily built. After riding through the night on treacherous mountain paths, even the Dragon-Scale Horse couldn’t bear the strain anymore.

"It’s not far. It’s only about twenty or thirty miles from here."

Zhang Shun looked around. He had only been on this path once, but he still remembered the general direction.

"Alright, then we’ll proceed on foot," Li Wanqing said decisively.

They immediately unfastened the reins of the Dragon-Scale Horses, leaving them to roam free, and the five of them began sprinting rapidly through the forest.

Li Wanqing appeared delicate, but every step she took was incredibly light and serpentine. With a gentle tap on the treetops, she could traverse hundreds of feet in an instant.

The lean Chen Sheying followed closely like a shadow.

However, the three from Bishui City were clearly a notch inferior in their Body Techniques, creating quite a bit of noise as they moved through the trees. Zhang Shun, the weakest among them, was even panting heavily.

FLAP! FLAP!

As if awakened by the noise, several mountain tits fluttered their grayish-brown wings, circling above the group and chirping, "CHIRP! CHIRP!"

Li Wanqing glanced at them but paid them no mind.

There were countless snakes, insects, birds, and beasts in the mountains; mountain tits like these were everywhere and were nothing unusual.

However, ever since they entered the mountain, she felt as if something had been staring at her back. This made her naturally alert instincts somewhat uneasy, but several attempts to probe the surroundings yielded nothing.

She could only remain secretly vigilant.

All five were extremely swift on their feet. A while later, they appeared on a hillside.

Seeing the familiar scenery, Zhang Shun breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong; otherwise, taking that Dragon and Tiger Pill would have felt like holding a hot potato.

"Captain, it’s just behind this hillside. There is a natural cave inside, and within it lies a Three-legged Copper Tripod that Li Tianyi used to refine the Human Pill Evil Technique."

Although the corpses of the Demon Fiends and wild beasts in the mountain forest had disappeared, large patches of bloodstains were still clearly visible, continuing to emit a foul stench.

"Good!"

The group scanned the area before quickly walking toward the cave behind the hillside.

Because the Martial Artists of Cyan Peak County had only buried some of the remains, this place looked no different from when Zhang Shun first came.

Even inside the Three-legged Copper Tripod, there was still a large amount of viscous, rotting liquid.

Upon entering the cave, their expressions turned slightly grim. With their experience, the traces left inside made it easy to imagine what kind of purgatory-like scene had taken place here.

The snow-white snake wrapped around Chen Sheying’s wrist flicked its tongue, as if distinguishing the scents within.

A moment later, the snow-white snake’s body trembled slightly, bringing a hint of joy to Chen Sheying’s eyes. He immediately spoke, "I’ve found Li Tianyi’s scent!

"He’s been here.

"Although the scent is a bit faint, it’s definitely him. There’s no mistake."

The snow-white snake on his wrist was born without eyes but could track by scent, making it an excellent tracking tool of the Spiritual Snake Sect.

"Rest for one hour, then we continue the pursuit!"

Li Wanqing’s eyes revealed a sky-piercing killing intent and a deep-seated hatred. Her body’s Qi Blood erupted, causing the Poisonous Insects, bats, and other creatures in the cave to shriek and scatter in panic.

However, a few bats among them, despite appearing panicked, remained hidden in the cave’s crevices, observing their every move and listening to their conversation.

"This time, we must slay the Snake Demon Li Tianyi!

"With the Blood Demon Sect wreaking havoc, all seventeen towns and cities under the jurisdiction of my Bishui City have been attacked by Demon Fiends. Among the hundreds of villages, large and small, over a dozen have been massacred.

"Even Zoushan County was breached by the Demon Fiends, resulting in incredibly heavy casualties."

Zhao Zhenshan’s eyes were also filled with blazing anger and killing intent.

This was a provocation against the Demon Suppression Bureau!

If this weren’t the case, how could the Demon Suppression Bureau dispatch only a handful of people?

Even for a hunt in the mountains, they would have definitely sent several elite squads.

But this time, they truly couldn’t spare any more personnel.

Zhang Shun remained silent.

If it weren’t for Qin Yu and that batch of War Beasts, the situation in Cyan Peak County wouldn’t have been much better, and his own fate would have undoubtedly been extremely miserable.

"It’s not just Bishui City. With the Blood Demon Sect’s resurgence this time, the entirety of Yunlong County has been affected. There are even Evil Demons wreaking havoc in the surrounding counties."

Chen Sheying shook his head; this was not a disaster limited to a single city or town.

"Several Old Demons and Green Forest Mountain Bandits have been absorbed by the Blood Demon Sect to terrorize various regions. This matter is far from over. The Blood Demon Sect making such a move means they must have some grand scheme.

"However, this is not something we can resolve. The Demon Suppression General, and even higher-ups, will naturally deal with it."

"What? The entirety of Yunlong County?"

Zhang Shun, along with Lin Jianqing, was horrified.

Just how vast was Yunlong County?

It contained over a hundred large cities like Bishui City!

In an instant, the people in the cave fell silent. Countless thoughts surfaced in their minds, completely destroying any mood for further conversation. They walked out of the cave and rested in silence.

One hour later, the group stood up.

Guided by the snow-white snake, they headed deeper into the mountains.

Although the path was winding and convoluted, their ultimate direction pointed straight toward the Snake Valley deep in the mountains.

...

"This Captain Li has remarkably sharp intuition to vaguely sense even ordinary birds and beasts. That pair of pale cyan vertical pupils is identical to a snake’s. Is she from the Spiritual Snake Sect?

"Captain Zhao?

"The chaos caused by the Blood Demon Sect is actually this terrifying?

"That Snake Valley is indeed where Li Tianyi is located."

Qin Yu’s expression shifted rapidly.

Li Tianyi was once brought back by Li Yao, an Elder of the Spiritual Snake Sect. He later betrayed the sect, prompting the Spiritual Snake Sect to hunt him down.

The leading Captain Li and the lean middle-aged man were clearly connected to the Spiritual Snake Sect.

He had also visited Bishui City with his father and was very familiar with the structure of the Demon Suppression Bureau there. It was roughly divided into Small Banners, Captains, and Deputy Generals.

Zhang Shun was precisely a Small Banner in the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Despite only being a Small Banner, it was still a Secondary Seventh Grade rank!

In terms of official position, it was even higher than the County Magistrate of a remote, small county like Cyan Peak County!

And that woman, who looked so young, was surprisingly already a Standard Seventh Grade Captain!

As Zhang Shun’s group traversed the mountains, he naturally had some reconnaissance units within the Insect Swarm monitor them the entire way.

These included mountain tits, autumn cicadas, bats, and other highly common, ordinary small animals found in the mountains.

To avoid detection, different units would relay the reconnaissance task at regular intervals.

While eavesdropping on their conversation, he also guided the Insect Swarm to avoid them.

This included within the Snake Valley itself.

The first batch of snakes hatched by the Insect Nest was currently slithering into the valley, venturing deep inside to gather intelligence.

The same was true within Cyan Peak County.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.

As his basic strength improved, Qin Yu now had enough resources and energy to build an intelligence network.

With the Black Thorn Eagles as the main combat units, the Red-bellied Eagles for large-scale reconnaissance, and various ordinary birds as support, he would completely control this entire region.

The Cang Mang Mountain Range, stretching for ten thousand miles, would be his base camp!

Of course, the Insect Swarm intelligence network had only just begun to deploy. Even for ordinary snakes, insects, birds, and beasts, rolling them out on a massive scale required a staggering amount of resources.

Not to mention, they all needed to be analyzed individually, and hatching from the Insect Nest also took time.

But the preliminary framework had finally been established.

"They’re heading to the Snake Valley. Trekking over the mountains will take at least a day. During this time, I’ll first wipe out another Demon Nest!

"The intelligence from my father’s side should also be arriving soon."