Chapter 75 - 74: A Riot of Insect Swarm Units

Chapter 75: Chapter 74: A Riot of Insect Swarm Units

"A crafty rabbit has three burrows! The Insect Swarm cannot rely solely on the Wilderness Mountain Range as its only stronghold. With its current strength, the swarm is more than capable of occupying a much vaster territory," Qin Yu thought.

Qin Yu’s consciousness attached to the Profound Flood Dragon. As it entered the water, the surrounding environment abruptly grew dim.

Dozens of Blood Shadow Pythons swam swiftly, protecting the Worker Insects behind them as they moved toward their target along the riverbed.

This river channel wasn’t particularly wide. As the Profound Flood Dragon swam, turbulent ripples visibly surfaced on the water. Anyone seeing this would undoubtedly be terrified. Its astonishing aura even sent the surrounding schools of fish fleeing in panic.

Through the aerial reconnaissance of the Black Thorn Eagles and Red-bellied Eagles, the Insect Swarm quickly discovered a Water Stockade hidden within the continuous mountains along the riverbanks. This had to be the lair of the River Pirates known as the Jianglin Gang.

The Water Stockade wasn’t large, housing only a few hundred people. Those moving about inside were all robust adult men; there were no elderly or children. A place like this simply wasn’t suitable for normal human habitation.

But soon, Qin Yu’s expression changed.

The Red-bellied Eagles in the sky couldn’t see much because the Jianglin Gang’s lair was situated in a complex limestone cave system. Obscured from above, only a small fraction of the area was visible.

When a scouting Blood Shadow Python slithered into the Water Stockade and entered the cave system, it witnessed a familiar scene. Just like what he had seen in the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon’s Nest, a large group of people were packed densely into over a dozen Water Prisons.

These people had bitter, pale faces, and their eyes were filled with despair. Judging from their clothing, Qin Yu instantly knew who they were.

Refugees!

When Demon Fiends breached cities, casualties were catastrophic. Naturally, a group of people would try to flee, and Cyan Peak County had also gradually taken in some of these refugees, though not many. After all, those fleeing disaster tended to head toward wealthier regions.

These people had likely boarded ships hoping to escape to Bishui City, only to be unexpectedly intercepted by River Pirates halfway.

"They truly deserve to die!" Qin Yu muttered, his eyes turning icy.

The first time he ever killed someone was when he encountered River Pirates while traveling to Bishui City with his father. Riding the ships of the Pai Sect wasn’t absolutely safe either; one could still run into River Pirates who refused to give the sect any face.

River Pirates were incredibly difficult to eradicate completely. The river channels were far too long and wound through towering mountains and deep valleys. As long as blockades were set up at crucial choke points, they were nearly impossible to bypass. And every ship represented massive profits. Profit moved men’s hearts.

After looting, all they had to do was hide in the vast mountains, making them exceptionally hard to track down. Whether it was mountain bandits or River Pirates, their lairs were usually located in deep, old forests or treacherous, uninhabited lands that were still conveniently close to main transportation routes. The cost of wiping them out was astronomical, and annihilating one group only meant another would soon take its place.

The same was true for Evil Demon Sects like the Blood Demon Sect. Yunlong County was full of mountains, rivers, and great marshes, leaving far too many uninhabited regions. If they slipped into such places, the difficulty of tracking them skyrocketed.

Furthermore, the Blood Demon Sect enjoyed recruiting Demon Fiends, bandits, and River Pirates, allowing them to thrive in the mountains and forests like fish in water, making it nearly impossible to exterminate them completely.

"Go! Slaughter them all, and then establish a new Insect Nest!" Looking at the Profound Flood Dragon crawling out from beneath the water, Qin Yu’s gaze was frigid as his voice echoed through the Insect Swarm network.

He felt no psychological burden in exterminating these River Pirates. The tentacles of the Insect Swarm needed to extend deep into the Wilderness Mountain Range, as well as into the heartland of Yunlong County.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the murky river surface a vibrant crimson.

Within this Water Stockade—situated in a treacherous river bend and enclosed by thick logs and broken ships—the air reeked of fish, sour sweat, and a faint metallic tang of blood. The River Pirates were already thoroughly accustomed to the smell.

A few lackeys carried sabers, cursing as they patrolled the edges of the Water Prisons. Occasionally, they would brutally jab their scabbards at a refugee who had slipped from exhaustion, eliciting a bout of weak coughing and faint wails.

On a slightly higher and drier platform, several River Pirates were tallying the meager valuables they had robbed from the refugees, loudly cursing at each other over uneven shares of the loot.

"Damn it, they’re all penniless ghosts!" A man who looked like a boss kicked over a stolen bundle, scattering coarse flatbreads all over the ground. "This isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between our brothers’ teeth!"

"They might be poor, but they can still give the brothers a good time! There are quite a few juicy young women in this batch. After we have our fun, we can sell them off for a pretty penny."

"Haha, exactly! Exactly!"

"That flock of fat sheep we caught a couple of days ago had plenty of good stuff on them!"

Bursts of maniacal laughter erupted from the unbridled voices.

BOOM!

Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion blasted from the entrance of the limestone cave! The entire cavern trembled violently as loose gravel showered down.

Before the River Pirates could react, a colossally massive black silhouette, carrying the scent of the freezing river water, brutally smashed through the reinforced stockade gates and barged in!

It was the Profound Flood Dragon!

Measuring a full eighteen zhang long, the Profound Flood Dragon had a ferocious visage. Its exoskeleton Scale Armor reflected a metallic gleam under the torchlight. Its completely cold, vertically slit pupils locked onto the panic-stricken figures.

"A... a Demon Fiend!"

"It’s a Flood Dragon! Run!"

Panic exploded like a plague. The River Pirates who had been arrogant and domineering just moments ago now displayed every kind of ugly behavior, crying out for their parents as they scrambled to flee deeper into the cavern.

But it was too late.

The Profound Flood Dragon moved. Sweeping across the ground like a bolt of black Thunderbolt, its massive body displayed a terrifying speed that completely contradicted its sheer size. With a single sweep of its gigantic tail, over a dozen River Pirates were reduced to bloody pulp and dust.

There was no need for it to bite. Opening its maw, it spewed a mist of blood-red breath that swept over the crowd. Those caught in the blast instantly had their flesh and blood dissolved, turning into Withered Bones.

It was a thorough and unmitigated massacre. In the face of absolute power, the River Pirates couldn’t withstand a single blow.

It was a joke. If a Profound Flood Dragon that rivaled the Qi and Blood like a Dragon stage had to struggle in a bitter fight against a mere gang of River Pirates, that would be truly laughable.

The leader of the Jianglin Gang had only stepped into the Qi and Blood Smoke Realm. The very second he laid eyes on the Profound Flood Dragon, he began running for his life without a single thought of resistance. This was a mighty existence he had no hope of defying.

But having already been targeted, how could he possibly escape?

BANG!

The Profound Flood Dragon’s figure flashed as its colossal body slithered forward at breakneck speed. Appearing right in front of a scar-faced burly man, it lashed its tail, turning him into a mist of blood.

Within mere moments, dead silence returned to the limestone cavern. However, this silence was permeated by a dense, nauseating stench of blood.

Coiled in the center of the cavern that had now become a Chaotic Scene, the Profound Flood Dragon’s frigid vertical pupils slowly turned toward the trembling refugees, who were so paralyzed by sheer terror that they had forgotten how to cry.

CRACK!

Its giant tail swept out, shattering the Water Prisons.

A deep, rumbling voice echoed from the Profound Flood Dragon’s mouth. "Go! There are ships outside. Leave this place!"

As its words fell, all the refugees stood utterly dumbfounded. Some stumbled and crawled their way out of the Water Prisons, before dropping to their knees with a heavy thud.

"Water God! The Water God has manifested!"

"It’s the Dragon God! The Dragon God blesses us!"

"The Dragon God blesses us!"

One by one, the refugees struggled out of the Water Prisons. Some of the younger, stronger ones pulled up the old and weak, and then they all knelt uniformly on the ground.

Zoushan County was different from Cyan Peak County. They lived along the riverbanks and made their living from the water. Many among them were originally fishermen. They had grown up listening to the tales of the Water God and the Dragon God since childhood. They even offered sacrifices year after year, praying for the protection of the River God and the Water God.

But when had anyone ever seen a Flood Dragon actually save people?

Huh? This Profound Flood Dragon looked hideous and fierce, completely unlike the statues in the temples? Then it must be the temples that got it wrong!

There were many sailors and fishermen among these people, and they quickly noticed the River Pirates’ ships out on the river. After scavenging for food in the Water Stockade and regaining their strength, they would naturally leave.

When the ships finally wobbled away from the shattered docks half a day later, the Profound Flood Dragon slowly submerged into the water amidst the crowd’s kowtows.

Beneath the calm water’s surface, a Worker Insect was already nestled in the depths, its body gradually swelling. The Insect Swarm’s seventh Insect Nest would soon be incubated.

"The first stronghold deeply infiltrating the interior has finally been established. There is no rush to expand this Insect Nest; figuring out the surrounding situation first will suffice," Qin Yu thought. Through the perception of the Profound Flood Dragon, he "watched" all of this unfold, his heart perfectly tranquil.

These River Pirates deserved their deaths. Although the Blood Shadow Pythons’ reconnaissance didn’t reveal any connection between them and the Blood Demon Sect, these River Pirates were vile scum in their own right. Arson, murder, robbery, rape, pillaging, and human trafficking—they had committed every single one of these atrocities without exception.

He didn’t have any great way to handle those refugees either, so letting them leave on their own was already the best option.

"Next, I need to focus entirely on clearing out the Demon Fiends within the Wilderness Mountain Range!" Qin Yu thought. Watching the Qin Family’s convoy board the ships and head in the direction of Bishui City, he withdrew his gaze. He would leave the matters within Bishui City to his father.

CLANG!

A long, piercing cry of a vicious bird reached his ears, slicing through the sky like a sharp blade. The metallic "clang" sounded as though two steel plates had collided at high speed.

Up in the sky, a massive creature with a wingspan of a full five zhang flapped its wings. It bore a striking resemblance to a Thunder Wing Roc, yet its wings had morphed into metallic scales. Furthermore, its spine and bodily joints were all adorned with razor-sharp Bone Spikes.

CRACKLE!

As its wings beat, lightning flashed and Thunder rumbled.

Down on the ground, a gargantuan beast standing a full two zhang tall—resembling a fierce tiger and clad in an exoskeleton—tore its way out of an insect egg. Despite its massive size, it proved remarkably agile as it unleashed an earth-shattering roar. Mid-roar, Flames spewed from its maw.

Further away, dozens of Qi and Blood Realm Demon Fiends, all varying in shape but bearing obvious Insect Race characteristics, let out a synchronized chorus of roars.

"Heh, the Insect Swarm has Hunted several Demon’s Nests and slain hundreds of different species of Demon Fiends! Now then, let’s test these units and see which one is most suited for the Insect Race’s battlefields," Qin Yu murmured, a smile curling the corners of his lips as he looked at the massive scale of the Insect Swarm behind him.

When hunting the Demon Fiends, he had analyzed all their Demon Bloodlines and integrated them into the Insect Swarm’s gene pool. By combining them with the swarm’s genetics, he had birthed dozens of entirely new units.

The greatest strength of the Insect Swarm lay in its ability to continuously adapt and evolve. By absorbing more bloodline genetics, it could select the absolute best from the cream of the crop!

Once the swarm developed to a certain level, it would be able to formulate highly targeted tactics against any adversary, rather than relying purely on sheer numbers.

"Go forth! Raze those Plant Demon Fiends to the ground first, and then slaughter that pack of Mountain Demons!"