Chapter 23: False Victory
The rain pattered down, cooling the sweltering forest significantly, but the downpour didn't last long before the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed.
Water droplets slid down green leaves, converging with the rising heat within the dense woods, creating a hazy, misty atmosphere above the forest.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged atop the bug nest, watching the sun gradually emerge from behind the clouds. After sitting here for so long, his comprehension of the blade had not improved in the slightest; instead, he had come up with several plans to outwit his opponents...
It was now around five in the afternoon. The World Core had been placed in the Ancient Ruins of Babakab. In 11 days and 15 hours, the enemy's World Coordinate would be formed, and at that point, Su Xiao would lose.
The good news was that he had about 11 days to develop the insect race. The bad news was that because the contractors from Reincarnation Paradise had not participated in the decisive battle, the Ancient Ruins of Babakab remained open.
This meant the contractors from the Three-Paradise Alliance could move freely, needing only to leave some people to guard the World Coordinate location.
Su Xiao exhaled a mouthful of stale air. He had a general understanding of the Three-Paradise Alliance's overall strength, but he was unclear about their strategic capabilities.
However, Su Xiao was certain of one thing: the enemy must have realized he was developing the insect race. No one could fight their way to the Fifth Rank without being intelligent. Not only that, but the enemy contractors would soon find this bug nest. This was almost inevitable.
Searching for the World Core was like looking for a needle in a haystack, yet the women from Holy Light Paradise had still managed to find it in just three days.
Compared to the World Core, Su Xiao's insect race was much easier to find. The former was like a needle dropped into the sea, while the bug nest was like a lamp in a heavy fog. Given enough time, finding it was only a matter of when.
As for how to avoid this, that was a battle between old schemers. Once upon a time, Su Xiao would avoid old schemers whenever possible, and if he couldn't avoid them, he would charge in head-on and forcefully kill them with brute strength.
But after being tempered by old schemers like Old Lion, Harrod, and Bloomer, Su Xiao felt that the schemers from other paradises were actually quite average.
Old Lion and Harrod had left a deep impression on him. Both were kings or monarchs. Although their personal combat strength was low, their political maneuvering and calculations were chilling. One wrong move, and these two could sell you out while you were still cheering them on.
After working with Old Lion and Harrod, when Su Xiao encountered the old schemer Bloomer in the Black King World, he suddenly realized that this guy was just so-so. Troublesome, yes, but not to the point of being completely outmaneuvered.
The dark clouds dispersed, and a touch of dusky sunset light shone on the bug nest.
Having finished his meditation, Su Xiao opened his task list. The content of the war mission had completely changed.
[War Mission: Turn the Tide]
Difficulty Level: Lv.59
Mission Info: Defeat the enemy contractor alliance and interrupt the formation of the World Coordinate.
Remaining time for World Coordinate formation: 279 hours.
Mission Reward: The Hunter's earned merit rewards will be increased by 300%.
Mission Penalty: Forced execution.
...
From the Lv.59 mission difficulty, it was clear how dangerous Su Xiao's current situation was. Fifth Rank mission difficulties were generally between Lv.40 and Lv.50, while Sixth Rank was between Lv.50 and Lv.60.
This meant that even a top-tier Sixth Rank contractor couldn't complete this mission alone. The Three-Paradise Alliance simply had too many people.
Su Xiao currently had several plans to deal with these people, but these plans needed to be implemented step by step. Swallowing the Three-Paradise Alliance in one gulp was a pipe dream.
As Su Xiao sat on the bug nest pondering, rustling sounds came from the surrounding forest. The sounds were faint but numerous.
Several Demon Beasts ran out from the forest and came to the side of the bug nest. These completely emotionless war machines only felt a sense of dependence towards the nest. After all, it was their home, their birthplace.
It was already six in the evening. Bubu Wang, Baha, and Amu returned with the Demon Beast unit. The 10 Spore Tanks had expanded in size dozens of times, requiring dozens of Demon Beasts to drag them forward.
When the Spore Tanks arrived near the bug nest, they opened up like soft mud, and fragments of bug nests poured out from inside.
During this hunting expedition, out of 1307 Demon Beasts, only 1005 survived. Among them, 5 out of the 15 elite individuals had died. It could only be described as a heavy loss.
The reason for such casualties was not due to incompetence on the part of Bubu Wang, Baha, and Amu, but because Su Xiao had ordered them to attack a Third Stage bug nest.
If Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha hadn't all participated in the battle, the casualties would have been much higher.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang leaped onto the top of the bug nest, signaling that 'that matter' had been completed.
"Good. Was her resistance strong?"
"Woof~"
Bubu Wang's dog face twisted in embarrassment, meaning, 'Strong? She bit me when I was capturing her because she was so desperate.'
"190 kilometers. The distance is safe enough."
Su Xiao jumped down from the bug nest. Although the losses today were heavy, they had also harvested a large number of Second Stage bug nest fragments. In one day, the Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha squad had destroyed 57 Second Stage mother nests. Most of their time was spent traveling; otherwise, the harvest would have been even greater.
Their own bug nest began to devour the captured nest fragments. The process took less than half an hour. After the devouring was complete, including the Life Stones converted, the bio-energy reserve reached 342,500 points.
With 340,000 bio-energy, Su Xiao's gaze swept over the Demon Beasts near the nest. They didn't seem to number 1005; there might be less than half that many, but this was normal.
The bug nest began to spawn troops. Seven minutes later, Demon Beasts started emerging from the nest one by one.
After more than an hour, the spawning ended. This batch produced 1,710 Demon Beasts, bringing the total number of their Demon Beasts to 2,715, including 27 elite Demon Beasts.
During the spawning, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha had all rested. This time, they split into two teams. Amu and Baha each led only a little over 500 Demon Beasts, not deploying the entire force.
It was worth mentioning that Bubu Wang had left a coordinate on Su Xiao's sleeve.
The remaining Demon Beasts stayed at the bug nest. Su Xiao approached a few Demon Beasts that were guarding a large cloth sack. Something inside seemed to be moving.
Su Xiao picked up the large cloth sack. Bubu Wang followed behind him. One person and one dog quickly disappeared into the forest, moving at full speed, as they had nearly 200 kilometers to travel.
What Su Xiao was doing now was meant to put the Three-Paradise Alliance at ease. In his view, the current situation was actually quite clear.
As long as the enemy wasn't completely stupid, they would definitely realize he was developing the insect race. They would send out a large number of contractors to search, striving to nip his insect race in the bud.
The Three Paradises wanted to destroy the bug nest Su Xiao was developing? Fine, Su Xiao would let them destroy it. He would let them raze 'his bug nest' to the ground.
Su Xiao's plan was as follows:
Around noon today, he ordered Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha to attack a Third Stage bug nest regardless of losses, and he gave them 4 specific requirements.