Chapter 47: Warned by the Void Tree
After the insect nest evolved to the sixth stage, Su Xiao received a large number of notifications.
[Notification: The insect nest has evolved to the sixth stage, with associated abilities enhanced.]
[Energy storage tissue has been upgraded to the sixth stage, energy storage cap increased to 950,000 points.]
[Oviposition tissue has been upgraded to the sixth stage...]
...
...
[Demon Beast has undergone its fourth genetic evolution, with comprehensive attribute increases.]
[Leviathan has undergone its second genetic evolution, body size increased, biological missile power increased, biological missile quantity increased.]
[New genetic memory awakened: Carapace Reinforcement (all insectoids with carapaces receive this effect's benefits).]
[New genetic memory awakened: Stamina Boost (all insectoid units, True Stamina attribute increased by 1-5 points).]
...
Originally, Su Xiao planned to counterattack the Tiger Bee Faction after the insect nest evolved to the sixth stage, but judging from the previous battle, a sixth-stage insect nest couldn't achieve that.
If it were only fighting contractors, fifth-stage insectoids would be sufficient. But against the two major forces of this world, sixth-stage insectoids weren't enough. This was a seventh-rank high-risk world. The previous battle was like walking a tightrope; a third of the base camp insect nest was blasted apart. Once the oviposition tissues and such were destroyed, the Tiger Bee Faction would have won.
Su Xiao checked the conditions for upgrading to a seventh-stage insect nest. There were four types in total: 950,000 points of bio-energy, living energy conductive material, Overlord Soul, and 45 Pure Soul Stones.
Bio-energy wasn't lacking. As for the Overlord Soul, he could substitute it with an Overlord Essence. The characteristics of the two should be very similar, or rather, they were just different names for the same thing.
As for Pure Soul Stones, that was the insectoids' term for Soul Crystals, specifically the somewhat impure kind. That type of Soul Crystal couldn't be certified by Reincarnation Paradise. Su Xiao planned to substitute them with 45 Soul Crystals (Complete).
The only problem was the 'Living Energy Conductive Material.' For this requirement, Su Xiao planned to substitute it with 300 grams of Black Maple Tree branches. However, the rank of Black Maple Tree branches was far higher than 'Living Energy Conductive Material.' This was a very wasteful act, but not for Su Xiao. Having a Black Maple Tree truly allowed one to do as they pleased.
Before evolving the seventh-stage insect nest, Su Xiao needed to cultivate sixth-stage Demon Beasts first. He needed at least 30,000 of them to form a reliable defensive force.
The insect nest began cultivating sixth-stage Demon Beasts. With three oviposition tissues and cultivation sacs working together, it didn't take long to cultivate 30,000 Demon Beasts.
Su Xiao didn't bother checking what changes the sixth-stage Demon Beasts had undergone. Now was a time to race against the clock; not a single second could be wasted.
Jila, who had just woken up, hugged a pile of Soul Crystals, 300 grams of Black Maple Tree branches, and an Overlord Essence before falling back into slumber.
The evolution began. The insect nest closed up again, entering the evolution phase.
Su Xiao sat on a pile of corpses and checked his reputation with the Tiger Bee Faction. It had now reached -357,200/0 (Blood Feud). From the looks of it, breaking a million reputation wasn't a dream, but it would be negative.
Having negative reputation wasn't entirely without benefits. Some Tiger Bee assassins who came earlier, those with weak wills, would get very nervous upon seeing Su Xiao, and a few would even flee before the battle.
[Notification: Insect nest evolving. Due to high-rank item (Black Maple Tree Branch), evolution success rate increased by 52.7%, evolution time reduced by 65%.]
[Evolution success rate has reached 83.71%.]
[Time required: 49 minutes.]
Because of the Black Maple Tree branches, the time needed to evolve to a seventh-stage insect nest was greatly reduced.
Compared to this good news, danger was already imminent. The Tiger Bee clan's next attack would surely be a full-scale assault with all their strength, sparing no expense to raze the insect nest to the ground.
Su Xiao felt that the reason Tamisha had the Tiger Bees temporarily retreat was definitely to find a way to clean up the fungal carpet. Without the fungal carpet, his side would surely lose, no question about it, unless the insect nest could evolve to the seventh stage.
A faint ripple appeared a few meters away. Su Xiao drew Dragon-Slaying Flash.
...
Inside the Tiger Bee Faction's territory, within the main hive.
In a hall-like area inside the hive, Tamisha sat on the high throne, with two Bee Queens on either side of her.
Tamisha's entire body was covered in a gold-black exoskeleton, like a form-fitting suit of armor. Only the lower half of her face was visible; the upper half was covered by an inverted triangular thin armor plate, its surface covered in patterns.
Just seeing Tamisha's chin and cheeks made one curious about what kind of breathtaking beauty lay hidden beneath that armor plate.
"The enemy is very strong."
Tamisha spoke, and both Carol and the other Bee Queen, Penelope, lowered their heads.
"They are the same as us, evolving towards higher life forms. There can be no coexistence, only war."
"Your will is our will."
Carol and Penelope knelt on one knee. Just then, a Tiger Bee with a very short stature and a large head strode over quickly.
"F-f-f-found..."
This big-headed Tiger Bee was special; he had a stutter.
"You found a way to counter that green carpet?!"
Carol was somewhat excited. Having been on the battlefield herself, she understood better than anyone else present how difficult the insectoids were to deal with.
"Y-y-yes..."
"Gather the troops, move out!"
Carol's eyes were bright. As long as she could suppress the fungal carpet, she had multiple ways to wipe out the insectoids.
"S-s-sorry, not figured out yet. I-i-i..."
"!"
A cracking sound came from Carol's neck. Her fingertips elongated as she strode quickly towards the big-headed Tiger Bee.
"Carol, calm down. He's the smartest among us."
Bee Queen Penelope quickly pulled Carol back, afraid that the enraged Carol would tear the big-headed Tiger Bee apart.
The big-headed Tiger Bee stammered for a long time, even making Tamisha somewhat displeased, before he finally made it clear. According to his research, the activity of the fungal carpet had decreased.
"Lost activity."
Tamisha tapped the armrest of her seat with her sharp fingertips. After just a few seconds, she thought of a possibility.
"Their main body is evolving. All Tiger Bees, assemble."
Tamisha stood up. This time, she would go to the battlefield herself. With her there, the combat power of all Tiger Bees would increase by a considerable margin.
Just as Tamisha was walking out of the hive, a sense of crisis came from above. It was an Apollo dropped from the sky by Baha.
Tamisha suddenly disappeared, reappearing above the hive. She caught the falling Apollo with one hand.
Boom!
Just as the Solar Flame began to spread, it was compressed by a semi-transparent light membrane, gathered together, and finally shrunk to the size of a walnut, held in Tamisha's palm.
With a crack, a breaking sound came from Tamisha's hand. Wispy blue smoke drifted from the armor on her arm.
Several kilometers high in the sky, Baha's eyes went wide. Even an ordinary Apollo being crushed bare-handed like that left him stunned.
Tamisha landed on top of the hive, slightly tilting her head up to look at the sky.
"What the hell!"
Baha spread his wings. Suddenly, a dizzying sensation hit him. When his vision cleared, he was already in front of Tamisha, with the hive below him.
"Messed... up."
Baha raised his claw. [Blazing Sun's Wrath: Apollo] appeared in his grasp. He stared coldly at Tamisha. The moment an Apollo was detonated, the released kinetic energy was so intense that space itself would be distorted, making space teleportation impossible.
As for the [Sanctuary Emblem] he used to save his life, Bubu had just retreated two kilometers away. Baha himself didn't plan to use it. It was his own mistake; he wouldn't drag Bubu Wang down with him.
However, Baha was sure of one thing: at this close distance, if he instantly detonated [Blazing Sun's Wrath: Apollo], he could definitely blow Tamisha's head off.
"Tamisha, come on, watch if I dare to crush this Apollo."
"..."
Tamisha glanced at the hive beneath her feet. She could die, but the main hive could not be harmed.
"Life and death are fated, gahahaha."
Baha laughed loudly as he flew away. After flying a few dozen meters, he immediately began teleporting through space repeatedly. Although Baha wasn't afraid of death, he didn't want to kick the bucket just like that.
Watching Baha disappear, Tamisha leaped down from the hive, landing on the back of a giant beast.
Within the Tiger Bee Faction's territory, Tiger Bees surged out from various hives, converging into a single force from all directions.
Carol stood behind Tamisha, watching the scene below. Her hands were trembling. The last time she had seen such a sight was twelve years ago, during the all-out war with the Diya Tribe.
...
Inside the base camp insect nest, Su Xiao put away his communicator. Bubu Wang had just sent a message: the Tiger Bees were assembling. It was impossible to judge how many there were, and Baha had almost been left behind there.
He checked the remaining time for the evolution. There were 12 minutes and 36 seconds left. It wouldn't come down to the dramatic scene of evolving to a seventh-stage insect nest at the very last second. As long as the extremely unlucky event of evolution failure didn't occur, Su Xiao's preparations were complete.
A rumbling sound came from outside the insect nest. It was the surrounding Tiger Bees attacking, crashing into the defensive line that the Demon Beasts had been holding.
Time ticked by, minute by minute. The 12 minutes passed quickly, and over a dozen notifications appeared.
[Notification: Insect nest has evolved to the seventh stage.]
[Warning (Void Tree): The Hunter's actions have a high probability of leading to catastrophic results within this world. The Hunter must abide by the following regulations.]
[1. The number of insectoids within this world must not exceed 2,000,000 (the limit of the ecological system's endurance).]
[2. Insectoids must not be driven to seek or compete for this world's 'World Core.']
[3. Insectoid structures must not be located within the Trial Zone.]
[4. Under no circumstances may more than 5,000 insectoids enter the Trial Zone (the limit for large insectoids is 3-15 individuals). This action will prevent the next batch of trial participants from undergoing their survival trial.]
...
After a series of warning notifications, Su Xiao finally saw the notifications regarding the seventh-stage insect nest.
[Demon Beast has completed its fifth genetic evolution, comprehensive attributes greatly increased! Mastered skill +1.]
[New genetic memory awakened: Demon Flame Dragon (seventh-rank combat insectoid unit, super-giant type, cultivation requires 236,000 bio-energy).]