Chapter 48: Seventh Rank Insect Nest
The insect nest successfully evolved to the seventh rank, and the worst-case scenario didn’t occur. With that, things became highly promising.
The changes in the seventh-rank insect nest were considerable. Its overall height increased to over 176 meters, enough to accommodate the necessary nest organs. Any taller would only enlarge the area vulnerable to attack.
The Demon Beasts had undergone their fifth genetic evolution. The seventh-rank Demon Beasts hadn’t been cultivated yet, so their actual combat capabilities remained unknown.
As for Leviathan, it had successfully undergone its second genetic evolution. The insect nest’s ultimate weapon, the Demon Flame Dragon, required 236,000 points of bio-energy to produce, indicating that this massive combat insect creature would be far from weak.
All nest organs had been upgraded to the seventh rank, raising the nest’s bio-energy storage cap to 6.5 million points. Evolving to the eighth rank within this world was simply impossible.
Beyond these developments, the nest had awakened a new ability—a branch ability of the Worker Scorpions called the Mobile "Energy Conversion Spore Sac."
As long as it wasn’t too far from the nest, within a range of less than a thousand kilometers, one could sacrifice a Worker Bee to transform it into an insectoid structure: the "Energy Conversion Spore Sac."
A single "Energy Conversion Spore Sac" could spread a fungal carpet spanning 1.2 kilometers. After the fungal carpet absorbed bio-energy on the battlefield, the energy would be transmitted to the "Energy Conversion Spore Sac" at its center. There, it would be compressed and crystallized into Life Stones.
Life Stones were unique items absorbable only by the insect nest. Each Life Stone could be converted into 10,000 points of bio-energy.
This made waging war much more convenient. Instead of transporting Demon Beast corpses or enemy remains, they could be directly converted into Life Stones.
The only thing to guard against was that the "Energy Conversion Spore Sac" was relatively fragile and easily destroyed. However, with over a hundred Worker Scorpions on hand, losing a "Energy Conversion Spore Sac" would only mean a loss of some bio-energy. Each Worker Scorpion could transform into one.
The seventh-rank insect nest was more powerful than anticipated. As for the Void Tree’s warning, Su Xiao found it perfectly reasonable. If he brought a massive swarm of insectoids into the trial zone and let them settle there, not only would Queen Bee Afra cry her eyes out, but the next batch of contractors arriving in this world would suffer immense psychological trauma.
Su Xiao had not only received a warning prompt but also faced various other restrictions. For instance, the acquisition rate of World Sources and the drop rate of treasure chests had become very low. Only by killing Lord or Overlord creatures could he obtain normal resource yields.
If this were a world within Reincarnation Paradise, there would be no restrictions at all. However, the Primordial Continent was a trial world, and Su Xiao’s current actions had turned it into a war world. Not being directly expelled from this world was already fortunate.
If other contractors came to acquire resources, Su Xiao came to plunder them. Given the special nature of the trial world and its ownership by the Void Tree, facing partial restrictions was something Su Xiao had anticipated.
Low probability? Then make up for it with quantity. This was a method Su Xiao often used. He was confident he could reap a substantial haul of resources in this world.
Su Xiao planned to first find a way to occupy the trial zone, then simultaneously wage war against the two major factions of this world. Resource chests, Overlord creatures, Lord creatures—there were still many ways to obtain resources. Not to mention, the Holy Spirit-rank equipment set on the final day alone represented a massive profit, equivalent to one-third of the typical gains from a seventh-rank world.
The insect nest rumbled with continuous explosions. Occasionally, attacks struck its outer walls. The Tiger Bee Clan had many long-range methods, most of which were blocked by the insectoid structures around the nest. Only a small portion hit the nest itself.
From an aerial view, the ground was a chaotic melee between the Tiger Bee Clan and Demon Beasts, while streaks of intense light flashed through the air. These energy attacks seemed slow but were specifically designed for siege warfare.
Thirty-four defensive insectoid structures held the line, and fifty-two Leviathans served as the backbone, launching volleys of living missiles that intercepted many of the Tiger Bee Clan’s long-range attacks.
Acid flames seared flesh. Wounded Tiger Bees howled in agony. The ground was a bloodbath, and the sky frequently blazed with blinding light from energy explosions.
"The Tiger Bee Lord is right behind you! Kill them all!"
Queen Bee Penelope shouted, standing atop a pile of Demon Beast corpses. Insect blood dripped from the rhomboid armor beneath her chin. This full-scale assault had several trump cards up its sleeve.
Heavy footsteps echoed. A monstrous creature resembling a scorpion, over twenty meters in length, appeared on the battlefield. Its thick carapace made it slow-moving.
This thing was called the Flame Prince, bred through ancient elven biotechnology. The Tiger Bee Clan had paid a heavy price to perfect the form of this war beast.
The Flame Prince unfurled its curled tail, which anchored into the ground like a series of spikes. The tips of its six legs split apart, sinking into the soil like foundations.
A sound like boiling water emanated from the Flame Prince’s massive abdomen. The carapace around its mouth opened like a blooming flower, revealing a gaping maw aimed at the distant insect nest.
With a thunderous roar, a jet of orange-red flame erupted from the Flame Prince’s mouth, forming a pillar of fire that shot straight toward the nest.
Demon Beasts caught in the flame’s path had their carapaces crackle and pop as they turned to charcoal.
The fire pillar was unstoppable, reaching within 500 meters of the nest in moments, and the distance was rapidly closing.
Then, a breathtaking scene unfolded.
"Roar!"
The surrounding Demon Beasts howled in unison, charging toward the flame pillar. The first was incinerated to ash, and the next immediately took its place.
The Demon Beasts formed a massive sphere, pushing forward against the flame pillar. Countless Demon Beasts perished before the flame pillar gradually thinned and finally dissipated.
A kilometer away, Queen Bee Carol witnessed this. She had been in the heat of battle, her smile fading as she took in the sight. After seeing that, her view of the insectoids shifted, but even so, enemies were still enemies—they had to be exterminated.
The Tiger Bee Clan unleashed all their various tactics. Over a hundred Flame Princes appeared on the battlefield, their first target being the fungal carpet on the ground—a wise move.
Under the Tiger Bee Clan’s overwhelming assault, 430,000 fifth-rank Demon Beasts and 30,000 sixth-rank Demon Beasts were being slaughtered in droves.
The defensive perimeter shrank from a diameter of three kilometers to 1.2 kilometers. Within just ten minutes of battle, Demon Beast casualties exceeded 300,000. If not for the presence of sixth-rank Demon Beasts, the losses would have been even greater.
Whether the Tiger Bee Lord, Tamissa, was present made all the difference. The previous siege had been a strategic blunder, as Tamissa was in a semi-dormant state, leaving Queen Bee Carol in command.
After the battle circle was compressed to one kilometer, the fungal carpet’s area also shrank. The hundred-plus Flame Princes burned faster than the carpet could regenerate. The Tiger Bee Clan was on the verge of victory.
Click, click, click…
The sound of claws on the nest’s floor was particularly distinct. A Demon Beast with pitch-black carapace and a whip-like tail four meters long emerged from the nest. Its tail swayed, and the tip’s blade-like stinger cut through the air with a metallic ring.
Compared to ordinary Demon Beasts, this one was slightly larger, but not by much. It had originally been several sizes bigger, but during its gestation, its body had been greatly condensed.
This Demon Beast seemed to survey its surroundings. It leaped from the heads of other Demon Beasts, quickly reaching the front lines.
Pfft!
A Demon Beast was cleaved in half. The Tiger Bee raised its arm-blade and let out a roar.
Whoosh!
The special Demon Beast appeared behind that Tiger Bee. The Tiger Bee’s pupils contracted sharply. It spun around, swinging its broad arm-blade backward.
Shing~
A black afterimage flashed through the air. The Demon Beast’s elongated tail swept past, its tip’s blade trailing blood. The Tiger Bee’s headless corpse stood frozen in place.
The Tiger Bee’s head flew toward the Demon Beast. Its tail whipped out, casually smashing the head to pulp. Fragments of carapace struck other Tiger Bees, some embedding in their armor, others flying out of sight.
The Demon Beast shifted its gaze, spotting Ice Jue, who was busy cutting down fifth-rank Demon Beasts. It crouched, then shot forward with a bang.
Ice Jue, in the midst of his slaughter, suddenly sensed danger. He raised his right arm, forming a one-meter-wide ice arm shield.
Clang, clang, clang…
Sparks flew. The tail blade and claws struck the Holy Spirit-rank shield repeatedly. Ice Jue stood firm, but seconds later, his composure nearly shattered. This Demon Beast was nothing like the others.
"Good thing there’s only one."
Ice Jue retreated a few steps, glancing at the shield on his forearm. Faint cracks were visible—the result of sustained True Damage. Its durability cap had permanently decreased by 6 points, or rather, the demonic force had inflicted permanent damage on the shield.
No sooner had Ice Jue uttered "Good thing there’s only one" than two seventh-rank Demon Beasts leaped near him. As a tank, Ice Jue felt a strong urge to flee.
Splat, splat~
Two more seventh-rank Demon Beasts landed on the fungal carpet near Ice Jue. His expression grew serious. Five? He could handle that. He was a tank.
But the next moment, Ice Jue turned and ran, even using a disposable item to boost his speed. The reason? Hundreds of seventh-rank Demon Beasts were charging from the front. If Ice Jue didn’t flee, these beasts would casually kill him along the way.