# Chapter 58: Victory or Defeat
Inside the Queen's Greenhouse, before long, the ground was covered with array diagrams. Baha had also returned to the Queen's Greenhouse and was using [Withered Moon Tree Seed] to restore mana.
The main battlefield was raging fiercely. Due to the prolonged stalemate, Gu Wu and Tai Misha had both made their moves. On Su Xiao's side, he was considering the stability of the array diagram.
"Basically stable. Baha, try to open an alternate space that doesn't belong to this world. Also, don't summon anything bizarre."
"Leave it to me."
Baha spread its wings, fully activating its Void Bloodline. The array diagram on the ground began to rotate, and a spatial rift slowly appeared.
"Damn it!"
Baha shouted softly, immediately cutting off its connection to the alternate space.
"I almost summoned something. Let me try again."
Baha pondered for a moment, then opened the spatial rift once more.
"Who has summoned us? Only by sacrificing living beings..."
"Get lost."
Baha waved its wing, cutting off the connection again. It began to ponder deeply, wondering where the problem lay.
"I refuse to believe this."
Baha opened the spatial rift for the third time. This time, it succeeded smoothly, but Baha froze in place.
"The consumption is huge. I can't move."
"Maintain it."
"At most half an hour. The passage is too wide. If I close the passage and just maintain contact with the alternate space, I can hold out for a long time."
"Very good."
Su Xiao crouched down. Seeing this, Ji La closed her eyes.
A few seconds later, Su Xiao's right hand pierced into the ground. Sticky liquid splattered everywhere as he pulled out a large, pulsating piece of biological tissue—this was part of the Hive Nest's core.
With a piece of the core removed, the entire Hive Nest trembled. Su Xiao stuffed a Soul Crystal containing Ji La's mental energy into the fragment of the Hive Nest core.
"Worker Scorpions."
"Already prepared."
Ji La spoke urgently. Several Worker Scorpions rushed out from the passage. Just then, a Mantis Armor with a deeper carapace suddenly rammed open the other Worker Scorpions—it was Bru.
"You will die."
Su Xiao spoke. He naturally knew that Mantis Armor·Bru was different—this was an insect race with a trace of self-awareness.
Bru straightened its body and let out a roar that wasn't particularly loud.
Su Xiao tossed the fragment of the Hive Nest core toward Bru, along with a large pouch containing 2000 Life Stones. This was equivalent to 20 million points of Bio Energy, used for establishing the branch Hive Nest and cultivating Demon Beasts. Life Stones would also need to be transported into the alternate space later.
Bru rushed into the spatial rift and began cultivating the branch Hive Nest. Ji La's mental command had four points: 1. Maintain the Hive Nest's stability, 2. Establish three egg-laying tissues and cultivation sacs, 3. Absorb Life Stones, 4. Cultivate Demon Beasts.
Although the branch Hive Nest was also Seventh Rank, its functions would be very singular. It couldn't even establish Fungal Carpet, but that was enough.
After Mantis Armor·Bru rushed into the alternate space, Ji La immediately sensed it.
"The Hive Nest... has been... successfully established."
After saying this, Ji La fell into a dazed state.
"Snap out of it."
Su Xiao patted Ji La's face. Ji La tilted her head. Seeing this, Bubu Wang also tilted its head.
Looking at Ji La, who seemed to have been possessed by Bubu Wang, Su Xiao prepared to destroy the Hive Nest in the alternate space. He wasn't sure if Ji La in this state could continue commanding the Demon Beasts in battle.
"No problem. It's just... seeing things a bit slowly. Mental control... awesome."
Hearing this "awesome," Su Xiao looked at Baha. Baha, who was maintaining the alternate space, whistled, indicating that it hadn't taught her that. Heaven knows how this creature managed to whistle with its beak.
According to Bubu Wang's reconnaissance, Ji La's control over the Demon Beasts was fine. It was just that when she spoke, she seemed dazed, looking not very intelligent. Only after abandoning the branch Hive Nest could Ji La recover.
If Ji La's mental power was originally a single line connected to the Base Camp·Hive Nest, now there were two lines. The second line connected through Baha to the branch Hive Nest in the alternate space.
The branch Hive Nest's army production began. The Demon Beasts cultivated in the alternate space would suffer no casualties, steadily producing 60,000 Demon Beasts per hour.
Su Xiao temporarily ignored the situation outside. The Diya Tribe and Tiger Bee Clan on the main battlefield couldn't fight their way over for a while. As for the Gray Rock Tribe and Lizard Clan, they were a rabble—sending 10,000 Demon Beasts each was enough to completely block them.
The fierce battle began. The Base Camp·Hive Nest frantically produced troops. On the front battlefield, the number of Demon Beasts increased at a rate of 8,000 to 9,000 per hour.
Behind the Diya Tribe, Gu Wu stood on a high point, his arms covered in insect blood. He surveyed the battlefield below and said, "Tai Misha, have you noticed? The enemy is gradually increasing."
"..."
Finding that Tai Misha wasn't responding, the veins on Gu Wu's neck bulged.
"The black clouds haven't gathered enough yet. Na Ji·Ga, go urge the Soul Witches."
Gu Wu's gaze shifted to Na Ji·Ga. Na Ji·Ga smiled and nodded upon hearing this.
"Insect races are really troublesome. But... what kind of treasure chest will drop when the Hive Nest is destroyed? Holy Spirit rank? Or above Holy Spirit rank? Forget it, let's talk about winning first."
Thinking of this, the smile on Na Ji·Ga's face grew wider. Without proper preparation, he naturally wouldn't come to the front lines. In ten hours, when the black clouds gathered to their limit, they would decide the outcome. At that time, all the insect races would die.
"Na Ji·Ga, you're too cowardly."
Ice Jue sneered. As one of the few contractors in the Tiger Bee faction, and having participated in the first two wars, his status had skyrocketed. Now, in the alliance between Diya and Tiger Bee, Ice Jue's status was only below Na Ji·Ga.
"I was born cowardly."
"Hmph."
"Ice Jue, I have a question for you."
Na Ji·Ga stood diagonally opposite Ice Jue, placing a hand on Ice Jue's shoulder.
"What exactly... are you?"
"You..."
Ice Jue glared at Na Ji·Ga, but in the next instant, he felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.
"Na Ji·Ga, Ice Jue is right. After the black clouds gather, there won't be any living insect races outside the Hive Nest, except for that big thing in the sky."
Mu Xiao walked over, wearing a backless leather dress and holding a blood-colored war scythe.
"Unless there's a second Hive Nest, victory is just a matter of time."
Mu Xiao put away her war scythe, interlaced her fingers, and stretched. Her curvaceous figure drew the gazes of several male contractors nearby, but they didn't dare stare for too long—Mu Xiao was not someone to mess with.
A dozen wisps of black smoke rose straight into the sky, continuously staining the clouds pitch black.
Looking down from above, even though the Hive Nest faced enemies from three directions, it still held its ground. Every minute, thousands of Demon Beasts rushed out from the Hive Nest, heading toward the main battlefield ahead.
Time passed amidst the chaos. After three hours of chaotic fighting, not counting the trial area, the number of Demon Beasts reached 280,000. After five hours, the number of Demon Beasts barely broke through the 300,000 mark, with Demon Flame Dragons reaching 15.
The main battlefield reached a stalemate. Neither side could push the other back.
In the fierce battle, ten hours was very long. But after the Diya Tribe and Tiger Bee Clan paid a heavy price in casualties, they successfully withstood the Demon Beasts' offensive. At this point, the number of Demon Beasts reached 340,000, with only 10 Demon Flame Dragons remaining. Among them, Barbatos was exceptionally fierce, like a battlefield boss, not even backing down against Gu Wu.
A figure clad in black armor stood out conspicuously on the battlefield—it was the leader-level Demon Beast·Abaddon. As for the origin of this name, Ji La had chosen it. If Su Xiao had named it, it would definitely have been "Black Armor."
Through the test of war, Abaddon was about to fully mature. At this moment, it was locked in combat with Bee Queen·Karo.
Rumble.
Thunder rumbled in the sky. Before long, a loud explosion came from behind the Diya Tribe's battle line.
Almost all Diya warriors and Tiger Bee clan members took out the leaf pouches they carried, crushed them, and sprinkled the powder over themselves.
Drip, drip~
Black-green raindrops fell from above. One drop landed on a Demon Beast. It flicked its tail blade, cutting off the carapace that had been stained by the rain. This was the power of the "Battle Instinct" ability—the Demon Beast had sensed danger.
A torrential downpour fell. The black-green raindrops almost formed a curtain, leaving no chance to dodge.
Bang! An already injured Demon Beast exploded, sending broken carapace fragments flying everywhere. Nearby, an uninjured Demon Beast went completely stiff, its body rapidly turning gray-white, as if petrified, before shattering into fist-sized pieces.
Near the leader-level Demon Beast·Abaddon, the other Demon Beasts all rushed toward him, protecting him from above. A falling Demon Flame Dragon desperately adjusted its direction, spread its wings to the maximum, and with a crash, crushed the pile of Demon Beasts beneath it. The next moment, the Demon Flame Dragon's body also gradually turned gray-white.
Demon Flame Dragon·Barbatos stubbornly flew through the black rain, breathing Dragonflame downward, fully displaying its ferocity. The black rain wasn't fatal to it, but after a while, it turned direction and flew back to the Hive Nest. Landing on the Hive Nest, it spread its wings to block the rain.
The battlefield fell silent. The Diya warriors glowed faintly, some even kneeling, their bodies trembling uncontrollably—this was fear of the Demon Insect Race.
"Gu ba ba ye! (Native language: Diya warriors!)"
Roars spread one after another, as if celebrating the impending victory.
The black rain lasted less than 20 seconds before stopping. This secret weapon, which Bubu Wang hadn't been able to uncover, was most likely prepared by Gu Wu.
"Kill them all."
Tai Misha stood on the corpse of a Demon Flame Dragon, pointing toward the Hive Nest with one hand.
"Charge!"
Ice Jue roared as he rushed forward. He was trembling with excitement, his joy beyond words.
Diya warriors and Tiger Bee clan members charged forward in large strides, stepping on the withered Fungal Carpet.
"Roar!"
A dragon roar came from above—it was Barbatos. A figure leaped down from its back, descending at extreme speed.
Boom!
Su Xiao crashed to the ground, fragments of the already broken Demon Beast corpse scattering around him. He surveyed the area ahead. Baha was standing on his shoulder.
"This madman..."
Na Ji·Ga looked at Su Xiao with astonishment. Given the current situation, Su Xiao was clearly about to face millions alone.
The moment Su Xiao landed, a translucent barrier appeared before him, blocking hundreds of various attacks. This was Ji La's mental energy barrier, nearly condensed into a solid form.
The moment the mental energy barrier collapsed, Su Xiao clasped his hands together. Baha, standing on his shoulder, fully activated its spatial ability. A spatial rift appeared a few meters behind Su Xiao and rapidly expanded.
A continuous chorus of roars came from within the spatial rift. A black tide surged out—countless Demon Beasts rushed past Su Xiao on both sides.
"600,000 Demon Beasts. Try to kill them all again."
Su Xiao looked at Tiger Bee Lord·Tai Misha, who was several hundred meters away. Tai Misha raised her hand, hesitated for a moment, then lowered it.
600,000 Demon Beasts had arrived. The counterattack began. Ice Jue, who had been charging at the front, immediately made a sharp turn. Unfortunately, as a tank, he was too slow.
Bang!
Ice Jue was kicked flying, heading straight toward the charging Demon Beasts. Mid-flight, he desperately turned his head and saw Na Ji·Ga, still in his kicking pose.
"As a tank, don't run away, Ice Jue."
Na Ji·Ga turned and walked into the crowd, while Ice Jue fell among the Demon Beasts.
"No!"
Ice Jue reached out his hand. The next instant, he was engulfed by the surging Demon Beasts, who promptly killed him.