Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 258

Chapter 258: Chapter 251 Insect Formation_1
 

“All warriors, heed my command, clear the middle of the road for the civilians to pass through. We’ll exterminate these insects with all our might,”

Master He Shan bellowed orders to his personal soldiers.

Many had already taken out their Insect Bags or various pesticides.

Some even applied the medicine on their mounts to ensure they would not be attacked by the insects.

Master He Shan, on the other hand, took off a long strip-shaped Insect Bag from his back, “whoosh,” and directly released the insects within.

They were monstrous centipedes.

Each one as thick as an adult’s pinky finger, about four to five inches long, numbering probably more than a thousand.

The centipedes’ bodies were a dark red color, their shells shimmering with a metallic luster.

They were incredibly nimble; upon hitting the ground, they immediately charged into battle against the attacking Scarabeadle swarm.

Crack! Crack!

One could hear the sound of them crazily slaughtering the Scarabeadles, a dense symphony of destruction.

The Scarabeadles stood no chance against them, it was a one-sided massacre.

These centipedes were mostly Grade Four insects.

Breeding over a thousand Grade Four insects was no small feat.

Many Insect Masters focus their resources on cultivating one or two insects. Those that cultivate several thousand insects generally have substantial wealth and possess powerful high-level insects.

Otherwise, no one would dare such extravagance.

After all, quantity is still no match for quality.

If you successfully breed a thousand Grade Two insects, you’re still just a prospective Insect Master and not even considered a formal one.

But if you breed just one Grade Three insect, no matter how weak, you’re a bona fide Insect Master.

Qin Niu had over twenty thousand Grade Three and Four termites, and that was because he had the super resource of the Ancient Banyan Tree.

Otherwise, even breeding two hundred Grade Three termites would be tough.

More than a thousand Grade Four monstrous centipedes, like an invincible army, pushed forward, leaving behind piles of Scarabeadle corpses in their wake.

These centipedes had strong armor and were highly resistant to poison.

The Scarabeadles’ biting force was limited and couldn’t breach their defenses.

“Master He Shan can casually bring out more than a thousand Grade Four monstrous centipedes, and these centipedes have hard-as-iron shells, at least medium-grade ones. They also have enhanced biting power, and their movements are faster than those of ordinary Grade Four monstrous centipedes. This is the foundation of a powerful Insect Master!”

In terms of strength, Master He Shan should still be above Old Master Huang.

Back then, to take down Qin Niu, Old Master Huang had mobilized over four thousand Grade Three army ants.

While Old Master Huang’s army ants numbered four thousand, they were not as formidable as Master He Shan’s thousand-plus centipedes.

Theoretically, ten Grade Three insects are no match for one Grade Four insect.

Any of Master He Shan’s Grade Four monstrous centipedes could easily eliminate more than ten Grade Three army ants.

But then again, quantity can overwhelm quality.

If the numerical advantage reaches a certain level, it can compensate for the lack of quality.

A hundred Grade Three army ants swarming together may potentially kill a Grade Four monstrous centipede.

Master He Shan led with centipedes clearing the way ahead, while other Insect Masters also used their various means to exterminate the Scarabeadles that came at them like a tide.

Unlike ordinary civilians who were utterly helpless against the Scarabeadles,

Insect Masters are experts in this field, and facing these insects, they each had their ultimate tricks.

Powerful Insect Masters took the lead while the weaker ones followed to clean up.

Qin Niu was probably the most relaxed of all.

Moving amidst the insect swarm, the Scarabeadles treated him and his horse as ‘one of their own’ and simply didn’t attack him.

This also allowed Qin Niu to easily reach the front of the group.

“Qin Niu, did these Scarabeadles all come from the Tianshui River in Luoshui Town?”

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. They floated along the river towards us, stretching out for two kilometers,”

Qin Niu said.

“So many Scarabeadles, the number must far exceed ten million. The Nine Insect Gang benefit from an advantageous geographical environment, and in cultivating insects, we truly can’t compare with them,”

Master He Shan spoke with a tone of envy.

So many insects were beyond his wildest dreams.

Qin Niu, however, was secretly thinking if his Ant Queen’s Breeding Skill were to level up once more, how strong would it become? If it could produce ten thousand eggs a day, even if it’s not quite at the level of the Elder Jiu Yin of the Nine Insect Gang, it ought to be not too far off, right?

Ten million, breeding ten thousand a day, it would take less than three years to breed over ten million.

If one day his Termite Army also had tens of millions, or even more, like these Scarabeadles, how horrifying would that be?

They could probably consume all the plants on a mountain in a single day.

But unlike locusts, they could gnaw on hard tree trunks and roots buried underground.

In terms of destructive power, they would be far more terrifying than locusts.

Master He Shan noticed Qin Niu’s relaxed appearance by his side and couldn’t help but take a surprised glance at his position.

He saw that the Scarabeadles did not attack Qin Niu’s horse.

As for the person on the horse, they treated him as if he were merely air.

“Young man, you have some tricks! These Scarabeadles have no hostility towards you, which is quite remarkable.”

“You flatter me! I just happen to have some aptitude in this area,”

Qin Niu replied modestly.

“Killing these Scarabeadles one by one is quite laborious, isn’t there another way?”

He thought that for Master He Shan to lead his men to clash head-on with the Scarabeadles was not the act of a wise man.

At this rate of progress, they might not reach Luoshui Town by daybreak.

By then, the enemy would have completed their sneak attack and be drinking to celebrate their victory.

“`

“What are your bright ideas?”

Master He Shan asked.

“These Rab Armor are afraid of fire and there are a lot of them. Couldn’t we lure them into a confined space and then burn them all with fire?”

Qin Niu never considered the morality of his actions.

As long as it could eliminate the enemy, he would use whatever method worked best.

If you really had to fight honorably and face-to-face on the battlefield, exterminating the countless Rab Armor one by one, you’d almost have to be brain-damaged.

“An excellent plan! Let’s follow your suggestion.”

Upon hearing this, Master He Shan’s eyes lit up.

It was like waking someone from a dream; just before, all he had thought about was the immense threat the Rab Armor posed to the civilians.

That’s why he had been intent on exterminating them all.

The method Qin Niu proposed was somewhat old-fashioned, but very practical.

“Zhao Yu, when it comes to luring insects, you are the strongest amongst us Insect Masters. Can you find a way to lure these Rab Armor to one place?”

Master He Shan called out to Zhao Yu, who had arrived.

“We can try. However, given the sheer number of Rab Armor and their wide dispersal, setting up just one lure might not suffice. We’ll need to set up several.”

“Then set up several lures. Qin Niu just made a great suggestion, to attract the Rab Armor to one place and use fire to exterminate them in one fell swoop. You’ll be responsible for luring the insects, and Centurions Tang Fangfang and Yang JiangHe, along with their Insect Masters, will be in charge of using fire to kill the lured Rab Armor. I will lead the guards to scout the enemy in advance as we’re likely in for a tough fight today.”

Master He Shan immediately made arrangements.

“Qin Niu, lead the way! To the location where you discovered the enemy preparing to cross the river.”

“At your command!”

Qin Niu immediately led the way.

He had wanted to see how Zhao Yu lured the insects and had hoped to watch and learn later.

His own insect-catching skills had reached a certain level, and he knew a bit about luring insects as well.

After mastering this skill, he had planned to use it to capture some rare insects to sell for money. He had never imagined that being proficient in luring insects could be so useful on the battlefield.

Qin Niu rode his steed swiftly through the Rab Armor tide.

He quickly realized a problem.

When the steed galloped, it was easy to step on the densely packed Rab Armor on the ground.

The number was simply too vast, like a tide, crowded and teeming.

A random step could squash several of them at once.

Although they were very fast and could quickly dodge, there were always moments when they couldn’t avoid in time.

When stepped on, their instinct was to immediately attack whatever was pressing down on them.

The venom they sprayed was quite fearsome.

The steed’s hooves were wrapped in horseshoes, so there was no worry of being bitten.

Plus, it galloped very fast.

It would crush the insects as soon as it stepped on them, then lift its hooves and charge forward.

The venom sprayed by the insects at the moment of death did minimal damage to it.

But the sheer number was overwhelming!

Each step taken squashed insects, then sprayed their venomous mist onto its hooves.

Gradually, the hooves began to swell.

Their speed was affected, noticeably slowing down.

In the face of this situation, Qin Niu didn’t have a good solution.

He was relatively alright, but Master He Shan’s personal guards, despite being carefully selected and skilled Insect Masters, still fumbled when swarmed by the insects.

No one had been bitten to death just yet.

As they approached Luoshui Town, the number of insects on the road visibly decreased.

This meant the enemy had already released all of their insects, naturally leading to fewer behind.

“Careful! Everyone, stop!”

Master He Shan, still two to three hundred meters away from Luoshui Town, immediately gestured for everyone to halt.

Qin Niu, the most cunning, had already sensed the danger and had slowed down.

This action also earned him a new level of respect from Master He Shan.

“Qin Niu, have you also sensed something amiss?”

Master He Shan asked.

“There’s a heavy aura of killing intent up ahead, which feels extremely dangerous. The enemy might have set up an ambush waiting for us.”

Qin Niu stared ahead, his expression grave.

The feeling of danger meant the enemy was stronger than he imagined.

In his mind, he thought that only Insect Masters had arrived so far, and they hadn’t even seen a hint of Deputy City Lord Bai.

If there was a Spirit Qi Realm expert among the enemy forces, these Insect Masters would probably die miserably in front of them.

It wasn’t just about being one whole realm apart.

Even if the difference was just a smaller realm within, the disparity in combat power could be huge.

“I’ve already caught the scent of Elder Jiu Yin. If I’m not mistaken, there might be a formidable Insect Formation ahead set by Elder Jiu Yin himself.”

Master He Shan mentioned a term that Qin Niu had never heard of before.

He knew about formations.

Insects can set formations?

“What is an Insect Formation?”

Not understanding, Qin Niu asked.