Chapter Seventy: Bombardment

The Kodo Beast locked in battle, along with that spectral wolf leader, were both clearly rank-five magical beasts. Yet, even such formidable creatures stood no chance as the red cloud descended—they were devoured utterly, leaving nothing behind.

At that moment, Katherine dared not move a muscle, terrified the red cloud might notice her. She now saw it clearly: it was no natural cloud, but a seething mass of countless crimson insects. Each was the size of a fist and resembled a field locust, but with a pair of curved horns like those of a water buffalo sprouting from their heads. Their mouths split into four sharp segments, glinting with a cold light, making them appear exceedingly lethal.

Within the swarm, not only were there ordinary fist-sized insects, but also advanced ones as large as a human head, and elite individuals nearly the size of a person. The elites gleamed with an even more vibrant red, their carapaces more lustrous and textured, inspiring dread. At the very heart of this host, surrounded by countless insects, floated an enormous broodmother—ten meters long and three meters wide. From its surface extended long, chain-like tendrils, each attached to over thirty elite insects that bore it aloft. Through the pitted surface of the broodmother’s body, innumerable white eggs could be seen slowly writhing; from time to time, an egg would burst, releasing a glistening larva that shook out its wings and joined the crimson tide.

Their attack methods were singularly horrifying. As they dived, the insects would open their four-part jaws, extend a tubular proboscis, and with a heave of their swollen abdomens, spray gobs of viscous saliva. This secretion was so sticky that it would immediately hinder any beast it touched. Given their overwhelming numbers, by the time a wave of insects finished its dive, the creatures below would be entirely encased in mucus, transformed into grotesque “statues.” Then, swarms of insects would descend, open their razor-sharp jaws, and devour every scrap of flesh from their prey.

Yet Ling Mo’s “Aura Concealment” proved highly effective. The swarm passed within twenty meters of Katherine without so much as a hint of awareness. Only after the crimson cloud and its thunderous roar faded into the distance did Katherine finally dare to move, her body stiff and trembling uncontrollably as she collapsed to the ground.

“Well? How do you feel?” Ling Mo squatted beside her and asked.

“Horrifying… truly horrifying…” Katherine stammered, her teeth chattering. “It was just… too awful! Master, I saw the lower half of the spectral wolf stripped to bone, and its eyes were still moving! It wasn’t dead! The Kodo Beast, its intestines half-consumed, but its head was still turning! Its mouth opened, as if to cry out, but before it could make a sound, countless insects swarmed in and devoured its tongue alive!”

She shook her head fiercely, trying to banish the ghastly images, but the memories only grew sharper, threatening to make her scream. She wanted desperately to cry out, to vent her horror, but dared not make a sound for fear of inviting disaster. She hugged her knees, buried her head, and took deep breaths, struggling to calm her pounding heart.

In that instant, she understood profoundly how precious civilization truly was, overwhelmed by a fierce longing for home.

Seeing Katherine’s reaction, Ling Mo asked in confusion, “Are you afraid of bugs?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t before, but I’ve never seen a swarm this vast,” Katherine shook her head. “It’s just… this way of dying, fed to insects, is too revolting. The thought of being caught by them, all those bristly legs crawling over me, the sickening feel of their soft bellies and hard shells—I can’t imagine where they’d start eating. My belly? My face? What if my brain could still sense everything as my body was eaten away? The thought of watching those insects wriggle inside my own guts is… I just… Aaaahhh!”

She shrieked in panic, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. Seeing her distress, Ling Mo sighed, patted her shoulder, and said, “Listen, disciple, I know that scene just now terrified you. You saw the rank-five Kodo Beast helpless before the swarm and overestimated the insects’ power. But in truth, those bugs were only rank-five magical beasts themselves—or rather, the entire swarm together constitutes a single rank-five beast.”

“Rank five?” Katherine’s trembling ceased as she stared in surprise. “I thought…”

“You thought they’d be at least rank six or seven, right?” Ling Mo chuckled. “You’re not strong enough yet to grasp the essence of what happened. The reason the Kodo Beast and spectral wolves were so easily overwhelmed was because they happened to be standing on a pile of Gleini dung.”

“Those red insects are called Gleini? But what does dung have to do with any of this?”

“Well, perhaps not entirely by chance. Gleini dung nourishes a kind of grass called Southern Cross, which helps large herbivores like the Kodo Beast cleanse their guts. That’s why the Kodo Beast stepped into the dung heap,” Ling Mo explained, leading Katherine a few steps forward to the Kodo’s skeleton and pointing at the pale gray “fungal carpet” on the ground. “This dung doesn’t smell, but when combined with the Gleini’s secreted mucus, it reacts instantly to form hard, pale-gray plates—tough and resilient enough that even a rank-five beast can’t break free.”

Katherine’s eyes lit up. “So, Master, these insects aren’t actually that powerful—it was just because the Kodo Beast and wolves fell into a trap?”

“Exactly. After so long fighting, the wolves and Kodo Beast must have picked up plenty of Gleini dung on their bodies. So when the swarm sprayed mucus, the effect was immediate. If it had been a straightforward encounter, the Gleini would hardly have been able to detain them.”

“Moreover,” Ling Mo gestured, “see the broodmother in the center, guarded by all those insects? It can cast a psychic magic called ‘Soul Shock.’ That’s what made the Kodo Beast freeze at the start of the fight. It’s the swarm’s strongest weapon, but also its greatest weakness—destroy the broodmother, and every Gleini larger than a fist will die. The remaining bugs become scattered and worthless in battle.”

Katherine pondered this, recalling the Kodo Beast’s abilities. “So, the black-backed Kodo actually had a chance. If the first wave of mucus failed to immobilize it, and it managed to charge, its signature ‘Savage Assault’ could have pierced the broodmother directly. The swarm, burdened by the broodmother, couldn’t fly fast enough—if the Kodo’s horns struck home, the battle would end there, right?”

“More or less. Of course, real combat is never that simple—the broodmother has a few tricks for self-defense. But the Kodo Beast surely could have escaped,” Ling Mo took the opportunity to instruct her. “From now on, you must curb your careless habits and always watch for oddities in your surroundings. Otherwise, you won’t last long in this perilous jungle.”

Katherine nodded miserably, then couldn’t help but ask, “Master, does this mean I’ll have to spend the rest of my life with you in the monster jungle? Can I never go back to civilization? After what I just saw, I suddenly miss my little house so much. I want to sleep under my own quilt, to hug Xiaoya, even just for a single night!”

Meeting her hopeful gaze, Ling Mo hesitated, then answered, “No, you won’t. I promise, once you reach the level of Senior Warrior, I’ll send you out of this jungle. If you wish to continue your martial path afterward, come find me. If not, you can live out your days in peace.”

“Thank you, Master!” Katherine’s face blossomed into a radiant smile, her spirits instantly lifted. “So, what now? Shall we continue on, Master?”

“Of course. You’ve lingered here long enough. In the Black Mist Region, it’s extremely dangerous to stay in one place for too long. If you do, you’ll attract…”

A thunderous boom, like a magical missile tearing across the sky, resounded across the wasteland, drowning out all other noise. Ling Mo’s words became fragmented, rising and falling as if spoken from a great distance, impossible to make out. Katherine strained to listen, finally catching a single syllable. It sounded like… leap?!!

(Today the author’s backend glitched out—the first draft posted was a total mess. So frustrating!)