Before the Battle

The street lights in the barn gradually dimmed, signaling the arrival of a new night.

The old man was waiting outside the door. When he saw the people coming out, he stood up straight. His eyes paused for a moment on Rex's face. The latter drank the antidote and used his original appearance. His angular face had a mature temperament.

"Amelia told me that you were from outside. As long as we can leave here, I will help you in any way I can. The people you need to hand over this time have been prepared, so feel free to use them after you go in."

"Are you ready? The car is waiting outside. The person who got on the car is a low-level insect citizen. Once you get on the car, you can't get back."

Several people nodded: "Ready."

Amelia must have told him the identity of Rex. The man opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't say it. His eyes were full of inquiry as he looked at everyone.

Oleus thought about whether to tell these things, but finally chose to give up. Rex did not want to reveal his identity, and the fewer people who knew about this, the better. However, the sensitive people in the City of Insects were able to sense something, and with complicated feelings, they silently provided a little help.

The people who were traveling with them had already gathered. Led by the Cangsang man, the group got to know each other. One of the men grinned at them, and one of his teeth was missing: "Long time no see, leader."

"... Stupid boy?"

Rex was stunned when he recognized him, and murmured unconsciously. This was a member of the resistance army. He was called the stupid boy because he was always stupid. He respected him very much.

The man's eyes moved around these familiar yet unfamiliar faces, and finally landed on Amelia's face. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Amelia, what will happen to Belle if you go?"

"I've asked someone to take care of her. She's a very smart child and can take care of herself."

The woman pursed her lips, somewhat bitterly but firmly: "These are all people who are willing to go with us. Since we are going to the Queen's territory, I must go. I don't want my children to be kowtow bugs all their lives."

The person standing at the back suddenly spoke up, his tone solemn: "Everything we do is for hope."

Amelia nodded and looked at them firmly: "Yes, for hope."

It's like a little insect following a torch in the dark, living towards death in search of a way to survive.

.......

Wooden carts creaked along the road, loaded with miserable-looking humans. The insect people passed by the carts as if it was normal, watching them drive to the central area.

After entering the central area, the surrounding environment reminded Oleus of Partington. The streets looked very clean and tidy.

The wooden cart stopped in front of a gorgeous courtyard, and a group of mid-level insect people came out to guide the vehicle. They all looked like servants here, sniffing the food on the cart while working, and their eager eyes seemed to want to tear a piece of meat off people.

The old insect man who was in the lead said, "These ingredients are all very good, especially this one."

He pointed at Orelius, with transparent saliva faintly visible at the corner of his mouth. The red-haired young man exuded healthy blood and was obviously a good guy.

The low-level insects in charge of transportation talked to him with a flattering smile, and other insects sent the tied humans into the kitchen. The interior of the kitchen was no different from the human world. The middle-level insects were constantly busy, and bursts of fragrance wafted from time to time. Overall, it looked normal.

The mid-level insect dweller who served as the head chef wiped his hands with a cloth, picked up a kitchen knife, and walked in front of the group of people, selecting carefully as if he was buying goods at the market.

The sharp tip of the knife slid across Oreius' cheek, leaving a thin streak of blood. The head chef licked it with his tongue, his eyes bursting with surprise.

"This stuff tastes very good, enough to be made into a feast, it will definitely satisfy the higher insects!"

He tried them one by one and praised Ricks: "It tastes great. The smell of pain and sorrow is very tempting. The bloodline must be of high quality. It would be a waste to eat it all in one go."

To Malcolm, he smacked his lips and said, "The taste of the Lord of All Things and Omnipotence, sprinkled with black pepper to make it spicy, should be good."

As for Flynn, he thought for a moment: "Although the overall quality is not as good as the previous three, the meat is thick and suitable for roasting."

Facing the chef's shocking remarks, the human beings' expressions were generally not very happy. The chef judged the grades one by one, and when he tasted the Aga, he frowned and signaled others to take it away.

"What a weird smell! A live banquet requires only the freshest ingredients. Don't fool me with such low-quality ingredients!"

Following his orders, the insects in the kitchen quickly took action to classify the ingredients into different grades.

Rex and Oleus went to the highest-class storage room, Malcolm went to the second-class storage room, and the others went to the lower-class storage room. Someone else took Aga to the backyard.

As soon as I entered the storage room, the smell of blood hit me. This place seemed to be a large frozen meat room, and all the meat inside had been processed cleanly and hung naked on hooks. From a distance, it looked like countless swaying human figures, and the bright red and tender flesh was dripping with moisture.

The insect in charge of them closed the door of the storage room and walked towards the tool bench. Perhaps because he was too confident, he had no precautions against the ingredients behind him.

Oleus bit his tongue, and blood dripped onto the rope, spreading a circle of scarlet patterns. The latter automatically untied itself, and the red-haired young man touched the other party like a clever cat. The insect people found the tools for peeling the skin, and felt that this batch of food was quite quiet.

Could it be that he was too noisy when he came here, and the lower insects pulled out his tongue? We have to check carefully later. Those higher insects are the most troublesome. They have accepted too many bad habits of humans and cannot accept even the slightest flaw.

The tentacles on his forehead trembled slightly, and he suddenly felt the sound of wind - the rope was wrapped around his throat from behind, strangling the other party before he could make any sound. Oleus moved very quickly, he gently placed the body of the medium-sized insect on the ground, and turned to look at Ricks.

"I'll go out and rescue Aga, and you go deal with the rest."

"no problem."

Rex took a deep breath, his pupils were doubly illuminated, and some Zerg characteristics emerged.

The door of the storage room creaked open, and the chef turned around and saw that it was the human who had just walked in. He looked a little strange, but he was just a human, so the chef didn't take it seriously.

The hands holding the knife turned into insect limbs, and the gloomy eyes were cast at the human: "How did you get out?"

The man lowered his eyes and acted like a pitiful insect: "It's really terrible in there. You look like a good person. Can I stay with you guys?"

Stay with them? Ha, this guy has never seen real horror.

With ridicule and malice filling their hearts, the insect people stared at Ricks, temporarily ignoring the problem in his dialect.

This ordinary face seemed to contain endless attraction, making people unable to resist destroying and kneading it, and doing whatever they wanted without restraint. In order to make him show a painful expression, other things seemed to be temporarily ignored.

The chef softened his tone and waved gently, "Come over here. It's too dangerous over there. Let us take good care of you."

"Okay, okay."

Rex still had a cowardly look on his face. He held a curved knife in his hands behind his back and stabbed the chef in the vitals as he approached him.

With a "puff" sound, the insect blood splashed everywhere. Even so, the kitchen was still very quiet, and no insect dweller spoke.

Oleus then walked out of the door and was surprised to find that all the insects ignored him. It was as if they were completely attracted by Rex, because the other party's flattering expression showed ecstasy, and they turned a blind eye to everything happening in the outside world.

Is this the real power of Ricks? With this ability, no wonder he was able to escape.

While they were tangling together, Oleus rushed out the back door. The back door led to a garbage dump, with discarded bones everywhere. The dim street lights flickered overhead, and the red-haired young man stepped lightly and heard a strange crackling sound.

The scavenger appeared at the end of the garbage dump, patrolling tirelessly. His huge body crawled across the ground, constantly sniffing the air.

Above it, the red-haired young man grabbed the lamp post with one hand and hoisted himself up. In his right hand, he held the odor-masking agent developed by Malcolm and soaked himself thoroughly. The wet ends of his hair stuck to his cheeks, and the effect was very good.

The scavenger stopped searching in vain and stretched his tentacles towards something in the darkness. After a while, the owner of the smell came out of the darkness. The scavenger's tentacles rubbed lightly, confirmed something, and then passed by without any intention of causing any harm.

Oreius turned over and squatted on the street lamp, staring at the people walking under the light.

Two men in black robes appeared before them. Their attention was immediately drawn to the scavenger and they didn't even look up.

"It's night again. Remember to bring your amulet with you. Otherwise, you will be eaten if you encounter them. These insects don't recognize human faces."

"It's such a torture to be here. When can we leave?"

"The boss has no new instructions. Please wait for a while."

"I don't know when the envoy will come to see us."

"It will probably be soon. The envoy is in this city. We just need to wait for him to arrive."

Because the environment was too safe, the two Black Mist followers revealed a lot of things in their casual chat. Oleus narrowed his eyes slightly and climbed down from the height silently. The light cast a dim shadow, which happened to be caught by one of the followers. He opened his mouth to speak, and the activated rope locked the two people's necks and dragged them all the way into the garbage dump.

A cold voice sounded faintly: "Are you followers of the Black Mist?"

They were shocked. They never thought that an outsider would dare to enter the City of Insects: "Who are you!?"

The other party did not speak. The rope around their necks slowly tightened. Under the threat of suffocation, the two Black Mist followers immediately succumbed.

"Don't be impulsive. Let's talk! The envoy was sent by the new person in charge of the West. We are waiting for his news in the City of Insects, and then we will cooperate with him in everything..."

"What are you going to do?"

Feeling the rope tightening around their necks, they couldn't help but swallow.

“That’s, that’s…Aaaaaah!”

Painful moans replaced the sounds that broke out of their throats, and the two Black Mist followers rolled on the ground, holding their heads.

“Please forgive me! Forgive me! No, my head is going to explode!!”

As they screamed, their eyeballs bulged out and almost fell out of their eye sockets—no, they had already fallen out. The soft flesh balls were pushed out by the foreign object, and the toxoplasmosis worms drilled out of their eye sockets, covered with fresh mucus.

Sensing the living creatures around them, two bow-shaped flesh worms shot out towards Orelius. The latter subconsciously clenched his palms, and a ball of slime exploded in his palms.

This scene made people feel sick. The insects were extremely fragile after leaving the human body. Oleus wiped his hands, frowned, checked the Black Mist followers, and confirmed that the two were dead.

He sighed and took off their black robes. He searched his body again and found the amulet they mentioned. It was the same style as the ones commonly used by the Black Mist followers, but the monster enshrined in the center was a woman with insect wings on her back.

Oreius put on a black robe, held the amulet and walked into the garbage dump. He saw Aga lying in front of two middle-level insects. One of them licked his lips with a greedy look on his face: "Since the high-level insects don't eat it, I should be fine if I try it."

The other frowned: "You are also a middle-class insect citizen, why are you still so greedy?"

The first one chuckled and said, "I just want to taste it. I know this person will be handed over to those humans in black clothes in the future, but it doesn't matter if he loses a leg or an arm. Those that can withstand pollution are all excellent ingredients. You eat an arm, and I eat an arm. Then I will hand the living person over to the humans in black clothes."

The other one was a little tempted after hearing this. The treatment of the middle-level insect people was better, but they were not so extravagant that they could eat this grade of meat casually. They were both helpers in the kitchen, so when there was something delicious, they would naturally give it to the chef first.

Thinking of the delicious human flesh it was devouring while wailing, it began to drool unconsciously: "I'll do as you say, and don't tell the chef later."

While they were discussing, a rope came from behind and tied the necks of two insects accurately. Oreius pulled and pulled, and there was a crisp sound of snapping. The middle-level insects fell to the ground.

The ropes that were carrying too much turned into ashes at the same time, and the durability of all things bearing blessings was exhausted, but fortunately the goal was achieved. The red-haired young man woke up Aga: "Wake up, it's not safe here, we have to change locations."

Aga opened his eyes, his face pale: "Sorry to trouble you."

"It doesn't matter. It's still within the scope of the plan. Put this on and take the amulet. I still have things to do, you go back first."

Aga stood up and said, "I'll go with you. My brain has been mechanically modified so that I can remember the route map accurately."

The red-haired young man thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

He briefly explained the function of the amulet, then turned and walked out of the garbage dump. Although he had never been here before, the red-haired young man's route was very clear. If someone looked down from a high place, they would find that the route he chose led directly to the residence of the Black Mist believers.

Rex had previously sneaked into the central area and had found out where the Black Mist followers lived. Unlike the insect dwellings, the Black Mist followers' houses had surveillance posts in front of them, and Black Mist followers could be seen taking turns on duty.

Oreius walked over with Aga in a grand manner, showed the amulet before the other party asked, and asked casually: "Have the others returned?"

The other party replied subconsciously: "Two people just came back. Where are the people you are going to bring today?"

Oreius tutted in annoyance. "Stop talking. Those two intermediate insect people only wanted to give us a living life. One of them ate one of his arms and bled to death halfway through."

The guard shook his head when he heard this: "These bugs really can't change their nature. Let's go inside first. It's not safe outside."

Perhaps the tranquility of the City of Insects paralyzed their eyes, making these Black Mist believers over-trust the Queen's power. After obtaining this black robe, things progressed very smoothly.

The residences of the Black Mist believers were built to imitate human residences, with few people and bright lights. Oreius touched his chin and suddenly realized something.

The technology of the City of Insects was most likely brought by the followers of the Black Mist.

The function of street lights is to disperse pollution. Monsters are obviously not afraid of pollution. Only humans need to rely on technology. The reason why the city of insects is full of street lights is most likely to increase the survival rate of humans. The people who brought these technologies are the followers of the Black Mist.

But these technologies are definitely not something that ordinary people can master. Something flashed through Oleus' mind, and before he could think about it carefully, he saw a building with lights on in front of him.

Aga said softly, "From the looks of it, this should be the meeting room."

Oreius opened the door and saw someone inside. When they heard the door open, they looked over.

The red-haired young man skillfully used the same rhetoric as before to deceive the man, his eyes moving around the house covertly. There were not many people in the house, not more than 40 including those outside. He glanced at a sign in the corner that said "Warehouse", and he immediately felt relieved. He moved towards the warehouse while talking.

Others saw his action and said: "What do you want to take? Go and register first."

“Ah, no…”

At this moment, a crisp sound of landing came from the other side, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

It turned out that Aga accidentally knocked over a vase in the house. The other Black Mist believers frowned: "Hey, what are you doing?"

The young man bent down to pick up the fragments, his palms spilling scarlet. "Sorry, I'll clean it up right away."

While everyone else's attention was drawn, Oleus flashed into the house. The weapon rack in the house was filled with all kinds of weapons. Oleus picked a gun, found something useful, and activated it with a blessing.

The ordinary weapons were covered with bright red patterns, and they danced slightly like spirits infused with magic, and flew out of the open window on their own initiative. After the last active weapon jumped out, the red-haired young man closed the window and returned to the house.

I don’t know what Aga did, but all the Black Mist believers around him rushed over, and I could even hear their concerned voices.

Aga's attack was very ruthless, leaving a large wound on his palm and a pool of blood on the ground. He politely rejected the kindness of other Black Mist believers, and after a quick entanglement, he returned to Oreius.

Oleus coughed, and when the others looked at him, he spoke again, deliberately lowering his voice: "We received news from the envoy. He came with the Black Mist Squad that infiltrated the Insect City."

"The envoy has returned?"

The Black Mist believers were extremely surprised and said, "So that's how it is. No wonder the person in charge said that we are not allowed to contact the messenger on our own initiative. He must contact us first."

"Where did you meet? What was the specific situation?"

"We met him at the garbage dump. I didn't see the messenger's face clearly. He told us to send a team and he would be useful."

The Black Mist believers talked to each other for a while. They had been waiting here anxiously, and now that they finally got the news, they decided to give it a try.

Oreius became the leader of the team. He led the team back to the garbage dump naturally, answering questions from the Black Mist followers from time to time.

He is also gambling.

The messenger was in the city but did not come to meet the Black Mist believers. There must be something hidden behind it. The lord represents his high status. One-sided contact means that he is likely to be in a dangerous state and cannot reveal his identity. And in the city, only his team needs to be so cautious.

That is to say, there is a high possibility of traitors in their team. When he used these words to deceive the Black Mist believers, he already believed it 60% in his heart.

But who is the traitor?

Oreius' eyes became dark. When they reached the intersection, several Black Mist followers felt a cold wind blowing from behind and a sudden pain on the back of their heads. The weak ones fell to the ground, and the slippery feeling crept up their arms.

The companion who was answering their questions just now tilted his head slightly, revealing a dark golden eye from under his hood, with a playful smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, you got fooled."

"You are a traitor!?"

The Black Mist believers who were still awake were shocked and angry, but they saw the other party smiled and snapped his finger nonchalantly.

Justice struck again, and this time no one was left alive. The mallet suspended in the air shone brightly. He became the biggest hero in this sneak attack.

The animated ropes tied up all the Black Mist followers. Aga stared at the sticks and ropes floating in the air: "Is this your ability?"

"I guess so. Everything is ready, let's go back."

Meanwhile, Rex has taken care of the kitchen. Malcolm and Flynn have each used their own methods to take care of the insects in the storage room. They are waiting for Rex.

Seeing the red-haired youth come back, they were overjoyed and hurriedly asked about the next plan. Oreius handed them the unconscious Black Five Star Map.

"Take them among yourselves. The black robe and the amulet can conceal your identity. If you put them on, you won't be hunted down by the scavengers."

"What about these people?"

The red-haired young man shook the small bottle in his hand and said very coldly: "Since they want to harm people, let them have a taste of it."

Oreius ordered people to strip off the black robes and take away their belongings. He also sprinkled drugs on them. The unconscious Black Mist followers were thrown into the storage room. When the middle-level insects woke up, they would be greeted with a very tragic ending.

The red-haired young man did it neatly and the others had no objection. Those who could survive in the City of Insects were not saints. They might lend a helping hand to their companions, but they would only tear out the tendons and bones of these betrayers. The Black Mist believers had provided a lot of population to the City of Insects over the years.

With the help of the amulet, the patrolling scavengers turned a blind eye to them. Occasionally, they would encounter some high-level insectoids that had not been transformed into insectoids. They all wore suppression devices.

When passing by the black-card humans, one of the high-level insectoids suddenly moved his nose and a puzzled look appeared on his face.

"Hey." He called to the last human with a suspicious look on his face. "You are just temporary residents in the city. Don't go to the animal shed casually. The insect people outside the central area are not as easy to talk to as we are."

"...I see."

The high-ranking insectoid then turned and left, muttering to his companions, "Why do these humans smell like a barn?"

The person being questioned heaved a sigh of relief only after the insects had gone far away. He wiped the sweat off his face and said with a wry smile, "This is the first time I've been so close to a high-level insect."

"Didn't the rebels fight the higher-level bugs?"

"Why, I was a little boy then, and could not stand in the front."

After this little episode, the group arrived at the central area safely.

Compared to other places, this place is extremely magnificent, especially the part close to the city center. The white jade tiles form the roads, and the lights that never stop are more like decorations. The whole city is like a city that never sleeps. Aga walked around the central area and finally completed his deduction.

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, the young man pointed to a certain place in the city and said, "The best place to relocate is right there."

Oreius raised his head and looked in the direction Aga pointed. The Queen's palace was embedded on the top of the city that never sleeps, shining with dazzling brilliance.