Chapter 58
The swamp was dark and endless, and Eric could only choose his direction by instinct. He pressed on, but even the Zerg could hardly stay in the airless and poisonous swamp for long.
Eric didn't emerge from the swamp until his lungs were completely empty. The moment his head popped out, he sensed danger.
Smoke of gunpowder—
Field Marshal Celtic!
He had only chosen directions randomly in the swamp, so how did the marshal find him? The cautious insect immediately wanted to retreat back into the swamp, since he had already taken a breath anyway.
But even faster than him was a gleaming blade. The marshal had somehow acquired a military knife and plunged it into the swamp. If he went any deeper, his legs would be severed.
Going upwards would surely get him caught by the marshal, while going downwards would result in his legs being severed. In the instant Eric hesitated, a rope was already around his neck, and a tremendous force pulled him directly out of the swamp.
For a moment, Eric thought he would be beheaded, but fortunately the marshal did not have a penchant for torture, not even towards his rival.
He was left dazed and confused in an open area outside the swamp, and surprisingly, he wasn't immediately used to accumulate points?
His admiration for Prince Hilgard reached its peak the moment he landed, and he immediately wanted to run again, but was calmed down by a hand beside him.
"Dude, stop running. The marshal has spoken. If you don't run, you'll be kept alive; if you dare to run, his legs will be broken and he'll be thrown out."
The insect next to him, its face bruised and swollen, had clearly also been brutally beaten. Dozens of female insects were gathered in twos and threes on the open ground. It had only been less than a day, hadn't it? The Marshal had already captured so many female insects?
But what's the point of keeping them here if we're not eliminating them? Are we expecting them to help the Marshal win over Prince Hilgard's heart? He might as well just be eliminated.
"But we're all enemy insects?" Eric was incredulous. He respected the marshal, that was true, but "can rivals in love cooperate?"
The female insect beside him stepped forward, looking at the swamp that reeked of decay and was bubbling: "After the Marshal came in, he immediately captured more than a dozen flying female insects and conducted a thorough search. Luckily, he quickly confirmed that His Highness Hilgard was in this swamp."
"What?!" Eric was shocked. He had always thought he was unlucky to be sent to such a godforsaken place, but it turned out he was so close to Prince Hilgard.
"Then why not go in?" What's a swamp? It's a piece of cake for a powerful female insect to get in!
The female insect beside him looked at him with an expression that said, "You really think so too, you stupid insect!" and asked, "If we can go in, will His Highness Hilgard come out with us?"
Even though she is a female flying insect, His Highness Hilgard is too weak to withstand high-altitude flight. Low-altitude flight would inevitably involve passing through the swamp gas rising from the swamp, and the male insect, being so fragile, would definitely be poisoned!
Indeed, His Highness Hilgard was much weaker than the other male insects and could not withstand the slightest harm. Eric couldn't help but think of His Highness resting in the garden.
The female insect looked at Marshal Celt in the distance with a complex and somewhat subtle expression of worship: "Marshal, you have spread the word about His Highness Hilgard's location for free, and now you are working with all the female insects who want to enter to repair the swamp—by the way, what kind of insect are you?"
"A thorny mantis?"
The female insect looked disappointed: "Then we can only go together to move soil and intercept other female insects."
Eric asked, puzzled, "Then what can the other insect species do?"
"According to the Marshal's plan, there are those that purify the air, those that improve the soil, and those that transport humus, such as dung beetles and dung beetles, which can decompose humus and feces, reduce the spread of putrefaction, and reduce the sources of air pollutants."
"There are also insects that are responsible for loosening the soil, promoting soil aeration, accelerating the decomposition of soil organic matter, reducing the odors and harmful gases released by anaerobic fermentation in the soil, and assisting in air purification."
"Some carrion flies decompose decaying plant and animal matter, shortening the decay cycle and reducing the harmful hydrogen sulfide gas produced by decay. Only these kinds of flies can enter the swamp. If you are not one of these kinds, don't go in and cause trouble."
Eric was stunned: "So I'm going to intercept the other female insects now?"
“There’s a gap to the southwest, but you’re not a flying type and you’re too slow,” the female insect said, spreading her wings in a flash. “I’ll take you there; we’re the mobile squad.”
Eric: "......"
As the two insects ascended and their line of sight rose, the densely packed female insects in the swamp were orderly like an army. The swamp had been cleared of passages, crisscrossed with paths, and thousands of female insects, under the command of Marshal Celt, were fully engaged in the task of managing the swamp.
Moreover, with the male insect prince as their target, they were all highly motivated, and not a single insect wanted to slack off.
Eric finally understood why he was so easily caught when he sneaked into the swamp. It turned out that the swamp was full of regular employees doing construction work, and he was the only naive guy who went in.
Above the swamp, Marshal Celt spread his enormous, jet-black bone wings and sat in command. In a single day, he organized a highly efficient machine, and without a doubt, he was the core of this machine.
Even if a female insect did have the idea of sneaking in to find Princess Hilgard ahead of time, Marshal Celt would be able to completely suppress it; this is the absolute suppression brought about by strength.
It's hard not to feel bitter when facing such a female insect. All the selected female insects are S-rank or above, and are absolute powerhouses among female insects, but Marshal Celt is the strongest of all the female insects.
Strength is not just about physical strength.
——
Simultaneously, a bustling swamp appeared within the Empire, and the StarNet praised Marshal Celt's meticulous attention to detail as well as moved by the female insects' united efforts to prevent His Highness Hilgard from getting hurt.
In a large hall, the usually busy Insect Emperor was unusually not approving official business, but instead leaning back on the sofa to enjoy the live broadcast.
After all, choosing the female mate for one's male offspring is a very important matter.
“Celt is really good. I didn’t think any female insect would think of this.”
Setting Hill's location in the swamp would likely be seen by most female insects as a test, as flying across the vast swamp requires great strength and wisdom. However, in reality, while few female insects can cross the swamp alone, there are some.
This test actually examines whether the female insects care about Little Hill. If the female insects find the journey dangerous, and the male insects don't care about it, they should just throw them out.
Of course, hesitation yielded no results. Some female insects, however, planned to reap the benefits by waiting for the other female insects to rescue Hill before forcibly taking her away.
Cyrus set a rule that if no female insect rescues Hill within three days, points will be deducted for the delay causing the male insects to be exposed to swamp toxic gas. Of course, Hill's location has an air purification device, so it is impossible for them to be actually exposed to swamp toxic gas.
Inaction is wrong, but taking action without considering the male insect is even more wrong.
Those who accumulate a negative score of three will be directly eliminated from the selection process.
Cyrus picked up his pen, ready to give Celtic extra points, when he heard the male insect beside him speak calmly: "No points allowed."
The male insect's long silver hair flowed down to his ankles like a clear spring. He sat on the armrest of the sofa, his long silver hair falling to Cyrus's waist.
"Oh? My lord, why?" Cyrus's voice softened considerably as he ran his hand through the Insect Queen's loose hair.
The Insect King remained silent, a faint hint of disapproval flashing across his handsome face: "Celes, you simply don't understand."
"Because he actually leaked Hill's location! Points deducted! All points deducted!" Nathaniel roared angrily from the river in the swamp.
He didn't care that one Celtic insect couldn't handle the entire swamp, or that the male insect might get poisoned after three days. All he cared about was that his rival had spread the male insect's location far and wide – that was wrong! He should be penalized!
Nathaniel and Cyrils were tasked with escorting Hilgard. After the mission was completed, Cyrils was worried about leaving Hilgard alone in such a dangerous environment while waiting for a female insect, so he insisted on staying with her. When Nathaniel saw that Cyrils was not leaving, he was also determined not to fall behind.
This led to Nathaniel's outburst of profanity during the scoring process.
“Hill, listen to me!” What insights could that stupid worm Sirius possibly have? You should listen to me; I am right.
Hill rested his chin on his hand by the window, his fingertips tracing the screen with a golden quill pen, and sure enough, a -1 was drawn after Celtic a moment later.
Nathaniel snorted in satisfaction.
"Ding-dong—" Countless female insects opened their personal computers and saw that the system score had increased by 1.
"Ahhhh, I got 1 point!"
"Does this mean that His Highness Hilgard is aware of my efforts?"
"Is Your Highness watching in real time?!"
One female insect, who had just been grumbling and cursing while transporting rotten soil, quickly composed herself and became even more energetic. Meanwhile, many other dry, dusty female insects let out a pitiful cry and hurriedly washed off the sticky swampy soil from the nearest water source, trying their best to salvage their appearance.
Celtic opened his computer and saw a bright -1.
In other words, he is now 2 points behind a normal female insect.
Hill hates him.
Celtic's eyes darkened, and he suddenly looked up at the gradually darkening sky.
As the sun sets, countless stars gradually emerge, filling the sky with stars, yet darkness has nowhere to hide.
Hill is afraid of the dark.
Cyrus, of course, had taken this into account; glowing lines had been installed inside the treehouse in the swamp to ensure that the noble male insect would not be plunged into darkness.
At eight o'clock in the evening, as darkness fell and the world fell silent, Hill took his usual dose of medication and prepared to go to sleep. He was actually very insecure and wary of unfamiliar places. He had a premonition that he might have a sleepless night.
“Hill, come quick!” Bright, who lived in the treehouse next door, suddenly called out to him.
Hill paused for a moment, unwilling to leave the warm, bright treehouse and cast his gaze into the endless darkness.
Moreover, the river below appeared even deeper and colder in the darkness.
However, he was unwilling to expose his weaknesses, and even less did he want others to see his vulnerable side, making him appear as fragile and incompetent as before.
He walked to the window of the treehouse, paused for a moment, and then pushed open the window with his slender fingers. What came into view was countless insectoids emitting a faint glow in the sky.
Like golden stars illuminating the night sky, the light was not dazzling and would not keep the male insects awake at night; the faint, warm yellow fluorescence only made the insects feel warm.
They weren't flying very low, and the guards weren't going to attack them. You could vaguely make out that they were female insects that could emit fluorescence.
They danced in the distant sky, leaving behind a trail of soft, fluorescent light, like a gentle gift falling on a tranquil night.
Author's Note:
Celtic: If you can't lead a team, you'll work yourself to death. Luckily, you can.
Other insects: [Heart eyes][Crying][Clown]
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