Chapter 412 411. The Power of Wisdom
On the ground, an almost invisible outline was moving rapidly in a strange trajectory, stirring up fine dust every time it landed. It was some kind of invisible springtail fleeing for its life.
Although its body was hidden, the dust on its body still exposed its whereabouts, leaving a discontinuous trail behind it.
Broga chased him relentlessly, slashing down with the heavy ring-handled knife in his hand several times with the sound of breaking wind.
However, it was impossible to see the whole picture. The blade always narrowly missed the invisible body, leaving only deep cuts on the ground.
A flash of lightning streaked across the ground and hit the blurry outline.
The air was immediately filled with a burning smell, and a springtail that had been electrocuted to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside revealed its true form and fell from mid-air, its limbs still twitching slightly.
Broga's blade followed closely behind and split it in half. Sticky purple blood gushed out and seeped into the ground.
Broga straightened up and looked at an old acquaintance who was walking slowly towards him not far away. He said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Lama, your lightning almost hit me."
The half-demon named Rama shook off the remaining arc of electricity on the tip of his staff. "I think if I hadn't taken action, this thing would have slipped away from your sword."
"I don't have your magical eyes that can see through disguises," Broga muttered. "Besides, what if one escapes? They're already trapped in the encirclement. Sooner or later, they'll all die."
Rama is a high-ranking warrior of the neighboring tribe, the Stoneclaws.
Like the "Broken Blade" tribe to which Broga belongs, they are typical mixed tribes of the North.
The so-called mixed tribes are settlements formed by people of different races who band together for warmth in order to survive in this harsh land.
The lack of racial boundaries and the lack of fundamental conflicts of interest between tribes have led to a relatively harmonious relationship between Broken Blade and Stone Claw. Some of the upper-level warriors on both sides can even be considered friends.
This is the case with Broga and Rama.
Broga kicked the still twitching insect corpse away in disgust: "This is fucking disgusting."
In the North, food is extremely precious. Even though there is now a channel for trading mushrooms with Fungus Castle, the tribesmen's frugal habits are deeply rooted, and they will never easily waste any possible prey.
But these insects with purple blood are an exception. Their flesh is sticky and smelly. Eating them will cause severe vomiting and weakness, and they cannot be classified as food at all.
Rama looked at the soldiers behind him who were slowly advancing, continuously spreading powder and gradually shrinking the encirclement. He said, "We just need to clean it up completely this time. These dead bugs have already taken away more than forty of us in just a few months."
"Our tribe is in an even worse situation," Broga said with a gloomy expression. "Even a high-ranking warrior was killed!"
Rama nodded, his expression solemn. "I know. If it weren't for this, the leaders wouldn't have decided to take joint action. These bugs are too dangerous to leave unattended."
"Thanks to that mushroom...something burger. If it weren't for the mushrooms they provided, who knows how long we would have had to gather food before we dared to launch a siege of this scale."
Previously, the tribes in the north had always been living in a tight spot, and it was indeed difficult to gather enough food for an operation of this level. The emergence of Fungus Castle undoubtedly injected more vitality into the surrounding tribes.
One or two slaves could be exchanged for a whole truck of mushrooms, which was a very profitable business.
They could even use a small amount of mushrooms to exchange for slaves from tribes that were farther away and could not trade directly with Fungus Castle, and then send the slaves to Fungus Castle to earn the difference.
It can be said that if it weren't for these sudden insects, this spring would have been an unprecedentedly wonderful time.
Of course, not everyone is satisfied with what they have now.
"What I'm more curious about is," Rama picked up a piece of soil, "there's also a fungal mat next to our tribe, but there are only a few mushrooms growing sparsely. What method did they use to make mushrooms grow like weeds?"
Broga said, "There must be some secret ritual or unique formula hidden somewhere. Doesn't your tribe have a shapeshifter in their care? Why not just let him sneak in and steal the formula?"
Rama nodded, but now was obviously not the time to think about this.
While the two were talking, one of Rama's soldiers came trotting over to report, "Captain, there's blood over there!"
After thinking for a while, the subordinate added: "Red."
They followed the soldier to a shady slope. As expected, the ground was splattered with dark red blood, which was shocking. However, there was no body in sight. It was obviously the work of the insects.
After a search, someone found half a severed finger in the soft soil.
Rama took a closer look. "It's a human finger. Probably left behind by one of the unlucky ones among the 'bait' group... I didn't expect it to get this far."
Since the beginning of spring, several surrounding tribes have been attacked one after another.
Judging from the time and place, these insects with purple blood should be hiding in the Luo River.
In order to lure the snake out of its hole, each tribe gathered a group of slaves as bait.
The plan was successful, and a large number of insects were lured out. The coalition forces then blocked their retreat and continued to tighten the encirclement.
Even if this operation cannot eliminate the problem permanently, it will at least severely damage these insects and make it difficult for them to recover for several years.
The pool of blood before my eyes was probably just the last trace left by one of the baits.
The encirclement is still shrinking steadily, and the frequency of encounters with invisible Zerglings is increasing.
Everyone understood that these bugs were at the end of their rope and were just fighting their last desperate battle.
In the eyes of these senior warriors, invisible monsters are troublesome, but they are ultimately just stupid creatures that act on instinct.
A surprise attack on a lone warrior might succeed, but it posed no real threat to an organized intelligent race. Throughout the entire hunting operation, the coalition had suffered only a handful of casualties.
The final dying counterattack might be more intense, but the overall outcome is decided.
The insects tried frantically to break out, but ran into obstacles everywhere. Finally, they fled to a section of the Luo River that was still frozen by thick ice.
The ice here is still very thick, so there is no need to worry about load-bearing issues before summer comes.
As a tribal priest chanted an incantation, a ray of light from the revealing spell swept across the ice like ripples, and the last few hundred remaining insects were instantly exposed.
They gathered in the center of the ice, tightly guarding a strange insect that was extremely large and had six sickle-like claws.
"That's the Insect King, right? It's easy to deal with him now that we can see him! I'll definitely take the credit!" Broga licked his lips bloodthirstily and led his men to charge first.
"Kill them all!"
"Revenge for the dead tribesmen!"
When he made this move, the warriors from other tribes around him were not to be outdone. Like a flood that broke through a dam, they shouted and rushed towards the swarm of insects in the center of the ice.
Broga was the first to rush out and the first to fight the bugs.
At first sight, he chopped the two insects, one big and one small, into two halves.
Without stopping, he continued to advance, aiming directly at the big insect that was suspected to be the Insect King.
The insects' resistance was also very fierce, but without the invisibility that they relied on for survival, facing thousands of tribal warriors that outnumbered them, any resistance seemed futile.
A large number of insects were killed, and their blood dyed the ice surface purple.
Just as Broga fought his way to the center and was about to meet the Insect King, a strong vibration suddenly came from under his feet.
Broga was unstable and almost fell, but the insect king seemed to be prepared. He stabilized his body faster and attacked with a claw.
At the critical moment, Broga twisted his waist, used his big knife to deflect the attack of the Insect King by rotating, and rolled backwards at the same time, readjusting his posture in a somewhat embarrassed manner.
However, this was just the beginning, and the vibrations continued to intensify.
Finally, as everyone looked on in disbelief, a gigantic tentacle covered in sharp teeth broke through the ice of the river...
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
