Chapter 682 - 438: Insect Nest

Chapter 682: Chapter 438: Insect Nest

CRACK—

Lu Cang casually gripped the King of Exotic Insects’ neck, holding him like a helpless chick.

"So, you’re saying your name is Nie Ye."

"I see you have a name."

This Insect King was clearly different from other Demons. Its intelligence was far higher than that of an average Demon.

Returning to Raine Town.

He had gradually discovered more and more inconsistencies.

Many things that shouldn’t have been there had appeared near Raine Town.

A Level 9 Divination Master, Pari.

Meiser, who had realized he was "polluted" and subconsciously wanted to be free of it. And, of course, a King of Exotic Insects whose intellect clearly surpassed that of most ordinary Demons.

In truth, compared to a normal human, Nie Ye was still something of an imbecile.

He was short-tempered, incapable of calm thought, arrogant, and obstinate.

But his thought patterns...

...were already approaching those of a human.

And yet—

Lu Cang, still gripping Nie Ye’s neck, met his gaze, only to find that the creature had no Spirituality whatsoever.

’A being without Spirituality that can possess such intelligence...’

"Why are you invading Raine Town?"

"And why should I tell you!"

SWOOSH!

The tail behind Nie Ye suddenly whipped around, stabbing toward Lu Cang like a long spear!

CRACK—

But before the long tail could even get close to Lu Cang, it snapped in two.

Lu Cang’s voice grew slightly deeper.

"I see you’re completely unaware of your situation."

His intimidating aura began to spread.

VMM—

In that instant, when Nie Ye looked at Lu Cang, it was as if he was hallucinating a Tier Eight Demon!

Fear instantly flooded his mind.

"Weakling."

"You have one last chance to answer. If I don’t get a satisfactory response..."

"...you will die."

Lu Cang lifted Nie Ye with a single hand.

Nie Ye cried out in terror, "It was... an order from the Insect Nest!"

"The Insect Nest ordered the attack on this place!"

"There are powerful Mages and powerful Warriors here... We were to eliminate all humans, especially beings like Izparut, Chi Cheng, and Kumironi."

’How strange.’

’How has Izparut’s name traveled so far?’

’And if they really wanted to kill Iz...’

’...would they really send only this trash?’

’Are they just looking down on him? Or is there another motive?’

Raine Town, on the Ruelun Continent... This place was the very center of a vortex of events.

Lu Cang held Nie Ye aloft.

The ground around them was littered with corpses.

With a single thought, Lu Cang had eliminated all the Demons near Raine Town.

As for those farther away...

Lu Cang didn’t intervene to help.

SWOOSH—

Lu Cang’s Perception stretched out toward Iz and the others in the distance. After saving a few towns, they headed toward an open fissure...

Iz and his group were also puzzled by the sudden appearance of so many Demons.

They had gone to investigate as well.

’No wonder...’

’I was wondering why it was taking them so long to arrive, given their Speed.’

In a flash of thought.

Lu Cang recalled the complex and guilty look on Iz’s face after he had killed Nie Ye in the past.

’He must have regretted not rushing back immediately.’

’But for him... if he had ignored those other matters, his conscience wouldn’t have allowed it.’

SNAP—

Countless rings suddenly appeared, enveloping Nie Ye from all directions.

A black box then enclosed him.

Nie Ye had been Sealed by Lu Cang.

’These fissures should lead to the Insect Nest...’

Ordinary Adventurers wouldn’t enter such fissures. So many Demons pour out of them; wouldn’t going inside be the same as walking into the enemy’s main camp?

Besides, even if you got in, whether you could get out was another question entirely.

So, people generally didn’t go in.

「Future Preview」

Lu Cang closed his eyes, previewing the future.

In the preview, he entered the fissure and saw only a withered, gray world, with gigantic, honeycomb-like structures floating in the sky.

Countless open fissures hung in mid-air.

From the giant honeycomb structures, an endless Insect Swarm flew out and into the fissures leading to the outside world.

A single cluster might contain tens of billions of them.

This... was the Insect Nest.

The countless fissures in the sky reflected different scenes, as if each one led to a different location.

An operation of this scale couldn’t possibly be just for invading Ruelun.

And with Lu Cang’s arrival, an Insect Swarm had already surrounded him from all directions.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZ—

The vast majority of the insect-type Demons were Tiers Three to Four...

On most continents, Reincarnators of this Tier were considered mainstays, but here, they were everywhere.

Among the massive swarm of Tiers Three to Four insects, one could also spot quite a few giant insects of Tiers Five to Six.

If just a few more of these insects were deployed, it would be enough to destroy weak Kingdoms like Lorren or Ruijia.

A nation like Ruijia, at the peak of its power, only had a few Level 6 Reincarnators.

SPLAT!

A sky full of acid, venom, and stingers splattered toward Lu Cang!

BOOM!

Lu Cang flexed a single hand.

A burst of Fire erupted!

Cluster after cluster of the Insect Swarm exploded like Fireball fireworks!

’So you really can reach the Insect Nest through these fissures. I never would have imagined such a path.’

’And to think so many people have painstakingly searched for traces of the Nest.’

’I never expected the Nest to be right here...’

Lu Cang dealt with the nearby Insect Swarm, but a new one quickly moved to surround him!

At the same time, Lu Cang’s sharp gaze spotted human-like figures passing through a distant fissure.

’There are other people?’

But in the next moment, his line of sight was blocked by the Insect Swarm!

WHOOSH!

The instant his view was obstructed, a furious gale kicked up, and countless Wind Blades, layered like fish scales, sliced through the air. In a flash, green and red blood splattered everywhere, turning the place into a meat grinder.

Once the obstructing Insect Swarm was cleared away...

...he looked again toward the group of people he had just seen, but could only find the distant fissure, now completely engulfed by the Insect Swarm.

’Heh...’

’I suppose I can guess why... why no one has ever learned the secrets of this place.’

Anyone who comes in has no chance of getting back out.

Entering this fissure means walking alone into an Insect Nest teeming with Demons. The outcome is almost certain death.

Lu Cang glanced behind him.

The fissure behind him was the way back.

He reached out to touch the fissure but felt a sharp, stinging pain. As he got closer to that Space, it felt as if entering it wouldn’t teleport him but disintegrate him.

This transport fissure... was not meant for humans, but for Demons.

And what’s more, it had been made one-way...

People could enter from the outside, but they couldn’t leave from the inside.

’It’s far too ingenious.’

’This doesn’t seem like the work of beings without intelligence at all.’

’Good thing I’m in a Future Preview.’

Lu Cang sighed internally.

But just then, the very air suddenly fluctuated...

VMM—

A ripple of Magic Power spread out.

It was a very familiar fluctuation of Magic Power, as if cast from the exact same mold as his own!

Lu Cang whipped his head toward the source of the Magic Power.

’Far in the distance... is that Iz fighting?’

’I just saw Iz enter a fissure with my own eyes. So he came to this place back then, too...’

’Iz never mentioned it, so I had no idea this ever happened.’

’Still... I should go take a look.’