Synthetic Wizard - Chapter 185 - 132: Funeral Beetle, Kasham’s Controller
Chapter 185: Chapter 132: Funeral Beetle, Kasham’s Controller
Carolina’s efficiency was impressive.
The next day, Kasham’s insect carcasses were delivered to Sunan’s lab.
Under the bright glow of the magic stone lamp, twelve hideous insect beasts lay on the wide workbench.
These beetle-like creatures had bright red, hard shells, ten limbs, four round black eyes, two sharp claws, and a pair of jagged mandibles.
However, most eye-catching was the giant bell-shaped chitinous protrusion on their mouths, resembling a massive horn.
According to Carolina’s description, these creatures were called Funeral Beetles.
Their shells were as hard as steel, and their sharp claws could easily tear through solid rock. Besides that, they emitted a piercing sonic wave that could cause blood to flow from a person’s seven orifices.
An adult Funeral Beetle only had the combat power of a Knight Apprentice and was not considered strong.
But once these monsters appeared in groups, their threat level soared.
Especially when hundreds of Funeral Beetles simultaneously emitted piercing sonic waves, even Senior Knights found it unbearable.
The allied forces of Ghost Lake, Matu, and Auson had suffered repeatedly under the swarm’s sonic attacks, paying a high price each time to annihilate the insect hordes.
In Kasham’s insect nest, in such a narrow, semi-enclosed environment, the power of the Funeral Beetles’ sonic attacks was even greater.
The Red Widow and Duke Black didn’t dare counterattack Kasham, largely because of this.
“Insect beasts that can release sonic waves, quite rare.”
Kasham’s swarms didn’t consist only of Funeral Beetles; there were also Jellyfish Insects, Giant Mouth Sandworms, Six-winged Insects, and other insect beasts.
But the Funeral Beetles were the main force of the insect army.
Sunan cast the Mage’s Hand to bring one of the insect carcasses before him and began dissecting it.
As the dissection proceeded, more of the Funeral Beetle’s body structure gradually unveiled itself.
The large bell-shaped chitinous protrusion on its head was actually a horn-shaped tumor.
The piercing sonic wave of the Funeral Beetle was emitted from this tumor.
The tumor extended from its shoulder, flaring outward above the sharp mouth, with four insect-like black eyes located on either side of the tumor.
Essentially, this creature didn’t have a true head; the enormous horn-shaped tumor replaced its skull.
After cutting open the tumor, Sunan also found the insect brain inside.
“Such a peculiar structure.”
Sunan couldn’t help but marvel.
He had seen many bizarrely shaped insect beasts, but a structure as unique as the Funeral Beetle was a first.
Based on his experience, a creature of such a structure typically wasn’t naturally occurring; it was more likely a product of artificially induced mutation, or genetic modification.
“This could very well be the result of a wizard apprentice’s biological transformation.”
Sunan’s heart stirred.
Could it be that an apprentice wizard was hiding behind Kasham?
If that were the case, attacking Kasham might not be as straightforward as initially thought.
“If an apprentice wizard is indeed behind Kasham, then why do they send swarms to hunt creatures every so often?”
Sunan pondered in confusion.
After a moment, he shook his head, putting it out of mind.
No matter what the apprentice wizard’s motives were, Kasham had to be dealt with.
Otherwise, if insect disasters erupted every so often, how could he develop nearby veins and continue exploring more mineral deposits?
The only good news was that puppets were quite resistant to the sonic attacks of the Funeral Beetles.
After all, puppets lacked the auditory organs and internal systems of ordinary creatures, essentially being immune to sonic attacks.
In dealing with the Funeral Beetles, the Golem Legion was still highly advantageous.
Having dissected all the insect carcasses, Sunan recorded the data in his lab notebook, then waved a hand to ignite flames, disposing of all the carcasses before turning and leaving the lab.
Kasham’s recent fluctuations were becoming more frequent, and an insect outbreak seemed imminent.
He needed to expedite the crafting of golems and strengthen his forces as much as possible.
…
“These are the architectural designs for knight academies in six other provinces, all based on the Dragon Heart Knight Academy. See if anything needs changing.”
In the study, Kei pushed a thick stack of documents across the table to Sunan.
Sunan took it up and glanced through it roughly, nodding with satisfaction: “Let’s go with this. When will it be ready?”
“It’ll be finished by next month,” Kei smiled, “The teachers responsible for training the students are also arranged, ready to step in as soon as the academies are built.”
The war had just ended, and there were many matters for him, the newly appointed Duke, to handle. Yet, what Sunan commanded was always placed in the first sequence, often personally overseeing it.
Seeing how much the Duke valued it, the subordinates dared not procrastinate, working with unusual diligence. In just two to three months, the six knight academies were established from scratch with exceptional efficiency.
“Recruitment of new students is also underway, all patterned after the Dragon Heart Knight Academy.”
After a pause, Kei hesitated but couldn’t help but ask:
“Do you really only want seven knight academies? We have no shortage of people or money now, we could easily build more.”
Currently, the entire Starry Principality belonged to the Yanest Clan. With the strength of the entire nation, let alone seven knight academies, they could establish one in every town.
Sunan shook his head: “No, quality over quantity.”
Building more knight academies is easy, but training competent knight students isn’t simple at all.
