Chapter 252: The Insect Mother Reappears on the Capital Star
The sudden arrival of the Insect Clan forced even the Four Great Families to send reinforcements.
At the Jiang Family estate, Jiang Xia instinctively started to rush out, but Mr. Jiang quickly stopped him. "Silly boy, what’s the rush? Let your brother go."
Mr. Jiang was reminded of some unpleasant past events. Once bitten, twice shy; he was reluctant to let Jiang Xia go and help.
It was enough for each of the Four Great Families to send one member of the younger generation. With Wen Te there, his son didn’t need to go.
Jiang Xia said anxiously, "Dad, I’m going to check on Lanlan. She’s living at Admiral He’s place, which isn’t far from where the Insects appeared. It might get affected."
Mr. Jiang was still worried. He stressed, "Then you must be careful. Don’t go rushing to the front lines like you did before. Wen Te is enough."
"Mhm, I know. After all, I’m a man with a wife to think about now."
Jiang Xia nodded, then hurried away.
Meanwhile, at the Mu Family’s residence, Mu Tangfeng was also ready for battle. He transformed into a Bird of Paradise and flew swiftly toward the Insect Clan, with the Mu Family Guard Team following behind.
The Nan and Chang Families also each sent one person with their guard teams. In addition, there were troops from the palace and the elite disciples of the Capital Star, led by Yan Huoshui.
On his way to provide support, He Hanshi first sent a message to check on Shi Lan. After seeing her reply and knowing she was all right, he told her to hide in the training room, as the one in his villa had the best defenses.
Shi Lan replied with concern: [I understand. You need to watch your spiritual power too. If anything feels wrong, remember to come to me right away.]
He Hanshi’s gaze softened. [Okay.]
After a brief exchange, he threw himself into the battle against the Insect Clan.
After He Hanshi sent his message, Shi Lan also received messages from several others. She replied to them one by one. Jiang Xia said he was on his way to her and told her to protect herself.
Shi Lan was a little surprised, but she felt much more at ease.
While Shi Lan waited for Jiang Xia, the battle at the front lines had already erupted in full force.
The number of Insects this time wasn’t large. Strangely, they were mainly gathered near the Bai Family’s estate. The ones that came were also elite units, similar to the Insect Mother’s guard team encountered on Yaoxing, and they were all very powerful.
As He Hanshi cleared out the Insects, he wondered, ’If the Insect Mother’s guard team is here, then the Insect Mother herself has likely landed on the Capital Star as well.’
’But from what I know, the Insect Mother only appears when an Energy Ball like the one on Yaoxing is present. Could the Bai Family have something like that?’
He glanced toward the ruined Bai Family villa complex. He had a feeling the Insect Clan was searching for something, deliberately causing widespread destruction.
Mu Tangfeng flew past him, kicking away an Insect that was about to attack He Hanshi. His tone was puzzled, "Admiral He, what are you looking at?"
Yan Huoshui wrapped his tails around an Insect. With a powerful wrench of all nine tails, he tore it to shreds. His fox-like lips curved. "Admiral He, now is not the time to be distracted."
The Insect’s remains rained down from the sky. Mu Tangfeng flew a little farther away in disgust. "So disgusting."
The Night Nether Black Panther weaved through the falling flesh and gore like a bolt of lightning, yet not a single drop of blood stained its sleek, glossy fur.
He passed by He Hanshi. As an heir, he had participated in many council meetings about the Insect Clan and had clearly noticed something was off about this attack.
His dark green eyes met He Hanshi’s. He asked, "Is the Insect Mother here too?"
He Hanshi met his gaze and nodded.
Ye Ming narrowed his eyes. "Don’t tell me the Bai Family has one of those things too?"
"Not certain."
The two of them conversed while fighting. Mu Tangfeng was displeased. "What riddles are you two speaking in now? Is there something I’m not allowed to hear?"
Yan Huoshui mused, "Hearing you two talk, did the Bai Family actually steal something from the Insect Mother?"
"What thing?"
Mu Tangfeng looked curious, beating his beautiful wings to create a whirlwind that temporarily threw off the annoying Insects.
Nothing was certain yet, and He Hanshi was only speculating, so he just shook his head. "It’s nothing."
As he spoke, he leaped. The massive White Lion pounced, pinning an Insect. This one had a venomous stinger on its tail and tried to counter-attack, but He Hanshi’s claws flashed, slicing the tail clean off.
Soon, the Insect stopped breathing.
Facing this group of Beastmen with 2S and 3S spiritual power, even the elite Insect units found it difficult to resist. Their combat power was roughly equivalent to Beastmen in the S-level to 2S range.
The Insects struggled against He Hanshi and his peers, and though they held the upper hand against the other Beastmen, there were only twenty-some of them on the Capital Star this time. With the Beastmen aided by Mechas, the few surviving Insects began to think of fleeing.
At the entrance of He Hanshi’s villa, just as Shi Lan opened the door to let Jiang Xia in, she saw a dark shadow fly over.
She immediately pulled him into the nearby bushes. As they hid, Shi Lan covered his mouth and softly shushed him.
Jiang Xia fell silent and followed her gaze. Beastmen have excellent eyesight, and the lights at He Hanshi’s house were on, so he got a clear view of the dark figure perched atop a tree not far from the main gate.
His mouth fell slightly open. He whispered, "It’s the Insect Mother."
Jiang Xia had never seen the Insect Mother in person, but he had seen images of it in class. It had a large abdomen and was attached to the underside of another member of the Flying Insect Race.
Shi Lan nodded. She had already seen it twice.
’For some reason,’ she thought, ’I feel like I’m fated to meet the Insect Mother. This is our third encounter.’
Jiang Xia lowered his voice. "Should I go out and kill it?"
Shi Lan shook her head. "The Insect Mother would probably be gone by the time you got there."
"These flying insects can travel through wormholes. Besides, they’re incredibly destructive. If a real fight broke out, I’m afraid it would destroy He Hanshi’s house."
She looked toward the Insect Mother. From the outside, it didn’t look much different after absorbing that Energy Ball last time, but its abdomen was much larger. The eyeballs pressing against the skin from within were also more numerous, and it looked ready to give birth at any moment.
Faced with that belly full of writhing, living eyes, Shi Lan couldn’t bear to look and silently averted her gaze.
They waited in the bushes for a few minutes. The Insect Mother on the treetop seemed to be observing something. Soon, it let out a harsh, piercing screech, tinged with frantic unwillingness, and then the flying insect it was on opened a wormhole and carried it away.
Shi Lan breathed a silent sigh of relief. She had been genuinely worried the Insect Mother would vent its frustration on He Hanshi’s house. She had just looked through her binoculars and seen that some unlucky noble’s massive house in the distance had been reduced to rubble.
After the Insect Mother left their location, the remaining Insects on the battlefield sensed its command and also began to flee.
In less than an hour, the rampaging Insect Clan had been reduced to a field of wreckage and body parts. Any intact Insect corpses were collected by the army for disposal or research.
He Hanshi had just shifted back to his human form and was preparing to return to the palace to report when the ground suddenly shook. The earth beneath his feet collapsed and cracked open.
He quickly dodged aside as an Insect burst from the ground. He Hanshi could sense that this one wasn’t from the elite squads; its power was not high. He drew his gun and fired. The moment the bullet touched the Insect, it unexpectedly exploded, splattering green blood onto He Hanshi’s face and into his eyes.
He instinctively shut his eyes. Tears mixed with the green fluid streamed from them, and he felt a sharp, burning pain.
Shi Lan posted an update. Leo saw the message.