Chapter 340: Going to the Insect Clan Battlefield
He Hanshi agreed with Yan Huoshui and immediately contacted Ye Ming to explain the situation.
As the Eldest Prince, he had the authority to go directly to the review office and investigate the new recruits.
Ye Ming’s expression immediately turned serious. "Alright. You all must take good care of Lanlan."
Shi Lan’s face appeared in the frame. "Okay, Ye Ming. Don’t worry too much. You take care of yourself, too. I’ll be careful."
Ye Ming’s gaze softened. "Mm-hmm, I know, Lanlan."
He said as much, but the worry in his eyes remained deep.
It was no wonder they were so worried. After all, Shi Lan was the one and only 3S Female. The weight of those two words—’the only’—was immense, and there was no telling who might harbor sinister intentions.
After ending the call with Ye Ming, the others added, "Lanlan, don’t go out by yourself for a while. We’ll come to you. Just don’t leave the medical station alone."
Shi Lan knew the gravity of the situation and nodded.
In the days that followed, Shi Lan didn’t go to see He Hanshi and the others by himself, and just as he’d expected, he barely felt that gaze on him.
He would occasionally feel it for a split second in the cafeteria, but whoever it was would retract their gaze with sharp awareness, leaving him with no clues.
Meanwhile, in the new recruit barracks, Yan Huoshui and the others kept a covert watch. Perhaps because Shi Lan wasn’t there, they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. However, thanks to his excellent communication skills, Yan Huoshui managed to befriend many of the soldiers in just three or four days.
Some of those soldiers were men he had defeated in platform challenges, but the males all admired strength, so no one held a grudge. On the contrary, they often invited him to spar and hone their skills.
On the tenth day of enlistment, after the new recruits had completed their standardized training against the Insect Clan, He Hanshi finally led them to an Insect Clan battlefield.
Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng were buzzing with excitement. It was finally time for them to show what they were made of.
Truth be told, military training was grueling, but they felt great afterward. They got to see their wife, experience different Mechas, and learn more practical combat techniques.
This was an experience they never could have had on the Capital Star.
In just ten short days, Jiang Xia’s faintly defined muscles, which had started to fade, became prominent again. On the days it was his turn to accompany Shi Lan, he would even blush and lift his shirt to show them off.
Shi Lan, of course, didn’t hold back, giving them a firm squeeze and praising the results of his hard work. He didn’t forget to let his hands roam, either. In the end, it was Jiang Xia who was groped until his eyes blurred with tears, murmuring Shi Lan’s name with an unfocused gaze before collapsing limply into his arms.
It hadn’t snowed on the Border Defense Star recently, and the Insect Clan’s activity had gradually picked up. However, the soldiers could clearly sense that the number of insects wasn’t what it used to be. Perhaps it was because they had killed such a massive number during the previous invasions.
Still, the arrival of the volunteer soldiers gave everyone a chance to rotate and get some rest.
This day marked the first time for Jiang Xia and the other two on an Insect Clan battlefield.
He Hanshi had arranged for the new recruits to be paired with veterans. With veterans to supervise, the new recruits were less likely to fall into disarray.
Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng weren’t used to taking orders, but they knew that military discipline was ironclad. Their wife was such a formidable 3S Female, lauded by so many males; they couldn’t bring shame upon him and were striving to do better.
Though they had been young masters with poor reputations on the Capital Star, they had curbed their pampered attitudes on the Border Defense Star. As a result, many of the other males in the army were willing to befriend them.
As for Yan Huoshui, he had a silver tongue and could appear both powerful and harmless to outsiders. He was also a people person, always helping others, and most of the new recruits had long since fallen for his personal charm.
Soon, the team set out.
The Insect Clan had been discovered just three kilometers from the military base on the Border Defense Star. The base housed a lot of large-scale infrastructure, so heavy artillery was forbidden within a ten-kilometer radius. This meant they had to rely mainly on their beast forms and firearms.
This was precisely why Beastmen had been injured by the corrosive blood of the Insect Clan in the past. If they could use Mechas, it would be much safer.
A few minutes later, the Hovercars reached their destination. Soldiers disembarked in an orderly fashion, jumping down and quickly joining the fray.
He Hanshi wasn’t participating in the operation himself, but he remained in the rear as the overall commander, observing the entire battle.
Bai Feng was leading them on the ground.
When Jiang Xia saw the Insect Clan, his eyes narrowed in excitement. "Whoa, Insect Clan, here I come!"
Mu Tangfeng clenched his fists. "Time to stretch my legs. I can finally be useful."
The corners of Yan Huoshui’s lips curled up, his red eyes landing on the Insect Clan with a lazy, casual air. ’It’s been a while since I’ve seen these things,’ he thought. ’I’ve almost missed them.’
No one did an exact count, but a single glance revealed over a hundred insects. They were all common members of the Insect Clan, not like the specialized Flying Insect Race that had surrounded the Insect Mother. Those had been on par with the Guard Team, with power levels approaching 2S, making them far stronger.
Once the real battle began, however, the three of them clearly sensed something was different.
The three of them hadn’t fought common insects in a long time. Their last encounter had been three years ago during the Insect Clan battle on the Capital Star. Every insect they’d fought since had been one of the Insect Mother’s guards.
As they recalled, the strength of a common insect typically peaked around the A-level of a Beastman, with most being at B-level. Today, however, some of the common insects seemed to have reached S-level. The strength of the Insect Clan had unexpectedly skyrocketed.
Jiang Xia murmured thoughtfully, "Could it be that ball of energy?"
He had been with Shi Lan on Yaoxing, so he knew the Insect Mother had obtained a mysterious chunk of energy. He hadn’t seen it himself, but he’d heard from Lanlan that it was incredibly powerful.
Mu Tangfeng’s ears twitched. He was suspicious, too.
Yan Huoshui didn’t say much, but he knew about it as well.
But the battlefield was chaotic, with too many ears around. There was no need to discuss it further. All they needed to do was focus on killing the insects.
Although the insects were numerous, there were over three hundred soldiers, new and old alike. Any Beastman selected for the Border Defense Star’s army had a Spiritual Power Level of at least A. So, even though they faced some minor difficulties against the newly enhanced insects, the operation was proceeding smoothly.
Such is the nature of the battlefield.
With their high Spiritual Power Levels, Yan Huoshui and the other two came away relatively unscathed. However, some of the Beastmen with lower Spiritual Power Levels had their clothes torn by the insects and their flesh corroded by the blood.
One soldier’s thigh bone was exposed. An insect’s tail had hooked his leg, and when he shot it, its blood had splattered onto him, corroding away a large chunk of his flesh.
Now, the bone was surrounded by scorched, rotten, and ravaged flesh. Red blood mixed with the insect’s green blood, flowing unceasingly.
Despite this, he had remained resilient during the battle and hadn’t cried out. Only after the last insect was eliminated did he finally collapse, his body trembling. He was quickly carried back to the military base for treatment.