Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The insect tide was dense, wave after wave, a formidable number that struck fear into humanity, an onslaught of thousands against one. Such incessant and unending low-level attacks lasted for about twenty minutes. The most inferior class of insects, under the cover of wind and sand, ambushed the humans, depleting a significant amount of their energy. Then, the second wave of the insect tide began.

Unlike the first wave of low-level, homogeneous insects, this time they emerged from underground, a variety of third and fourth-level insects.

They pounced, clearly knowing the weak points of their targets, mercilessly tearing and biting.

Compared to the first wave, the insects in the second wave had ranks, with greatly enhanced individual attack power, and their numbers still vastly outnumbered the humans.

The scent of the energy cores filled the air, greatly stimulating their aggressiveness.

The allure of the energy cores to them was undeniable, and teams possessing such cores became prime targets for attack.

The first screams of agony emanated from the team of the Xuan Sword Academy.

Tu Shengyao turned his head towards the sound and released his spirit beast, which growled lowly as it charged into the swarm of insects. After making a round, it whined twice before sauntering back on its own.

The look of concern on Tu Shengyao's face faded.

Unable to wait for rescue, the team at the rear began to shout loudly: "Help! Captain Tu! Save us!!" Their voices were sharp and mournful, causing one’s hair to stand on end and sending chills down the spine.

Tu Shengyao remained expressionless, and his spiritual beast lazily cocked its head, licking its paws. Only when an insect annoyed it did it bother to lift a paw and swat it away.

A spiritual beast is a reflection of its master's inner self. No matter how the master might appear outwardly, the spiritual beast is always the most accurate embodiment of the master's inner thoughts, even more so than the master himself.

Rationally, Tu Shengyao knew he should save those people. Yet, his innate disdain for those who survived by clinging to others made his spiritual beast reluctant to act against its true feelings.

Milton watched the spirit beast licking its paws with satisfaction, thinking that Tu Shengyao was indeed playing his part well.

Considering how far the Wild Star Tournament had progressed, those worthless individuals couldn’t even handle a wave of third and fourth-level insects of this density. They needed saving, which clearly showed how inept they were. Surviving up to this point was probably due to clinging to the coattails of others, perfecting the art of opportunism.

Hmph.

The corners of her eyes lifted in delight, her mood buoyant. Her wrist flicked, and her whip cracked, not allowing a single insect to come close.

After observing the situation behind the Xuan Sword Academy, she even had the leisure to check on her own team.

Her gaze moved to Lin Fu's side, and she observed his swordsmanship with keen interest.

During the long months underground, they faced endless slaughter and pervasive darkness, with the constant threat of death. There was no time to observe how those around them fought.

Now, finally at leisure, she couldn't deny her curiosity about Lin Fu.

It wasn’t just her; many others cast subtle glances at Lin Fu.

As the only guide present, everyone was curious to know what exactly allowed him to step into the Wild Star Tournament and survive until now.

Lin Fu was aware of this, and he knew that those fixated on him were not limited to those on the Wild Star, but more importantly, those in the Imperial Capital Star, watching behind screens.

The Tang knife in his hand was fierce, and his moves were exceedingly simple: chopping, slashing, and sweeping were almost performed to artistry. A pile of insect corpses accumulated in front of him, not a single drop of blood reaching his body.

The pristine military boots, the snow-white school uniform shirt, and the beautiful face were all out of place amidst the mountainous piles of corpses and the streams of thick green blood, like a delicate piece of porcelain misplaced in this hellish battlefield.

The stark contrast made it impossible to look away.

Compared to other teams, the Hui Lion Academy handled the insect tide with remarkable ease, even surpassing the prowess of the Artemis troops. With the Hui Lion Academy overtaking the Artemis Military Academy, Lin Fu proved to be no less skilled than Milton Su. His actions in slaying the insect race were so practiced they seemed ingrained in his bones, to the extent that he could do it with his eyes closed without the lower insects posing any threat.

It was too bizarre... He was clearly a guide.

They had never seen a guide quite like this before.

Lin Fu narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed tight amidst the swirling sand and wind. His dark pupils were hidden beneath thick lashes, gleaming with a sharp, piercing coldness.

His focus was unyielding, capturing information from afar.

Suddenly, Lin Fu plunged his knife into the sandy ground, wiping the blade clean of blood, as a colossal black behemoth emerged in the desert, the howling winds halting briefly in the presence of this giant.

He quickly climbed into the cockpit, and the Artemis comrades, needing no further command, rapidly deployed their mechs and entered the cockpits, following Lin Fu's lead.

Their movements were abrupt; hundreds of mechs were released by the students from the four major military academies and their affiliated schools, instantly crowding the vast space.

Others hesitated, observing their actions, with the Xuan Sword Academy and the Flying Fish Military School being the first to follow suit, deploying their mechs and leaving the area.

It was the final phase of the Wild Star Competition; there was no need to let the mechs gather dust in the storage space.

Seeing the six most formidable military schools disappear without a trace, they finally realized something was amiss and deployed their mechs to follow.

Not far away, a massive whirlpool of quicksand suddenly appeared where a large group of military students had previously stopped, with the sand being sucked into the pit like water, collapsing a vast area in an instant, burying the pursuing insects as well.

The hearts of those at the back of the group raced with fear and relief!

Had they been a step slower, even deploying their mechs would have meant nothing but being devoured by the quicksand.

Lin Fu’s team, running at the forefront, began to transmit information.

Lin Fu: "Higher-level insects are emerging, be alert. Our team has too many energy cores, we'll definitely be targeted. Everyone, protect yourselves."

Milton had already drawn the large sword from his weapon storage. Hearing Lin Fu's words, he showed no fear, but rather an intense eagerness for battle.

After distancing from the quicksand pit, the tension briefly eased, only to be immediately tightened by the sense of a new threat.

——Higher-level insects had appeared.

Accompanying them were swarms of medium-level insects, a blanket of level five and six creatures emerging from the ground and encircling the major military schools in an instant. Their compound eyes reflected a greedy, oily green gleam.

From a bird's eye view, the scene was absolutely terrifying.

The dense mass of insects, waving their antennae, mandibles, and limbs, swiftly invaded the brown-yellow desert and the dust-filled lower skies. The collision of carapaces, the vibration of wings, and the constant droning were all vividly transmitted from the high-altitude cameras to every viewer watching the event live.

Those faint of heart or suffering from trypophobia hastily turned off their screens, unable to bear the sight.

With such a density of insects, wouldn't they be able to gnaw the military students down to the bone with just one bite each?

……

Cheng Jiu stared at the screen, the familiar pitch-black mech almost blending into the mass of pressing insects.

It held a Tang sword high, its tip flickering with a bright white light.

The light seemed to declare to everyone watching — the real debut of Lin Fu had begun.

*

Not far behind the four major military academies, the Xuan Sword Academy and the Flying Fish Military School, along with a few others, had gathered all the energy cores deployed by the council on this planet, thus facing the most ferocious attack.

The level five and six insect tide was incomparable to the level three and four, and the deadliest aspect was the higher-level insects lurking within, ready to launch surprise attacks at any moment.

The Xuan Sword Academy and the Flying Fish Military School were just as vigilant against the insect tide. Without the God's-eye view of the audience, the other military schools were unaware that they had three energy cores in their possession.

This was no small number.

Prior to this, they had received information that the McCarran Academy and Saint Mountain Academy together had only obtained one energy core.

This meant that these two schools were facing an insect tide attack equivalent to what the four major military academies were facing together, an immense pressure.

Tu Shengyao, serving as the leader of the two schools, and Kang Kai, the leader of the Flying Fish Military School who was in charge of the energy cores, were protected in the very center of the team.

What they didn't expect was that the moment the insect tide surged towards them, it split into two, leaving them to face only a small fraction of it. The vast majority of the insects targeted the four major military academies.

To be precise, they targeted the Artemis Military Academy.