MTLNOVEL Chapter 247: Hatching of the Insect Soldier
Some other "creatures" were the terrifying monsters known as "Painted skin".
No one knew what they actually were.
These beings clad in human skin all looked in the direction from which the loud roar originated, urgency evident on their faces.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that the expressions on their faces were all identical.
"34 Points of God... 34 points... How many ordinary people?"
An ordinary person with five Divine Attributes and one with 34, the difference in value was astronomical.
"They are going to run away... They are going to run away!" the people murmured to themselves, and suddenly, their faces contorted with malice, turning hideous.
A hundred thousand soldiers all wore expressions of urgency.
Their pace quickened.
...
...
"Clack," "clack," as the insect eggs hatched one by one, precisely 1500 Insect Soldiers emerged into this world.
"Yaba!" "Ga!"
With fearsome mouthparts and well-developed limbs, they let out fierce growls upon seeing Lu Yuan.
These oddly shaped fellows were actually gifts from the Conch mother to her daughter, now controlled by Lu Yuan.
Fortunately, the Conch actually had no interest in managing these ugly creatures... She might even get scared.
Upon birth, these insects invariably cleaned out their own egg casings entirely.
Immediately after, they began to express their hunger in waves, asking Lu Yuan for more food.
[Leviathan Battle Giant Worm: Can grow up to 100,000 tons, a Super Soldier requiring a huge amount of food to sustain.]
[Abilities: Resistant Body, Super-speed Regeneration, Huge Power, Flame Ejection.]
This "Leviathan" could actually breathe fire!
Lu Yuan was subtly worried it might accidentally set the opium poppy trees on fire.
The concept of 100,000 tons, the size of an aircraft carrier!
But at birth, they were only the size of young calves, roughly eighty kilograms.
[Mammoth Giant Worm: Can grow up to 10,000 tons, a Super Insect Soldier. Though slightly smaller than the Leviathan, it is more agile and has lower food demands.]
[Abilities: Resistant Body, Super-speed Regeneration, Huge Power, Liquid Acid Spray.]
One that breathed fire, another that sprayed acid, these two types of worms were clearly the main forces in war.
The thought of the massive food requirements made Lu Yuan's heart race.
Though he could forcibly control these insects, their nature was inherently bloodthirsty, and they would go mad if not adequately fed.
There were also various bizarre insects, including those that smelted metal, those that flew through the air, those with gas bladders, all howling for food.
For now, he couldn't manage that much.
If they could win the war, monsters would be their food.
"You guys eat this meat first!"
Lu Yuan threw out a large pile of monster corpses from the Storage Space, along with previously hoarded clothes and leaves, and finally, someone fetched half of the food from the warehouse.
In the blink of an eye, 1500 insects devoured the mountain-like pile of food.
They were still very hungry!
The insects continuously communicated their hunger. If not for the "Control" forcefully keeping them in check, they would have started to kill each other!
"King, you could deploy the 'Fungal Blanket Worms' to the oil depot, they can break down crude oil to extract high-quality nutrients," three Worm Kings suggested on the side.
"Moreover, I recommend prioritizing the cultivation of 'Sky Fortress', it can perform photosynthesis, be self-sufficient, and also serve as a flying base."
"It secretes a hypnotic gas internally, calming these aggressive creatures when there's a lack of food."
"Oh, I remember it, the Mother Worm left using one of these fortresses."
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes, glancing at the insect known as "Sky Fortress".
It had a large air sac and could perform photosynthesis, breaking down water to extract hydrogen. When its air sac was filled with hydrogen, it could float in the sky, functioning much like a flying airship—quite fitting for its name, "Sky Fortress".
"Let's head to the oil depot first!" He commanded the swarm, his eyes glowing red.
"Splash!"
The surrounding soldiers were stunned to see these fearsome insects.
The aura exuded by these creatures was completely different from that of the common livestock they knew.
Yet, they soon became excited, realizing that the stronger the combat power, the better in the current situation.
"They are ferocious, do not approach them rashly," Lu Yuan cautioned.
"Yes!"
Upon birth, the size of the insects wasn't too large; a large oil depot was barely enough to accommodate them.
A few ball-like Fungal Blanket Worms, after devouring oil, continuously excreted lumps of purple, foul-smelling, viscous matter from their anuses, pacifying the hungry horde.
For the moment, the swarm was contained.
It was apparent, their feed conversion ratio was high, consuming one kilogram to gain 0.8 kilograms.
In just this short time, the Leviathans and Mammoths crazily ballooned to over five hundred kilograms, resembling small tanks.
"This tech tree is getting weirder and weirder..."
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Lu Yuan pondered whether the hydrogen and methane secreted by the insects could be used for industrial production.
As long as they won this battle, sizable creatures like the "Leviathan" and "Mammoth" could simply be used to drill for oil or chop wood, keeping their energy usefully occupied!
However, now was not the time to consider this. He shook his head, "Lu Da, Lu Er, I'm leaving this warehouse in your care for now. Don't let these creatures escape and cause trouble."
"Wait for the enemy to appear, then follow my command. Don't show yourselves recklessly."
"Yes!"
...
The sky gradually darkened, and a crescent moon hung high in the sky while a few clouds drifted by, blanketing the earth in darkness.
Sky City continued to rise, already reaching a height of over three thousand meters, its sporadic lights unable to dispel the thick darkness.
Suddenly, a large flock of birds took off from the forests!
Many of the birds, in fact, lacked night vision. During their flight, they crashed directly into trees or collided with each other, falling from the sky and smashing into a meaty pulp.
Yet, they still flew in a panic, straining to keep airborne.
"Captain Lu, a large flock of birds is headed our way from the north!"
Lu Yuan, concerned about not having enough ammunition, gritted his teeth, "For the birds flying to uninhabited regions, control the Opium poppy vines to catch them."
"For those flying to the central area, shoot them without distinction!"
The war officially kicked off in that moment!
Squadrons of crows flew swiftly across the sky.
Upon locating the soldiers at the edge of the city, they emitted sharp, earsplitting spiritual roars.
"Wow, wow!!"
Then, they swooped down with the velocity of a gale!
Lu Yuan's face went ashen; he could withstand this mental assault.
But many soldiers immediately began dry heaving, intense dizziness overwhelming their brains.
In such open terrain, Level Two warriors indeed found it hard to withstand the monster's sound waves.
He immediately pulled the fuse of a shell!
Along with a large spark exploding in the sky, causing a thunderous "boom,"
a vast number of crows were set aflame by the fuel, each one falling to the ground like fiery raindrops—fuel bombs, which Lu Yuan got many boxes of from the Rize Civilization.
"Captain Lu, similar flocks of crows are appearing from all directions. They could be the enemy's scouting troops."
"They aren't much of a threat to the Opium poppies."
"Control the Opium poppy vines to catch them."
Lu Yuan stepped forward, examined the body of a bird at the edge of the sea of flames for a while.
The body was charred to a crisp, and within those rotting eyes, something seemed to be wriggling, emitting a cold chill.
Lu Yuan cursed, then tossed the body back into the sea of flames.
"A strange force is dominating these creatures..."
He thought, "Luckily, the range of the enemy's sound wave attacks isn't too large. They can reach us, and our weapons can just as well reach them."
"But our soldiers seem unable to withstand this kind of spiritual attack. These are just the vanguard troops, probably testing our strength..."
"Captain Lu, we really are dragging our feet," Sha Kan'er joked bitterly over the headphones, "Everyone was just affected..."
Having played the part of a "rebel soldier," but since he had sobered up, he still needed to fight on the battlefield.
Lu Yuan actually wanted to say that they were not expected to be the main fighting force, merely to expose themselves at the forefront, but ultimately he didn't say it.
He shouted loudly, "At this point, stop talking about dragging our feet! Let us fight to the last moment!"
Indeed, if they could survive this calamity, they would need to think about ways to boost their fighting capabilities.
Just then, people saw numerous torches blazing in the sky, lighting up within the nearby forest.
It was a swarming crowd, wearing the distinctive attire of the Empire.
Everyone from farmers, soldiers, to officials was present.
At first glance, it appeared like an ocean of people, massively numerous, certainly exceeding one hundred thousand, possibly even approaching two hundred thousand.
The air was deathly silent, without the slightest sound.
Only in the silent crowd were pupils that reflected the intermittently bright and dark flames. They stared expressionlessly, intently gazing at Sky City.
Lu Yuan roared, "The enemy's main forces have appeared, all units, fire the cannons!"
Sky City ascended higher into the five-thousand-meter skyline, where more than a dozen cannons roared like the thunder of gods!
Many were firing cannons for the first time, aimlessly aiming, yet the density of the enemy was high enough that some were bound to be hit.
The shells drew parabolas in the sky and bombarded the ground, sounding as if ten thousand bells resonated all at once.
Arms, legs, and flesh flew in an instant.
Yet the dense crowd below didn't evade but instead quickened their pace!
Each person charged fearlessly, much like sprinters in a hundred-meter dash!
Lu Yuan's ears twitched as he heard a series of "snap, crackle, pop" sounds, like that of snapping rubber bands, a bit dull, striking directly at his heart.
Cold sweat immediately seeped from his back, the terrifying sixth sense continuously sent warnings.
"They're coming at us from above!!!"