Chapter 194: Chapter 166: The Despairing Truth (Part 2)
He had Egg Pancake drop its Mimicry, then waved his hands repeatedly in the direction the camera was filming.
The Flying Flame Firefly was clearly operating on pre-programmed instructions. It flew past Han Ning’s waving hands as impassively as a robot, circled once in mid-air, and then headed back the way it came.
Han Ning wasn’t bothered. He simply stood in place and waited quietly.
A short while later, the sound of footsteps echoed from the southwest.
Over a hundred figures, along with a dense throng of Tree Spirits, Tree Demons, and insects, emerged from the white mist and headed toward him.
"Han Ning!"
The moment their leader, Lü Xiuning, saw Han Ning, he couldn’t help but cry out and sprint over.
He ran up to Han Ning, and seeing him completely unharmed, a joyous smile spread across his face. He clapped him hard on the shoulder, muttering repeatedly, "Good, good. It’s good that you’re alright!"
Behind Lü Xiuning were Teacher Zheng, Teacher Zhou, and Teacher Fang... Lin Tianhe, Chen Linyu, and even Lena and Nia had all come.
Han Ning’s heart was touched. He raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to quickly draw near.
"This place is very dangerous, it’s not the time to chat. We can talk in detail when we get back. For now, everyone send out your Soul Beasts and search the surrounding area for anything the Insect-men might have left behind."
Figuring the Burning Fire People might have left behind some pouches or other daily necessities, Han Ning decided not to have everyone return immediately. Instead, they would search the vicinity for anything the Ran Huo had left.
As he spoke, he had the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm mimic four stealthy Purple Nether Bees. They flew into the sky, spreading out to the north, south, east, and west to monitor for any other Insect-men who might appear from those directions.
’The Five Great Ancestors and the Burning Fire Race had caused such a massive commotion that it was impossible for the nearby Insect Master Families not to have noticed,’ he thought. ’They’re probably still watching from a distance. They aren’t stupid, either. They know there might be something to gain here after that intense battle.’
The All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s maximum range for controlling its Puppets was 100 kilometers. Any farther, and it would be unable to sense their location.
The other four transformed into Rock-Breaking Ants and dispersed to search.
Having worked together many times, Lü Xiuning didn’t say much. He simply nodded, assigned some Soul Beasts to protect the humans, and sent another group to wander among the rock piles, searching for things left behind by the Burning Fire Race.
"Lena, Nia, what are you two doing here?" With his instructions given and a short wait until the Soul Beasts returned, they finally had a chance to talk a little.
Lena looked at the devastated landscape around them and answered, "In the three days after you left, we established two relay stations north of the academy and tried to contact you."
"And then... you heard the voices of Insect-men?" Han Ning asked, his expression strange.
"Not at first. There was just a lot of static and busy signals. But on the fourth day, we heard Insect-men talking over the Communication Device. The student in charge of monitoring found me immediately."
"By translating the Insect-men’s language and communicating with Nia, we learned that they were a group of Insect-men called the Ran Huo, and they seemed to be carrying out some sort of plan."
Lü Xiuning picked up the conversation, his expression grave.
"It was only then that we realized you were probably in trouble. Dean Wu immediately organized a meeting with the academy’s teachers and students and sent out a scouting party to head in the direction you’d left."
"Our people explored the outskirts of the Trembling Forest for a few days, but then we ran into the volcanic eruption and had no choice but to retreat."
"After that, we saw endless lava gushing into the heavens, and countless scarlet pupils filled every inch of the northern sky. A number of people went temporarily blind from looking directly at those scarlet pupils..."
"Were there any casualties?" Han Ning asked, concerned.
"Luckily we retreated quickly. No one died, though some people suffered eye injuries. The place you went is nothing like the outskirts of the academy. It’s far too dangerous, so we didn’t dare go too deep. We could only observe from some relatively safe locations."
"It’s a good thing you didn’t come," Han Ning said, letting out a long breath. "Otherwise, however many people came, that’s how many would have died."
Taking advantage of the break while they collected the items, Han Ning briefly told everyone what he had been through over the past few days.
The Burning Fire Race, the Golden Flame Rock Dragon, the Five Ancestor Families... These names made everyone’s faces a sight to behold.
"Damn, you were in a situation with no chance of survival," Lin Tianhe remarked, listening to Han Ning’s story as if it were fiction. "Good thing you have the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm... It’s truly worthy of being called the Sixth Ancestor."
Han Ning actually had many more questions he wanted to ask Nia, but since it was still dangerous, he decided to wait until they got back to talk in detail.
About half an hour later... a Puppet Bee nearly 100 kilometers to the east sent Han Ning a warning.
A swarm of insects, as crimson as blood, was rapidly approaching their position.
"Let’s go. It’s time to leave. Insect-men are already heading this way," Han Ning said, calling a halt to the search and recalling the people and their Soul Beasts.
...
Thanks to the Purple Nether Bees’ early warning, everyone mounted their Soul Beasts, gathered the various items they had collected, and left the rock-strewn area safely ahead of time.
Han Ning sat on Egg Pancake’s back, glancing back from time to time.
The farther they traveled, the clearer the scene behind them became.
The once-mighty Trembling Peak had completely vanished, replaced by a chaotic pile of boulders stacked hundreds of meters high. The battle had affected an area with a radius of nearly one hundred kilometers.
After traveling for about 130 kilometers, verdant vegetation gradually began to appear, but large swathes of it were still burned by scattered, fiery rocks.
kilometers later, the sky was still filled with thick, drifting volcanic ash.
The volcanic ash still hadn’t thinned by the time they returned to the academy. A thick layer hung in the air, making the already dark sky even more somber.
From time to time, completely carbonized fragments drifted down from the sky like snowflakes.
The entire swamp, including the academy itself, was covered in a thin layer of gray volcanic ash.
Han Ning did a quick calculation; almost eight or nine days had passed since he had left the academy.
The academy looked vastly different from when he had left.
One after another, Insect Nests sectioned off by wooden fences had appeared in the area around the dormitories.
In twos and threes, small, silver damselflies flew between the academy’s asphalt roads, like devoted guards on duty.
"In just eight days, the first batch of Blue-Ringed Bees and Shimmering Damselflies have already hatched?" Han Ning couldn’t help but ask Lü Xiuning, looking at the vibrant scene.
"Insects grow very quickly," Lü Xiuning said with a smile. "With Nia’s assistance, the first batch has mostly hatched and is now undergoing our training."
「Inside the brightly-lit academy conference room.」
After taking inventory, they had collected a total of 36 of the Insect-men’s pouches, along with some less important daily necessities.
Although Han Ning’s mind was currently occupied with thoughts of Egg Pancake’s evolution, he had to reassure his companions at the academy and relay some important information. Thus, he had no choice but to rest at the academy for the night and give Dean Wu, the teachers, and his fellow students a more detailed account of what he had experienced over the past eight days.
After Han Ning finished speaking, Lena was the next to speak. "During this time, I’ve translated all of Lord Taman’s remaining notes into the Xia Country Language. They include some of his findings concerning the Five Ancestor Families, as well as his own discoveries."
"Oh?" Han Ning’s interest was instantly piqued.
Lena’s expression was grave.
"It is just as Lord Taman said. This Insect Continent is not a friendly place for creatures without an Ancestor bloodline. No wonder the Yinsaike Race and the Burning Fire Race are so desperate to escape this place..."
"All of this... stems from the Queen..."
"The Queen?" Han Ning asked.
"The Queen needs nourishment. The source of that nourishment... is the Life Force of all the Insect-men and insects on the continent. They are like fruit growing on a branch. As soon as they ripen, they are harvested to become the Queen’s meal."
