Chapter 428

Chapter 428: The Billion Insect Swarm

Mu Lin knew nothing about how the Black Sha Legion and Thunder Legion viewed the Agricultural and Martial Corps.

By now, he’d led his team to the front lines.

Their first stop was Flower Fairy Lake—once a crystal-clear lake nourished by a Spirit Spring. The area around it had been lush with spirit flowers, spirit herbs, and spiritual trees.

The waters teemed with spirit fish and lotus roots.

It had been a paradise.

Now, that paradise lay in ruins.

“Bzzz…”

Tens of millions of leeches infested the lake, corrupting its spiritual veins.

Above, billions of locusts darkened the sky like a storm cloud.

These locusts were monstrous: fist-sized, razor-toothed, and worst of all, they could devour a cultivator’s spiritual energy.

But humanity fought back fiercely.

“Activate! Fire Dragon Scorches the Sky!”

Boom!

Guided by formations, the Agricultural and Martial Corps cultivators summoned flames that engulfed the entire city, roasting the locusts. Heavenly lightning crackled into the waters, electrocuting swarms.

Protected by the city’s defenses, the cultivators attacked relentlessly.

Such power should’ve annihilated the locusts.

Yet these were no ordinary pests. Many had evolved resistance to fire and lightning. Worse, the swarm split into a dozen smaller hordes, each led by a locust queen.

The queens pooled their offspring’s strength, creating shields against flames and lightning. Some locusts even devoured the attacks entirely.

“Die, filth!”

“Give back my children!”

Mu Lin froze briefly at the sight of the sky-blotting swarm. His comrades felt no such shock.

Especially the Vengeful Servants. Chosen by Wu Chen, these men and women shared one trait: their loved ones had been slaughtered by monsters and evil spirits. They knew these horrors intimately—and hated them utterly.

Driven by rage, some Vengeful Servants erupted into flaming crow-like figures and plunged into the insect swarm.

“DIE!”

Boom—!

Amidst their furious roars, the Vengeful Servants unleashed endless flames of revenge. These fires burned fiercer through pure hatred – with the killers of their wives and fathers standing before them, Mu Lin’s avengers surpassed their normal limits.

"Boom!"

The combined flames from nearly a hundred Vengeful Servants blotted out nearly half the sky. Their assault startled the battling cultivators of the Agricultural and Martial Corps at Water Fairy Lake.

"More monsters and evil spirits approach…"

"Wait – those freaks are fighting each other!"

The cultivators initially mistook the newcomers for demons. This wasn’t unreasonable – after their transformation into crow-like figures, none of the Vengeful Servants retained human features. Their twisted forms radiated frustration, malice, and an aura of death, carrying destructive intent that made them appear thoroughly unrighteous.

Though distant from the lake, Mu Lin overheard their comments. He mused: ‘These servants might tarnish the Underworld’s reputation… But neither Hell’s King nor the Underworld needs mortal worship. Fear serves better.’

As Mu Lin pondered, his crow-like Vengeful Servants clashed with the locust swarm. At first, the insects showed no fear – they’d evolved fire resistance. The lake’s cultivators similarly doubted the attack.

"Useless! Those locusts eat fire now… Wait?!"

The skeptics gaped as blood-hued flames engulfed the locusts. Instead of resisting, the insects fell screaming from the sky like rain-slapped leaves.

"What’s happening? Was their fire resistance fake?" Fang Niu stared at the falling corpses, disbelief twisting his features.

Then came greater shock.

Though untouched by flames, the central locust queen shrieked in agony as her offspring died. This chilling cry froze every fighter.

Fang Niu knew the truth from years of combat – common locusts were expendable. The queen could endlessly spawn more unless destroyed. But she always hid deep within million-strong swarms, fleeing whenever losses mounted. All previous attacks had failed to reach her.

Now they witnessed flames harming the queen through her offspring. Hope ignited among the cultivators.

"We need that fire…"

Fang Niu, with his shifting gaze, was already planning how to seize the crow demon’s flames.

While he schemed, the situation for the Crow Servants took a turn for the worse.

Using the flame of revenge—ignited by hatred to strike enemies’ souls—they had dealt heavy damage to the locust swarm.

They even wounded the locust queen through her link to her offspring.

But this act alerted the locust queen to the threat.

In response, the endless swarm shifted focus from Water Fairy Lake and surged toward the Crow Servants like a tidal wave.

“……”

“We’re done for…”

“Bastards! I’ll take you all down!”

Though the Crow Servants’ flame of revenge suppressed the insects, and their hatred pushed them beyond their limits, none of it mattered against such overwhelming numbers.

The crushing weight of billions of locusts made death feel inevitable.

But while the Crow Servants faltered, Mu Lin remained.

As the swarm descended, Mu Lin slowly closed his eyes.

A low hum echoed as darkness fell like a curtain, swallowing all light and sound.

The sudden blackness left the locusts blind and disoriented.

Even insects, driven by primal instincts, panicked in the unknown. Fear spread, making the swarm lash out at anything nearby.

Had Mu Lin ordered an attack then, chaos would have ravaged the locusts.

Instead, he used the cover of darkness to lead the Crow Servants and other rescuers to Flower Fairy Lake’s central island. With a formation token, they entered the sanctuary.

When Mu Lin reopened his eyes, light returned. His voice rang across the island:

“Who is Fang Niu? Step forward.”

“Are you Tian Shi City’s reinforcements? What’s with those crow demons?”

Fang Niu, no fool as a leader of the Agricultural and Martial Corps, quickly pieced it together—only Tian Shi City’s forces could bypass Flower Fairy Lake’s defenses.

“Crow demons? Old ox, it’s me—Zhu Yan!”

“Zhu Yan? What turned you into this… thing?”

“Power. This form multiplies my strength. You’d do the same to kill more insects.”

Without hesitation, Fang Niu declared:

“I’d turn into a vulture if it helped! Besides, you lot look oddly dashing.”

As a pragmatist, Fang Niu cut to the chase: “How do I transform? We need that power now.”

Zhu Yan sighed. “That’s up to Lord Mu Lin.”

Fang Niu clasped his hands, pleading. More followers meant more power to refine frustration, but Mu Lin had priorities.

“Transforming into Vengeful Servants can wait. First, grant me control of the spiritual veins.”

Fang Niu blinked. “But the transformation would help us fight!”

“True,” Mu Lin conceded. “But with the spiritual veins, I’ll handle the swarm alone.”

“…Just you?”

“Yes.”

“Eh???”