Chapter 298 – Repelled! Forced to Give Up!

“Whoosh!”

Having failed to capture the young mermaid girl after prolonged efforts, the Poisonous Insect Queen gradually grew impatient.

“Whoooosh—!”

Suddenly, the Poisonous Insect Queen let out a sharp cry. The sound, resembling some kind of horn, transformed into an echoing signal that continuously spread outward.

Under the influence of this horn-like cry, not only the venomous insects but even the insect-type Phantom Demons within the Venomous Insect Cave began to stir.

With various howls and cries, they started gathering toward this location.

Clearly, to quickly capture Little Hai’er, the Poisonous Insect Queen began mobilizing her forces.

The venomous insects were merely manifestations of this queen’s abilities—subjects catalyzed by the Poisonous Insect Queen using her own power. The insect-type Phantom Demons were those who had sworn allegiance to her, permitted to inhabit her territory under her rule.

This was the true army under the command of a high-ranking Phantom Demon.

High-ranking Phantom Demons were essentially regional lords or overlords. Those surviving in the wild would always subdue fellow Phantom Demons to form their armies, using them for tasks and to fend off external threats or collect blood sustenance.

The insect-type Phantom Demons inhabiting the Venomous Insect Cave were precisely the soldiers under the Poisonous Insect Queen’s command—a formidable army capable of conquering in all directions.

Originally, seeing that Little Hai’er wasn’t fully developed and was alone, the Poisonous Insect Queen had intended to handle her personally without involving her insect-type Phantom Demon subordinates, to avoid suffering casualties from Bloodline suppression and indiscriminate slaughter.

But now, this queen clearly no longer cared about such considerations.

After all, they were still Phantom Demons. No matter how intelligent, they could never think with the flexibility of humans—knowing when to yield and when to advance, always maintaining composure.

The mindset of Phantom Demons remained simplistic, purely survival of the fittest. Once truly provoked, they wouldn’t hesitate or reconsider—directly erupting in violence was their norm.

“Miling!”

Little Hai’er naturally sensed the impending danger, puffing her cheeks in anger as she glared at the Poisonous Insect Queen.

Her expression seemed to say, “Can’t you play fair?”

Of course, Little Hai’er understood that reasoning with Phantom Demons was futile.

Thus, she ceased prolonged engagement. The cold air around her transformed into watery ripples, enveloping both herself and the three Ice Coffins, as she swiftly moved toward the exit of the Venomous Insect Cave.

Finally, Little Hai’er chose to retreat.

The Poisonous Insect Queen alone had already proven troublesome for her—even with her awakened spirituality and significantly enhanced strength from Su Ming’s Spirit Power support, she could only barely hold her ground. Being surrounded by numerous insect-type Phantom Demons, even with Bloodline suppression assistance, would make the situation highly unfavorable.

The clever girl wouldn’t repeat past mistakes of fighting alone and being overwhelmed by enemies. Without another word, she immediately fled.

“Whoosh!”

The Poisonous Insect Queen naturally wouldn’t let Little Hai’er escape. Flapping her butterfly wings, she immediately led the swarming venomous insects and her army of insect-type Phantom Demons in pursuit.

At this moment, all Phantom Demons in the Venomous Insect Cave sprang into action, preventing this S-Rank Realm from regaining peace for a long time.

……

“They’re coming!”

Simultaneously, inside an off-road vehicle speeding away from the Venomous Insect Cave, Su Ming, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly opened his eyes and uttered these words.

“What?”

Chi Qian, gripping the steering wheel, was startled by Su Ming’s sudden warning.But before long, Chi Qian sensed the rampaging demonic aura and commotion behind her.

“Buzzzz—”

Amidst a chilling buzz, countless venomous insects of varying sizes and insect-type Phantom Demons of different Ranks emerged from the Venomous Insect Cave, swarming out of the deep mountains and ancient forests.

The scene resembled locusts sweeping across the land or a stampede of ten thousand beasts—a truly spectacular sight.

Especially the insect tide formed by the sky-obscuring venomous insects, which was like a dense, overwhelming dark cloud blotting out the sun.

At the forefront flew an exquisitely beautiful insect queen, fluttering her butterfly wings. Her menacing Aura, coupled with the bloodlust and ferocity radiating from her, was so intense it seemed to pierce the heavens, evoking sheer terror.

“The Poisonous Insect Queen…!?”

Chi Qian clearly witnessed this scene, her face instantly paling.

“So that’s the Poisonous Insect Queen?”

In contrast, Su Ming was somewhat taken aback by the Poisonous Insect Queen’s appearance.

Damn, I always thought those who manipulated insects were disgusting, but isn’t this Poisonous Insect Queen unreasonably beautiful?

How must the villains in other stories—who became utterly repulsive from handling insects, earning them lifelong scorn and curses from audiences—feel about this?

This is to the extent where even human women would feel intensely insecure, right?

“Miling—!”

While Su Ming was still stunned by the Poisonous Insect Queen’s appearance, an ethereal, melodious cry echoed from mid-air.

From the horizon, a mermaid maiden—whose beauty rivaled the Poisonous Insect Queen’s and seemed otherworldly—swept in with rippling water waves, followed by several Ice Coffins enveloped in swirling currents.

“That… could that be…!?”

Upon seeing this, Chi Qian’s previously horrified expression was replaced by overwhelming joy.

“Don’t just celebrate; focus on getting us out of here first.”

Noticing that Chi Qian’s attention had completely drifted from driving, causing the vehicle to slow down, Su Ming felt compelled to remind her.

“Right!”

Chi Qian snapped back to reality, realizing now wasn’t the time for elation.

Immediately, she slammed on the accelerator, sending the off-road vehicle speeding forward, kicking up clouds of dust as it raced toward Tianfeng City.

“Follow us!”

Su Ming also called out to Little Hai’er, instructing her to carry the several Ice Coffins and swiftly glide through the air to keep up with the off-road vehicle.

This entire scene was clearly observed by the Poisonous Insect Queen.

Witnessing the immature Nightmare Species aligning with humans, a cold glint and a surge of Killing Intent flashed in the Poisonous Insect Queen’s eyes.

“Bang!”

Without hesitation, the Poisonous Insect Queen flapped her butterfly wings, generating an explosive sound as she transformed into a lightning bolt. With astonishing speed, she left the venomous insect and Phantom Demon armies behind, rapidly closing in on the off-road vehicle.

In that instant, the speed she displayed was unbelievably fast.

Even with the off-road vehicle’s accelerator pressed to the floor, the Poisonous Insect Queen caught up with ease.

“Whoosh!”

Blood Qi surged around the Poisonous Insect Queen, materializing into countless gracefully fluttering butterflies.

Amidst these dancing butterflies, she dove downward.

The atmosphere began to tremble.

Space itself started to wail.Accompanied by countless dancing butterflies, the Poisonous Insect Queen seemed enveloped entirely within a protective shield woven from these fluttering insects. With overwhelming momentum, she plunged directly downward.

Judging by the sheer force, Su Ming had no doubt about the destructive power of this strike.

It was a terrifying assault comparable to a meteor’s descent.

“Oh no!”

Feeling the terrifying pressure from above, Chi Qian’s face paled with fright.

“Meeling!”

Little Hai’er was equally horrified, seemingly caught completely off guard by this hidden Move of the Poisonous Insect Queen.

This was undoubtedly a lethal technique equivalent to a trump card.

The emergence of this attack revealed the depth of the Poisonous Insect Queen’s murderous intent—she was determined to eliminate Su Ming and his companions entirely.

Facing this dreadful onslaught, despair washed over Chi Qian’s face while Little Hai’er repeatedly cried out in alarm.

At this critical moment, Su Ming sprang into action.

“Boom!”

A figure tore through the air with explosive force, shooting upward from the off-road vehicle straight toward the meteor-like descending Poisonous Insect Queen.

No longer concealing his strength, his entire body surged with Aura, fully displaying the might of an Upper-Rank Professional.

His gaze fixed firmly upward on the overwhelmingly powerful Poisonous Insect Queen, showing not a trace of fear.

“Clang!”

An eerie blue radiance ignited on his right hand, blazing like fierce flames that illuminated the surroundings.

Mysterious and profound runes on the enigmatic Bracelet around his right wrist lit up one by one, transforming into torrential power that flooded into his right arm.

Within that same right arm, an ancient, weathered, and demonic Sword—as if responding to some call—simultaneously emitted astonishing waves of power.

Three forces, three lights, intertwined at this very moment, bursting forth from his cracked right hand.

This was a strike capable of shattering all defenses, possessing the destructive power of a nuclear bomb.

Enhanced by the Blue Demon Cessation Bracelet and amplified by the Divine Artifact Demon Emperor Sword, this was a fully reinforced attack.

Its momentum almost instantly overshadowed the Poisonous Insect Queen’s meteor-like descent, shaking both heaven and earth.

“Silver Arm: One Half: Punch!”

A terrifying fist shot forth amidst layered Qi explosions.

In the next second, the figures of the human Professional and the Insect Queen collided.

“BOOM——!!!”

A deafening roar transformed into shockwaves that erupted mid-air.

Like a stellar explosion, a blinding flash instantly engulfed the world, stripping the entire area of all vision and sound.

The ground shattered in response.

The atmosphere churned into chaos.

Clouds in the sky were scattered by the impact, leaving clear skies for miles.

Countless poisonous insects and phantom demons had no time to react before being enveloped by the light explosion, instantly annihilated without leaving even residue.

————「Heavenly Calamity」.

This was the only term capable of describing this collision.

The magnitude of this clash was such that even Tianfeng City seemed to feel faint tremors, with detection departments monitoring violent energy fluctuations that caused brief disturbances.The off-road vehicle fled in panic amidst this natural disaster, leaping over the continuously cracking ground while swaying and stumbling along, much like a lone boat struggling to stay afloat in a stormy sea.

As for Chi Qian in the driver’s seat, what expression she wore or what she was shouting remained completely unknown.

“Miling!”

Only Little Hai’er, with a flick of her fishtail, burst forth at her fastest speed yet, charging toward that terrifying light explosion.

In that very second, two figures flew out from within the light explosion—one upward and one downward—like kites with severed strings. One flew uncontrollably upward, while the other plummeted like a cannonball.

Little Hai’er, rushing over, stretched out her arms and caught the descending figure, only to be sent flying backward by the impact of the cannonball-like fall.

But Little Hai’er had succeeded.

She had caught Su Ming.

“Gwah!”

It was the sound of vomiting blood.

However, this sound did not come from Su Ming’s mouth but from the figure flying upward.

The Poisonous Insect Queen, as if struck by lightning, vomited a large mouthful of blood with a “gwah” while flying backward.

Upon closer inspection, the Poisonous Insect Queen was covered in bloodstains, her body battered and bruised, appearing utterly disheveled.

This once-arrogant Queen of Insects, now severely wounded, no longer held the coldness and Killing Intent in her eyes, replaced instead by a look of fear and panic.

In contrast, Su Ming, though appearing somewhat disheveled, showed no obvious injuries after being caught by Little Hai’er. He merely seemed drained of energy.

“Go!Feeling the magical power in his body instantly depleted by half and now in the Qi recovery phase, which made his reactions sluggish, Su Ming decisively commanded Little Hai’er.

“Miling!”

Without hesitation, Little Hai’er transformed into a ripple of water with Su Ming and vanished into the horizon, chasing after the off-road vehicle.

Only the Poisonous Insect Queen remained, her face a mix of fear and uncertainty as she watched the two rapidly depart. After struggling internally for a long time, she ultimately let Su Ming and Little Hai’er leave without pursuit.

“Sa!”

It was only after Su Ming and Little Hai’er had completely disappeared from view that the Poisonous Insect Queen let out an angry cry.

For this Queen, today’s encounter was undoubtedly a deeply humiliating experience.

She, the Queen of the Venomous Insect Cave, the ruler of swarming insects, a Nightmare Species advancing toward the supreme Realm of the terrifying species, had been injured by a mere fledgling of her kind and a human far inferior in strength—even forced to refrain from pursuit.

How could this not infuriate the Poisonous Insect Queen?

Yet she truly dared not pursue any further.

The earth-shattering blow from earlier, its imposing might, still lingered in her heart, leaving an indelible impression.

Facing that strike, the Poisonous Insect Queen had even felt a fleeting sense of death.

Moreover, if she continued the pursuit, she risked being discovered by powerful humans who had left the Venomous Insect Cave, who might then come to challenge her. Reluctantly, the Poisonous Insect Queen chose to abandon the chase.

However, she had firmly imprinted the duo—that human and Phantom Demon—in her memory.

She could only hope they would not appear in the Venomous Insect Cave again.

Otherwise…

“Sa!”The Poisonous Insect Queen let out a low murmur, turned around, and fluttered her butterfly wings as she flew toward the Venomous Insect Cave.

Along the way, countless venomous insects and insect-type Phantom Demons lay dead or injured, with very few remaining unscathed.

While the Poisonous Insect Queen departed and returned to the Venomous Insect Cave, those unharmed venomous insects and insect-type Phantom Demons began to turn on each other. Some devoured the corpses of their kind, while others sucked the blood of the wounded, gnawing away all the useless and weaker members of their species.

Soon after, the surviving venomous insects and insect-type Phantom Demons returned to the Venomous Insect Cave, laden with spoils, heading toward the queen’s nest.

They needed to offer the blood to the Queen for her recovery.

(End of Chapter)