Chapter 22 – That's Why They Call Them a Genius

“Damn, how are there so many Deathknell Beetles?”

“There are way too many!”

“Where the hell did they all come from?”

“I… I can’t run anymore…”

“Stop talking nonsense and run! Do you want to die?”

Panicked shouts rose one after another.

Those adventurers wished they could sprout extra legs as they fled for their lives.

Behind them surged a tide of insects so dense that no end was in sight.

“This is… an Insect Tide?”

Lin Ze drew a sharp breath, snapped back to his senses, and turned to run without a second thought.

The swarm charging toward them numbered no fewer than ten thousand by rough estimate.

Even ants could bring down an elephant when they swarmed. No matter how confident he was, he didn’t think he could take on ten thousand Deathknell Beetles.

The sheer momentum of the Insect Tide was overwhelming.

The adventurers still inside the canyon quickly realized something was wrong and scrambled in terror toward the entrance.

But when they reached it, they were horrified to find Deathknell Beetles densely packed there as well.

The entire entrance had been sealed off by the swarm.

“W-what do we do!?”

“Think of something fast—the Insect Tide behind us is about to catch up!”

“Break through! We charge out!”

“No way! There are too many Deathknell Beetles—we can’t break through in time. If we get caught in a pincer attack, we’re done for!”

“Then what else can we do? We can’t just wait to die!”

The panicked adventurers fell into bickering.

Many faces were already etched with despair.

“Lin Ze!”

A call suddenly reached Lin Ze’s ears.

He turned to look and saw Li Pei, Wang Xueyun, and the others.

All four of them had pale faces, clearly at a loss against the situation before them.

Though there were many adventurers present, the vast majority were only Apprentice Beast Tamers—there was no way they could fight against an Insect Tide of this scale.

The only option was to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Many adventurers carried Combat Recorders on them, which could transmit live footage to the Beast Tamer Association.

The Beast Tamer Association must already know what was happening here.

Reinforcements were likely already on their way.

As terrifying as the Insect Tide was, it wouldn’t be hard to deal with once a few Silver Beast Tamers showed up.

The catch was whether the adventurers here could hold out until they arrived.

Lin Ze narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze around, then his stare suddenly sharpened.

He pointed diagonally behind him and said in a low voice, “We’re going there!”

Li Pei and the others turned to look and saw that Lin Ze was pointing at a concave rock wall about a hundred meters away.

Their eyes lit up at once.

That recessed area was backed against the cliff, with rock walls blocking both sides. If they stayed inside, they’d only need to defend against attacks from the front—undoubtedly an excellent spot to hold off the Insect Tide.

Li Pei and the others felt their faces flush with embarrassment.

They were supposed to be the seasoned adventurers, yet when danger struck, they were less calm and composed than a student. How shameful.

The situation was dire, so they didn’t dwell on it. They immediately sprinted toward the spot.

As they ran, they called out to alert the others.

Soon.

All the adventurers noticed the recessed area.

Like drowning men grabbing at a lifeline, everyone rushed over in a chaotic flood.

Fortunately, the recessed area was spacious enough to hold all the adventurers.

Still, it caused a fair amount of disorder.

Seeing that the Insect Tide had closed to within five hundred meters while the group had yet to form any effective defense, a man finally couldn’t hold back and stepped forward.

“What are you panicking about! Stay calm!”

“Everyone, move your pet beasts to the front!”

“Tank-type pet beasts on the outermost perimeter, melee-types next, and ranged attackers in the back!”

“Move it!”

The one speaking was Loda, a Bronze Beast Tamer well-known in the adventurer circles of Pinghai City.

His reputation and level played a crucial role at this moment.

In their panic, many adventurers instinctively followed his commands.

Before long, a crude defensive line was quickly assembled.

The next second.

A pitch-black insect tide struck like a massive wave, slamming violently into the defensive line.

A brutal slaughter erupted in an instant.

The dozen or so pet beasts on the outermost perimeter were torn to shreds by the insect tide almost immediately.

But their sacrifice also claimed the lives of hundreds of Deathknell Beetles.

The two sides quickly became locked in a chaotic melee.

Adventurers bold enough to come to Deathknell Canyon generally had contracted pet beasts at the second tier.

Individually, they far surpassed the Deathknell Beetles in strength.

But in numbers, they were vastly outmatched.

The Deathknell Beetles outnumbered the pet beasts by at least a hundred to one.

Fortunately, due to the terrain, the Deathknell Beetles couldn’t fully leverage their numerical advantage.

So the pet beasts could still hold the line for now.

Among all the adventurers, the most outstanding performer was undoubtedly Loda.

His pet beast was a Giant Rock Monster.

An Earth Attribute pet beast with a power level of tier three, stage nine.

Its entire body was composed of hard granite, possessing immense strength—every swing of its fist took down over a dozen Deathknell Beetles.

In just a short moment, over a hundred insect beasts had died at the Giant Rock Monster’s hands.

“No wonder he’s a Bronze Beast Tamer.”

Lin Ze gave a silent nod of approval, then withdrew his gaze and refocused on the battle before him.

Unlike the other adventurers, Lin Ze wasn’t particularly worried about the current situation.

On the contrary, he felt a sense of pleasant surprise.

After all, this kind of situation was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to farm achievements for killing ferocious beasts.

With the pet beasts blocking the front, the Ice Crystal Soul could safely stay in the rear and unleash skills without any concern.

While farming kill achievements, he could also farm pet beast skill achievements.

Killing two birds with one stone.

“No, it should be killing three birds with one stone—soul art achievements can be farmed at the same time too.”

Lin Ze extended his palm, and a silver-gray Soul Power Impact wave howled forth, slamming into the densest cluster of the insect swarm.

The violent shockwave erupted in an instant, sweeping outward in all directions.

The nearby Deathknell Beetles didn’t even have time to resist before being shredded and crushed.

Lin Ze didn’t pause, continuing to unleash Soul Power Impact.

He cast it a full ten times before finally stopping.

After that round of bombardment, nearly a hundred Deathknell Beetles had died at his hands.

Even amid the chaos of battle, this scene caught the attention of many adventurers.

“What the hell, that many Soul Power Impacts!?”

“How high must his soul power be!”

“That’s almost on par with a Bronze Rank Beast Tamer!”

“Who is that guy? He looks so young, and his face is unfamiliar.”

Countless shocked gazes fell upon Lin Ze.

Even Loda cast a look of astonishment his way.

If it had been a Bronze Beast Tamer unleashing Soul Power Impact in such rapid succession, no one would have been too surprised.

But when the person in question was a young man who looked under twenty, it was bound to seem utterly unbelievable.

For a moment.

Many people began secretly speculating about Lin Ze’s identity.

Even Li Pei and the others, who were already well aware of Lin Ze’s formidable strength, were thoroughly shocked this time.

“Forget the Pet Beast and Soul Art—even his Soul Power is this astonishing. It’s too much!”

Zhang Lei’s eyes widened as he muttered in disbelief.

Li Pei let out a sigh at his words.

“That’s why they call him a genius.”