There were many more of blade locusts than there had been in the previous waves, but thanks to the
presence of Zen "the Windmill," they were destroyed more quickly than before. After the dozens of
blade locust officers were slaughtered, the remaining blade locusts withdrew.
Since there was a heap of blade locust corpses on the ground waiting for Zen to pick through,
gathering the spoils, he didn't give chase to the retreating blade locusts.
Martin was puzzled at the sight of the blade locusts retreating, a thought flashed, and his face
darkened at the possibility that came to his mind.
"No! Impossible! Retreat! Everyone, fall back!" shouted Martin in an urgent tone.
Hearing Martin shouting, Zen stopped plucking crystal cores from within the blade locust officers'
chests with his knife, and asked in bewilderment, "What? Why?"
"When ordinary blade locusts retreat, it means... It means that there must be..." Martin's face was
white, and his fear gripped him, making him unable to finish his sentence.
"What? There must be what?" Seeing the fear on Martin's face made Zen realize how dangerous the
situation must be.
"Queen... blade locust!" stammered Martin with a guttural grunt.
He had been at the Dragon Fort for many years and knew the habits of the blade locusts, and that both
the officers and the average blade locusts were under the orders of a queen blade locust. The blade
locust officers could think independently, but the real commander of the army was the queen.
Without independent thought, each common blade locust was a daredevil. No matter how formidable
the enemy was, they wouldn't hesitate to attack, so, in general, they didn't have the concept of fleeing
or retreating.
In this aspect, they were natural warriors.
On the other hand, since they were retreating, there must be a queen blade locust near, calling them.
The queen was the sovereign mother of blade locusts. Once met, even refiners at the nature level
needed to flee in haste, and only stronger refiners were able to battle her.
If a queen appeared here, everyone present would surely perish.
This was why Martin was so scared. In addition, he was confused about something.
The daily tasks assigned to the imperial army by the Dragon Fort should not be this risky.
Although the queens were frightening, there were also numerous powerful cultivators at the Dragon
Fort, such as the well-known Flying Dragon General who had personally killed several blade locust
queens.
The imperial army did an excellent job of surveillance, and usually wouldn't assign such a dangerous
task to the Green Haze Group.
Therefore, it was not reasonable for the Green Haze Group to be sent to such a dangerous area.
'Unless someone is using this opportunity to destroy the Green Haze Group!' thought Martin, appalled.
He did not share his concerns. At the moment he just wanted to get his Green Haze Group back to the
fort as fast as possible.
At Martin's command, everyone stopped digging out crystal cores and headed to the fort immediately.
However, just as they turned in the direction of the fort and safety, they felt a tremor in the ground.
"Boom!"
"Thud!"
"Boom!"
A massive creature was clomping closer.
The noise got louder, and the ground shook more violently, telling them that the immense creature was
approaching them rapidly.
Hearts sank, and many soldiers and refiners alike gulped as they breathed. As predicted by Martin, a
queen blade locust was indeed nearby.
Everyone wanted to survive and clambered to escape, fleeing like madmen.
Zen ran at a consistent speed behind Roger, while the four disciples from the Cloud Sect complained
secretly.
In such a large area outside the Dragon Fort, the probability of meeting a queen blade locust was very
small. Even if a queen left her nest once in a while, she would likely be beheaded by the mighty
cultivators at the Dragon Fort, but unfortunately, they encountered one now...
Just as the group was running through the jungle, a large red blade appeared in front of them.
The trees that the blade passed through were leveled, and so were the dozen soldiers in front.
"Aaahh..."
The soldiers were cut in half and quickly devoured by ordinary blade locusts hiding as they shrieked.
Zen and the Green Haze Group rushed to a halt. In front of them stood a queen blade locust over
twenty feet high blocking their way. She was a bright red color, with two large blades grinding against
each other, and substantial compound eyes locked firmly in her enemies.
Being stared by such an enormous beast, Zen felt a chill of horror run down his spine. At that moment,
he had only one thought, 'Run!'
Even in this crisis, Martin didn't raise the white flag. "To the sides, as many as possible!" he roared.
"Everyone, run!" The superior qualities Martin possessed as a member of the imperial army were
evident at this life and death moment.
The words were hardly out of Martin's mouth when the queen blade locust moved again. She was
huge, but she moved incredibly fast. She deftly blocked the road to the side, her two giant blades
cutting across the crowd again.
At this crucial moment, Zen leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the blade that was coming at him and
rolled over it.
Others were not as fortunate. Eight more men were cut down by the blades of the queen.
Standing behind the soldiers, Tank saw the giant blades bearing down on him, and it was too late for
him to dodge. With a desperate yet determined look on his face, he gathered his strength and at the
last moment, his entire body shimmered with a golden light.
As a cultivator half-step into the nature level, he let loose a burst of remarkable power while he hung on
by a thread.
"Ka-Blam!"
Tank focused his golden aura from within his body to a single point, and shot it at the giant blades.
In a tragic scene, Tank's fierce power stopped the queen blade locust momentarily before her blades
sliced him in two, mercilessly.
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