Ruling Martial World by Infinite Insect Swarms

Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Support

ROAR!

A terrifying, low growl echoed.

”Young Master, are you alright?”

The guards’ voices carried in from outside the courtyard. Having stood watch all night, they had faintly heard the sound of flesh and bone being gnawed upon from within. Now, this roar—sounding like a Demon Fiend—made their skin crawl.

”I’m fine! Stay out there and don’t let anyone in!”

Qin Yu’s voice held a trace of excitement, though his eyes were fixed on the ten Rapid Insects that had just broken out of their eggs.

That was right, ten.

According to the information in his inherited memories, the genetic code of the Rapid Insect was incredibly easy to replicate, allowing one larva to hatch into two Rapid Insects.

Visually, the Rapid Insects resembled wolfhounds. They stood about 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder, were over two meters long, and walked on all fours.

From behind their heads grew a pair of forelimbs shaped like Reaper’s Scythes with serrated edges. They had two long tusks protruding from their mouths, which were filled with razor-sharp teeth. A pair of thin, light wings rested on their backs, and their tails ended in sharp spikes. Not only could these tails unleash devastating lethal power in an instant, but they also allowed the creatures to maintain perfect balance during high-speed movements.

They were killing machines!

The moment they hatched, a natural telepathic link formed with Qin Yu. A cold, murderous instinct mixed with an absolute will to obey flooded his mind.

”Excellent!”

Feeling this formidable power, Qin Yu couldn’t help but rejoice. With a single thought, he issued a command.

One Rapid Insect leaped out of the room and charged toward a grinding stone in the Martial Arts Arena. The stone, the size of a millstone, was usually used for strength training. The creature brought its serrated, scythe-like forelimbs down upon the stone. The solid rock was effortlessly sliced apart, splitting into two cleanly severed halves. Immediately after, the beast rushed to a weapon rack and slashed at an iron spear.

CRACK!

As the bladed limb swept across the weapon, sparks flew. The spearhead, forged from Profound Iron, snapped off cleanly.

GASP!

Watching this scene, Qin Yu felt a surge of pleasant surprise.

In terms of pure attack power, a Rapid Insect was stronger than even a Muscle Refining Martial Artist. And right now, he had a full ten of these formidable combat units!

Glancing at the five remaining eggs in the room that were still incubating and on the verge of hatching, Qin Yu’s heart filled with confidence. Twenty fearless Rapid Insects, each rivaling a Muscle Refining Martial Artist in strength, would be enough to resolve most crises.

Without delay, Qin Yu stepped out of the Martial Arts Arena and spoke to the guards waiting outside.

”Go prepare four carriages and two fast horses!”

”Yes, sir!”

The Rapid Insects looked too vicious and terrifying. If he brought them out in the open, the city’s residents would likely mistake them for Demon Fiends. Even though he was in a rush to save his people, it was better to conceal them for now.

”Yu!”

Just as Qin Yu finished speaking, a familiar voice called out from the corner of the building.

”Mother.”

Seeing Ouyang Xue with bloodshot eyes, clearly having stayed up all night, Qin Yu quickly walked over to her.

”What are you planning to do? Your injuries are severe. How can you leave the city at a time like this?”

A clear trace of anger flared in Ouyang Xue’s eyes. When Qin Yu had asked for livestock carcasses, claiming he needed them to heal his wounds via a Secret Technique, she had been worried but still mobilized the family’s manpower to deliver them quickly. All the livestock and beast meat from the Qin Family and the restaurants across Cyan Peak County had been urgently requisitioned. Otherwise, there was no way Qin Yu would have been able to nurture the Insect Nest so smoothly.

”Go prepare the carriages first,” Qin Yu ordered the guards before turning to her. ”Mother, come with me.”

Instinctively, he had wanted to keep the Insect Race a secret from everyone. But that was virtually impossible. The Insect Swarm required massive amounts of resources and a large enough territory to develop. And to rescue his father and slaughter the Demon Fiends, he had to deploy his insect warriors.

Therefore, the appearance of the Insect Race needed a reasonable explanation. Fortunately, he had already come up with an excuse that was barely justifiable. He trusted his parents absolutely. There was no harm in letting them know a little. With their help, he could avoid a lot of trouble.

”Alright!”

Ouyang Xue nodded slightly. Having stayed awake all night, she had also heard the faint, bizarre noises and the series of roars coming from the Martial Arts Arena. She knew Qin Yu was keeping a secret. But that was absolutely no reason to let him drag his heavily injured body out of the city.

That would be a death sentence!

Ouyang Xue instructed her handmaids to wait outside, then followed Qin Yu into the Martial Arts Arena.

”What is this?”

Rounding the corner, she immediately spotted the shattered grinding stone and the snapped iron spear, as well as the thick, viscous fluid left on the ground from when the Rapid Insects had hatched. She also noticed a large patch of eerie purple moss oozing out from under the door of a storage room.

”Mother, this is an inheritance I obtained by chance. It comes from a certain Insect Control and Beast Taming Sect...” Qin Yu spoke, packaging the origin of his Insect Race inheritance with a convenient lie.

”Insect Control and Beast Taming?”

Ouyang Xue began to piece things together, guessing the source of the strange noises. Although she had never practiced Martial Arts herself, she was familiar with it through constant exposure and had some understanding of ancient Sects. The path of Martial Arts was profound and vast, encompassing numerous disciplines. The Ling State was boundlessly vast; due to its geography and climate, it was teeming with snakes and insects, and many Sects there specialized in Insect Control and Beast Taming. It wasn’t entirely unheard of.

”I’ve nurtured some powerful War Beasts. They are right inside this room and are completely under my control, so you don’t need to worry. I’ll bring them out now.”

Having prepared her mentally so she wouldn’t be too frightened, Qin Yu commanded one Rapid Insect to walk out. Seeing the Rapid Insect’s vicious appearance, Ouyang Xue was visibly startled, but she forced herself to remain calm.

”This is a Rapid Insect. Its strength rivals a Muscle Refining Martial Artist...”

Cyan Peak County was surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the Qin Family Stockade was situated within the western mountains. The Qin Family was famous for forging Weapons, a reputation built upon a small Profound Iron Ore mine located in these mountains. Usually, merchant caravans and ox carts occasionally traveled back and forth, transporting ore and weapons.

On the official road, Qin Yu rode a sturdy horse at the forefront, a Longbow slung across his back and a Long Saber hanging from his waist. Behind him, eight guards drove four carriages forward at a rapid pace.

After explaining the situation to his mother and gaining her support, Qin Yu hadn’t hesitated to take the twenty newly hatched Rapid Insects and head out for reinforcements. A whole night had passed. What was the situation at the Qin Family Manor? No one had any idea.

He was anxious, but how could his mother, Ouyang Xue, not be equally fraught with worry?

”Alright, this is far enough.”

After turning off the official road, Qin Yu looked back at the eight guards and ordered them to open the sealed curtains of the carriages.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Twenty ferocious Rapid Insects and two Worker Insects leaped out from the cramped confines of the carriages, landing perfectly in front of Qin Yu in unison.

The eight guards’ faces instantly turned deathly pale, cold sweat rolling down their foreheads. These monstrous, Demon Fiend-like creatures were what they had been hauling in the carriages this entire time?

”Qin Wu, you and a few others come with me! Leave a few behind to look after the carriages. These are Rapid Beasts under my control. They are the Qin Family’s greatest secret, and not a single word of this is to be leaked to outsiders,” Qin Yu commanded the head guard. While he had needed to explain things carefully to his mother, dealing with the guards was much less troublesome; a direct order was all that was required.

”Yes, sir!”

Among the guards, the most heavily built Qin Wu responded without hesitation, despite the panic evident on his face. His panic quickly shifted to a look of determination. Tightening his grip on his saber, he turned to the other guards and barked, ”What are you afraid of? The Young Master is here! This is the hidden strength of our Qin Family!”

While standing guard outside the courtyard, he had faintly heard the sounds of flesh tearing and bones breaking coming from the Martial Arts Arena in the backyard. As Qin Yu’s head guard, he was not originally a member of the Qin Family, but his family had served as guards since his grandfather’s generation. They had been bestowed the surname Qin, settling down and raising their families within the estate. He had followed Qin Yu for twelve long years. His loyalty went without saying.

The other guards shared similar backgrounds; all of them were ”family-born sons” of the Qin Family.

”Understood!”

Seeing Qin Yu’s calm expression and the docile manner of the numerous Rapid Insects, the rest of the guards also calmed down. Instead of fear, a burning fervor now filled their eyes. These powerful monsters looked incredibly formidable in battle. If they were on their side, then those Demon Fiends might not be a threat after all!

Seeing that the guards had calmed down, Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction. Their strength might be average, but their loyalty was reliable. Especially Qin Wu!

Wasting no more time, Qin Yu willed it, and the twenty Rapid Insects quickly dispersed. They fanned out to search the surroundings, ready to slaughter any Demon Fiend that might threaten him. The two Worker Insects, meanwhile, stayed close behind Qin Yu.

Qin Yu and the remaining guards urged their horses to follow, significantly increasing their pace.

After leaving the official road and venturing deep into the mountains, the howls of wolves and roars of tigers could occasionally be heard echoing around them. Within the vast mountain ranges, the cities belonged to human territory, but the mountains themselves did not.

Still, Qin Yu wasn’t overly nervous. The Qin Family frequently cleared out this small path for convenience, so under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t be any powerful Demon Fiends around. Moreover, the Rapid Insects possessed an incredible sense of smell. They could detect and track prey within a radius of dozens of kilometers—infinitely superior to any hunting hound. The twenty creatures worked in tandem, already forming a multi-layered defense with Qin Yu at the center.

ROAR!

After advancing a few miles, the three Rapid Insects scouting ahead let out low, warning growls.

BOOM!

A dark shadow suddenly burst out from the ground, scattering dirt in all directions.

RIP!

The Rapid Insect in the center lunged forward, its serrated scythes slicing cleanly through the dark shadow, cutting it in two. The Rapid Insects on the left and right pounced almost simultaneously, shredding the creature to pieces.

By the time Qin Yu laid eyes on it, a colorful python, seven or eight meters long, had already been reduced to a mangled pile of bloody flesh.

The sheer efficiency of the kill made his heart skip a beat. Relying on its massive body, that python could have wrestled with tigers and leopards. It was no weaker than a Skin Refining Martial Artist, yet it had been dismembered in the blink of an eye.

This brief interlude didn’t slow Qin Yu’s journey. The Rapid Insects devoured the remains cleanly. The Insect Race could consume Blood and Flesh Essence to strengthen themselves and evolve through battle, so naturally, they wouldn’t let it go to waste.

They rode swiftly for another thirty-odd miles. It wasn’t until they approached the Qin Family Manor that Qin Yu suddenly drew to a halt.

On a distant hillside, over ten figures roughly the same size as the Rapid Insects flickered in and out of sight within the dense forest, occasionally letting out wolf howls. In a clearing among them stood a massive black bear, over three meters tall.

”There should also be a Snake Demon and a Fox Demon. They really haven’t given up,” Qin Yu murmured. He narrowed his eyes. From afar, he could see battle scars on the Bear Demon and the Wolf Demons, indicating that they had launched an attack not long ago.

Yet, Qin Yu’s suspended heart finally settled. His greatest fear had been arriving too late, only to find the Qin Family Manor already a river of blood.

Dismounting, Qin Yu unslung the Longbow from his back.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Without needing a command, the twenty Rapid Insects beside him roared in low, menacing tones as they bolted forward, charging at breakneck speed toward the Demon Fiends.

”Kill them all! Leave no survivors!”