Chapter 253 - Chapter 253: Chapter 246 One-Sided Slaughter s (2/2)
People hid inside the large iron pot in the kitchen, but the wooden lid failed to fend off the attack of the Army Ants.
Her death was a tragic sight, with numerous Army Ants gnawing at her corpse.
Witnessing this, Qin Niu clenched his fists.
In war between armies, innocent civilians should not be harmed.
Yet the Nine Insect Gang specialized in harming the people, acting like demons.
“I’ll take you to a safe place.”
Qin Niu led several soldiers to an area the insect swarm had not yet reached. “Master Qin, come with us! With your abilities, you would surely achieve great military exploits on the battlefield.”
“I cannot join the army just yet, you all hurry along! Those insects move very fast and will soon reach this area.”
The insect swarm’s advance had a certain order to it.
Wherever there was a path, they would follow it.
Upon detecting the scent of humans, they would immediately surround and attack.
“Take care! Until we meet again!”
Luo Wanglei mounted his horse and, along with the four surviving soldiers, quickly departed.
After seeing them off, Qin Niu turned and headed in the opposite direction of the insect horde’s advance.
He was determined to eliminate the enemy Insect Master and avenge the elderly woman.
The swarm had come from the direction of the Tianshui River.
Following the path of the swarm, he arrived at the riverbank only to see a large number of Army Ants floating on the river surface.
They drifted downstream and, upon reaching the shore, crawled onto the land.
This suggested that the enemy had released a massive number of Army Ants upstream on the opposite side of the river.
Most insects are afraid of water, but these Army Ants were not, which meant they were even more difficult to deal with.
Qin Niu continued along the riverbank, encountering ferocious newly-landed Army Ants all the way. They launched attacks at him upon detecting his scent.
Unfortunately for them, Qin Niu was protected by the Termite Army and was not afraid of them at all.
Eventually, finding the pace of progress too slow, Qin Niu had his Poison Ants mimic the scent of the Army Ants to mask his human smell.
The trick worked wonders.
The Army Ants no longer attacked Qin Niu, ignoring him as if he were a big living man invisible like the Steel-winged Wild Bee.
Qin Niu executed the Misty Rain Traceless Step and ran swiftly forward.
The swarm was even larger than he had imagined, stretching two to three kilometers along the river surface.
How many Army Ants could there be?
The Insect Master of the Nine Insect Gang was so formidable that he could annihilate the Black Tiger Gang with just a massive swarm of insects, without needing soldiers to take action.
As the number of Army Ants on the river surface gradually diminished, Qin Niu knew he was nearing the end.
He immediately slowed down, advancing stealthily under the cover of night.
Soon, with his keen hearing, he faintly heard voices coming from the opposite side of the river.
Looking over, shadows flickered across the river, with lights twinkling.
There were quite a few people active on the other side.
Now deep into the night, these people surely wouldn’t be idling around for fun by the riverbank.
Separated by the wide river, Qin Niu could do nothing about those people on the opposite side.
He hid in the dark, quietly observing.
The lights barely revealed a large number of boats gathering on the opposite shore.
” What are they trying to do?”
He was astonished.
He hadn’t expected to encounter such significant military intelligence upon his return to the Black Tiger Gang.
Judging by their movements, they were probably planning to cross the river and launch a night raid.
Even without understanding military strategy, Qin Niu realized the gravity of the situation.
The Shennong Sect was bordered by the Black Tiger Gang across the Tianshui River, and with this natural barrier, the Black Tiger Gang only needed to station a small team of soldiers for sentry duty along the riverbank.
If the Shennong Sect launched a night raid, once they crossed the river, they would catch the Black Tiger Gang completely off guard.
A strike from Luoshui Town, although a considerable distance from Black Tiger City, would penetrate directly into the heartland of the Black Tiger Gang.
An expanse of fertile land would fall entirely into the hands of the Shennong Sect.
Once the Shennong Sect’s armies established their foothold here, reclaiming lost ground would be more difficult for the Black Tiger Gang than ascending to the heavens.
This attack method of the Shennong Sect is quite despicable. They first release a large number of Army Ants to clear out the civilians and guards along the riverbank, creating an uninhabited zone, then cross the river at night for a surprise attack, naturally without worrying about being discovered. By the time the Black Tiger Gang realizes an army is launching a sneak attack, the enemy will have already taken over the entire heartland of the Black Tiger Gang. Merely with the landlords, Protectors, and family guards from each village and town, they wouldn’t be able to resist the enemy’s advancing army.
I must hurry and notify the upper echelons of the Black Tiger Gang.”
Without further observation, Qin Niu quickly departed.
It would take about two days to reach Black Tiger City from Luoshui Town.
By then, the opportunity would be long lost.
Luo Wanglei had taken four soldiers to deliver the message, which meant there must be an army stationed locally.
Following the direction Luo Wanglei and the others had left in, Qin Niu ran at breakneck speed.
The proficiency level of his Misty Rain Traceless Step was also increasing rapidly.
He grew faster, and his figure became more blurred, turning into a lingering afterimage.
Cries of agony and screams came from up ahead.
One could tell it was the wailing of people fleeing for their lives.
Many, upon discovering the invasion of poisonous insects, fled their homes overnight, desperately running ahead with children, the elderly, and spouses in tow.