Chapter 739 - Return Of The Beetle Swarm (2/2)

A strange sense of danger lingered in the air like a gust of cold wind, raising goosebumps across his body.

Experienced hunters with sharp instincts all felt the same.

The desert was silent. Other than the sound of rustling sand, it was as if all living things had stayed away from this area.

Gongjia Ren on the beetle’s back shivered for no reason. Although the sun was shining high and the beetle’s back burned, he felt a chill that came from his bones. While he did not have instinct like the Flaming Horns, he had been surviving in the desert for many days.

They stared at the sandy ground, wondering what was underneath.

Shhhhh—-

Tiny sounds could be heard from beneath the ground, as if many tiny objects were about to burst out.

Shhhh—-

They’re getting closer.

A black dot emerged from the yellow sand.

Two black dots. Three, four…. ten… one hundred… one thousand black dots…

Densely packed black dots covered the yellow ground.

Gongjia Ren took a deep breath as he watched, his voice shaking, “T-t-t-that…”

A beetle swarm!

It is considered one of the legendary desert disasters!

More and more black beetles emerged from the sand, there was no stopping!

No yellow could be seen around them. Far away, black dots slowly engulfed the yellow sands.

More and more beetles gathered around the giant beetle.

The person with the strongest reaction was obviously Gongjia Ren, who was lying on Sapphire’s back. He felt too weak to even sit up as sweat dripped down his forehead.

Most of the Flaming Horns had witnessed this before when they had come to the desert the last time. They knew that as long as Sapphire was here, the swarm was not a threat. They knew that this unconfirmable feeling was just an instinctive reaction. However, beetles were even more difficult to deal with compared to fearsome beasts. They could see that they had become deadlier since the last time.

Gongjia Ren looked around nervously, realising that other than a few people, most Flaming Horns looked calm. There was no panic in their eyes, some of them even looked excited.

When he thought about it, Gongjia Ren understood everything. He was currently lying on the back of a giant beetle! These tiny beetles must be on the same side as the giant, or maybe they will even listen to its commands!

All that panic for nothing. He heaved a long sigh of relief but had a sudden thought mid-sigh: this beetle swarm couldn’t have eaten his mates, could they?

After they appeared, the tiny beetles burrowed back into the sand once again. They did not like travelling on the surface, especially not when the sun was out.

When the beetles had all burrowed back underground, Gongjia Ren asked, “Do you think my mates encountered the beetle swarm?”

“No,” confirmed Shao Xuan.

It was true that if Gongjia Ren’s mates had encountered the swarm, they would not be able to escape and will become beetle food. However, they had not seen any human skeletons so far. If these beetles had also eaten their bones, it would not make sense to also leave the sand lizard’s skeleton untouched.

That meant that the five people had not encountered the insect swarm.

That meant they had left due to certain reasons.

Shao Xuan instructed Sapphire to follow their scent.

After the giant beetle walked a few circles, it started heading in one direction.

“Follow it.” Shao Xuan waved for everyone to catch up.

After a while, Shao Xuan checked his  Universal Eye. “That direction isn’t towards Rock Hill City. I think we’ll encounter desert robbers that way.”

“They would never head towards the desert robbers unless they had no choice.” Gongjia Ren’s heart sank. This was not good news.

Did they seek protection from the desert robbers?

Searching for support out of desperation was not impossible. Some of the people in their group had done so after a few days in the desert. However, Gongjia Ren believed they must have been forcefully taken. They would never go willingly.

No matter what, they would find the answer soon.

Initially, Gongjia Ren was worried that the Flaming Horns would choose to abandon the plan so as to not provoke the desert robbers. However, he swallowed his words when he heard the Flaming Horns discussing a plan to rob the robbers.

He thought about the giant beetle, then the beetle swarm probably following them underground. Suddenly, Gongjia Ren was no longer afraid.