Chapter 2191: Strongly Slaying the Insect Queen

Initially, it was just a faint light, but in the blink of an eye, it became dazzling and blinding, as if something was truly hatching within the Bloodcloud Battle Star.

After a brief hesitation, more fragmented lights burst forth from various parts of the battle star. From a distance, the battle star resembled a spherical object riddled with holes, housing a bright light source within.

Silently, the battle star shattered, transforming into floating landmasses of varying sizes that drifted in all directions.

A faint figure burst forth from within the battle star.

Within the vast, thick sea of blood, Feilian's expression changed drastically. He hastily retracted the sea of blood, unleashed his Blood Escape technique, and fled without looking back into the depths of space.

Just moments ago, he had sensed that the Insect Mother had died!

Previously, when the Giant Clan's Dao Integration realm expert arrived on the battlefield and replaced Ziying, that woman immediately charged into the Bloodcloud Battle Star. Feilian, of course, knew her intentions, but was not truly worried.

Although the Insect Mother could not leave its nest and its physical body did not possess strong combat capabilities, it was exceptionally formidable in soul combat.

The insect nest was a fortress it had managed for countless years. The entire nest could almost be considered its Dao Weapon; however, this Dao Weapon was somewhat different from typical ones. Not only could it breed insectoids, but it could also provide powerful support to the Insect Mother in soul combat.

In simple terms, as long as it was within its own nest, the Insect Mother could perform extraordinarily in soul combat—this was its territorial advantage!

Ziying was indeed powerful, but not to the extent of being able to kill the Insect Mother. Charging rashly into the insect nest like that, Feilian even thought at one point that she would face an unexpected downfall.

But the result greatly astonished him. In just half an hour of soul combat, the Insect Mother was actually killed, and even the entire Bloodcloud Battle Star was shattered.

How did Ziying manage that? Feilian couldn't comprehend it, no matter how hard he tried.

He only knew that with the Insect Mother dead, he would be fighting a losing battle alone. If he didn't flee now, he would surely be besieged by two Dao Integration realm experts, and his own life would be in danger.

As for the cultivators of both races still fighting valiantly... Feilian could no longer concern himself with them.

When Ziying returned from the Bloodcloud Battle Star, she immediately spotted the tall figure standing in place. This was precisely the Giant Clan's Dao Integration realm expert, the guardian of the Great Ruler Battle Star, whose name was Great Ruler.

He was in a disheveled state and appeared to have suffered significant losses in his previous battle with Feilian. This was indeed the case; his strength was considerably inferior to both Feilian and Ziying, and fighting Feilian within the sea of blood, he was naturally no match.

If Ziying hadn't been able to deal with the Insect Mother in time and return to support him, he might have been defeated by Feilian.

“Fellow Daoist, the Insect Mother...” Great Ruler asked, his voice filled with doubt and apprehension.

Although the Bloodcloud Battle Star itself had been destroyed, and the Insect Mother surely met a terrible end, he still wanted to hear a definitive answer from Ziying.

“Dead!” Ziying said nothing more and immediately darted forward. “Pursue!”

Great Ruler was startled, realizing Ziying intended to completely eradicate them. Chasing Feilian, who had used the Blood Escape technique, now seemed hopeless.

Furthermore, Ziying had killed an Insect Mother yet showed no signs of injury, which struck Great Ruler as somewhat unbelievable.

Without time to inquire further, Great Ruler could only carry his massive Dao Weapon and follow closely behind Ziying.

A Blood Clan Dao Integration realm expert employing the Blood Escape technique was indeed impossible to catch. Before long, the two could no longer even see Feilian's shadow.

Ziying's pursuit stance, however, did not change in the slightest, looking as if she intended to completely exterminate him.

It wasn't until a good while later that she slowly stopped.

“Feilian is naturally suspicious. If we didn't pursue him like this, he definitely wouldn't have fled far. Only by doing so could we truly drive him away.”

Great Ruler, standing beside Ziying, was momentarily stunned, unsure why Ziying had suddenly said that. But when he turned his head to look at Ziying, he suddenly understood everything.

This was because Ziying's body was uncontrollably trembling, her face as pale as paper, and blood was flowing from all seven orifices.

Ziying was injured, and severely so!

She had merely been feigning unharmedness moments ago, to deter Feilian.

It made sense, considering that penetrating deep into the insect nest to kill the Insect Mother was a feat few Dao Integration realm experts across this entire Splendid (realm/world) could achieve. While such a feat was indeed satisfying and could easily secure victory, how could it come without any cost?

“Fellow Daoist Great Ruler, I'll trouble you to protect me from now on.”

After speaking, Ziying immediately sat down cross-legged.

Meanwhile, almost at the exact moment the Bloodcloud Battle Star crumbled and Ziying emerged, Lu Ye realized the opportunity. He immediately raised his arm, shouting, “Crane Wing Battalion, charge with me!”

With the enemy's two Dao Integration realm experts—the Insect Mother dead and Feilian likely fleeing—only the remnants of the Insect and Blood clans remained on the entire battlefield. This was undoubtedly a prime opportunity to strike a fallen foe.

After some recuperation, although the Crane Wing Battalion's condition had not fully recovered, it was sufficient to support the next battle.

“Roar!” A group of people roared in anger and charged behind Lu Ye.

On the battlefield, the enemy's defensive line was already riddled with holes. Without the Insect Mother's command, the cultivators of the Insect and Blood clans were like headless flies, having no idea what to do to effectively resist the approaching enemy, leading to even greater chaos for a time.

This was the Insect Mother's weakness.

Indeed, when it was alive, it could easily coordinate and command the vast army across the entire war zone through countless scouts, making the most rational arrangements at the most opportune moments. But once this command center died, it would bring immeasurable negative consequences to its own side.

It was amidst this chaos that the Divine Crane once again spread its wings and soared, charging into the battlefield.

Countless cultivators, instructed by their officers, shouted as they slew enemies, “The Insect Mother is dead! Feilian has fled!”

Initially, the shouts were scattered, but soon, the entire battlefield resounded with these cries.

The already precarious morale of the Insect and Blood clans, amidst these shouts and under the frenzied assault of the Human Alliance and the Giant Clan, rapidly collapsed.

Deserters appeared.

Regardless of whether they were Insectoids or Blood Clan members, all possessed a desire for survival and a fear of death. In such a situation, if they didn't flee, they would surely die.

Like a river bursting its banks, the rout became an unstoppable avalanche.

It was time again for close pursuit and expanding the battle's gains. Both the Human Alliance and the Giant Clan held nothing back, giving their all.

However, under the officers' prior instructions, this pursuit lasted only a little over an hour before ceasing.

The reason was simple: the Insect and Blood clans would surely have reinforcements, and they were undoubtedly already on their way. No one knew the number or strength of these reinforcements, so it was natural to avoid their cutting edge and retreat in advance.

The great battle concluded.

In this battle, the Insect and Blood clans suffered even greater casualties than in their previous assault on Bluewater. Even one Dao Integration realm expert was killed, and an entire battle star was destroyed.

Such battle results were undoubtedly significant, and all surviving cultivators reaped bountiful rewards.

Ziying and Great Ruler returned together.

Lu Ye keenly observed that although Ziying appeared outwardly normal, her entire being radiated a sense of exhaustion. Especially her once spirited and piercing eyes now looked somewhat dim.

Led by the two Dao Integration realm experts, they each withdrew their forces and began their return journey.

It was three days later when they returned to Bluewater. This time, Ziying did not use her moving palace, so the journey took longer.

In the valley where the Crane Wing Battalion was stationed, the moment everyone returned, they gathered in one place.

Then they took out the Dao Bones they had collected on the battlefield, and soon, piles of Dao Bones accumulated before them.

No one had ever seen so many Dao Bones at once, and the surviving cultivators of the Crane Wing Battalion stared in wide-eyed astonishment.

In this battle, the Crane Wing Battalion slew countless enemies. If all the Dao Bones of the slain enemies could have been collected, the number would likely have been several times greater.

However, on the battlefield, situations were sometimes critical, making it inconvenient to collect bones, and thus they had to be abandoned.

Even so, such a large immediate haul of Dao Bones was enough to exhilarate everyone.

A moment later, as the last cultivator placed his collected Dao Bones into the pile, everyone's gaze simultaneously turned to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye smiled, naturally knowing it was time to distribute the spoils.

However, before he could speak, Wang Xun stepped forward. “Commander, please wait.”

Lu Ye looked at him.

Wang Xun stepped forward, holding a storage ring. With a wave of his hand, the pile of bones before them seemingly halved.

He then walked over and presented it to Lu Ye with both hands: “Commander, the brothers discussed it. This time, if not for you leading us in battle, we wouldn't have achieved such a great harvest. Therefore, half of this will go to you, Commander, and the rest will be equally divided among the brothers. What do you think, Commander?”

Lu Ye looked up and saw pairs of expectant yet sincere eyes.

Yang Mingfang spoke up: “Commander, we brothers have been fighting on battlefields for so many years, and never before have we had such a satisfying slaughter. Half the Dao Bones are a small token of the brothers' appreciation. Please don't refuse, Commander.”

“Yes, Commander, we're still counting on you to lead us in continued widespread slaughter.”

Amidst the clamor, Lu Ye raised his hand and took the storage ring, nodding as he said, “Since that's the case, I'll accept it. As for the rest...”

Dao Bones were naturally something he could never have enough of. And Yang Mingfang and the others were right: this time, if not for him helping the Crane Wing Battalion form its formation, they wouldn't have had such a massive haul nor such low casualties. Even if he took half and the rest was distributed, everyone would still receive far greater benefits than other cultivators.

Furthermore, maintaining the Spirit Link formation consumed a tremendous amount of his Dao Power. He now only had a few hundred units of Dao Power left, but with these Dao Bones, he could replenish his losses.

Wang Xun patted his chest: “Commander, don't worry. The brothers will divide it fairly, and no one will be disappointed.”

“Then I'll leave it to you.” Lu Ye nodded.

Wang Xun took the lead in distributing the Dao Bones, and everyone was beaming with joy. Meanwhile, Lu Ye leaped up and returned to his former residence.

Kang Xing and the other two returned. They were fortunate; although they were injured in the battle, their lives were not in danger. Upon seeing Lu Ye, they all gathered around him, praising his and the Crane Wing Battalion's unparalleled bravery.

Almost every cultivator had witnessed the Crane Wing Battalion's astonishing performance on the battlefield, and Kang Xing and the other two had naturally seen it firsthand. Indeed, the fact that the three of them survived safely was largely thanks to one of the Crane Wing Battalion's charges. Jiang Yuning's gaze held a strange, soft glow as she looked at him.