Chapter 655: Destruction

A single street became the boundary between life and death.

One by one, the Immortal Essence Guards fearlessly turned back to block the insect tide, only to be overwhelmed.

The building with red lanterns hanging at its entrance finally came into view. Of the Immortal Essence Guards, only Yu Qing remained by Lu Ye's side, her spirit body unnaturally translucent, clearly on the verge of fading away.

In a final act, she grabbed Lu Ye's shoulder, flung him forward, and yelled, "Get inside, quickly!"

Still airborne, Lu Ye swung his Mountain Breaker Blade, and the green blood of two locust-like insects splattered.

Lu Ye landed in front of the building and turned to look, but Yu Qing was no longer in sight. Behind him was only a relentless deluge of insects in pursuit.

He quickly pushed open the door, rushed inside, and slammed it shut. Immediately, the sounds of intense insect attacks erupted from outside.

However, this building was endowed with special protective power, making it impervious to the insects' relentless assault.

Lu Ye's fists were clenched, his face unusually grim. A profound grief welled within him, causing an indescribable pain.

His time with Yu Qing and the others had been brief; their acquaintance was, at most, a fleeting encounter, not even reaching the depth of friendship.

Yet, each Immortal Essence Guard had, in their final moments, protected him and sacrificed their lives. Lu Ye knew he wouldn't have made it back to this stronghold without their combined efforts and escort.

Reflecting on it, he had only given the Butcher a small half-bottle of Soul Cleansing Water. What had he done to deserve such a sacrifice, to have these Immortal Essence Guards entrust him with their lives?

The insects outside continued their fierce assault. A street away, the sounds of intense combat resonated, indicating the Butcher was locked in a brutal fight with the Divine Sea Realm insectoid.

Then, at one point, the sounds of combat suddenly ceased.

Lu Ye's heart clenched.

He didn't know the battle's outcome – whether the Butcher had won or lost.

As he pondered, the already clamorous insects outside grew even louder, their distinctive hissing sounds filling the air.

Lu Ye seemed to grasp what was happening and quickly peered through the door crack. On the street outside, numerous insects were converging in a specific area, where blade light flashed relentlessly, reducing one insect after another to scattered remains.

Moments later, the Butcher's corpulent figure emerged from the fray and quickly reached the door. Lu Ye swiftly opened it, and the Butcher slipped inside.

Once he was inside, Lu Ye closed the door again, and the clamor outside resumed.

"Is it just you?" the Butcher asked, glancing around.

Lu Ye lowered his head. "All the seniors... they died in battle covering my retreat!"

The Butcher seemed to sense his guilt and chuckled softly. "Even if they hadn't covered you, they wouldn't have lasted much longer. Let them be, don't dwell on it. They..." He stopped mid-sentence, a knowing look suddenly crossing his face before he changed his tone. "Since you've survived, live well. Don't let their sacrifice be in vain."

Lu Ye remained silent, his heart heavier than ever.

The Butcher stepped forward and handed over his boning knife. "This is yours now. You must take good care of it."

Lu Ye stared in astonishment, his expression changing dramatically as he looked up. "Senior?"

The Butcher sat down cross-legged and sighed. "I'm a bit tired. Just resting, don't worry about it."

With those words, he closed his eyes. His translucent body shimmered, distorted, and then dissolved into nothingness. The boning knife he held clattered to the floor.

Though he had won the recent battle, it was a brutal, pyrrhic victory. He had endured to return to this spot, but ultimately, his strength had given out.

Lu Ye stared silently at the spot where the Butcher had vanished.

He couldn't comprehend the conviction that sustained these Immortal Essence Guards, but from his few conversations with Yu Qing and the others, he learned they had been fighting this war for millennia. Thousands of years of relentless conflict had instilled in them the belief that death was a release.

Liu Datong, Yu Qing, and the other Immortal Essence Guards whose names Lu Ye didn't know, showed no fear in their final moments.

They had never feared death.

After an immeasurable time, Lu Ye stepped forward, bowed respectfully to the spot where the Butcher had vanished, then picked up the boning knife and stored it in his spatial ring.

He then found a spot, sat down cross-legged, and consumed a spiritual pill to recover.

The Butcher's squad had been annihilated, but their mission remained unfinished. Out of both remembrance and respect, Lu Ye decided to carry on their original task: to clear the area of insects.

He had sustained numerous injuries during the earlier breakout, and these were difficult to heal. He could have used Soul Cleansing Water, but he had given his last supply to the Butcher.

Nevertheless, he still had enough strength to fight, provided he conserved his spiritual power.

In his perception, five of his enslaved insects were still alive; the other two had been killed by rival insects during the previous chaos.

With five insects and himself, completing the Butcher squad's mission shouldn't be an issue, provided he was cautious enough and didn't encounter another Divine Sea Realm insect.

Still, Divine Sea Realm insects weren't easy to find; their previous encounter had been pure chance. Such powerful insects typically resided closer to the City Lord's Manor.

The clamor outside gradually subsided. Inside the stronghold, the former laughter and revelry had vanished, replaced by an eerie stillness.

After two full hours of rest, Lu Ye rose and peered outside through the door crack. There weren't many insects scattered nearby, and five of them were under his command.

With a thought, he commanded his five insects to converge on the nearby hostile ones.

The moment Lu Ye opened the door, every insect within his sight was alerted. Driven by instinct, they swarmed towards him.

But the slaughter had already begun. As his five enslaved insects launched their sudden attack, life swiftly drained from their foes.

Lu Ye's figure became a blur as he charged forward, his Mountain Breaker Blade flashing. He unleashed crescent-shaped slashes, felling an entire line of approaching insects in an instant.

He made no attempt to suppress the sounds of battle, even intentionally making a great ruckus to attract more nearby insects.

The stronghold, where he could hide, was right beside him. If the situation turned dire, he could retreat there immediately, thus ensuring his safety.

More and more insects were drawn to the fight. The battlefield was soon littered with their broken limbs. Tiny specks of golden light drifted from all directions towards Lu Ye's hand, but he had no time to check his increasing battle merits. One thought consumed his mind: kill every insect in his sight!

The battle concluded an hour later. Lu Ye, dragging his weary body, returned to the stronghold to recover.

Outside the door, his five enslaved insects stood guard silently.

Half a day later, the door reopened, and Lu Ye emerged. Though he had tried his best to conserve his spiritual power during the combat, the unpredictable nature of the battlefield often forced his hand.

Compared to before this battle, Lu Ye was undeniably weaker, though this exhaustion was primarily spiritual and didn't significantly impact his combat abilities.

He swiftly mounted the back of a spider-like insect, activating his stealth and aura-concealing spiritual patterns. Under Lu Ye's command, the five insects advanced toward the next stronghold.

Lu Ye knew only that the Butcher's squad's mission was to clear all insects from this area, but its precise size remained unknown to him.

The only certainty was that the clearing operation moved from the inner city outwards, so heading towards the city's exterior was the correct direction.

He had originally traveled from the city's outskirts to its central section, but now he found himself backtracking. Such was the unpredictable nature of things.

Fortunately, the further he went towards the city's periphery, the weaker the average insect he encountered.

At each stronghold he found, Lu Ye would first scout the surroundings for overly powerful insects. If any were present, he'd use his insect squad to ambush and eliminate them. Otherwise, he would simply create a commotion in front of the stronghold to draw all nearby insects to him.

Fighting alone was undeniably monotonous. With the Butcher leading, they had previously swept through everything, meeting little resistance from the insects. But now, with everything resting solely on his shoulders, Lu Ye felt the immense pressure.

Thankfully, killing insects earned him battle merits.

He rested, then fought, again and again...

Outside every stronghold, rivers of blood flowed and corpses piled high. Lu Ye had lost count of how many insects he had slain, but he knew his battle merits were fast approaching the 200,000 mark.

His body grew increasingly weak. Lu Ye had a creeping suspicion that he might not be able to complete the mission for the Butcher and the others, and a pang of regret settled in his heart.

Eventually, he reached the outermost edge of the city.

Ahead, thick fog swirled, isolating the entire city.

As he gazed at the dense mist, Lu Ye felt a familiar sensation. Whenever he had previously entered the Mirage Realm, the monsters had always emerged from a similar fog.

He had once been curious about what lay within this thick fog and had ventured into it to investigate. Unfortunately, he hadn't gone far before he was inexplicably attacked and killed.

He hadn't expected Immortal Essence City to also have such dense fog outside its borders. What would happen if he walked into it?

Lu Ye quickly abandoned the idea. While he wasn't sure of the exact consequences of entering the fog, he was certain the outcome wouldn't be positive. It was better to remain within Immortal Essence City.

He changed direction, leading his insect squad to the side and continuing the mission of clearing out the insects.

Street after street was cleared; every insect in their path was annihilated.

Lu Ye's body grew increasingly frail, already showing signs of translucence. Despite resting after every major battle, the constant drain on his spiritual power left him perpetually drowsy. A single thought continually surged in his mind: to close his eyes and sleep deeply, regardless of what chaos unfolded around him.