They Are Here

The insect tide arrived as scheduled. Swirling with yellow sand, it swept over heaven and earth, crashing headlong into the barrier of light outside the city and smashing itself to bits. Compared to beast tides, an insect tide looked terrifying, but in truth was far less threatening. Powerful species always occupied the lands most favorable for survival. Theoretically, these insects had been driven by demonic beasts into this desolate, godforsaken desert of yellow sand. Razor-sharp blade-legs, rigid carapaces, and the horrifying tenacity to fight on even after death were what made demonic insects dreadful, yet none of these terrors could conceal their fatal flaw: their slender torsos. Once the shell over its torso was breached, an insect's death became merely a matter of time. They could not regenerate their carapaces, nor did their vitality suffice to sustain the protracted period required for such armor to heal. Yet now, the sheer numbers of the swarm compensated for that shortcoming. The initial clash between the canopy and the swarm ended swiftly. Zhenxi Prefectural City stood upon treacherous terrain; to the west, only a hundred-zhang plank path connected both sides of Thousand Thorns Gorge, where countless insect carcasses struggled—and before those thousands of dead insects could tumble down into the bottomless abyss, they were devoured clean by the arriving swarm behind them. Soon, the crowds gathered below the city walls, intent on forcing the authorities to open the gates, witnessed what it truly meant to swarm a fortress like ants. At first, the soaring ramparts obstructed their view. They could only vaguely hear rustling crawling sounds carrying over the walls from outside. Before long, the rustling grew dense, the screeching shrill and ear-splitting. Accompanied by countless tooth-grinding scraping and gouging sounds, the first demonic insect clinging to the barrier appeared in their sight. Then came a second, a third, and more, until half of the city defense canopy was thoroughly blanketed by the swarm. Tens of thousands of insects clung to the formation's barrier, wriggling thickly with a dry rustle, spreading outward continuously across the canopy. The sky over Zhenxi Manor darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye. When the final beam of sunlight was swallowed by the sea of insects, the clusters of buildings ignited during the riot became glaringly distinct. The requiem woven from the rioters' excited curses and the victims' terrified shrieks ground to a halt at that very instant. The rioters looked up in unison, but the azure sky of before was nowhere to be seen. All they could see were countless blood-red compound eyes clinging to the exterior of the canopy, brimming with voracity as they peered down at everything within the city. "Hey! Look up at the sky!" "What are those things?" "Demonic insects?" "Why... why are there so many insect beasts?!" "Hahaha! No wonder the Zhenxi Army pulled back! They knew these bugs were coming and ran away beforehand... A bunch of cowards!" "Where... where is the Zhenxi Army?! Where are those bastards in uniform?" "Damn it, are those soldiers just freeloaders?! Can't they see those insects?!" When true despair struck, the rioters who had longed for the collapse of order now began yearning for the protection of its enforcers. Yet when their prayers went unanswered, amid furious curses and desperate weeping, a larger riot erupted. House after house was torched. Law-abiding commoners were dragged from their homes, butchered, and violated. Having cast aside every restraint, the rioters unleashed the vilest evils of human nature, indulging in the final madness of their lives. *** "Changtian, are we really not going to intervene in the riots inside the city?" Inside the incense-scented Military Affairs Hall, Li Junwu's voice carried a hint of hesitation. While chaos raged through the streets, the prefectural yamen remained undisturbed and peaceful. After several groups of blind fools had charged the yamen and been slaughtered down to the last man, no rioters dared linger anywhere near the government compound. The moment he heard her voice, Xu Yuan opened his eyes from resting his spirit and calmly uttered two words: "We aren't." Li Junwu frowned slightly, arguing, "The riots broke out only because we recalled the entire Second Division to the yamen. Otherwise, three companies would be more than enough to suppress those disorganized mobs." Xu Yuan's voice was cold and steady. "Junwu, everything has its priority. It's not that I'm unwilling to let you deploy troops, but the losses caused by those rioters are simply not worth our taking the risk." Puzzled, Li Junwu countered, "Three companies won't affect the bigger picture. How can that be a risk?" "Have you forgotten? The potential traitors within the Zhenxi Army haven't been completely rooted out yet." Xu Yuan spoke unhurriedly, his tone flat as he stated the facts. "Having you order the Second Division to force-march back to the yamen served two purposes: first, to steady the shaken morale, and second, to clear the city walls." At this point, Xu Yuan's brow knitted slightly, his voice turning solemn. "Zhenxi Manor is my third siege defense. In both previous crises, the trouble began when someone attacked the walls from within, damaging the defense runes. Even if the probability of picking traitors among the dispatched units is small, we cannot afford to send anyone out. We must keep every single one of them right under our noses." "Couldn't we just send cultivators to oversee the troops?" Li Junwu murmured. "Send whom? All of my people have already been assigned to monitor the wall runes. On your side, aside from Commander Jin, is there anyone whose loyalty you can guarantee other than Linlang? Are you sure letting that foolish dog go won't cause even greater chaos?" "So we just watch those rioters rape and slaughter others?" Li Junwu's hand resting on the desk clenched tight. "..." Xu Yuan remained silent. From a standpoint of pure interest, dealing with the rioters at such a critical juncture was inconsequential. The people participating in the riot amounted to less than half a percent of the city's population, and more than half of them were ordinary mortals. What was more, those lust-crazed bastards would lose their minds and swarm noble compounds, hoping to overwhelm and plunder wealthy clans guarded by cultivators through sheer numbers. Even if left entirely unchecked, they would destroy a few blocks at most. Compared to the survival of the entire Zhenxi Prefectural City, such a cost was not worth mentioning. Therefore, Xu Yuan did not pursue that point further. "The main problem right now isn't those rioters, but the insect tide clinging to the canopy." "The swarm can't breach it," Li Junwu said. "At the current rate of energy consumption, the city's Source Crystal reserves can last at least ten days. But if we don't control those rioters, more and more people will join them." Her eyes widened slightly, her voice taking on an edge of sternness. "Changtian, this is a border city. Most of the people here are desperate cutthroats!" "..." Seeing his bosom buddy completely unyielding to reason, Xu Yuan felt a surge of impatience. True enough. Even if troops were sent to suppress them, the chance of a traitor damaging the city defense formation was minuscule. Yet what if it did happen? They were walking a tightrope right now, with no room for error. If the formation failed, a million people would die in the scheme of the six Saints, and the chain reaction triggered by the fall of the prefectural city would be far beyond anyone's capacity to bear. Was such a choice truly that hard to make?! "Li Junwu, a compassionate heart cannot command an army. You—" Xu Yuan wanted to stop Li Junwu's naivety, but halfway through, he froze at the flicker of emotion in her long, slender eyes. It was a familiar sentiment—one that had once appeared in his own eyes, a feeling that belonged to being human. "..." The hand beneath his sleeve clenched tight. Xu Yuan tilted his head back, pressed hard against the center of his brow, and sighed deeply. "Never mind. I'll arrange for someone to handle it." After saying that, Xu Yuan went quiet. Li Junwu saw that he was annoyed. Pouting her thin lips, she unhurriedly stood from behind the desk, walked over to his side, and leaned against the armrest of his chair. Nudging his arm with her elbow, she asked in a soft, melodious voice, "Hey, do you really need to be this upset?" Xu Yuan glanced at her and replied tepidly, "If you want to ask how I'll deal with those rioters, just say it. Si Zijing and Huang Shiwei cannot leave the perimeter of the walls; they must guard against anyone trying to approach them. That is the bottom line. "However, while this swarm triggered the riots inside the city, it also drove the prominent clans and major merchant guilds wanting to flee right into our camp. With the insects outside, they won't dream of leaving anymore. I intend to let them handle the rioters." "..." Li Junwu recalled the scenes she had observed earlier through the defense formation. Those merchant guilds and large itinerant bands had previously entertained thoughts of forcing their way through the gates. Pondering this, she asked tentatively, "Will they cooperate? Their leaders might also include spies, and since we refused to let them leave earlier, they probably hold a grudge." "A wise man submits to circumstances. There will always be those willing to cooperate. Even if they all belong to the sects, not every one of them is ready to die for the cause." Xu Yuan's answer was simple and direct. The large itinerant bands and major clans all practiced basic military array formations. If even a few agreed to cooperate, it would be enough to quell the chaos in the city. As he spoke, Xu Yuan shoved away Li Junwu, who was half-leaning on him, and stared into her eyes, warning sternly, "Li Junwu, this is the last time. "If you truly want to rule Zhenxi Manor, discard your softheartedness as soon as possible." "..." Li Junwu opened her red lips reflexively to argue, but in the end, she nodded compliantly. Xu Yuan took a deep breath, composed his expression, and steered the conversation back onto track. "Now, let's talk about how to deal with that disgusting swarm outside." "Eh? Disgusting? Changtian, you're this old and you're still afraid of bugs?" "..." Xu Yuan stared at her without a word. "..." Li Junwu's smile froze. She looked away and murmured, "I... I was just making a joke to lighten the mood." A fleeting urge to laugh rose within him, though Xu Yuan did not show it, continuing coldly, "You should have realized by now that the sect forces aren't counting on the insect tide to breach the formation. Ever since the canopy was covered, the scouting runes of the city defense formation have been gradually failing. What they want is to sever our connection with the outside world." Scouting methods fell into two categories: Source Qi and intent-souls. Formation runes could not coalesce a living creature's intent-soul and could only probe the surroundings using Source Qi. The pheromones secreted by those insects were disrupting the surrounding Source Qi and intent-souls alike. The entire Zhenxi Prefectural City was losing all means of perceiving the outside world. In other words, even if the six Saints gathered right in the low altitude above Zhenxi Prefectural City and charged their ultimate attacks right in their faces, they would have no way of tracking the enemy's movements via the formation. Li Junwu fell silent for a moment before murmuring, "Are you saying they want to force us to convert the city defense canopy into a slaughter array?" "Yes." "Converting the array would drain energy much faster, and altering the circulation pathways of the city defense formation would leave a massive window of vulnerability—unless we overload the charge regardless of wear and tear," Li Junwu suggested pensively. "There's no need for that. I'm just letting you know." "..." Li Junwu blinked. Disrupting Source Qi and intent-souls did not mean they could disrupt his spiritual vision. This was one of Xu Yuan's trump cards. "I have a way to pierce their screening and perceive the outside world. If they prepare to pool their strength to break the array, we can beat them at their own game. I'll notify you when the time comes." With that, Xu Yuan stood up decisively and walked toward the door. Li Junwu asked instinctively, "Where are you going?" Without looking back, Xu Yuan cursed over his shoulder in irritation, "Didn't you damn well just say you wanted to put down the riots? Don't I need to notify our people to contact those clans and merchant guilds?" "..." Li Junwu's clear eyes flickered, and she chuckled. "Shall I come with you? I can channel the city-protecting array to shield you now." "..." Hearing this, Xu Yuan stopped dead in his tracks right before the threshold. Seeing this, Li Junwu assumed he had agreed, quickening her pace with a smile to catch up. But when she reached his side, she found him staring with profound gravity at the pitch-black swarm smothering the canopy. After gazing at it for several breaths, Xu Yuan looked back at her with a helpless expression. "Looks like I won't be able to keep that promise after all." "Huh?" "Remember what I just said?" "..." Li Junwu's heart skipped a beat. "About beating them at their own game?" "Yes." Xu Yuan looked up into the sky, sensing the surging waves of Source Qi beyond the swarm outside the canopy. Clenching his fists hard beneath his sleeves, he said in a low voice: "They are here."