Otherworldly Desert Dust

The white miasma spread further and further.

People jumped for joy, cheering, for the tyrant tiger beetle army was already showing signs of collapse. After countless days and nights, humanity had finally trampled these alien insects underfoot…

But the miasma from the wormhole was diffusing, enveloping all the valleys in front of the fortress, indicating that the battle might just be beginning.

Within the thick white fog, others could not glimpse the scene inside, but Wu Hen had already sensed an even more terrifying presence. The aura emitted by them resembled demon gods who had walked out of purgatory; their collective might, condensed into phantoms, cast a gloomy veil over the glorious summer sun.

However, this was imperceptible to others, and Wu Hen did not wish to pour cold water on people who had just achieved a minor victory. He maintained high vigilance, ready for the fierce battle that awaited.

Mighty as mountain shadows, they stretched continuously to the horizon's edge. Wu Hen signaled to Wang Yan beside him, indicating that it was time for the exhausted human elites to withdraw.

Wang Yan thought he had heard wrong and looked at Lord Wu Hen in astonishment.

"It's not over yet?" Wang Yan asked cautiously.

The fortress's tens of thousands of weapons had all overheated and self-destructed.

All the armed machinery developed from the world's mineral reserves had been crushed into metallic dust here, spreading across the fields and hills. The expensive chips and rare materials lay about like scraps of iron and wood—almost five years worth of global factory production—and all the consumed mineral substances feared that humans might not be able to replenish them even with decades of sleepless labor…

Not a single new-generation Emperor Mecha remained intact. They were broken into countless fragments with tremendous difficulty in recovery, including Tu Shanlan's Red Spirit Gold Mecha, which retained only a torso and head.

The lower-tier mechas had also joined the battle. While some survived, they no longer had enough nuclear energy to operate. The more advanced crystal energy had been completely depleted, so much so that some battlefield robots had to risk destruction to collect crystal cores from the killed alien insects, swiftly deploying them in development and production to ensure new Emperor Mechas could continue to join the fight.

The Mechanical Beast Army, Mechanical Soldiers, new destructive weapons, AI ground installations, drone matrices, aerial fighters… all were reduced to metallic ashes, mixing with piles of Silver-winged Mantis and tyrant tiger beetle corpses, turning the once lush and vast mountain terrain into a world as dusty as an iron planet!

The human Spirit Awakeners suffered heavy casualties as well, with medical supplies for treating the wounded filling the streets and alleys of Lun Mountain City. Some selfish individuals had stayed away from the battlefield, hoping to reap the benefits once the situation stabilized. Yet the intensity of the battle not only failed to spread the genetic fear desired by the high-dimensional insects but also inexplicably ignited the survival hormone in the human gene. This hormone permeated every nation and city, compelling Spirit Awakeners who had fled the battle to return like crusading warriors, repeatedly reinforcing the human elite ranks, fighting the tyrant tiger beetles to their last breath.

This was a global battle between humans and high-dimensional insects, with even ordinary citizens doing their utmost. They were acutely aware that if Lun Mountain City fell, those cruel, filthy, disgusting insects would not show an ounce of mercy to humanity. Their way of thinking differed from humans; there was no room for peaceful coexistence, only annihilation.

The figure of Martial Saint He Ze inspired billions, and more hermits emerged among the people. They had never joined any organization nor communicated with any group. Some of these individuals were even hunters and woodcutters, recluses living healthily off basic materials, who exhibited their most primal strength and wisdom upon the descent of their homes into the otherworldly realm. They evolved continuously, hunting relentlessly, understanding the art of survival and jungle combat better than those who lived in civilized cities…

The growing participation of these individuals also delivered lethal blows to the tyrant tiger beetles, constantly stabilizing the situation and piling up the corpses of the Insect Army.

Even so, the death toll was incalculable.

Many people died without their names ever being known, yet they were no less formidable on the evolutionary path than the top-level humans.

Shen Wenhai had assessed human combat strength, and although the data were rough, what surprised him was that the hidden strength of humanity far exceeded their expectations. It mattered not the Old Faction or Longevity Sect; some top experts simply didn't care. They lived on in their homeland, treading their own paths. Only when their homes were invaded did they show themselves, and then they died in battle, leaving Shen Wenhai deeply shocked even if they killed but a single tyrant tiger beetle amongst a thousand.

To Shen Wenhai, whether those who had long been ready to fight the insects head-on, or those who joined the battlefield later, they all were the most precious guardians of home…

The tyrant tiger beetles had inspired the entire race's tenacity.

And so, when the tyrant tiger beetle army was finally destroyed, those who were still alive were excited and thrilled. They probably couldn't believe that they had actually defeated such an alien army that overshadowed the entire human force.

But, everything was not yet over.

They were now facing high-dimensional insects, whose terror far exceeded human limits.

"Lord Wu Hen, if there are more terrifying Red Zhe Insects to come, it should still be us who hold on a while longer. At least we can obtain some valuable information, which will be more advantageous for you when you confront them," Wang Yan said earnestly.

Wu Hen shook his head.

They had performed very admirably, and the battle with the tyrant tiger beetle army had deeply moved Wu Hen's heart, much like Li Feng's previous contest with the high-dimensional insects. He had underestimated every tier of the insects' power, and both Li Feng and he had also overlooked the power at each level of the human ranks…

These individuals, like him, who saw their emotions as supremely important, would be better off cherishing this precious will to live. They were destined to evolve to greater realms, to defend humanity against more unknown calamities in the future.

"No need. No matter how many enemies crawl out from behind this white wormhole, no matter how long this battle lasts, I will annihilate them all before Nuwa God End's escape succeeds. The rest of you, live well, there's still a very long road ahead," Wu Hen said.

Is this what the strongest human would say?

Many commanders on the fortress, numerous leaders, and top-level individuals couldn't help but look toward this area.

Everyone knew Wu Hen was strong, but just how strong was he? The humiliation suffered by the Longevity Sect a year ago didn't prove anything, and this battle also involved a gamble with the Red Zhe Insect army. If the strongest human intervened too soon, and if even more terrifying insects entered the battlefield, who would stand against them?

Shen Wenhai and Wang Yan thought that Wu Hen's intervention was premature.

Amidst the white miasma, although they couldn't see clearly what was within, Nuwa God End was far from successfully escaping. With Wu Hen stationed there, the later he took action, the more hope he could bring to everyone. At this stage, they wouldn't blame the strongest human for watching them sacrificed with eyes wide open, but they would find it unbearable if Wu Hen showed the slightest sign of faltering once he stepped into the battlefield. It would mean humanity's last trump card had collapsed, and they would see no hope of victory.

It could be said that, in the eyes of Wang Yan and Shen Wenhai, Wu Hen's decision not to take action was wise; the importance of a spiritual pillar outweighed that of personal martial power!

The white miasma still surged over.

The terrifyingly dangerous aura caused all of Wu Hen's pores to open; this was the alert granted to him by the Skin Breathing Technique, telling Wu Hen that something within the white miasma threatened his life.

Wu Hen nevertheless issued the order for the Spirit Awakeners to retreat.

Upon the battered fortress, he stood alone amidst the cracked ridges, as the living ocean of white miasma surged toward his position. Yet, the eerie white miasma came to a halt in front of Wu Hen.

Wu Hen's presence, like a mountain, blocked the white miasma, and even more so, an entity's breath unseen by all, which could alter everyone's perception, leading to a massacre among the people.

Recalling his first encounter with the white wormhole, Wu Hen had experienced the confusion of biological signals when the Jade Lady Mantis altered his perception, making him unable to distinguish friend from foe.

But with a significant upgrade in perception, Wu Hen could now see the faint traces of "fragrance" lurking within the white miasma. With the interaction of three senses, these traces appeared as a light yellow color in Wu Hen's eyes, fine as gossamer, hidden within the white miasma.

"Come out now, stop using those despicable tricks," Wu Hen said to the entity within the white miasma.

Within the white miasma, there wasn't an army of tens of thousands of insects, only a slender figure.

Wu Hen knew, that was the Jade Lady Mantis.

Whether it was the Silver-winged Mantis Matrix or the tyrant tiger beetle army, they were merely servants of the Jade Lady Mantis.

It had always hidden within the miasma, observing the battlefield with the arrogant poise of a queen.
Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Wu Hen once thought the Jade Lady Mantis was just another Red Zhe Insect, but now he realized the Jade Lady Mantis was fundamentally different from the mature insects!

"I once treated you as my subjects, with generosity and kindness, satisfying all your greedy demands," she said.

"Even if among you there were radicals who rebelled, and the likes of you, a brutal barbarian, I forgave and tolerated," she continued.

"But you have disappointed me time and time again, even resorting to dirty and shameless means to hurt me!" The woman's voice came from within the white miasma, and the slender figure grew clearer.

She did not resemble a mantis, lacked long and slender skin, nor was she grotesque yet sacredly beautiful. The figure walking out of the mist was a woman, naked as though she despised human ornaments.

Strangely, when Wu Hen gazed intently, this unclothed female body exhibited bizarre light refractions, morphing into the posture of the Jade Lady Mantis in some incredibly brief moments!

The Jade Lady Mantis and the naked woman overlapped in chaos.

Wu Hen quickly realized his Spiritual Vision level wasn't high enough, and he was still affected by the biological signals released by the opponent.

Fortunately, she no longer pretended, tearing away the false image of the Holy Mother.

Finally, the woman's face became clear through the mist, and even the Spirit Awakeners who had retreated to a farther location could see the woman emerging from the fog...

This face was very familiar to many people around the world. Despite strong resistance from the Old Faction, one person from the Longevity Sect was still widely praised; she was Chu Zhi, the Changsheng Handmaid, known to be very friendly to anyone and any power.

However, to the disillusionment of countless people, Chu Zhi was the Jade Lady Mantis!