Chan Wei, despite his urge not to get involved in the battle between the three colossal creatures, felt excitement rise within him as he observed the scene intently. The two praying mantises, agile and swift, left white streaks on the shell of the enormous beetle, signs of their ferocity and determination. Meanwhile, he himself was in a delicate position, unable to reach the mantises despite his efforts.
Slightly concealing himself to avoid drawing the attention of the combatants, Chan Wei began crafting an attack scroll. With the help of his fifteen foreign ant shadows, he concentrated all his energy into creating a Gold-rank attack scroll focused on corrosive penetration. Although he had no certainty about its effectiveness against such formidable creatures, he considered it a safeguard in case he faced an opponent too powerful for him.
While working on his scroll, Chan Wei continued to observe the fight with apparent calm. Suddenly, a much larger spider than those in his own forces attempted a surprise attack on one of the mantises but was sliced cleanly in half before it could react. The scene struck him, reinforcing his caution and respect for the strength of the opponents he faced.
From his hidden position, Chan Wei suddenly spotted a member of his group fleeing from wolves toward the three giant insects. Without thinking, he grabbed a rock and hurled it in the opposite direction to try to distract the creatures, but his efforts were in vain. The man from Chen Linjian's group, pursued by the wolves, was sliced apart by one of the mantises, as were the five wolves following him.
The situation became critical when one of the mantises turned its gaze toward Chan Wei, placing him directly in danger. Meanwhile, the beetle and the other mantis continued their fierce battle, seemingly oblivious to the looming threat against the young man.
"Damn, I don't even think my shadows are strong enough to fight that beast," exclaimed Chan Wei, suddenly realizing the extent of the danger he was facing. Panicking, he dove back into the anthill just in time to dodge the imminent attack from the insect charging at his previous position. Tension mounted as Chan Wei found himself trapped between the titanic battles of the colossi and the looming menace.
"Wait, insect monsters are usually weak to fire," the young man thought with a spark of hope. Wasting no time, he released the shadow of a Flare Lizard of Silver rank to face the predator. But as soon as it appeared, the lizard's head was cleanly severed by the predator. However, the giant praying mantis suddenly began to burn, falling victim to the unique traits of the Flare Lizard.
One of the mantis's blades caught fire, the white flames quickly engulfing its body as the lizard's shadow retreated into Chan Wei's soul realm. The fire spread rapidly, the insect's anguished cries filling the air.
Meanwhile, the other praying mantis, distracted by the screams of its partner, found itself caught between the beetle's mandibles, its body crushed under the creature's overwhelming strength. Despite ruthlessly attacking the beetle's head, it failed to inflict significant damage before dying, shortly before the burning mantis also succumbed.
Only the giant beetle remained, and Chan Wei refused to leave the spoils to such a beast. He quickly summoned the remaining 64 Flare Lizards, even though more than half of them were still Bronze rank. The troop charged the giant beetle, some getting trampled, but managing to ignite the giant's legs. However, unlike the mantis, the fire did not spread, leaving Chan Wei facing an even more formidable challenge.
"It seems that the beetle's energy prevents my fire from spreading," Chan Wei mused, observing the carnage unfolding before him, where more than 35 lizards had already been killed and sent back to his soul realm.
"Damn, besides those three, once I capture their shadows, I'll evolve seven of my lizards to Gold rank. I need guarantees, especially when most of the beasts attacking Glory City are of the Blizzard type," thought Chan Wei in frustration, gritting his teeth at the adversity. Chan Wei would have liked to recover the burning mantis's shadow to send it into battle, but that could have disastrous consequences for him.
Avoiding the hopeless battle between his lizards and the giant beetle, he instead retrieved the shadow of the young man who had been killed earlier, as well as those of the five wolves, adding about thirty ant shadows to create a debilitating scroll.
Using the scroll directly on the beetle, he fired a black beam toward the creature, while his last summoned shadow was annihilated. The flames, previously confined to a single area, began to spread, engulfing the colossus in an uncontrollable blaze as it charged toward the young man.
The black beam, like a shadowy serpent, wrapped around the beetle, disturbing its internal energy like a storm on a calm ocean. The flames, like voracious tongues, danced along its legs and mandibles, consuming everything in their path and driving the beetle into a state of blind rage.
Chan Wei released a Gold-rank wolf shadow and mounted it to escape his imminent death. The wolf darted swiftly between the trees lining the anthill, while the beetle ravaged everything in its path, its flaming body consuming its vital energy faster and faster. Chan Wei noticed, interestingly, that the flames did not spread to the fallen trees but remained fixed on the beetle like leeches.
Taking advantage of the colossus's frenzy and a moment of distraction, Chan Wei boldly leapt more than 30 meters high, soaring above the treetops, while the beetle, caught in its frantic chase, relentlessly pursued the wolf.
The wolf ran a twisting path, skillfully skirting the clearings left by the beetle's rampage, while the beast gradually slowed after twenty minutes of frantic pursuit. Finally, the beetle collapsed, the white flames on its body slowly extinguishing, revealing an intact animal despite the scale of the blaze.
In a desperate effort, Chan Wei struggled to capture the beetle's shadow, but it barely moved, resisting stubbornly. In this brutal contest between the young man and the colossus, Chan Wei summoned all his physical strength—equivalent to that of a 5-star Gold-rank fighter—gradually pulling the shadow toward him.
After what felt like an eternity, the shadow was finally captured, but it immediately caused problems. The effects on his soul cultivation destabilized him, threatening an imminent collapse of his soul realm.
The beetle, originally at Black Gold rank, was an indomitable force, and the captured shadow quickly lost its power under Chan Wei's influence, falling to 5-star Gold rank. But the decline didn't stop there, unleashing the beast's fury.
In a desperate act of survival, Chan Wei poured all his energy into cultivating and consolidating his soul. Thanks to the energy influx from the beetle, he quickly reached 4-star Gold rank. In his soul realm, the giant beetle was restrained by thousands of existing shadows, its energy steadily declining until it stabilized at 3-star Gold rank.
After this intense spiritual battle, the new shadow finally became docile within Chan Wei's soul realm, allowing the young man to finally catch his breath, though sweat still dripped from his brow.
After consolidating his soul realm and mastering the mantises' shadows, Chan Wei attempted to retrieve the giant spider's shadow that had been killed at the start of the conflict. However, he was disappointed to find it had already dissipated, likely due to the time elapsed since its death.
"Still, I don't have enough space in my rings for these materials," Chan Wei thought to himself before deciding to empty two spatial rings of Bronze-rank carcasses to make room for the bodies of the three fallen colossi.
As he headed toward the stone fort in the ruins, Chan Wei didn't expect to find his companions under attack by armed Blue Arm Giant Apes. Fate had clearly brought him to this spot at just the right moment.
His arrival proved a blessing for his companions, who were overwhelmed by the apes, formidable foes they could barely handle. Without hesitation, Chan Wei intervened, expertly using his knives to annihilate the apes and free his companions from their grip.
Thanks to his timely arrival and combat skills, he managed to save five members of his group, leading them to the relative safety of the stone fort. It was a moment of triumph for Chan Wei, who had instinctively acted to protect his comrades, even without a preplanned strategy.
Chen Linjian and Huyan Lanruo had gathered at the stone fort with the remaining members of their group, sharing a heavy sense of despair over the loss of eight of their companions. Their exploratory expedition had been marked by trials and casualties, but what tormented Chen Linjian the most was Ye Ziyun's absence. Her disappearance weighed heavily on their hearts, fueling their worry and anxiety.
However, a glimmer of hope pierced through the darkness when Chan Wei arrived with the five survivors he had rescued. Hope flickered in Chen Linjian's heart, only to be quickly overshadowed by the realization that Ye Ziyun was not among them.
"Little brother!" cried Huyan Lanruo, rushing into Chan Wei's arms with relief, tears streaming freely down her face. "I thought you were dead." Chan Wei comforted his adoptive older sister, holding her tightly to soothe her fears and anxieties.
Turning to Chen Linjian, Chan Wei's face was filled with sorrow. "Young Master Chen, one of your friends didn't survive. I wasn't able to save him. I'm sorry," he said, handing Chen Linjian the personal effects of the man who had fallen to the mantis.
Chen Linjian accepted the belongings with a grave expression but shook his head softly. "It's not your fault, Chan Wei. You did everything you could. We're already grateful that you managed to bring these five back to us," he replied, motioning to the rescued group. "It's just a shame there's still no sign of Ye Ziyun or Nie Li, since they're the only ones missing."
Chu Yuan, who might have otherwise been tempted to make a snide comment about Nie Li's possible death, remained silent in the presence of Chan Wei's bloodstained aura, still heavy from his battles with the demonic beasts. He even subtly backed away, preferring to stay as far from him as possible, fully aware of the young man's terrifying strength and resolve.
"Knowing how much my brother cares about Ye Ziyun, I'm sure they're together. Besides, it would be best if we headed to the military training grounds — I'm certain Nie Li would go there," declared Chan Wei as he turned to lead the way alongside his sister.
"I agree with you, Chan Wei. If anyone can find Ye Ziyun, it's certainly Nie Li," Chen Linjian agreed, quickly deciding to follow the young man's advice. He left eight people behind to guard the stone fort in case the two missing friends found their way there, while Chu Yuan, seizing the opportunity to stay away from the monster who had once paralyzed him, chose to stay back as well.
The rest of the group set off following Chan Wei and Huyan Lanruo's lead, heading toward the military training grounds, their hopes pinned on reuniting with their missing friends.
(Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I didn't have access to my computer last week, but here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for it ^^)