Chapter 94

"Clank!"

The armored beetle, hit by the armor-piercing round, let out a painful roar. The round had lodged halfway between its scales, causing pain but not killing it.

Oh, I forgot to coat it with poison... But the penetration of this round isn't enough either; it needs to be adjusted.

The armored beetle's roar resonated with other nearby beetles, which began to charge around as if they had gone mad. They all started ramming their heads into the tree trunks at the edge of the clearing, causing the trees to tremble and many small creatures to fall from the treetops.

What are they doing? Going crazy?

Lin watched the creatures curiously. By this time, the Hunter carrying the Sniper had already retreated into the forest, so there was no need to worry about being hit... Wait!

Lin noticed that the largest armored beetle wasn't charging around. Instead, it raised its head and waved its antennae in the air. Finally, it turned its head toward the direction where Lin's forces were hiding!

"Grumble..."

The armored beetle emitted a low growl, and in the next moment, all the beetles turned in this direction.

Its sense of smell is quite good.

"Roar!"

The armored beetles roared in unison and charged over, clearly targeting the Hunter carrying the Sniper. Lin immediately turned it around and fled deeper into the forest, while the other forces continued to hide in the bushes.

All the beetles followed the fleeing Hunter, their massive bodies shaking the ground as they rushed through the forest, leaving a trail of crushed branches and mud behind them. They all disappeared into the forest.

So easily, they were all lured away?

Lin's remaining forces entered the forest clearing. This fern-covered area was perfect for Lin to spread the green carpet. There were no trees to obstruct the growth of the carpet.

The three Nest Carriers walked to the center of the fern field, and Lin had them huddle together. Then, Lin released all the Mad Bees from their bodies. The Mad Bees formed a circle around the Nest Carriers, and their bodies began to secrete a chitinous substance, which bonded them together, eventually forming a spherical structure covered in a shell.

Inside, the Nest Carriers began to dissolve themselves, transforming into a liquid state within the shell. They would reorganize themselves into a special organ—the Base—used for producing units and the green carpet. This would be Lin's second base in the forest.

Although Lin had many types of units, they were not fixed. Lin could change their forms and functions at will, which required a watertight environment. Therefore, Lin first needed to create a sealed sphere.

However, the sphere was not completely sealed; it had a small opening to allow for the intake of nutrients and water. Now, the other Hunters began harvesting the ferns in the area, chewing them into a pulp and injecting it into the sphere.

Lin wasn't sure if the armored beetles would return. The Hunter that had fled had already shaken them off, so Lin needed to quickly expand the base to be able to defend against them.

The construction and transformation of the base continued until nightfall. Lin did not see the armored beetles again, possibly because they had moved on to another area. This was for the best, as driving them away or killing them would have been troublesome.

In the forest clearing at night, the starry sky was clearly visible. Lin thought that those twinkling lights were its future goals, but it didn't know what lay beyond them...

Lin remembered feeling disappointed the first time it came to land... back then, there were only deserts and deadly ultraviolet rays. Now, there was such a vast and diverse ecosystem.

While Lin was reminiscing, the base transformation was completed. After absorbing a large amount of nutrients from the ferns, the central base had grown to a two-meter-tall sphere. The ferns contained many toxic components, but Lin could break them down and use them to reinforce the base's shell.

Now, it was time to produce some units. With a secure base, Lin could extend the green carpet.

Lin decided to first produce some Snipers to deploy in the surrounding forest, to monitor for any approaching creatures.

The Hunters gathered around the base, placing the newly created Snipers on the tree trunks at a height of about ten meters, while some were placed directly in the ferns on the ground.

As the tenth Sniper was placed near the base, Lin suddenly heard a strange sound.

A vibration from the forest indicated the approach of a large number of creatures.

The armored beetles! They're back!

With a series of thunderous footsteps, numerous massive figures emerged from the twisted forest, rapidly moving their six thick, segmented legs as they charged into the forest clearing.

Then... they began to lower their heads and eat the ferns.

They clearly hadn't noticed Lin's base or the hidden Snipers and Hunters.

However, if they weren't driven away, it could become problematic.

But fighting so many large creatures might be difficult.

As Lin was pondering, it heard another strange sound.

And this one... came from the sky?

An eye stalk extended from the base, and in the starlit sky, a massive black shadow appeared.

Is this... a flying creature?

The shadow had four large, leaf-like wings that spanned about twenty meters when fully extended. Each wing beat created a strong gust of wind, scattering the moss on the ground.

The armored beetles raised their heads, watching the giant flying creature and slowly retreating.

To think there could be such a large flying creature? It probably couldn't navigate the complex, twisted forest, which is why it appeared here.

The base extended a lantern, and the light illuminated the giant creature. Lin noticed that although its wings were massive, its body, located at the center of the wings, was relatively narrow, about two meters wide and five meters long.

The flying creature had three curled tentacles in its mouth, each covered in serrations. It surveyed the armored beetles in the fern clearing with its large eyes.

Suddenly, it flapped its wings and accelerated, charging at the nearest armored beetle. It grabbed the beetle with its hook-like legs and used its serrated tentacles to scrape between the beetle's scales, causing a gush of blood to flow out.

The other armored beetles quickly fled into the forest, completely ignoring their fallen comrade.

But Lin didn't run. The moment it saw the creature, Lin decided to model its planned giant flyer after this creature.

Let's call this flying creature a 'Sawfly.' Although it's not a dragonfly, its wings resemble those of a butterfly in Lin's mind, though Lin had never seen a butterfly.

The Sawfly was using its tentacles to suck the blood from the armored beetle, completely unaware that a Sniper in the nearby ferns had already aimed at its eye.

Fire!

The high-speed, sharp projectile instantly pierced the Sawfly's eye. The massive creature convulsed, flapping its wings to try to take off.

At this moment, several more projectiles shot into its abdomen. In the darkness, the rapid attack caught the Sawfly off guard. The projectiles quickly penetrated its abdominal skin, and blood flowed freely from the wounds...

Although the Sawfly was large, its exoskeleton was quite thin, similar to that of a reptile.

But thanks to its size, the Sawfly managed to stay upright despite the continuous sniper fire. It flapped its wings forcefully, gaining altitude and flying out of the Sniper's range before the next round of ammunition was ready.

However, Lin always liked to add some interesting elements to its ammunition, and this time was no exception.

"Boom!"

The Sawfly's abdomen suddenly exploded, and blood, flesh, and organs rained down in the starlight. The massive body of the Sawfly fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground and crushing a large area of ferns.

Watching this scene, Lin felt a strange sensation, a mix of satisfaction and curiosity, as if it had witnessed something fascinating.

The word 'art' once again surfaced in Lin's mind.

...

Thank you to ~Soul Seeker~ ~Cold Nai~ ~godmorgan~ for your support!

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