Chapter 52 of 100

Chapter 52

17 min read4,355 words

At this moment, everyone had absorbed the power of evolution. The huge wound on the second Blemmye, which had been inflicted by a surprise attack, had fully recovered. The three Blemmyes were all in high spirits, showing no signs of having just been through a major battle. The fatigue on Lya and Lina's faces had completely disappeared, and they looked refreshed. Even the thunder eagles and thunderbirds felt much lighter in flight. Although the thunder eagles did not launch any attacks, their role was actually very significant. Throughout the battle, they maintained the optimal flight altitude and were constantly vigilant for any potential ambushes from the forest below. In modern terms, they were highly focused, which actually consumed more energy.

Apart from Liu Siyi, the one who had changed the most was the mantis.

Three evolution light spheres had been absorbed, one complete sphere, plus another half and half from the giant mantis. The mantis was clearly much larger than when it was first recruited. If its initial size was ten meters, it was now at least twelve meters.

"Any plans for what you'll do next?" Liu Siyi asked, genuinely worried that the Blemmyes might all head to the orc castle, which would undermine his plans.

"This forest is very lush, especially this high mountain, which is very suitable for us to live in. If there's anything, you can send someone to notify us here," the Blemmye giant said, climbing to the top of a hundred-meter-tall tree and looking at the adjacent mountain.

"Alright, definitely," Liu Siyi sighed inwardly and nodded. "The orc castle is about three hundred kilometers ahead. If you move quickly, you can reach it in less than a day. If you encounter any difficulties, please inform your friends."

With that, the three people, three mounts, and the giant mantis turned and flew towards the orc castle.

The number of mantises was more than double that of the Blemmyes, and there must be a reason for this. However, Liu Siyi couldn't afford to waste time searching in such a vast forest, especially since the orc castle was likely under attack by evil mages. He had no reason to stay. Besides, an orc castle was more substantial in his mind than searching for a treasure. Therefore, Liu Siyi chose to leave immediately, though he was curious whether there might be a mantis nest or some treasure here.

...

"Can you speak, Mantis?" After the battle, Liu Siyi was very curious about whether the mantis could speak, so he asked this as his first question.

"I can speak, Master," the mantis replied, its voice sounding cold but clear and crisp.

Hearing Liu Siyi's conversation with the mantis, Lya and Lina looked over. Lina said curiously, "Mantis, that's a good name, it really suits you. We didn't expect you to be so much stronger than other mantises of the same rank, able to kill one with just two strikes."

"That's not the case. The main reason was the ambush. In a direct battle, I'm actually not as strong as the other mantis," the mantis replied calmly, showing no particular joy over the two-strike kill.

"How did you think of ambushing the mantis fighting the Blemmye first? Lexus said we sisters have a talent for battle, but I feel you have even more talent," Lina asked, her face full of admiration.

Liu Siyi remained silent. If the mantis could explain in detail, it might indeed have a talent in this area. Although mantises are experts at ambushes, individual differences mean their talents in this area vary. Perhaps the mantis had a special talent.

"I can understand the giant mantis's language," the mantis explained seriously, seeing that its master Liu Siyi was also looking at it. "As soon as you recruited me, I hid in the forest and observed the battle. Lexus and the two mantises were only using their speed advantage to temporarily hold them off, and their movements were unpredictable, making an ambush a matter of luck. The battle at the Blemmye giant's location was more stable, but the surrounding forest had been destroyed, making an ambush more difficult, though not impossible. If I succeeded in the ambush, I could immediately change the entire battlefield, fully utilizing the Blemmye giant's powerful combat ability. However, before I could act, you broke the stalemate, forcing the giant mantis to order a retreat, giving me the opportunity."

"Hehe, your plan was good, but unfortunately, your master is too strong, leaving no room for you to act," Lina laughed.

"Yes, Master. When I saw you release a spell that almost killed the giant mantis in one hit, I was truly shocked," the mantis said.

Ha, Liu Siyi laughed. The mantis's usually cold and calm voice suddenly carried a hint of surprise and flattery, which made him feel secretly pleased. Of course, as the master, he maintained his composure and didn't show it. Building a rapport also depends on the situation.

"You mean the giant mantis's insect call was an order to retreat? You can understand their language?" Lina asked, then stuck out her tongue, realizing she had asked a silly question.

"Yes, I am a mantis, so I naturally understand our language," the mantis replied without mocking her, its tone returning to its usual calm.

"Very good. Due to time constraints, you are the first mantis I've recruited. In the future, as more of your kind join, you can use insect calls to communicate during battles. I think there are few who can understand your language," Liu Siyi said.

"Yes, Master."

"By the way, can you transform into a human form? I heard that seventh-rank units can do that," Liu Siyi asked, thinking of Clos, the handsome man in black who even used a black sword.

"No."

"Why?" Lina asked quickly.

"Because I haven't learned the spell to transform into a human form."

Liu Siyi had known this for a while. It seemed that solving this problem wouldn't be easy. Perhaps he would need to seek Clos's help in the future.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Are you male or female?"

Liu Siyi was speechless. The originally cute and charming princess was showing a tendency to become a gossip girl...

Perhaps it was a characteristic of assassin types to speak little but be very concise, as the mantis demonstrated.

A straight-line distance of three hundred kilometers, especially through steep mountainous terrain, is a challenging and arduous journey for hikers. However, for Liu Siyi and his companions flying in the air, the three hundred kilometers took less than an hour. They enjoyed the scenery along the way and soon arrived.

Is this the orc castle? Liu Siyi looked at the numerous uneven and crude houses and the high stone walls surrounding the castle, shaking his head.

It was far from the beautiful style in the game. Because it was reality, it was even more crude.

The orc castle was built on the waist of a steep and barren mountain, with few trees but many large rocks. The orcs could naturally climb the mountain, but there was no benefit in doing so, so the only way out of the castle was downward.

There were two downward paths. According to the thunder eagle, one of the paths was occupied by a group of over twenty cyclopes, a sixth-rank orc unit with powerful ranged and melee attacks. With the current strength of the orc castle, it was impossible to deal with them. However, with Liu Siyi, the lightning element lord, the firebird, and the mantis, it might be a different story.

High-level mental magic could increase the range of Liu Siyi's blindness spell to three hundred meters. Once all the cyclopes were blinded, they would be like fish on a chopping board!

The other path, though cleared, led only to the barren northern desert, making it much harder to obtain valuable items.

The main reason the orc castle had only developed up to the fifth-rank minotaur units was due to a lack of resources.

Orc buildings required a large amount of basic resources, such as wood and stone, which were needed for almost every building. Special resources included refined iron and crystal, with intermediate buildings using refined iron and advanced buildings using a lot of crystal. There were also other resources used in some buildings.

With the thunder eagle's reconnaissance, Liu Siyi didn't want to waste any more time and flew directly to a hundred meters above the orc castle.

"XXOO..." A chant sounded, and instantly, a large amount of fire magic elements gathered around Liu Siyi, concentrating on the open square in the center of the orc castle.

The intense heat quickly formed a large fire egg, from which a clear bird call emerged.

The sudden heat had already caught the orcs' attention, and the appearance of the phoenix left them speechless, their mouths agape.

"Haha, Liu Siyi, you've summoned me again so quickly. What do you need me to do this time?" the phoenix said, seeing the different orcs around it.

"Kill! Eliminate all orc units that dare to resist. I want to fully control this castle." Because of the mental link, Liu Siyi's summoning of the firebird was very quick, and a massacre began before the orcs could react.

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