Chapter 53: To Bet or Not

“What is an Insect Nest?” Ma Wei asked curiously.

“It’s a structure built by the Void Insectoid Race,” Xu Feng explained. “The Void Insectoid Race was the first alien species to locate Earth. When they first invaded, they came through Space-Time Rifts. But creating large Space-Time Rifts used up too many resources. They only did that at the start of the invasion. After that, they dropped many Insect Nests onto the invaded planet. They used the planet’s own resources to produce endless Insect Soldiers until they took over the whole planet.”

The Insect Nest was a strategic unit for the Void Insectoid Race. When they crossed the Space-Time Rift, they were not much bigger than a Black Armored Beetle. After finding a place rich in resources, they would settle there. They used the local resources to start growing.

At first, the Insect Nest was easy to destroy. Before it settled down, or just after it settled, it was weaker than an ordinary Insect Human. As time passed, the Insect Nest’s power grew exponentially.

The main feature of the Insect Nest was its ability to use resources to create endless Insect Soldiers. These soldiers could parasitize other life forms on Earth, or the Nest could directly create powerful Insect Soldiers. The higher the Nest’s growth level, the more Insect Race creatures it could produce.

If the Insect Nest was allowed to grow to a certain level, then unless a huge army was gathered, anyone who approached would be wiped out before even seeing what the Nest looked like.

During its growth, the Insect Nest had one trait that could be considered a weakness. The level of the Insect Race creatures it created, or the parasitized creatures, would not exceed the Nest’s own level.

This was why Xu Feng felt relieved when he saw the Nest’s level.

This Insect Nest only had a simple Two-Star Strength. That meant the Insect Race creatures it produced could not exceed One-Star Peak.

The Insect Nest itself had no attack methods. It relied only on the Insect Soldiers it created.

Sensing the arrival of Xu Feng and the other two, the Insect Nest let out a sharp, miserable screech. Its whole body trembled. Soon, several Insect Soldiers that looked like giant mantises crawled out from the Nest.

“It seems these are the Nest’s final defense measures. It even sent out its close guard Insect Soldiers. Heh.” Xu Feng smiled slightly in his heart. He gripped his long sword tightly. Without saying anything to Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang, he charged forward.

These Insect Soldiers were all at One-Star Peak strength. Every time the Insect Nest leveled up, it would first upgrade the Insect Soldiers guarding it. It was also willing to allocate more resources to them. So even though these Insect Soldiers were only at One-Star Peak strength, they were more powerful than the boar monster from before.

These guard Insect Soldiers not only had thick shells, but their two front limbs were like a mantis’s—two long bone blades with a metallic shine. On their backs, they had a pair of thin wings. They couldn’t fly in the air like birds, but they could glide short distances.

Also, these guard Insect Soldiers were more than twice as fast as ordinary One-Star Peak Insect Race creatures. Even compared to some Two-Star creatures known for speed, they were not at a disadvantage.

Xu Feng had only seen these guard Insect Soldiers once before. In his previous life, he was used as cannon fodder to attack a Six-Star Insect Nest. One Five-Star Peak guard Insect Soldier fought evenly with him when he was already at Six-Star Strength. It even left a deep, bone-showing wound on his chest with one strike, taking away 10% of his Health Points.

Although they later killed that Five-Star Peak guard Insect Soldier with others’ help, eleven Earth’s Chosen with Five-Star Strength died in the process.

Xu Feng remembered the power of the guard Insect Soldiers vividly. That was why he charged forward without hesitation. If these few Insect Soldiers got past him, Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang would probably be killed instantly.

Swift Wind Thrust!

As soon as he got close, Xu Feng used his trump card skill.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three sword strikes, fast like lightning, aimed at the face of the Insect Soldier at the front.

The shell on that Insect Soldier’s face cracked after the three consecutive strikes. The final explosive attack sent it flipping backward. Most of its head was blown apart, and light green liquid splattered all over the ground.

Yet, even with such a severe injury, it wasn’t killed. After being flipped over, it kept struggling, trying to get up and fight again.

Xu Feng only glanced at it before shifting his attention. He swung his sword at the other Insect Soldiers. The sword struck their bodies, sparking a series of sparks, but it didn’t cause any real damage.

Several Insect Soldiers flitted around Xu Feng, moving so fast the eye could hardly follow them.

Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang stood dumbfounded, holding their weapons, eyes wide as they watched Xu Feng surrounded and fighting with the Insect Soldiers in the center.

“Sh-should we go help?” Ma Wei whispered.

“Can we even help? What good would it do? We’d just die for nothing.” Zhang Qiang rolled his eyes and said quietly, “I can’t even see how fast these monsters are moving. How can we fight? Going up there is asking for a beating. If you want to go, go ahead. I’m not going.”

“But if he gets killed, what do we do?” Ma Wei whispered. “Maybe we should run now.”

“We’ve come this far. There’s no backing out now. Let’s risk it!” Zhang Qiang hardened his heart and said through gritted teeth, “Let’s try to lure one over. At least it’ll take some pressure off him.”

“Damn, are you crazy? You forgot this guy kicked you once. You almost died…” Ma Wei looked at Zhang Qiang strangely.

Everyone knew how much Zhang Qiang hated Xu Feng in private. So Ma Wei, who understood Zhang Qiang’s feelings well, found it baffling that now, when Xu Feng was surrounded by powerful monsters, Zhang Qiang wanted to step up and help him.

“I’ve figured it out. In this damned world, if you want to survive, you need to find someone to rely on. Otherwise, you’ll die without even knowing why. If we help him now, we’ll gain more in the future. This is a gamble. Will you bet or not?” Zhang Qiang asked through clenched teeth.

Every time he touched his chest, he remembered that kick from Xu Feng. He recalled the following days of weakness, the dull pain in his chest that kept him awake at night.

Whenever hatred for Xu Feng rose in his heart, he couldn’t help but recall the look in Xu Feng’s eyes and the killing intent when he kicked him.

Every time he thought of that, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his heart, instantly dousing the burning hatred.

It wasn’t until he followed Xu Feng into this “instance” and fought their way through that Zhang Qiang realized how strong Xu Feng really was. Without him, Zhang Qiang felt they would have been killed as soon as they entered.

“Last time I ask you: will you bet or not?” Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth and asked.