Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

"Damn it!" Richard's pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill ran up his spine to the top of his head.

This reaction... this unbridled charge! This is definitely a fourth-tier fully evolved insect beast!

It might even... have an irreconcilable blood feud with the Silverwing Devourer? Or some other connection?

The thought raced through my mind.

Without the slightest hesitation, Richard activated his mind, and the insect chirping sound on his belt instantly changed!

"Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!!!"

The high-pitched chirping of insects, like fingernails scratching a blackboard or a knife pulling glass, tore through the night.

Overclocking was going off like crazy in the camp!

Every syllable struck a nerve with the pioneers.

This is no longer a warning; this is a top-level combat order.

—Battle begins now!

They heard the order to fight.

The three-tiered oxen and horses immediately surrounded Richard's tent.

The numerous extinguished campfires in the camp were relit, their flames illuminating the darkness and protecting the entire camp from possible attacks by insectoid beasts!

Richard had already rushed out of the tent, the sniffing insect cocoon inside the fourteen-winged Devouring Knight belt at his waist still frantically transmitting alarms.

The stench, reeking of decay and death, like a highly toxic flesh enzyme, was rapidly approaching!

The sniffing beetle cocoon has been identified; what could this creature possibly be?

"Everyone, gas masks! Quickly!"

Richard shouted sternly, while simultaneously putting a gas mask on his own face.

His voice sounded somewhat muffled through the mask, yet carried an undeniable authority.

The Trail Blazers reacted quickly, pulling out gas masks from their bags or waistbands and putting them on.

This is standard equipment before entering the Fungus Forest, designed to counter the Fungus's most effective mental mist attacks.

Just as the last person put on their mask.

"Boom! Crash!!"

The makeshift low wall at the edge of the camp was smashed to pieces by a brute force!

Amidst the flying debris, a massive figure emerged, accompanied by a nauseating stench of decay.

They brazenly entered the area engulfed in flames!

When its true form was fully revealed, all the pioneers who had been on high alert couldn't help but gasp. Even through the masks, the strong stench of decay still seeped in.

That was actually a...

A red mushroom man standing four meters tall?

It has an upper body resembling that of a human and a lower body resembling that of a horse...

It is similar to the mushroom people we've seen before only in the shape and patterns of its upper body, but its intimidation is completely different!

Its entire body was dark red, like congealed blood, and its fat, bloated body resembled a moving mountain of flesh.

Its entire body was covered with a thick, tumor-like carapace that gleamed with an oily, hard sheen in the firelight.

Most surprisingly, it does not spew out mist that incites rage, depression, or arousal like ordinary fungus people.

Instead, it let out a low, hissing sound, like countless mycelia rubbing together.

It straddles its four thick, pillar-like stalks, resembling a maddened chariot.

It charged straight towards the center of the camp, where Richard was located, and launched a brutal assault!

"Stop it!" roared a third-tier bull-horse captain, who was the first to charge forward.

Hundreds of Tier 3 bull-horse people roared in unison and crashed into the giant red mushroom man like a torrent of steel!

boom!boom!boom!boom!

The fists and feet pounded on the carapace like drumbeats, producing a dull thud.

However, the protective power of that biological carapace far exceeded expectations.

An attack from a third-tier bull-horse-man, powerful enough to split stone and shatter monuments, only produced a few sparks and fragments upon impact, not even enough to pause it for a moment!

The giant mushroom man didn't even bother with the attackers. Its dark eyes, hidden beneath the folds of its carapace, remained fixed solely on Richard.

"roar!!"

It swung out a thick, shell-covered stalk arm, as thick as a beam!

The five or six oxen and horses blocking the path were sent flying backwards with screams, as if struck by a battering ram.

The power of that single strike was terrifying!

But Richard's pupils contracted slightly at that moment.

He keenly sensed something was amiss.

This attack was indeed powerful, enough to severely injure a third-tier opponent.

However... it doesn't seem to have reached the level of a true fourth-tier fully evolved insect beast that can crush everything in its path.

Moreover, from the time it appeared until now.

The most iconic ability of the mushroom man—spiritual mist—has remained unused.

Is it too late? Or... is it impossible?

Richard stared intently at the battle between the giant mushroom people and the cattle-horse people, his mind racing.

Although these third-tier bull-horse-men could not break through its shell, they successfully entangled it, preventing it from easily breaking through the human wall.

In the ensuing melee, the giant mushroom man's attack methods appeared rather simplistic. It mainly relied on brute force charges and swings, lacking skill and variation.

"Looks like... he's someone who excels in only one subject at a time."

Richard's mind raced.

The mushroom-man's talents seem to lie primarily in mental attacks; its armor and strength appear to have evolved to compensate for its weaknesses in close combat. It can't emit smoke... and its melee abilities aren't particularly strong either.

Having figured this out, Richard's eyes gleamed with fighting spirit.

Since it has abandoned its most effective mental attacks and chosen close-quarters combat—a method that uses its own weakness to attack the enemy's strength—then I have the possibility of confronting it head-on and even capturing it!

"Scatter! Surround it without attacking, disrupt its movements!"

Richard gave the order sternly, simultaneously urging it on with his mind.

Om-!

The dormant third-order giant cocoon within his body suddenly began to operate, its muscles and bones emitting a deep rumble.

To everyone's astonishment, Richard's body rapidly expanded as if inflated.

In an instant, it rose to a height of four meters, almost level with the red mushroom man!

His bulging muscles burst out of his shirt, revealing a lean, steel-like upper body.

But this is not over yet!

Richard shook his arms, and it felt as if something alive was moving beneath his skin.

Immediately afterwards, two chilling bone scythes suddenly sprang out from the outside of his forearms.

The blade edge gleamed with a cold, bone-like luster, a power that originated from the two Tier 3 Blade Insect Cocoons!

Twin Bone Scythes, the same style as the Silverwing Hunter Insect!

At the same time, the fourteen-winged Killer Knight belt he wore around his waist trembled slightly.

With a flash of silver light, the phantom wings of a pair of silver-winged insects suddenly unfolded behind him. The high-frequency flapping reduced his weight, bringing an amazing boost in speed and agility.

"Let's fight!"

Richard let out a low growl, his four-meter-tall body whipping up a gust of wind as he charged towards the red mushroom man!

The red mushroom man seemed to be enraged by Richard's provocation, letting out a deep roar and swinging its thick, carapace-covered fungal arm down hard!

Richard neither dodged nor avoided, his right arm held horizontally like a bone sickle!

"clang--!!!"

A deafening roar, like the clash of metal, erupted, sending sparks flying.

Richard felt a tremendous force come over him, the ground beneath his feet cracked, and he slid back half a step, but he caught the blow firmly!

As expected! Although its power is great, it is not insurmountable! Richard felt much more at ease.

He swung his left-hand bone sickle diagonally, aiming at the seam of the mushroom man's abdominal carapace, sending up a trail of blinding sparks.

The red mushroom man's other fungal arm followed closely, sweeping across Richard's head.

A silver wing phantom flashed behind Richard as he slid sideways at an incredible angle to avoid the attack.

At the same time, his right leg lashed out like a whip, kicking heavily at the joint of the mushroom man's supporting leg!

boom!

The mushroom-man's massive body swayed slightly, but the joints protected by its carapace remained undamaged.

It seemed enraged by Richard's agile fighting, and its attacks became increasingly ferocious, its fists pounding down like drums, blasting shallow craters into the ground.

Richard pushed speed and agility to their limits. The Silver Wings granted him the ability to stay airborne and change direction, allowing him to weave and maneuver through the gaps in the mushroom-men's frenzied attacks...