Nobita's Time Heist

"There's no mistake, it's her!" His voice was even distorted with nervousness. "That's the Mother of Insects!"

"Fat Tiger!"

Without needing any reminders, the instant his feet touched the ground, Gian threw the handful of seeds he had been holding in his pocket with the force of a baseball!

Because everyone arrived so suddenly, this time, it was actually the Mother of Insects who lagged behind for a moment and failed to react in time. She actually stood there, letting Nobita take out the [Magnifying Flashlight] and let the seeds pass steadily through the beam of light, falling to the ground during the magnification process.

……

"boom--------!!!"

A scene comparable to a tree-transformation descent.

Its verdant green color bursts forth from the earth.

Chapter 129: Why don't you finish what you're saying?!

As fellow anchors in time and space, the two seemed to share a subtle connection in their auras. With just a glance, they recognized their current situation.

Once you get rid of him/her, everything will be fine!

……

"boom------!!!"

Hylia stood at the very center of the crowd, her hands raised high. For the first time in her life, she unleashed her full power, a lightning-fast surge that spread outwards from Da Xiong and the others. The strange phenomenon that should have appeared in the sky instead meandered across the earth, piercing through the massive, bear-like insectoids, who were no longer recognizable as insects, turning them into piles of charcoal.

She had never tried releasing all the elemental power accumulated within her body in one go like this before. Even though she still had plenty of elemental affinity, her stamina was slowly failing her. Before long, the girl's vision went black, and blood from her nose flowed down like two bright red eels, only to be instantly ionized by the lightning elements around her, turning into a wisp of air with a burnt smell.

However, faced with overwhelming numbers, this thunderous fury, capable of destroying an army of tens of millions, seemed less effective than before.

Lightning pierced the bodies of a thousand, ten thousand insects, and the next second, a hundred thousand, a million joined the battle. They emerged from the sky, from the ground, from the shadows cast by the stone pillars, endlessly, crowding each other so much that there was no place to stand, yet all guided by the same will.

Their existence seemed to embody the concept of "legion system" in a concrete form. Completely unified and fearless of sacrifice, upon realizing the formidable power of Hyria's lightning, some Zerg would proactively step forward, using their own bodies as shields to help their comrades block the attack. Although their comrades would soon be pierced as well, in that brief moment, at least ten Zerg could advance half a meter.

Half a meter.

Half a meter.

Half a meter.

Within that uninterrupted half-meter, the Zerg army gradually approached, until these towering trees, emerging from the ground, completed the entire process of taking root, sprouting, flowering, and bearing fruit within forty seconds.

However, what they produced wasn't fruit, but actual tree warriors. The moment they fell from the trees, they were merely a twisted mass of branches and thorns. Like "Jack's Beanstalk" in the story, their growth rate was astonishing. We must thank Earth Online's excellent matchmaking system for pairing two god-like players who could mass-produce units into the same game.

"Woo..."

The thunder, as vast as a mountain torrent, gradually transformed into tiny arcs of electricity. Hylia let out a weak groan, feeling dizzy and unsteady on her feet, as if she were walking on cotton.

"Lady Hylia!" Mira quickly supported her back, reached out and checked her breath. "Oh dear, this situation... it's because she overused 'elemental power' and her body can't take it anymore."

“She has bought us time for the seeds to germinate, that’s enough. You all stay here and protect her.” Da Xiong turned his gaze to the distance, to the very center of the sacred land, where a massive crystal cluster stood prominently, and to the girl standing alone beside it, expressionless, looking down at them.

“What?” Gendry was clearly unhappy with the decision. “Recapturing Golden City, in the end, is also our battle. You want us to…”

"That's not what I meant." Before he could finish speaking, Da Xiong took out a basket of seeds from his pocket and shoved it into his hand, which also proved a truth: when people are in a daze, they will accept whatever you give them.

"We need more Treant Warriors; these aren't enough. You must keep planting seeds. Understand?"

"..."

The other party was not one to mince words, especially since they were on the battlefield. With just a few words, he understood the priorities and nodded.

"Upon closer inspection, it's truly astounding..." Amidst the rumbling of the earth and watching the endless swarm of insects rushing towards them, Shizuka put on the [Super Gloves] she had used during her previous adventure and couldn't help but exclaim, "It feels like a medieval war movie."

"That's so much fun!" Fat Tiger equipped even-numbered soldiers with air cannons, feeling mostly excited as he faced the army. This guy was actually a semi-"adrenaline warrior," only his triggers were different from most people's. In situations like this, his adrenaline always surged faster, giving him an excitement he couldn't even understand himself.

"Look on the bright side, the Mother of Insects has to face all of us at the same time, while our only enemy is her, isn't that right?"

"Fat Tiger, really, how can you calculate it like that... She has millions of clones protecting her. Even if the road light brings us here, how easy is it to get close to her?" Suneo shook his head helplessly. He was the most afraid of death. In addition to the [Shock Gun] used as a weapon, he also wore an invisibility cloak, a blind spot star on his chest, and a stone hat on his head. He could be said to have taken cowardice to the extreme.

With these triple stealth abilities, Suneo needs to consume the [Telepathic Fruit] to communicate with Nobita and the others through telepathy. Otherwise, even if he stands right next to them and shouts at the top of his lungs, they might not hear him. Given his personality, he's more suited to an assassin-like class, so it's foreseeable that we won't see him much on the battlefield in the coming days.

……

The swarming insects were already close at hand.

The verdant territory continued to expand, forming a dense forest like an isolated island. Within it, tall, reliable tree-man warriors slowly emerged, carrying heavy-looking weapons such as clubs, spears, and maces. They stood in a row before Da Xiong and the others, waiting quietly.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

……

The sound of a massive earthquake.

"The situation is clear, everyone. This isn't the first time we've encountered this, but this time, the enemy numbers are indeed a bit larger. Proceed according to plan, and help me suppress her for a little while... just a little while!"

Just before the two armies clashed, he turned around and glanced in the direction of the Great Archives, only to see a dark cloud of insect swarms.

"Thump thump thump—!!!!"

The insect swarm is imminent!

……

They could already see their enormous mouths open, their terrifying mandibles tearing and biting, as if they wanted to chew up everything in the world and swallow it into that bottomless black hole.

“If the plan fails, I will signal Xiaoshan. He is currently waiting in the canopy of Yggdrasil! The heat gun will tear a large hole in the swarm of insects, and we will take this opportunity to rush out together and then make further plans.”

"Remember, never leave the protection zone of the Treant Warriors, and fight in sync with them!"

"Shizuka, I..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Thump—!!!!"

The tree and the insect, two forces unwilling to yield, finally collided head-on. The violent impact drowned out everything else.

……

"Huh?" Shizuka was stunned for two seconds before she reacted, but when she turned her head to look, the tree warriors had already moved in unison, engulfing Nobita's small figure in the bushes.

"No... what did you say?!" She erupted in frustration, as if she'd missed the beginning of a movie. "Finish what you were saying—!!"

Chapter 130: The Black Hole Vacuum Cleaner

Counting on my fingers, how many times has this been the first time I've personally been to the battlefield?

In the Kingdom of Wangwang Lake, a final battle is fought against the rebellious dog-men soldiers; in the ancient era, a final defensive battle is waged against the dinosaur-men from underground; in the Mirror World, a final showdown is held against the Iron Legion; on Animal Planet, the ultimate battle is fought against the Nimqui aliens… Although there are times when, like in Genesis, the events end peacefully, in many of these grand adventures, the final outcome always concludes with a massive, decisive battle.

While others were still figuring out how to spend their summer vacation, Nobita faced wave after wave of opponents, and before he knew it, he could be considered a true veteran. His return to adventure after several years was probably more like a "veteran's homecoming" for him.

However, the scene of this battle...

But it was more primitive and violent than anything he had ever experienced.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Boom!!"

With a heavy thud, the treant warrior swung his hammer, smashing away a flying insect that had swooped in from the side, trying to bite off Nobita's head. The force was so great that the insect's wings shattered instantly, and its entire body turned into liquid. It crashed heavily to the ground with a "plop," twitched a few times, and then simply died. At this moment, Nobita couldn't help but feel grateful that it was an insect, and the splattered fluid was a mixture of green and yellow, which was more palatable.

What can you do if you don't accept it? This scene is just a tiny microcosm of the battle between insects and trees. Tree-men crush insects, or countless insects swarm and devour tree-men until they can no longer move—both are happening simultaneously.

"Tsk..."

He gritted his teeth, still dual-wielding the [Instant Sticky Gun], trapping all the remaining tree-men at the front lines, rendering them immobile. In fact, Nobita didn't need to do anything more; just a second's delay would be enough for a tree-man to swing its weapon and smash the insects to pieces. Their seemingly simple branches and weapons, when in action, often unleash power far beyond imagination.

This is why Da Xiong felt immense pressure. Before long, he was panting heavily, and when he wiped his forehead, he found it covered in sweat.

Looking around, there was chaos, and dull thuds echoed everywhere. His companions were already lost in the sea of ​​trees, indistinguishable, but since the alarm hadn't gone off, he could only assume they were all alright.

He had never fought a battle like this before; in the face of the enemy's terrifying numbers, long-range weapons seemed to have lost their meaning.

Everything returns to the most primitive and direct way.

"..."

The tree-man warrior couldn't speak, nor could he warn him with gestures. His hand, as hard as obsidian, opened and shoved Nobita hard on the shoulder, the force so great it sent him flying. Luckily, Nobita had been beaten up by Gian since childhood and knew how to protect himself when falling; he rolled on the ground to avoid injury.

With a bang, his brain felt like it had been violently shaken, and his vision blurred. When he stood up and looked again, an insect-human, slender as a hunting dog but with a head, limbs, and torso similar to a human—clearly a moth transformed—was standing where he had just stood. Its head slowly turned, and in its countless compound eyes, Da Xiong couldn't read any emotion, only a primal urge to kill.

It let out a shriek, and in mid-air, more moth-men swooped down, landing on the trunks of the tree-man warriors like ants gnawing on an elephant. Using their evolved, incredibly sharp hooks, they pierced the joints between trees, attempting to "dismantle" them by brute force.

Before long, more tree warriors arrived from behind, grabbed the mothman's legs and wings, tore them off one by one, threw them to the ground, and stomped on them.

All of this happened so quickly that Nobita was speechless with astonishment.

"Two races that could theoretically develop intelligence were born as war machines, and were crushed and torn apart in endless conflict..."

"What is the point, really?"

However, he didn't have much time to dwell on his thoughts. The battle line was still pushing forward—though it was difficult, the treant warriors seemed to be slightly stronger than the current Zerg. Staying put was the most dangerous thing to do; who knew which treant might step on him without warning and crush him to dust.

……

"Nobita!"

Suneo's voice suddenly appeared in his mind—this was the effect of the [Telepathic Fruit]. After consuming it, one could passively allow others to read their thoughts without speaking. The downside was that any inner thoughts would be leaked, whether desired or not. After consuming it, one was essentially a Trisolaran, unable to keep any secrets.

However, with the great battle imminent, Suneo had no time to think about anything else. Donning his invisibility suit, he focused entirely on the task Nobita had given him—observing the battlefield. He concealed his presence to the extreme, ensuring he wouldn't attract any attacks, carefully infiltrating behind enemy lines to observe the battlefield situation. And at the most crucial moment, he would make a judgment.

"Less than a hundred meters...we're so close to her!" he thought to himself. "Now!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

If we were to use a long-distance race as a metaphor, then this moment is the incredibly difficult final hundred meters. All the forbearance and every arduous step forward before this moment has been for this very instant.

"call out----"

"Snapped!"

Fireworks rose from Nobita's pocket, exploded in the dark sky, and revealed a large, round face of Doraemon.

Even in this situation, Nobita can still smile. It's as if as long as he's there, whatever difficulties lie ahead are just like a game.

"【Black Hole Vacuum Cleaner】—!!"

He pulled a strangely shaped backpack vacuum cleaner from his pocket, rushed to the front of the group, and turned it on. With a sound like a tractor starting up, the vacuum cleaner began to operate, sweeping away the insects in front of it and putting them into Nobita's backpack at an incredible angle.

(Black Hole Vacuum Cleaner: It has a built-in black hole model and has a very high suction power and storage capacity. In the movie "Doraemon: Nobita's Future Gadget Museum", it was used to deal with the runaway artificial sun.)

“Buzz——!!!”

In an instant, the front and back lines switched places, and the group that had been protected as the core suddenly found themselves at the forefront. Shizuka and Gian also rushed out from the dense swarm of tree people, wielding vacuum cleaners to send the endless stream of insects inside.

All the previous primitive tactics, including the ultimate brute force airdrop into the enemy camp and the unskilled mass troop formations, were designed to mislead the opponent. When the Mother of Zerg became accustomed to the primitive way of warfare, she suddenly changed tactics and pulled out an unexpected item, catching the opponent off guard and unable to react.

While the "Black Hole Vacuum Cleaner" might be somewhat inadequate for dealing with an out-of-control artificial sun, cleaning up a swarm of carbon-based insects was child's play. Under the combined pressure of the three, the previously struggling battle line was instantly pushed forward by dozens of meters.

Perhaps, in time, she can help the Zerg find a way to fight their enemies through continuous evolution, but it's pointless to talk about that now.

It's all too late now.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Charge!!"

Fat Tiger let out a battle roar, took the lead, and waved the vacuum cleaner in his hand, only a step away from the crystal cluster standing in the center of the holy land.

Chapter 131: What explosive content is this?!

Her slender fingers slowly rose, dark light gathering at their tips, reflecting off her long, maroon hair, which swayed gently. For at least that instant, she transcended the malevolent title of "Mother of Insects," and seemed to be bathed in a divine light, as if draped in moonlight.

"boom--!!"

The beam of light shot out, easily piercing through the black hole vacuum cleaner in Fat Tiger's hand, turning it into a useless piece of scrap metal. Fat Tiger might be a bit reckless, but he wasn't stupid. This move was clearly a message from his opponent: she possessed the ability to kill him instantly, but simply hadn't made a move. Under such intimidation, he naturally stopped, waiting for the main force to rejoin him.

"..."

The vast army of tree people charged towards them, but the girl's expression remained unchanged; she simply raised her right hand unhurriedly.

All the insects seemed to have been frozen in place, as if a pause button had been pressed. Beneath her seemingly frenzied exterior, the girl seemed to understand her situation better than anyone else, and she stopped trying to fend them off with swarm tactics. Instead, she adopted a true soldier-to-soldier, general-to-general stance, lightly touching the ground with her feet and slowly floating up. Even though the tree people had surrounded the center of the sacred ground, she could still look down at them from mid-air, her gaze as still as a calm lake, devoid of even the most basic hostility.

"really……"

Nobita didn't rush to make a move. Instead, he took out the "Mind-Reading Mirror" (from the Ooyama version of the anime "Mind-Reading Mirror," which can see into other people's true thoughts. Because it involves invading others' privacy, this item has been banned from sale in 22 real-world events and is currently only circulating on the black market for gadgets) and observed the girl for a while.

What he saw was an indescribable chaos: jet-black flames flew wildly, transforming into an endless, dark universe and a seemingly eternally rotating, spiraling nebula. Above the nebula, crimson light coalesced into a faint, almost imperceptible demonic claw, reaching towards Earth from afar, as if to crush it in its palm. Compared to this, humanity's home, on which it depended for survival, appeared so fragile and helpless in the darkness.

Blood and fire, ancient magic, chanting under the moonlight, a colossal pyramid soaring into the clouds, three dragons flying by, an endless night, a two-handed swordsman on horseback, the seventh door slowly opening… She seemed to be a traveler, having been to far too many places. Thinking about it, what torment it must have been for her to be transformed into this state, imprisoned beneath the desert for centuries.

"How's it going, Nobita?" Gian, who had been poised to attack, was starting to get tired of being so tense. "Fight or talk?"

“…Her memories are more chaotic than I imagined. I didn’t see anything about the underground.” Da Xiong took a deep breath and murmured, “Just like Xiao Shan said, she may have erased the painful memories of her hundreds of years of imprisonment. It’s a self-protection mechanism.”