Chapter 228: Chapter 221 Entering the Territory of the Nine Insect Gang 1
Qin Niu slid down the big tree to the ground; most of the guests who had crossed the river had already departed.
Only two people were still waiting, possibly for family members or friends who had not yet crossed the river.
Qin Niu followed the direction taken by those before him and strode forward.
The fact that others had traveled this path suggested it was relatively safe.
If anything were to go wrong ahead, following from behind would allow him to detect any trouble and escape immediately.
With his abilities, it was almost impossible for the average soldier of the Nine Insect Gang to capture him.
He walked in the dark for about three or four miles without encountering any soldiers from the Nine Insect Gang.
The two hundred coins paid for the guide today were well spent.
No matter how tightly the borders were sealed, smugglers would find a way through.
According to the mistress’s words, as long as he was five miles away from the riverbank, he would be safe.
Now, there should only be a mile or two left.
Despite some time remaining before dawn, he was still worried that the longer the night, the more dreams, and the best plan was to hurry away from this troublesome place.
As he ran swiftly forward, he faintly heard screams coming from ahead.
His heart instantly tightened.
There were definitely people in trouble up front.
Had the soldiers of the Nine Insect Gang discovered them, these smugglers, and decided to exterminate them, or had they encountered other problems?
The terrain had been rather flat just after crossing the river.
But now, it had become a rugged mountain path, with lush trees and continuous hills everywhere.
Such small hills, no more than two hundred meters high, could not be called mountains.
They were merely hills.
Indeed, a place had its own features. On one side of the river was a completely different world from the other.
In the Black Tiger Gang’s Shihe Town, the land was flat and fertile, perfect for cultivating crops. Who could have imagined that just a few miles beyond the river would turn out to be a mountainous area?
There were fewer signs of habitation as well.
No homes had yet been discovered.
It was also night, and the route they were taking was remote, so it was normal not to encounter any households.
Qin Niu had no intention of going to the rescue or investigating further.
Those with too kind a heart often did not live for long.
Even a Bodhisattva couldn’t possibly save everyone.
Just look at “Journey to the West”; the Bodhisattva only extends a helping hand to those demons with whom there is a vested interest.
Those who meddle in the affairs of others are often good people.
But in these times, good people often do not live long lives.
He quickly changed direction and sped up.
However, he soon ran into trouble himself.
As he descended a hill, he found the area infested with vicious mosquitoes.
These mosquitoes had grey and white patterns on their bodies, long proboscises, and were highly agile in flight.
Smelling Qin Niu’s flesh and blood, they swiftly flew towards him, diving straight at him.
The result was predictable; Qin Niu didn’t have to lift a finger, as the twenty thousand termites he carried were not vegetarians.
Among them, nearly four thousand possessed abilities for mental attacks or control.
These mosquitoes were not ordinary, but they didn’t even reach Grade Two.
As soon as they got within five meters of Qin Niu, they were struck down as if by invisible bullets.
They fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
Some died instantly.
Ordinary insects trying to attack Qin Niu couldn’t even get close to him.
The group of termites he had put so much effort into raising was not just for show.
“Were these poisonous mosquitoes intentionally placed here by the Nine Insect Gang to guard the border? Or because Insect Masters are commonplace within the territory of the Nine Insect Gang, all sorts of formidable wild insects can be found everywhere?”
Insect Masters would inevitably discard some lesser breeds during the breeding process.
Or the first generation insects.
For instance, Qin Niu’s termites.
The Ant Queen’s newly produced termites were obviously stronger and of a higher grade, their strength surpassing that of the thousands of termites that came before them.
He didn’t eliminate the first batch of termites because each of them had multiple special abilities.
This was only the case for his insects.
Other Insect Masters didn’t have high-grade resources like the Ancient Banyan Tree Blood; having one insect with special abilities would be enough to make them overjoyed.
Even the over four thousand Grade Three army ants of Old Master Huang were just ordinary.
Therefore, when they acquired higher-grade insects, they would directly eliminate the original generation of insects.
By the time they had fourth or fifth generation insects, they might even eliminate the third generation.
Some of those eliminated insects might be killed directly.
This is a rather selfish and extreme method.
The purpose is to prevent others from breeding similar insects.
Some Insect Masters, due to their affection for their insect pets, wouldn’t kill them,
but would dissolve the contract and release them back into nature.
For colony-type insects, eliminating them is even less of a pressure.
Qin Niu strode fearlessly, ignoring those poison mosquitoes.
As he quickly moved forward, he seemed to feel something like silk threads breaking under his feet.
Looking down, he saw spider silk.
His Insect Identification skill had already reached a certain level, now at two stars. Upon examining the spider silk, he discovered it wasn’t ordinary silk but a kind of very tough special silk.
The spider that spun it must be at least Grade Four.
And the silk thread he broke was still new, indicating that it hadn’t been spun long ago.
It was likely within a day or two.
In the territory of the Nine Insect Gang, where insects were so abundant and powerful, it couldn’t be possible to casually encounter such a formidable spider on a small hill, right?
This Grade Four spider likely had an owner.
What was the purpose of setting up the spider silk in the mountain?
It must be serving as an alert. Similar to setting up a warning bell or a trap, an intrusion would be immediately detected.
“I must leave here quickly.”
He realized that something was amiss.
He swiftly took another direction and hurriedly escaped from the area.
The mountains were dense with trees, and he was unfamiliar with the terrain.
He was extremely cautious along the way, avoiding any possible traps. As he walked, he actually got lost.
It’s easy to overestimate one’s ability to traverse mountains until exhaustion overtakes.
Getting lost in the mountains was a terrifying situation.
Mainly because this mountain range was not safe.
However strong he was, he wasn’t arrogant enough to confront the army of the Nine Insect Gang alone.
“Be careful, everyone— this person broke my spider silk; they should be in this area.”
That person’s voice wasn’t loud, but Qin Niu still heard it.
It came from the front left.
He certainly wouldn’t stupidly wait to be surrounded by enemies.
He immediately broke through towards the front right.
The Ink Blade was already in his hand.
This blade was thirsty for human blood. If any blindly searching Nine Insect Gang soldiers came his way, he might just have to embark on a slaughter.
Today, no matter what, he had to fight his way out.
Now that he had encountered such great trouble, the other forty or so smuggled passengers were probably in grave danger.
Among those smuggled passengers, just sitting in the main hall, there were three with formidable strength.
The family of four that came down from upstairs, though slightly weaker, had the male head of the household at least at the second or third layer of the Acquired Realm. Such a high-level master was actually thinking of escaping the Black Tiger Gang territory with his family.
In Qin Niu’s view, this was simply a foolish move.
Sometimes that’s how human hearts work, scaring oneself.
The Black Tiger Gang might seem weak, but the high ranks of the Black Tiger Gang were fought for, and few high-ranking members got their positions through their parents’ leftover influence.
In terms of strength, the Black Tiger Gang was definitely not as weak as imagined..