Chapter 231: Chapter 224: The Poisonous Mandible Soldier Ant Achieves Merit t

As the sun dipped westward, the patrol of Wolf Soldiers came again.

It was still that leader named Wang Qiu, riding a Black Wolf, leading ten Wolf Cavalrymen on patrol.

“Wumu, nothing out of the ordinary?”

“Reporting to Lord Wang, no abnormalities detected.”

“Stay sharp tonight and be extra cautious. I heard from Lord Ya Zhake that there might still be some who slipped through the net. The fact that they could escape the search indicates great strength. If you spot anything unusual, immediately shoot up a flare or blow the horn, and don’t even think about engaging them yourself.”

It seems they may have already ascertained that someone had escaped.

Fortunately, I wasn’t yet exposed; they just suspected something based on some traces.

Lord Wang Qiu swiftly departed with his Wolf Soldiers.

This mountainous region was vast, and horses simply couldn’t traverse the mountains. However, Wolf Cavalry were extremely agile in such terrain.

“From what Lord Wang Qiu said, it’s very likely that the patrol won’t come again today. Now should be a very good opportunity to make a move.”

Qin Niu silently removed his leather armor and placed his basket upon a tree.

Then, with Termite, he quietly approached the large tree where the enemy scouts were positioned.

I had to kill in one strike, not giving the scout any chance to call for help or make a sound.

Up in the tree, Wumu was practicing cultivation with his eyes closed.

For any soldier, increasing one’s cultivation level was absolutely a matter of great importance.

Martial arts, insects, and beast pets were strong but secondary; only the enhancement of cultivation brought the most lasting and tangible benefits.

If one of two soldiers advanced from the Mortal Realm to the Acquired Realm, that soldier could immediately rise to an officer rank.

The soldier who didn’t advance could only look up to his former comrade.

That was the most direct benefit.

Then, there were additional advantages such as increased lifespan, enhanced strength, increased spiritual power, control over more or more powerful pets, and so on.

Wumu was completely unaware that death was descending upon him.

When Qin Niu was about ten meters away from the large tree, he noticed nearly invisible spider webs set up ahead.

A fist-sized spider with grey patterns crouched on Wumu’s shoulder.

Its two black eyeballs protruded, as if constantly staring wide-eyed.

Next to it were two smaller jumping spiders.

On a branch beside Wumu, a large green mantis lay. It was incessantly licking its two front legs with its mouth.

The mantis’ front legs were its most formidable weapons.

Like two big sabers.

“Fourth, lead a group of Worker Ants and take control of those three spiders and the mantis.”

“Roger.”

Fourth immediately led six Worker Ants towards the large tree ahead.

Less than five meters from the tree, the mantis and the three spiders all lay motionless.

Qin Niu knew they had been brought under control.

Termite really was powerful, managing to deal with Wumu’s four insects with just seven ants.

Even though Wumu was just a common soldier, he actually had four insects raised, and each one was not of low grade.

The mantis and the two jumping spiders were probably Grade Three, and the black large spider could very well be Grade Four.

Such formidable power, if placed within the Insect Master Association of the Black Tiger Gang, would definitely be among the best of the low-tier Insect Masters.

Yet, Wumu was nothing extraordinary within the Nine Insect Gang.

The strength of the Insect Masters in the Nine Insect Gang was beyond imagination.

With Wumu’s four insects controlled, Qin Niu released another Demon Ant.

“Bring a few Worker Ants to scout around and see if there are any other insects!”

Although the combat power of the Demon Ant was not as high as Fourth’s, it was still among the exceptionally prominent within the many Worker Ants.

It soon made a discovery.

“Master, found a cricket.”

“Take control of it!”

Qin Niu ordered.

After the Demon Ant controlled the cricket, Qin Niu, holding the Demon Blade, approached the large tree silently.

The spider webs were broken by him, but there were no alarms since the black large spider was under control.

It was only when Qin Niu had reached the base of the tree that the cultivating Wumu felt a strong unease and slowly opened his eyes to check.

What met him was a merciless slash of the blade.

His neck was cleanly severed.

Qin Niu caught the head and the still-bleeding torso. The smell of blood was a big problem. Right now, there was no good way to handle it.

Following Wumu’s death, the few insects that had been controlled all died as well.

A small bamboo tube hung on Wumu’s waist.

Upon opening it, I found a cricket that had just died.

A cricket could emit various chirping sounds to alert its master.

Lucky for me, I was cautious enough to have the Demon Ant find and control the cricket.

He quickly searched the body, obtaining a token and some Silver Pieces. He also stripped off the Vine Armor from the corpse.

Picking up the body, he quickly tossed it into the thick undergrowth.

He retrieved his basket, put on the King Pig Leather Armor, and covered it with the Vine Armor.

In case of a search, I might have a chance to pass through undetected.

This was not a place to linger. After dealing with Wumu, he quickly moved forward.

That dangerous feeling still lingered.

As he advanced, he was very cautious.

Secret guards were everywhere, and it was easy to be discovered.

Luckily, by relying on his Innate Realm cultivation, he managed to stealthily proceed, climbing over the hill ahead.

Gazing down into the valley below,

He saw tents pitched in clusters, with a large number of soldiers encamped.

At this moment, he finally understood where the danger was coming from.

It must be from the army inside this valley.

From afar, behind another hill, came the sounds of soldiers’ shouts and drills, as if the troops were practicing.

Looking at this scene, there must be a large number of soldiers encamped in this region.

Quite likely, many valleys have already been filled with encampments.

Qin Niu, if discovered now, would have truly dived headfirst into the enemy’s nest.

There were patrols near the military camp, but no one came to the top of the hill for inspection.

Even so, he still didn’t dare to be careless.

Moving quietly and using the trees for cover, he followed the path along the hilltop, continuing forward.

He wanted to circumvent the large army in the valley below.

All the way, his heart was in his mouth, but fortunately, he wasn’t discovered.

After passing more than a dozen valleys, each valley housed a large army either training or stationed there.

The Nine Insect Gang had indeed assembled a formidable force near Wash Crime River.

He wondered how such a huge army managed to cross Wash Crime River?

The man-eating fish and water monsters in the river were not easy to deal with.

Now, the sky was gradually darkening, and it would soon be night.

For him, the night was a natural cover, which worked to his advantage.

He took out a map to check, and his current position was still in the bordering region between the Nine Insect Gang and the Black Tiger Gang.

There were several paths that led out of this mountainous area.

Since he was heading to Hundred Leaf Town, he naturally would choose the nearest route.

Fixing his direction, Qin Niu continued to stealthily move toward the front right.

He estimated that by the time the Nine Insect Gang’s patrolling Wolf Soldiers discovered Wu Mu had been killed, it would already be tomorrow morning.

By then, he would have already left this mountainous area and would no longer need to worry about being pursued.

He successfully climbed over the tallest hill in front, and in the valley below, there was only a large tent pitched.

He guessed that it could be the enemy’s central military tent or where the officers resided.

To become an army officer, one certainly had to be extremely strong.

In his eyes, the large tent below was even more dangerous than a large army.

“Damn it, Wolf Cavalry is coming.”

Qin Niu quickly found a large tree and stealthily climbed up, remaining concealed and motionless.

It was still that Lord Wang Qiu.

Wolf Soldiers should be a rare troop type within the Nine Insect Gang.

After all, cultivating a powerful wolf as a Beast Pet was not easy.

From a distance, he saw them escorting a bound girl, quickly heading toward the central military tent below.

The girl’s face was filled with despair.

Qin Niu, however, recognized at a glance that the unfortunate girl being captured was one of the stealthy crossers from last night.

Her father had the cultivation of the Acquired Realm.

A family of four.

Now he only saw her alone, her parents and brother might have already met with foul play.

Or they could have been detained in a temporary prison at the front lines.

Her, due to being young and beautiful with fair and delicate skin, had been presented by Lord Ya Zhake to a higher-ranking officer.

Beautiful women, gold, and silver money were invariably the most popular things in the army.

Qin Niu had no intention whatsoever of rescuing her.

He just hoped that those Wolf Soldiers would leave quickly after presenting the beautiful woman.

As he had anticipated, the Wolf Soldiers came out soon after presenting the woman, each with a smile on their face, probably having received praise from their superiors.

“Lord Song Zan rewarded each of us with a high-grade insect egg. As long as it hatches, I’ll soon be able to cultivate a Grade Four insect, and there’s even a chance for it to evolve to Grade Five. I’m so happy.”

“Lord Wang Qiu, the insect egg you received is even higher in quality; it shouldn’t be difficult to cultivate a Grade Six insect. Don’t forget about us old subordinates later on.”

“Haha, we are all brothers in arms; I won’t forget.”

The Wolf Soldiers chatted happily, quickly approaching in Qin Niu’s direction.

The path they were going to take was about forty or fifty meters away from where Qin Niu was hiding.

As Wang Qiu’s Black Wolf nearly reached the hilltop, it suddenly lifted its head, sniffing wildly at the air.

It might have caught a trace of blood scent mixed in with the air.

Qin Niu had gotten some blood on himself when he killed Wu Mu.

Although he cleaned it off, the bloodstains on his clothes couldn’t be washed away.

The Wolf Soldiers, who were previously chatting and laughing, immediately stopped in their tracks.

Their gazes turned toward the Black Wolf simultaneously.

“Elephant Nose Soldier Ant, release a stimulating scent immediately,” Qin Niu ordered the several Venomous Soldier Ants.

To cover up a bad smell, one would usually spray perfume on it. Now, to cover up the scent of blood, the best way was to have the Elephant Nose Soldier Ants release poison.

Instantly, several Grade Three Venomous Soldier Ants began to emit a stimulating chemical.

Qin Niu held his breath to avoid getting overwhelmed by it.

The Black Wolf in the distance continued to sniff around.

Soon, it started sneezing violently and shaking its head.

Seeing this, Qin Niu almost laughed out loud.

You little thing, relying on your sharp nose to meddle in affairs, let’s see if you don’t get gassed by this.

It was only because the Venomous Soldier Ants were still Grade Three. If they could upgrade by one or two more levels, the stimulating scent they released would be even more potent.

The Black Wolf’s sense of smell had been seriously disrupted, even temporarily damaged.

It kept sneezing and shaking its head as it walked away.

“Lord Wang Qiu, did your mount just discover something?”

“It might be a stinky insect. I’ve encountered this while patrolling the mountains before; let’s hurry on our way.”

Lord Wang Qiu obviously could not communicate with the Black Wolf using Animal Language.

He couldn’t even use spiritual thoughts for a clear soul exchange.

Otherwise, he would have known what the Black Wolf had just smelled was the scent of blood.

Now, however, he thought the Black Wolf had caught the stink of some insect, like a mole cricket or a stink bug, etc.

The vast majority of insects have an unpleasant smell.

Including scorpions; they emit a sour stench that makes people nauseated.

Mole crickets need no mention; their smell can be detected from far away.

If you dare to provoke one, that stench can knock a person out..