Shackles of Humanity

The massive dark cloud formed by the insect swarm in the sky had thinned out considerably. It could no longer generate the subsonic waves that had covered the entire city. Most of the insects had landed, swarming through the streets and alleys to engage the soldiers in bloody urban warfare.

Soldiers were surrounding and wiping out the swarms under the cover of steam-powered armored vehicles. The machine guns on the vehicles spat fire, and fist-sized insects fell like rain. Against gunpowder weapons, these insects were incredibly fragile, but their numbers were vast, and among them were giant insects that could dodge and resist gunfire.

A giant insect the size of a truck’s cab was darting about near the hotel. Its figure was a blur. With every leap, it kicked up a white shockwave in the air—the result of breaking the sound barrier. At such speeds, ordinary firearms couldn’t lock onto it. Even more terrifying, it also possessed a subsonic wave Ability.

It was a low-frequency sound that seemed to bore into a person’s very soul, creating an uncontrollable urge to scratch themselves. The closer one got, the more powerful the invisible low-frequency sound wave became. It caused a person’s heart rate to accelerate until their blood began to boil. Any soldier who got near bled from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, writhing in agony on the ground.

There was more than one of these insects. It was precisely because of them that the army had been unable to make any decisive progress. Instead, they suffered heavy casualties and even showed signs of being routed.

Luo Kai stood on a collapsed wall, his face grim. He extended his Spiritual Power to block the sound waves. The circulation of his Qi and Blood surged, and the Severing Blade in his hand began to hum. When his heart rate was about to reach its critical point, he finally locked onto the giant insect’s figure. He stomped his foot and shot out like a bolt of lightning.

This was his first battle after his power had fully recovered and even risen to a new level. As his thoughts accelerated, time itself seemed to slow down. That powerful, omniscient feeling returned once more.

His body and mind were in perfect unison. His essence, qi, and spirit were highly focused, his will as hard as steel. At that moment, everything in the world was stripped away from his Perception, leaving only the giant insect, which grew clearer and clearer.

The giant locust seemed to sense something and its body froze. Its pair of compound eyes, with their 360-degree field of vision, turned to look at him. Its massive mouthparts let out a sharp, chirping shriek, and a higher-intensity subsonic wave washed over Luo Kai.

Luo Kai was completely unaffected. When his body, mind, and will reached a state of unity, nothing in the outside world could interfere with the operation of his personal Little Cosmos. His body, like a giant spring, leaped seven or eight meters into the air. The Severing Blade slashed down, carrying an unstoppable momentum.

Meeting his Sword Aura was the giant insect’s pair of lower limbs, which were like guillotines covered in barbs. SLICE! The limbs were sliced in two. Even though the insect’s body was incredibly hard, it couldn’t withstand this one slash, which was infused with all of Luo Kai’s essence, qi, and spirit.

Spiritual Power was an omnipotent force. When you firmly believed something could be done, then no matter how impossible it seemed, you would succeed. As Spiritual Power grew stronger, this Power of Belief gradually began to take effect.

In other words, Spiritual Power could greatly amplify the might of his Sword Aura. After consuming the Cyan Dragon Brain Marrow, not only had Luo Kai’s physical constitution improved dramatically, but his mysterious Spiritual Power could finally affect his actual combat strength.

The giant insect’s intelligence was far higher than that of an ordinary locust. Realizing it was outmatched, it let out a series of miserable chirps. Pushing off forcefully with its one remaining leg, it began to flee.

Luo Kai snorted coldly. After landing, he stomped his foot again. The floor beneath him immediately shattered, and he gave chase like a bolt of lightning.

Although the giant insect only had one leg left, its leaping ability was astonishing. Aided by its wings, its speed was still incredible. Luo Kai found that even he couldn’t catch up to it quickly. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself. ’Insectoid creatures really are born for battle.’ A sense of unease washed over him. ’If all the insects evolve to this level, does humanity even have a future?’

...

While Luo Kai was hunting the giant insect, a heated discussion was taking place in the army camp outside Changyuan City. The first reinforcements to arrive had been the Government Armies from the various nearby County Mansions. They had no unified commander. After fighting fiercely for the better part of a day, they had all suffered heavy casualties without seeing any hope of annihilating the swarm.

The various army leaders were heartsick over their losses, but they knew that if they didn’t completely eliminate the swarm, their own territories would likely be next. The focus of their discussion was when the elite Tiger Soul Army would arrive.

An officer in his fifties said worriedly, "It’s been a day, and there’s still no sign of the Tiger Soul Army. Don’t tell me Grand General Chang wants to watch our Government Armies suffer heavy casualties and then just come in to clean up afterward."

"Yeah. Once we’ve suffered heavy casualties, he can take advantage of the situation to secure his position as Great Lord."

A black officer said loudly, "Gentlemen, we all know the Tiger Soul Army is stationed at Tieheng Mountain. Even if they wanted to come immediately, it would take time to assemble their armored divisions. Just having the men arrive is useless. The most crucial thing is, when will the Martial Artists from the Military Punishment Department get here?"

"That’s right. The small insects are one thing, but those big ones are terrifying. Only the Martial Artists have a chance of killing them."

A somewhat hoarse voice came from outside the tent, "We arrived long ago. We just haven’t found a way to kill the big ones yet."

A middle-aged man wrapped entirely in black walked into the military tent. He had bloodstains on his clothes, and his face looked somewhat weathered. It was none other than the Grand Commander of the Military Punishment Department, Mushan.

The army was its own world, and most of the generals recognized Mushan. The black officer exclaimed in shock, "Commander Mu, what do you mean? Don’t tell me even your Martial Artist unit can’t handle the giant insects!"

Mushan sighed. "The giant insects have a terrifying sound wave Ability. It’s almost impossible to get close, and they’re as fast as lightning. We haven’t found a way to deal with them yet. A few of my brothers and I just tangled with one for a long time. We couldn’t do a thing to it and ended up getting badly injured ourselves."

Now everyone panicked. Mushan was a High-level Martial Artist and had spent his years in constant battle. If one were to rank the strongest Martial Artists in the Xingma Kingdom, Mushan would most likely be number one. If even the Martial Artist unit he led couldn’t handle the giant insects, then the entire Xingma Kingdom was probably going to fall to the insect plague.

"Should we report this to the Dongyuan Upper Country immediately and request reinforcements?"

Mushan shook his head. "Whether it’s ordinary armies or Martial Artist units, they all need time to assemble. By the time reinforcements from the Dongyuan Upper Country arrive, it will probably be too late."

"Ah! Then what should we do?"

"If it comes to that, our only option is to shrink the defensive perimeter and order the people in the other County Mansions to evacuate."

Mushan waved his hand. "Gentlemen, don’t panic. Don’t forget that our Xingma Kingdom now has a Body Master watching over it."

"Hmm... Commander Mu, are you suggesting we ask City Lord Su Chengbo of Longyang City to intervene?"

The generals’ spirits lifted. If a Body Master intervened, these insects would be no problem at all.

"We’ll write a joint letter right now and ask City Lord Su to intervene."

Just then, a soldier covered in blood rushed in excitedly, shouting, "Reporting! There’s a blade-wielding Martial Artist in the city hunting down the giant insects! We’ve already found three giant insect corpses!"

Everyone in the tent was thrilled, yet extremely puzzled. Someone had actually killed three of the giant insects that even High-level Martial Artists couldn’t handle. Could it be that there was another Body Master hidden in the city?

They looked at each other and said in astonishment, "Could the Tri-Eyed Race’s City Lord have already arrived?"

Mushan asked the soldier in a deep voice, "What does this blade-wielding Martial Artist look like?"

The soldier recalled, "He’s too fast. I couldn’t get a clear look. I could only see that he was holding a blade, but I couldn’t make out his features. He seemed very young."

Mushan thought for a moment and said, "Gentlemen, I’ll go into the city first to take a look. Assemble your troops and watch for my signal. If it’s green, launch an all-out attack."