Extraction

A colossal insect hive in the dark abyss.

Tens of thousands of humans are imprisoned within the fruit.

The entire insect nest was like a living thing, breathing and pulsating, with countless locusts crawling in and out of it, drawing energy from nodes, branches, and fruits.

At the center of countless intersecting veins, Big Bob dangles from a pool of viscous liquid.

Numerous tentacles pierced his flesh from behind, the back of his head, and his arms. This mercenary king, who had been active in the last century, regained his youth in a way that was incomprehensible to ordinary people. His body was perfect, like an ancient Greek sculpture, like a demigod. His will was connected to the entire hive through these tentacles that pierced his flesh, and he roared. As a result, a violent roar echoed throughout the entire underground palace.

Kant

Resentment, hatred, longing, fear... so much was contained in that roar.

The insect hive shook violently, and a piercing noise reverberated throughout the underground space. The locusts that had been drawing energy from the hive came back to life. Under the will of the hive's master, they floated into the air, gathered in one place, and changed their shapes, guarding Big Bob. Their bizarre forms resembled the Shadow of demons.

Insect master, insect swarm, insect nest.

The complete Grewind Swarm roared at Kang De.

Faced with the all-consuming swarm of insects, the insect hives that cultivate humans, and the eerie and terrifying Big Bob, Kang De floated in the dark void, his wings of light shimmering and illuminating the darkness.

He took out his phone.

Click, click, click—twenty shots in a row.

Big Bob's roar went off-key.

"..."

"..."

With a smile, Kang De turned his phone over so the screen was facing Big Bob: "I'll take a few pictures of you, pick one you like and send it to your wives and kids as a keepsake."

"I'll tell them some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you've become younger, and the bad news is that I'll kill you. Let them be happy for a bit before they start crying. It won't be in vain that your Buruo Family was enemies with my Kang Family. Don't you think I'm being thoughtful?"

Big Bob said coldly, "You think you've got it all figured out? You think I'm the one who'll die?"

Kang De shrugged and said, "That's right. Look, I've already brought you to my doorstep. Your swarm of insects is useless, your psychic power is suppressed by me, and even if you have some backup plan, or even if you simply self-destruct, I can teleport away before that happens—how the hell are you going to fight me?"

Big Bob remained silent, his eyes filled with gloom. He was a seasoned warhound with an extremely keen sense of danger. The situation before him was indeed hopeless. Even though this was his home turf, there was almost no hope of victory—after all, the inheritance he had received was incomplete.

Damn it... If Tacitus hadn't fallen into the hands of this China man, I would be the one intimidating the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and dominating the world!

But a war hound is still a war hound.

Mercenaries are people who sniff out the last glimmer of hope in the most desperate situations.

The swarm did not attack. Big Bob's body slowly rose, drawn by his tentacles, and stared at Kang De across the dark void. He sneered, "Since you think you've already won, why don't you make a move?"

There's still a chance.

The tens of thousands of people he plundered from Zhuerban City, from the king to ordinary citizens, as well as foreign tourists visiting the city, were enough to become his bargaining chips... his bargaining chips to gain a way out.

His modified and enhanced heart pounded.

Nervousness, anticipation, and pride.

The difference between a hero and a villain is that the former has something to uphold, while the latter can act without restraint.

If you were to protect everyone in Comora... would you turn a blind eye to the tens of thousands of lives lost?

Big Bob let out a smug, cold laugh in his heart.

The next moment, he heard Kang De say, "You're right."

Holy light shone brightly, and the light blade slashed furiously through the void.

Gunpowder roared, and bullets whistled through the air.

The Vulcan light of the sun transformed into a sword of blazing light, slashing down with a wave of energy dozens of meters long. Horus's transformed shoulder cannons fired continuously, and Kang De launched a lightning-fast surprise attack.

But the insect hive has its own will.

This is Big Bob's home turf.

At a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, countless tentacles unleashed whistling sonic booms, weaving and blocking in front of Big Bob, layer upon layer, thwarting the exploding projectiles and hindering the advance of the light blades. His body was pulled back to the core, and the swarm responded. Big Bob, filled with shock and rage, cried out, "Kang De!"

"Here it is."

The wings of light extinguished, and in the boundless darkness, the Phoenix Flame ignited. Using the spatial anchor point of the bullet, Kang De silently broke through the tentacles' defenses, descended from the sky, and approached Big Bob.

The insect nest trembled, and countless tentacles danced and tangled, coiling towards Kang De.

With his mental energy activated, Kang De's arms crackled with lightning as he parted them to the sides. The nova exploded with a deafening roar, and the spreading frost sealed the tendrils. The violent power of the lightning shattered them, and Kang De's figure flickered as he raced along, his heavy veins propelling him forward like a whirlwind.

The light blade extending from his right arm slashed towards Big Bob's chest.

"Kang De!"

Numerous tentacles emerged from the pool beneath Big Bob, blocking Kang De's light blade. The Fire Thief, not wanting to linger, teleported into the sky, levitating on the wind. He stared at the churning tentacles in the pool, a look of shock on his face. "You were lying in there before? Was it fun?"

Big Bob shouted, "You try it!"

Kang De did not reply, his figure disappearing into the dark portal.

Big Bob held his breath, it was that move again. The opponent's unpredictable teleportation ability was giving him a lot of trouble. The Swarm Master summoned tentacles to seal off all directions, commanding the swarm to sense the surroundings and set up an impenetrable defense. Once the opponent teleported again, they would be met with a fierce and relentless attack.

A moment later, in the same spot, a spatial portal opened in the sky.

The swarm sensed something, but before Big Bob could order the hive to attack, a mountain several tons in size appeared out of thin air with a whooshing sound and crashed toward the central core of the hive!

Kang De's voice then rang out. "Test your mother!"

The heavy, massive gravitational potential energy roared down, a pure and violent kinetic energy impact that even the most tightly woven tendrils could hardly stop. Although it wasn't Mass Projection accelerated dozens of times—it was enough!

Big Bob roared in alarm and anger, but the next moment, the roar was swallowed up by the violent falling rocks. A loud bang came from the central core, and huge rocks were thrown down, causing huge waves to rise on the lake and shaking the entire insect hive!

"Kang De!"

At the critical moment, Big Bob left the bottom of the central liquid pool. The hive belonged to him and was under his control. Of course, he could open the emergency passage and the central core area could be reconstructed. However, this destruction was not insignificant. Moreover, he sensed Kang De's murderous intent in this terrible attack.

"You're insane!"

The wicked are shouting and yelling.

"Do you want to destroy this place?!"

The wings of light illuminate the void, reflecting Kang De's gaze as calm as a still lake.

He said, "I will destroy you."

This isn't what I expected! Why doesn't he care?

Big Bob was furious and bewildered, but he dared not delay or bluff any longer. He had to make Kang De understand the gravity of the situation. "None of the tens of thousands of people here are dead! They're all alive and well! If you let them out, they'll wake up! Do you know what to do?"

Kang De nodded and said, "I know. It's probably about moving the mouse over the bio-power plant, and after the mouse icon changes, clicking it will evacuate the people inside—that should be it. I haven't played it in a long time."

"Don't give me that nonsense! Damn it!"

Big Bob was going crazy, a vague sense of impending doom gripping him. He didn't know if the other person was deliberately trash-talking or genuinely didn't care—if it was the latter, it would be truly terrible news.

He roared, "Tens of thousands of lives are at stake here! If you kill me here, they will all die! Tens of thousands! The entire city! The king, officials, merchants, and common people of the capital Gambia ... they will all die! Do you want this outcome? Do you want your hands stained with the blood of these tens of thousands of lives?"

Kang De's expression remained unchanged, his eyes as calm as a lake.

He said, "So, in order for these tens of thousands of people to survive, I'll let you go?"

Big Bob said in a deep voice, "I'm a mercenary, and I'm also a businessman. I know the rules and the principles. I lost this time, and as the defeated party, I should pay the price and make reparations. These tens of thousands of lives are not bargaining chips I use to threaten you, but the key to starting a dialogue. I will guarantee their safety, and beyond that, I will give you more... I just want to live."

He pointed to the enormous, bottomless abyss and the mysterious, vast insect hive, its fulcrum unknown. "Don't you find it awe-inspiring? It has existed here for a long time. Who created it? This isn't magic or supernatural power; it's the power of science, a grandeur and power that we, and even humanity today, cannot comprehend... Just how many secrets are hidden within?"

Big Bob looked at Kang De, a dark light gleaming in his eyes.

"You've obtained Tacitus, the key to unlocking its deepest secrets. Now that you've obtained it, aren't you interested in these things? I'm willing to share everything I've gained here with you, even handing over control of the hive to you. I just want to live. If you spare my life, I'll give you everything. I've regained my youth and just want to live an anonymous life, enjoying this new existence..."

He said sincerely, "Listen, I'm sorry for everything that's happened so far, but ultimately, you haven't suffered any real loss, right? I'll even give you generous compensation and rewards. It's a worthwhile deal. I know where your murderous intent towards me comes from. I shouldn't have threatened to harm your parents to scheme against you. Please believe me, I won't have such thoughts anymore, after all..."

Big Bob really used all his talking skills.

He truly deserves to be called the king of mercenaries who dominated Africa in the last century.

He said, "After all, I've witnessed your power, and I don't even know where your limits are. Now that you've let me go, allowing me to enjoy a completely new life—so why should I still harm your parents? Just to anger the world's strongest superhuman, to make him recklessly and without restraint swear to kill me to avenge my parents? What good would that do me?"

Big Bob's tone became increasingly gentle.

His words were earnest and sincere.

He believed his offer was enough to sway Kang De.

After all, who wouldn't want to possess such a secret?

But to his dismay, Kang De shook his head.

"I have absolutely no interest in your ruins, secrets, and heritage."

The ancient elven tome solemnly declared that the Grewind Swarm was an extremely terrible disaster, the beginning of some horrific calamity, and a highly dangerous thing.

Having already vaguely guessed the true author of this ancient elven book, would Kang De choose to believe that man, or Big Bob, this shameless, cunning, cruel, and despicable mercenary?

He said, "This kind of thing should be destroyed along with you."

The cruelest thing is despair following hope. Big Bob's expectations were dashed, and rage and anxiety surged within him. He roared, "Does it matter if all these people die?"

I think you've got something wrong.

Kang De gazed at the densely packed, sleeping people bound in the prison cells and said calmly, "You are the one who abducted them here, and you are the one who killed them. The one who needs to bear the responsibility is you, who committed the evil deeds, the Fr*nce governments that colluded with you, and the Western world that condoned you, hindered each other, and led the situation to this point, not me."

"And correspondingly."

The light blade extended, pointing directly at Big Bob.

"If we let you go, allow you to escape this place, let you recuperate, and hide away in some unknown corner of the world to slowly grow stronger, until you make a comeback and bring even greater disaster to the world, causing far more people to be displaced, imprisoned, lose their loved ones, and die in agony..."

The holy light shone on Kang De's face.

"That's my responsibility."

The intention to kill was made.

Big Bob was still making a last-ditch effort. "So you've decided to sacrifice these people to protect more people?"

"Fart."

Kang De said calmly, "What kind of fallacy is this? What do you mean by sacrificing these people? I have no obligation to protect these people, nor should things be based on the premise that I must save everyone. Big Bob, I follow my beliefs and path based on my own will and efforts, not for reward or to fulfill an obligation. Therefore, I will not heed your demands, accept your judgment, or be swayed by your words."

So, shut up your ridiculous talk and bullshit ideas.

I'll teach you how to speak properly.

"It wasn't me who sacrificed these people."

"I did my best to protect a group of people."

"--Remember this!"

With wings of light unfurled, Kang De soared into the sky and landed.

The Dragon Might Crystals had already been used up. A Dragon Might Dragon Might capable of contending with the consciousness of an entire insect hive must be extremely powerful. In terms of skill and spiritual rank, the little female dragon was inferior to that giant dragon from back then. Moreover, Kang De had limited time. He had grabbed Lily and drained her dry several times. Back and forth, he had only managed to gather two Dragon Might Crystals with acceptable purity and power. He had just used them all up in one go, and he was still a little short of his goal.

However, it still relieved the siege of Moyani, severely damaged the will of the swarm, and defeated 90% of the locusts. But now, if it wants to kill Big Bob, it will have to rely on its own abilities.

Kang De already had a plan.

"No! I don't believe it!"

Big Bob's expression was ferocious.

He had a premonition of a terrible crisis. The bombardment of the boulder still terrified him. Although this was his home turf, he had a feeling that the longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation would become.

"Since there's nothing left to say, then none of us should live!"

Mercenaries are born to do dangerous things, and being in dire straits is a common occurrence for them. Those who can repeatedly survive in these desperate situations will become the king of mercenaries.

Big Bob snapped, "Since you don't care, then just watch!"

The insect hive shook, and the sound of locusts flapping their wings blended together. The massive swarm did not attack Kang De, but instead turned to the fruits and rushed towards the imprisoned humans.

In the deathly silence of the darkness, a faint gnawing sound could be heard.

These insects are slowly gnawing at the outer wall of the "fruit".

These cages hanging from the branches are filled with a strange liquid. People are immersed in it, eyes closed, suspended in the air, occasionally exhaling a string of bubbles, as if they are having a long, beautiful dream.

They were completely unaware of everything around them, and they didn't know that right next to them, a terrifying swarm of insects was gnawing at the outer walls of their cage—and that the cage being breached did not mean freedom.

Rather... death.

Because below is a bottomless abyss.

If you fall from here, you'll definitely become a pile of minced meat.

Big Bob roared and howled, seemingly insane, shouting at Kang De before sinking into the network of the insect hive. His voice echoed throughout the enormous hive, which was almost as tall as a mountain. "Kang De! Since you've decided to kill me, let's wait and see! Will you kill me first, or will these people die one by one before your eyes!"

The hive is controlled by Big Bob. He wants to kill these humans, but he doesn't need to go through all that trouble. The reason he lets the swarm devour them is because it's slow. Slow is effective and can create enormous psychological pressure.

The sudden death of tens of thousands of people and the continuous death of others are two completely different concepts.

Little by little.

More and more.

He didn't believe Kang De was truly heartless.

--The sound of locusts gnawing and devouring blended together.

People in their sleep are completely unaware.

There are many ways to kill Big Bob.

Use heavy artillery from the White Mist World to bombard continuously.

Use Mass Projection.

There are as many methods as you want.

But this means that killing Big Bob will also kill the people who are imprisoned.

Kang De could convince himself that he was powerless, but he could not bring himself to kill someone intentionally.

"Father?"

Iron Son's voice rang out.

Kang De's eyes shone with the Phoenix Eyes, but unfortunately, the Phoenix Vision could not penetrate the outer wall of the insect nest's veins. According to the Phoenix King, apart from thick barriers such as layers of earth, anything that could block the Phoenix Eyes represented power, antiquity, and mystery.

I cannot pinpoint his location.

This means that precision strikes are no longer feasible.

The sounds of the insects gnawing and devouring continued incessantly.

Perhaps it won't be long before the first victim is born.

"Wait, Father," Horus said. "This is not our responsibility."

If we can't use Mass Projection or heavy artillery bombardment now, then we'll wait until Big Bob kills all these innocent people and then avenge them.

Kang De hovered in the air, gazing at the enormous insect hive, most of its body still hidden in the boundless darkness Big Bob's maniacal laughter and roars, the sounds of the insects gnawing at each other, could be clearly heard in the dark and silent underground world. These people had nothing to do with him, and he was not the one who had brought them here.

"... But there's still something I can do."

He took a deep breath.

"Father?"

Kang De said, "There's another way... it's a bit risky."

Having no other option is one thing; having a solution but not using it is quite another.

Horus asked, "How risky is it?"

Kang De remained silent.

He closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

I still haven't forgotten the scene where Valentan faced the Space-Time Dragon God.

Brother Tu, protect me!

A burning heat emanated from his hand, and Kang De subconsciously touched the Divine Ring of Stellar Authority.

Oh, and you too.

Sister La.

He opened his eyes, swooped down on the wind, and landed on the surface of a veined vine.

Tentacles slithered out from all sides, attempting to entangle and attack him.

The Divine Ring of Stellar Authority was activated at full power.

The blazing flames dispersed the tendrils' encirclement. Kang De half-squatted on the ground, pressing his hand against the surface of the veins. The surface was icy cold, an unpleasant sensation.

Mental energy passed through the surface of the tentacles.

Spread.

It spread along the endlessly intertwined veins towards the entire insect hive.

Searching for Big Bob's trail.

It also spread to every single fruit, sensing the countless locusts clinging to its surface.

They were gnawing and absorbing. Kang De could sense a mysterious, inexplicable yet somewhat familiar energy flowing between the humans, the locusts, and the liquid. This energy drove the Grewind Swarm, even forming it, multiplying it, and strengthening it...

Kang De had no time to ponder this further; it wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

Find Big Bob and do your best to save those you can.

The power of the Fire Thief is slowly circulating.

It came into contact with every locust that was gnawing on the "fruit".

These insects are numerous, and the Dragon Might has been exhausted. To eliminate them as quickly as possible, there is only one desperate measure left.

So...

--Extraction!

Decompose all things, return to the origin.

The Power of the Fire Thief operated, breaking down matter into a kind of void concept at a level above the rules. This was Kang De's first attempt to decompose the swarm of insects. He had an extreme aversion to insects and had never considered using the Power of the Fire Thief to decompose the entire swarm before... but this time he couldn't care less about that.

One by one, in groups.

The spiritual power extended infinitely, spreading, capturing, and shattering.

The locusts shattered instantly.

It was transformed into Element pure and nothingness, perceived and manipulated by Kang De's spiritual power.

Those Element flowed like a gentle stream, flowing into Kang De's body on their own, without Kang De intervention, as if it were an instinct, something that had happened countless times before.

At that moment, Kang De suddenly opened his eyes.

A look of shock appeared on his face.

"Wait!" he exclaimed instinctively, "This can't be!"

The next moment, a massive flow of Element, spiritual power, and fragments of memory surged forth like a flood!

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Six thousand words... And what I want to say is that each plot point has its own purpose. I'm telling a story, not about quick killings. The reason Moyani didn't kill Big Bob directly is because there are other plot points that need to be covered. That's all, goodnight.