Bigge's Tribulation
After slaughtering three medium-sized insect swarms in succession, Gu Ding's Merit Points soared to more than 70 million, but according to the Sea Emperor's calculations, he was still ranked seventh.
There are already five people ahead of him with over 100 million Merit Points, and another one with over 90 million is about to reach 100 million as well. Behind Gu Ding, there is an Interstellar Hunter is also closely following, with Merit Points already exceeding 60 million.
However, for Gu Ding to break through to the fourth level of the Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body, it is not enough to simply devour the blood and energy of the insect race; he also needs strong pressure from the outside world.
"Medium-sized swarms are no longer enough to put pressure on me..." Gu Ding also realized this problem; his Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body was still stuck at the 999x amplification level, making no progress. "I need to find large swarms!"
Given Gu Ding's current strength, entering a large swarm of insects without using his two fire abilities and domain would be somewhat difficult. In a medium-sized swarm, Gu Ding would inevitably be injured; to wipe out an entire medium-sized swarm, he would be hit at least ten times. A large swarm would consist of four to five times the number of medium-sized insects, significantly increasing the number of times Gu Ding would be injured. However, the Sea Emperor believed that as long as Gu Ding's vital points were protected, the chances of him dying were slim, so he didn't try to stop him.
Large swarms typically have over 800 insects and beasts, with a few even reaching 1,000, which is more than four times the size of medium-sized swarms.
When Gu Ding first entered, he did appear somewhat disheveled, but under pressure, he quickly adapted to the rhythm of the battle. It took him nearly five hours to annihilate the first large swarm of insects, and his Merit Points barely exceeded one hundred million. After using the Devouring Flame to consume all the insect beast corpses, his Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body remained unchanged.
Gu Ding immediately sprinted toward the next large swarm of insects.
Immediately afterwards, Gu Ding swept away one large swarm after another of Five-Star Soldier Rank insectoids. In the entire second day, Gu Ding wiped out six large swarms. His Merit Points accumulated to over 150 million, finally climbing from seventh to sixth. But even so, his Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body still failed to break through.
Two days of continuous fighting, with rest periods spent on the road, finally took their toll on Gu Ding's body, but he wasn't about to give up. So, he decided to continue.
"Gu Ding, Bigge needs help!" Sea Emperor's voice suddenly came.
"What happened to him?" Gu Ding was stunned. He knew how strong Bigge was. If Bigge couldn't hold on, then he must have encountered an extremely powerful enemy.
"I sensed that his aura was unstable; he must be about to break through to the Demigod Realm," the Sea Emperor said hurriedly. "I've already told him to wait where he is and have notified Tagore to go there as well."
After he finished speaking, he projected Bigge's location, Gu Ding immediately rushed in that direction.
The location where Bigge is is already in the area of a special type of insect swarm, and it is a gathering area of a large insect swarm.
About twenty minutes later, Gu Ding finally arrived. Bigge was already sitting cross-legged, preparing for his breakthrough, while Tagore had arrived long ago and was standing guard nearby.
Intense Blade Intent emanated from Bigge's body, forcing Gu Ding and Tagore back nearly a hundred meters. Fortunately, the desert offered a wide field of vision, which did not hinder Gu Ding and Tagore's ability to protect them.
The vibration effect grew stronger over time, and the whistling sound produced by the air vibration gradually turned into a piercing roar, and the sound became more and more like the sound of a long sword vibrating in the air.
"So powerful!" Gu Ding watched from afar. Within a hundred meters of Bigge, small vortexes, each about the thickness of a thumb, swirled up. After taking shape, these vortexes continued to extend upwards, forming long, thin whirlwinds that swept dust from the ground into the sky. The tips of these whirlwinds rose higher and higher, eventually disappearing into the depths of the clouds, beyond the reach of the human eye.
This peculiar natural phenomenon quickly attracted the attention of many other people in the desert.
"The sky over there seems to have undergone a strange change?" A member of an Elite Legion squad suddenly looked up at the sky and noticed the change taking place.
"Who knows what kind of Strange Treasure it might be? Let's go take a look!" another person suggested upon seeing this.
Six Elite Legion squads, along with four Interstellar Pirate including Lyon and two Interstellar Hunter, noticed this change. They all rushed in this direction immediately.
The Sea Emperor also noticed this, prompting Gu Ding and Tagore to be on their guard.
However, the Zerg also noticed this, in addition to humans.
This is the deepest part of the desert, Gathering Place for large swarms of the special insectoid race, not far from the location of the Elite Bug swarm, and even less than 500 kilometers from the nearest insectoid hive.
As the swirling energy around Bigge extended above the clouds, the entire sky slowly turned a blood-red hue. Furthermore, streaks of lightning meandered through the clouds, accompanied by deafening thunderclaps.
"Damn it, Bigge has attracted Heavenly Tribulation!" The Sea Emperor's tone sounded extremely ominous.
"Isn't Heavenly Tribulation something only those who become gods face?" Gu Ding was clearly taken aback, but looking at the clouds above Bigge's head, there really was the aura of Heavenly Tribulation. "But even if it really is Heavenly Tribulation, with Bigge's strength, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to overcome it."
"For prodigies of five stars or higher, it's not uncommon for a heavenly Heavenly Tribulation at the Demigod Realm. But for someone like you, who possesses Taboo Power, the probability of triggering Heavenly Tribulation at the Demigod Realm is one hundred percent," the Sea Emperor explained. "I'm not worried about Bigge can successfully overcome the tribulation, because I know his chances of success are very high. What I'm saying is, this location is less than five hundred kilometers from the nearest insect hive. The energy fluctuations generated by the Heavenly Tribulation could very well awaken a large number of insect beasts in the hive, triggering Insect Tide."
The group, who initially thought it was the birth of Strange Treasure, discovered halfway through their journey that the strange phenomenon had actually triggered a calamity cloud.
The six Elite Legion squads immediately looked grim. They knew that there was an insect hive less than 500 kilometers away. Once the Heavenly Tribulation descended, the insect beasts within the hive would likely be awakened by the massive energy fluctuations.
They rushed towards Bigge's location even faster.
When the first Elite Legion arrived, they saw Gu Ding and Tagore guarding them, and their expressions were not very good.
Following closely behind, the others arrived one after another, and the six Elite Legion immediately gathered together, seemingly discussing something.
"Damn it, I thought some kind of Strange Treasure had appeared. I rushed over here, only to find someone undergoing tribulation." The one who uttered this curse was a young man dressed in a white suit, wearing a white hat, and leaning on a white cane. He was Lyon Interstellar Pirate with a bounty of thirty million Universe Crystal and ranked fourth in Merit Points. He looked only about twenty years old, quite handsome, and didn't look like Interstellar Pirate at all. His Merit Points had now skyrocketed to four hundred million, but his ranking remained unchanged. He was turning to leave when he heard the Elite Legion members attacking Gu Ding, and immediately stopped in his tracks.
"Gu Ding, do you know what will happen if your companion undergoes tribulation here?" After some discussion, one of the Elite Legion stepped forward and shouted at Gu Ding.
"I know that there is an insect nest 468 kilometers southeast of here. It's a fairly large one, with more than 600,000 insect beasts currently in a dormant state." Gu Ding nodded. "Bigge is undergoing his tribulation here, and there is a high chance that he will awaken all the insect beasts in the nest, triggering Insect Tide."
Everyone present was taken aback by Gu Ding's answer.
Lyon and his companions were stunned; they had never imagined such a thing could happen.
The Elite Legion members were surprised that Gu Ding knew so much.
"Hey, little brother Gu Ding, don't get us into trouble. These bugs are so fierce, an Insect Tide could kill people." Lyon was able to kill a group of Five-Star Soldier Rank bug beasts with the strength of One-Star Low-rank God, so he was actually quite strong, but he didn't have the demeanor of a master at the moment.
"Bigge had accumulated a great deal of experience, and now he has suddenly advanced due to a favorable opportunity. Even he himself cannot control it. Once the Heavenly Tribulation begins, it cannot be interrupted, and it is something we cannot control." Gu Ding certainly did not want to trigger the Insect Tide, because under the Insect Tide, Liliath and the others would have little chance of survival.
"Who says it can't be controlled?" the Elite Legion member spoke up again. "As long as we kill Bigge before the Heavenly Tribulation arrives, Heavenly Tribulation will automatically dissipate. Once the Heavenly Tribulation dissipates, the Insect Tide will naturally not erupt. This is the simplest way to deal with it."
"Anyone who dares to Bigge, I'll kill them!" Gu Ding was genuinely enraged upon hearing these words. If the other party really dared to make a move, he wouldn't hesitate to annihilate them, even if they were Elite Legion of the Federal Government Headquarters.
The Elite Legion members were surprised by Gu Ding's tough stance. The leader frowned and said, "If you try to stop us, we'll have no choice but to execute you as well."
The other Interstellar Pirate and Interstellar Hunter, on the other hand, had expressions of watching the spectacle unfold.
"Brother Gu Ding, I don't think you need to clash with them. There are sixty of them, each with Combat Strength of seven stars or higher. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. You can hand Bigge to them and recruit other members later..."
Before Lyon could finish speaking, the Elite Legion had already made their move. One person from each of the six squads attacked Bigge.
A murderous glint flashed in Gu Ding's eyes. He waved his hand, and a burst of blue flames shot out from his palm, surrounding Bigge and blocking the six people's attack.
Seeing Gu Ding make a move, the Elite Legion sent out another dozen or so people to surround Gu Ding...
The rest of the people watched from a distance with expressions of anticipation, as if watching a good show. (To be continued...)