Human Civilization's Diplomatic Delegation Attacked?!

Human Civilization's Diplomatic Delegation Attacked?!

Several researchers watched as the drone's mechanical arm began to move, writing out a few words.

"Oh? It looks like they introduced themselves... What are these characters?"

"Human Civilization?"

At that moment, the human drone's propellers began to spin, and the Dark Steel Civilization general's eyes lit up.

"Looks like they've set off! Let's follow and provide support."

The twenty-four Underground Alliance representatives—two from each race—slowly made their way out through the tunnel.

After observing for quite some time and confirming there were no insects nearby, the leading general crawled out of Shi Tong Fortress and cautiously followed behind the human drone.

They were extremely careful, trying not to make a sound with every step...

It was a survival instinct.

The insect race was naturally highly sensitive to sound and could hear noises from several kilometers away.

In the past, every race had more than ten cities within this Underground Fissure.

With twelve races, the total number of cities had reached one hundred and fifty-one, with a population exceeding one billion!

That had been an immensely powerful force.

But now... only six cities had barely managed to relocate into the "Cave Heaven," and the population had dwindled to forty million.

All the remaining cities—had been completely wiped out!

Perhaps this was the ultimate fate of those living within this great rift.

And a tragedy as well.

If not for the "Cave Heaven," they... would have perished long ago.

People had also considered relocating to the surface to escape these insects.

Yet that was fraught with immense difficulty.

The development of civilization required machinery and vast resources.

Many large-scale machines simply could not be moved—boilers, machine tools, all of them were colossal things weighing dozens of tons...

And with such a massive population transfer, they would inevitably be discovered by the insect race. No one knew how many people would die or be injured along the way.

The construction of the "Cave Heaven" had already continued for over a century. They simply did not have the resolve to abandon all these possessions and start developing again from nothing.

"Sigh... What a troublesome matter. Perhaps if we become stronger, we'll find a way to relocate to the surface."

Thinking of this, the general could not help but sigh inwardly. Had this foreign civilization solved those problems?

Where exactly did they live?

"Buzz buzz buzz!" The sound of wings beating through the air suddenly came from ahead.

It was a small insect swarm.

Several thousand of them swept past from a low mountain hollow like a horde of oversized locusts. Their six long legs were covered in sharp barbs, and their mouths held hard, razor-sharp yellow teeth.

These were the most commonly encountered insects, known as Valley Locusts.

Their combat ability was fairly ordinary. They could spit venom, but they excelled at moving in groups, appearing in vast swarms whenever they emerged.

"Activate the mimicry devices. Release the Gas Gas!"

"Get down on the ground. Don't move!" The general, named Da Dao Gang, snarled softly through his earpiece.

"Rustle!" Everyone immediately dropped flat onto the ground in unison.

After so many years of exploration, they had also found several methods for "safely dealing with the insect race and reducing armed conflict."

There was no point in fighting these things.

The corpses of the insect race were difficult to make use of. As anomalies, ordinary organisms could not consume them as food.

Thus, avoiding battle was the first rule of survival.

The armor they wore had been carefully designed to mimic insect shells. Its shape and scent had been specially crafted, making them look like Shi Ben Da Lang that did not seem particularly appetizing.

That was right—Shi Ben Da Lang was also a type of insect. It specialized in eating excrement, had low aggression, and stood at the bottom of the food chain in this region.

Shi Ben Da Lang could also spray a foul-smelling gas called Xi Er Na Gas, causing most predators to lose their appetite and allowing it to slip past unnoticed.

Of course, this method did not work very well against smarter insects...

Intelligent life possessed relatively high "God" attributes, making them highly attractive to the Advanced Insect Race.

Everyone lay prone on the ground, pretending to be the lowest kind of insect.

"Guga!" The Valley Locusts pounced on them frantically.

These foolish yet greedy creatures sniffed at them over and over, as though trying to figure out exactly what they were.

Their barbed forelimbs occasionally rubbed against their ferocious mouthparts, back and forth like flies.

"Don't make any rash moves..." Da Dao Gang said softly.

This was the most critical moment!

No matter how strong you were, once you drew the attention of the Advanced Insect Race, even the most powerful army would drown in this underground rift larger than the sea!

Thermal Weapons absolutely could not be used—the commotion would be far too great. At most, they could only use some cold weapons.

Da Dao Gang gripped the axe in his hand tightly and said in a voice so low it was nearly inaudible, "Let them smell it."

"Everyone, hold your breath! I'm releasing the gas."

Hiss! A pale yellow vapor sprayed from the canister. It stank even worse than a bloated corpse that had rotted for ten days and nights. One whiff was enough to make someone nearly vomit up their stomach acid.

Even the Valley Locusts froze, their compound eyes gleaming with disdain...

What was this?

It stank so badly!

This was evolving madly in the direction of foulness!

They had originally wanted to take a bite, but now they simply could not bring themselves to open their mouths...

They hesitantly moved away.

Da Dao Gang let out a breath of relief. In truth, he felt sick to death himself, forcibly using the Extraordinary Tinder to suppress the urge to vomit.

"Wa Ga Ga!"

Suddenly, one of the insects let out a piercing howl.

It was as though some mad taboo had been triggered.

That miserable cry startled every underground race.

All the insects poked their heads about and grew agitated, constantly sniffing the air.

Their forelimbs rubbed together faster and faster, as though they were about to twist their own heads off.

"Wa Ga! Wa Ga! Ga Ga Ga!"

The shrill cries grew louder and louder.

Darksteel General Da Dao Gang's heart skipped a beat. The moment he heard that sound, he knew things were about to go wrong!

"This is a sign of war..."

The tension and unease instantly surged to their peak!

He tightened his grip on his axe.

That was impossible. Wasn't this foul-smelling gas effective every single time?

"All personnel, stay alert. We may be in for a major battle."

"We'll find a way to slowly retreat back to the fortress!"

Then!

In the very next second, he understood why the insect swarm had been so wary.

He watched in horror...

A group of "intelligent lifeforms" dressed in strange clothing climbed down from the cliff!

"Gu Ga!"

The swarm's frenzied howls were all because of that group of roughly thirty intelligent lifeforms!!

Da Dao Gang's expression changed drastically...

"Oh no!"

"That's Human Civilization's diplomatic delegation! They're about to be attacked!"

When the insect swarm saw those outsiders, greed filled their eyes. Then, led by the strongest insect among them, the Valley Locusts beat their wings and charged forward madly!

At the sight, even Da Dao Gang, a general who had been through many battles, was dumbfounded. They had just been planning to receive an alien civilization, yet its diplomats were about to be slaughtered by insects on the way here. What were they supposed to do?

"Damn it, why are they wandering around here without any protective measures?" A serpentfolk representative could not help flicking out his forked tongue, his voice rising unconsciously.

"I almost forgot... they're a civilization that has only just left the Safe Zone!"

But it was already too late to warn them.

Two kilometers was only two minutes of Flight Time.

"Wa Ga!" The piercing cries grew ever louder. The Valley Locusts had completely gone mad, as though they had seen the most delicious delicacy imaginable.

The thirty humans stood frozen in place, utterly motionless. The cannons of their Source Fire Mechas faintly glowed red, containing terrifyingly high temperatures.

At that moment, not only Da Dao Gang but the representatives of every other race all had the same thought: Damn it, they're going to use Thermal Weapons.

"Don't fire! Don't fire!"

These racial representatives, renowned for their courage and competence, could not help panicking. This newly arrived novice civilization seemed about to violate every taboo and trigger a massive insect-race riot.

This was a lesson bought with blood and lives: if attacked by an insect swarm, they could only use cold weapons—never Thermal Weapons!

In past battles, they had widely used Thermal Weapons to resist, and had even deployed Nuclear Bombs!

At first, the results had indeed been quite good.

But the Mother Bug possessed memory and intelligence, and the swarm would continue evolving through war...

Now, the moment they heard the sound of thermal weapons—guns and cannons—all the feuding insects would unite and swarm in from every direction. By then, it would not be as simple as a few thousand Valley Locusts. It would be hundreds of millions of insects, wearing you down here until you died!

And... absolutely no bleeding!

The insect race was highly sensitive to creatures with high Spirit Attributes. Blood with a high Spirit Attribute was especially sweet.

Once blood was spilled and attracted the Advanced Insect Race from below, everyone would be wiped out because of it!

"Don't make any noise." Da Dao Gang calmed down at this critical moment.

They could only watch helplessly, then... turn and run!

Alien Race, don't blame us for being heartless!

As long as you open fire, we can only run!

"Insects are pouncing on us!"

"Hold the formation. Keep the scientists in the middle of the group."

"Don't act rashly. Don't fire randomly."

Lu Yuan led the team down from the massive boulder and saw a group of Underground Alliance representatives in mimetic armor, along with a suddenly crazed insect swarm.

The human team was not overly flustered.

In this damned place, insects came to bite them every kilometer or so, like rabid dogs spotting fresh shit.

They did not have any Gas Gas, either.

This was after the insect swarm's civil war had reduced their numbers by 95%. Just thinking about how terrifying the original swarm must have been—well, even Lu Yuan's Greedy Demon God was not that afraid, but Lu Yuan worried that fighting here would cost more than it earned...

Still, after a year-long investigation, humanity knew that the insect race was extremely sensitive to thermal weapons.

"Valley Locusts... even the strongest are only equivalent to Level 3 warriors..."

"Scout Sickles, go!" Red Light flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes as he issued the command.

"Waga! Waga!"

When the insect swarm had flown halfway over, fifty Scout Sickles abruptly revealed themselves from invisibility, flapped their wings, and eagerly pounced forward!

Their movements were practically ghostly!

Every swing of the sharp "sickles" in their hands killed a flying insect.

Having discovered the ambush, the Valley Locusts could not help but panic as well.

A brutal battle erupted across this patch of battlefield.

In just a few minutes, the Scout Sickles scattered this small insect swarm. The Valley Locusts either died or fled.

Immediately afterward, the insects on the human side began happily feasting on the most delicious innards. At the same time, they shouted "Waga waga," waved their sickles, and eagerly sought credit from Lu Yuan.

One of the insects even flew toward Lu Yuan, utterly worked up, as if showing off.

"Everyone did very well." Lu Yuan did not hold back his praise. He sighed inwardly; these guys were getting smarter and smarter. Now they fucking needed emotional validation too. What a pain.

"Everyone is Advanced Insect Race now. You need to be more composed. Don't become arrogant just because you defeated enemies of this level..."

"Our opponents are the Four Great Calamities... What? You want me to eat the innards? Forget it, forget it, enjoy them yourselves... Go on, go on... These rewards are for you."

"Alright, nothing more for you to do. Go pick mushrooms."

He took out a handful of purple insect food from his backpack, and the fifty Scout Sickles hurriedly scrambled for it.

After eating the food, they dispersed in a hubbub and crawled back into the Underground Fissure.

They vanished from sight.

The humans had long grown accustomed to this scene.

With the insect race protecting them, they did not have to act themselves, and it was quite safe... After all, those insects spat acid, venom, and even released foul odors. They fought in the most despicable ways possible. If a mech took even one hit of acid, repairs would be a major hassle.

But in the eyes of the Underground Alliance, it was different.

The Scout Sickles that had appeared halfway through made Da Dao Gang and the others' hair stand on end. Even the fists gripping their axes trembled slightly!

Those insects with sickle-like limbs might not have been large, but their combat strength was extraordinary, stronger than even the Underground Alliance's most elite warriors! Their flying speed was practically comparable to the speed of sound, leaving streaks of black afterimages across the retina.

Without the help of thermal weapons, a single Advanced Insect Race could easily wipe out their delegation of twenty-four!

"This is bad. What kind of insects are these..."

"There are actually fifty of them. How could they appear here?" The snakefolk representative could not help panicking.

Fortunately, these insects did not seem to be coming for them. Unfortunately, they would be dragged into this sooner or later...

They racked their brains.

Where exactly was this sliver of hope? Could they only pray to that unseen god?

The Scout Sickles quickly wiped out the insect swarm and shouted loudly at the humans.

The humans, however, said nothing and maintained their formation. The barrels of their cannons still had not cooled down.

"Waga! Waga!" The Scout Sickles cried out even more excitedly.

With their sickles waving in such an excited display, it looked as though war might break out between the two sides at any moment...