Rescued

If classified according to the Eastern Region's grading of monster beasts, these ordinary Blade Worms should be considered Tier 3 monster beasts.

However, the biggest difference between Blade Worms and other Tier 3 monster beasts is that they never appear alone.

"When you find one Blade Worm, there are actually at least two thousand Blade Worms behind it!"

This saying is widely spread in the south. Although it contains elements of exaggeration, it is enough to prove the sheer number of Blade Worms.

Facing such a massive number of Blade Worms, let alone cultivators at the Half-Step to the Innate Realm, even powerhouses in the Innate Secret Realm would likely find it difficult to cope.

Currently, the number of Azure Cloud Sect disciples is quite large, and their strength is also very strong. In just this short while, hundreds of Blade Worms have been killed.

The corpses of those Blade Worms piled up slowly around the fallen Flying Carriage, like a small circular mountain.

Although everyone killed many Blade Worms, the number of attacking Blade Worms kept increasing. These things were simply endless!

"Ah!"

Someone let out a scream. It was because one person was too aggressive and rushed into the Blade Worms' encirclement. By the time others wanted to save him, it was too late. Almost instantly, that person was enveloped by a large group of Blade Worms, who frantically gnawed at him. By the time the Blade Worms dispersed, that person had already been completely gnawed clean by the Blade Worms, with not even bones left.

Seeing this scene, many people's scalps went numb.

No one wanted to be eaten by bugs.

But the Blade Worms in front of them were endless, and once everyone's strength waned, they would eventually meet such an end.

Everyone's hearts were filled with gloom, and their morale clearly dropped.

But at this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Everyone, fight! If you don't fight, you die! If you fight, there's a chance to live!"

"Puff—" A small purple True Essence arrow shot out, instantly piercing through more than a dozen Blade Worms.

"Bang!" Fiercely burning flames exploded, instantly scorching half the sky red. The power of the True Fire was extraordinary, instantly burning dozens of Blade Worms. The air was filled with the smell of burning and charring.

The powerhouses in the Innate Secret Realm began to exert their strength.

Seeing this, everyone was greatly encouraged and also began to fight desperately.

Luo Zheng's figure constantly weaved through the Blade Worms. Although the power of the Rosewood Fist was not outstanding, relying on his own strength and physical advantage, he also killed seven or eight Blade Worms in a short time.

Just as the battle was raging, someone else screamed in surprise.

"Blade Worm Leader!"

Luo Zheng and the others looked up, only to see dozens of purple Blade Worms mixed in with the green. These Blade Worm Leaders were twice the size of ordinary Blade Worms, and their bodies were covered in sharp spines, making their appearance even more ferocious and terrifying.

Those were the Blade Worm Leaders?

The strength of the Blade Worm Leaders was far greater than that of ordinary Blade Worms, not to mention there were hundreds of them!

The Blade Worms in front of them were already very difficult to deal with, and now they had to face these even more powerful Blade Worm Leaders.

Those Blade Worm Leaders swooped down from high in the sky, emitting piercing screams. In addition, more Blade Worms continuously replenished their numbers.

Everyone's hearts were filled with gloom. Were they all going to die here today?

At the moment they boarded the giant Flying Carriage, who could have imagined such a consequence?

In fact, hunting Blade Worms, although a rather difficult task, rarely resulted in such incidents.

At this moment, from the nearby jungle, an object flew over with a "whoosh" sound. It was a piece of bamboo that had been ignited.

One end of the bamboo was emitting fire, and after falling to the ground, the other end emitted thick smoke.

Luo Zheng sniffed with his nose and smelled a strong medicinal scent in the thick smoke.

Immediately after, more bamboo pieces were thrown in.

Each piece of bamboo was ignited, emitting plumes of smoke from the other end.

Soon, the scene was enveloped in smoke.

It was quite strange to say, those Blade Worms seemed extremely wary of this thick smoke. When they discovered the smoke, they all spread their wings and flew into the sky, circling around continuously, hesitant to rush into the smoke.

Even the more powerful Blade Worm Leaders were the same.

Although the smoke was also very uncomfortable for people, it was still within the range of tolerance. At least they could finally take a break.

Afterward, everyone saw the forest shaking, and many people emerged from within. These people were all wearing uniform clothing, each carrying several bamboo sections on their backs, with serious expressions and unified actions.

"Imperial Army!"

Many Azure Cloud Sect disciples showed relaxed expressions after seeing these people. They were finally saved.

The Imperial Army, which is the army of the Empire, also dispatches a considerable portion of the Imperial Army during the Insect Tide each year to suppress the Insect Tide.

Compared to the Azure Cloud Sect disciples, these Imperial Army soldiers acted in a unified manner and had strict rules. Although their individual strength might not be comparable to that of the Azure Cloud Sect disciples, their overall strength should not be underestimated.

After those Imperial Army soldiers came out, they neatly lined up into a team. A young man with a buzz cut walked out from the middle. The young man said with a serious expression, "I am Lu Xiao, Centurion of the Azure Mist Squad! Listen up, Azure Cloud Sect disciples, if you want to live, follow us!"

When the Azure Cloud Sect disciples heard this, they did not move their feet. Instead, they all looked at the piles of Blade Worm corpses.

The Azure Cloud Sect disciples traveled thousands of miles to get here, not for vacation. They were here to earn points.

According to the rules of the Azure Cloud Sect, killing twenty Blade Worms earns one point. These Blade Worm corpses in their eyes were all points!

However, the Blade Worm corpses were so large that it was impossible to drag them back. Therefore, the Azure Cloud Sect stipulated that they only needed to dig out the Monster Beast Crystal Nucleus from the Blade Worm's chest.

Everyone had worked hard and fought desperately for so long just now, they had to get some spoils of war.

However, as soon as this group of Imperial Army soldiers appeared, they told everyone to leave with them, which naturally made some people unhappy.

In reality, the relationship between the Imperial Army and the disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect had never been very harmonious. They disliked each other and had even been involved in group brawls.

Someone said to Lu Xiao, "Can you wait? We still need to..."

Lu Xiao snorted and said, "I know what you want to do, but have you thought it through? We've detected a large army of Blade Worms continuing to gather here. The lives of our Imperial Army are more valuable than the lives of your Azure Cloud Sect disciples! If you don't leave, we will!"

When the Azure Cloud Sect disciples heard this, they had no choice. The fact that these people were willing to save them was already an act of great kindness. As for their own points, what did that have to do with them?

So everyone could only follow behind this group of Imperial Army soldiers.

Several powerhouses in the Innate Secret Realm looked at the ground covered in insect corpses and seemed to want to stay and collect some crystal nuclei. With their strong abilities, a few of them still had a chance to break out on their own. However, they looked at the Blade Worms that were still increasing in number in the sky, and finally shook their heads and gave up.

The average strength of this group of Imperial Army soldiers was actually lower than that of the Azure Cloud Sect disciples, but they had a special trick for dealing with the Insect Tide.

Just like the bamboo sections they carried on their backs, they should have been specially made to resist the attacks of the Blade Worms.

Every time they walked a certain distance, they would light a bamboo section. As long as thick smoke billowed from the bamboo section, the Blade Worms would not dare to come down and attack everyone, and could only circle above their heads.

The Imperial Army led the way without saying a word, while the Azure Cloud Sect disciples occasionally attacked the Blade Worms in the sky, using sword energy or arrows.

The Blade Worms were relatively far away and difficult to hit, so whenever they shot down one or two Blade Worms, some Azure Cloud Sect disciples would even laugh...

Luo Zheng followed behind and couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this scene.

Although many Azure Cloud Sect disciples were strong, perhaps one-on-one, the soldiers in front were no match for them.

However, if they were to engage in a full-scale battle, the Azure Cloud Sect disciples would probably collapse at the first blow and would not be a match for the Imperial Army at all.

Their discipline was too poor. Perhaps four or five people could barely cooperate, but when the number of people increased, it became chaotic.

After advancing for half an hour, they finally walked out of this jungle. Led by the Imperial Army, they crossed a small river and climbed over a hillside, and a city appeared before everyone's eyes.

"That's Dragon Fortress, we're finally here!"

Some sharp-eyed inner disciples had already shouted out.

The fortress in front of them was the Dragon Fortress used by the Empire for cultivation, a fortress used to guard the southern border, which was their destination for this trip.

Dragon Fortress was the most important pass in the south of the Burning Heaven Empire, and further south was an endless tropical rainforest.

Luo Zheng had once read a book called "Records of Exotic Beasts," which recorded dangerous places throughout the Eastern Region.

Among them was a section that recorded the stories of powerhouses in the Eastern Region who ventured deep into the tropical rainforest. According to the book, within a hundred miles of the tropical rainforest, it was still safe, and the monster beasts encountered were basically only around level three. However, after walking another five hundred miles, one could encounter level five monster beasts. After more than a thousand miles, various high-level monster beasts of the seventh and eighth ranks appeared...

Further inside was a world that was difficult for humans to explore.

Every year, many monster beasts would run out of the tropical rainforest for reasons that humans did not understand and try to enter the Burning Heaven Empire.

The purpose of Dragon Fortress was to resist the various monster beasts in the tropical rainforest.

Among the many monster beasts, the most troublesome were the Blade Worms that Luo Zheng had encountered before.

As a fortress, Dragon Fortress looked very simple from the outside. There were no decorations on the city walls or the moat. The only decoration was a huge dragon head sculpture hanging on the wall of Dragon Fortress.

The entire dragon head sculpture was jet black, and its eyes reflected a shiny luster under the light. It bared its fangs and claws, exuding an unparalleled domineering aura.

Passing under the dragon head sculpture, all the Azure Cloud Sect disciples couldn't help but show a trace of awe.

When Luo Zheng passed by, he stopped for a while, staring at the eyes of this dragon head sculpture, and a trace of doubt arose in his heart.

Because Luo Zheng could feel the "Intent" of this dragon-shaped sculpture, which was the pressure it emitted.