Hybrid Insect Swarm

Under the cover of night.

Sand Dune and his two companions are fleeing north.

On their first expedition, the hunters were naturally eager to prove themselves and make a name for themselves. So they slightly altered their itinerary, lengthening the exploration and reducing the time spent returning.

Three days later, they even ventured into territory outside their original plans.

In a fog-shrouded canyon, some rare plant resources were discovered.

Swipe—

The night wind swept past my collar, the icy air suffocating.

Sand Dune sensed the approaching enemy from behind, and his expression grew even more serious.

"Speed up! Stopping now means certain death!"

The three men continued their escape from the Sand Dune.

An unexpected discovery is usually a good thing.

But just as they were trying to collect samples and begin their journey back...

Some dark green insects, resembling a combination of a mantis and a locust, suddenly emerged from the canyon and attacked them.

These insects have hard exoskeletons, are fierce attackers, and there are quite a few of them.

To protect his two men, Sand Dune had no choice but to fight and retreat, fleeing all the way to the camp.

Fortunately, the hunter's skills helped.

During their journey through the middle of the night, they only suffered minor injuries.

Boom—

Under the cover of night, a sudden roar erupted.

The three men in the Sand Dune were still running as fast as they could, trying to shake off the insects chasing them, when they were startled by the sound.

"What is that? Thunder."

"The sound is coming from ahead!"

Amidst the panicked cries of his two subordinates, Sand Dune recognized the source of the voice:

"An arrow, it's an arrow!"

Under the cover of the dark night, the jet-black black feather sword slashed through the sky.

Before Linsey and the Hilude people even arrived, arrows fired from the Iron Horn Great Bow flew towards them first.

Two jet-black lights flashed through the darkness, intertwined and inseparable. They instantly passed the three people over the Sand Dune, followed by the 'crack' sound of shells shattering.

The Sand Dune possess the skills of hunters.

He didn't even need to turn around to look; with a twitch of his nose, he could smell the scent of the mutated insect bleeding from an injury.

"..."

The Sand Dune dunes looked somewhat dazed.

He didn't doubt the effectiveness of the arrow; what puzzled him was where the rescue would come from.

Even while trying their best to escape.

They are currently about two days' journey from the camp.

Not to mention that no information was transmitted back at all, so theoretically the camp could not possibly know their current situation.

But in the Wasteland land.

But I've never heard of anyone standing up for others when they see injustice.

"How could there possibly be any support?"

"Distance from the camp..."

The Sand Dune were utterly astonished.

But just a few breaths later, he saw a figure rushing towards him from a distance.

The two people behind the Sand Dune were so indistinguishable that they couldn't even tell each other apart.

Only the hunters, relying on their dynamic vision granted by their skills, could barely discern the identities of the people.

"Lin, Lord Linsey!"

After hesitating for a moment, Linsey had already arrived beside the three people in the Sand Dune.

He didn't do anything further, only leaving a reminder:

"Go to the back, Hilude is there, meet her there."

Boom!

The next second, Linsey and the three of Sand Dune passed each other.

The intense firelight also left a scorching scar in the night.

More than ten strange insects that were chasing them were instantly torn to pieces, and a crisp, smoky smell of burning carapaces filled the air.

The three men on the Sand Dune took a few more steps forward due to inertia.

They turned to look at the blazing fire on the ground, then turned back to find Hilude, panting, pushing her wheelchair as she approached.

The three were momentarily confused, but Sand Dune stepped forward to greet Hilude:

"Miss Hilude..."

Hilude saw through their confusion at a glance:

"Alright, stop thinking about those messy things."

"It was Linsey and I who sensed you were in some danger through our skills, so we came to help. Tell me the details now."

Sand Dune nodded slightly, stepped forward to help Hilude push her wheelchair, and began to speak:

"Here's the thing, we were exploring due south as planned. However, considering the difference in time spent exploring and turning back, we wanted to break from the original plan and explore a little further out."

"The result was that we found a valley where fog was spreading."

"Fog is a rare occurrence in the Wasteland lands, so I led them in to investigate..."

Sand Dune informed Hilude of the specific situation.

Ahead, the flames around Linsey gradually died down, and he fell into deep thought as he faced the corpses of insects scattered on the ground.

With these 10+ kill samples.

The Hunting Notes have already presented the specific information.

[Mutated Sheath Blade Insect]

[Hybrid Insects - Essence Awakening Stages 1-3]

Body length: 0.1~1.2 meters

[Weight 1~47kg]

[Running speed is slightly faster than that of an adult human.]

[Omnivorous insects, with keen senses, swift movements, and no hibernation.]

[A species artificially created after being infected by the plague. The Mutated Sheath Blade Insect has a hard exoskeleton, is extremely aggressive, and only obeys the Insect Queen's commands. The specific hardness of its exoskeleton and its attack strength increase with the degree of Essence fusion.]

Weaknesses: Brain, abdomen.

[Hunting suggestion: Insect Queen directly.]

[Kill Achievement: 13/50]

"Insect Queen? Artificially manufactured?"

Upon seeing those two words, Linsey knew things weren't simple.

Insect colonies with this type of species structure generally have a strong reproductive capacity, not to mention that this is an artificially created species.

Excellent reproductive capacity often means a large consumption of resources.

Continue with environmental analysis of the Barren Land World.

The place that the Sand Dune and their companions accidentally stumbled into might actually be quite extraordinary!

"Abundant resources, unique environment."

As Linsey pondered, she casually gathered materials.

Of these 10-plus insect corpses, a total of 7 sharp carapaces were extracted, which can be used to make insect-based armor or corresponding weapons.

Although Linsey definitely wouldn't need it in terms of intensity.

However, crafting them into equipment to replenish the territory's inventory is also a great option.

After collecting the Prey Material, Linsey gathered the insect corpses. Since the species description didn't mention any poison, she figured she could take them back and experiment with them to make food.

"Thrift is a virtue."

"These resources must not be wasted at all."

Linsey cleans up the battlefield.

Sand Dune also pushed Hilude over.

The hunter was about to greet Linsey, but the Lord of the Night, as if anticipating something, preemptively asked the Sand Dune a question:

"Sand Dune, are these the insects you encountered in a canyon where there are also many plants?"

Sand Dune's expression faltered for a moment, but he immediately nodded:

"That's right, you're absolutely right!"

"Did you hear what we just said to Miss Hilude?"

Sand Dune thought Linsey's hearing was too acute.

"No, I only know the general outline." Linsey waved his hand, then began to give orders. "Here's what we'll do: have your men return to camp first, let them know that we are in good condition and safe, and tell them not to panic."

"As for you, take us to that valley. Let's hurry up and investigate it thoroughly."