Lucky E Spearmen, It's Tradition

"Mommy, Mommy, what weapon should I learn to use?"

"Learn swordsmanship like your father. Swords are the coolest weapons in the world."

"Daddy, Daddy, which weapon should I learn to use?"

"Just don't learn swordsmanship. If you're going to learn, learn the biggest, most powerful, and most domineering weapon. Go to the storeroom and pick any one, and I can find you a teacher!"

"Hmm, this spear is big and heavy, just like Dad said. I want to learn how to use it!"

And just like that, little You Fei's life was ruined.

The last image in her vision was the moment before she was devoured by the insect eggs. You Fei's consciousness seemed to be drifting aimlessly on a turbulent sea, sometimes being submerged by the water and sometimes being pushed to the surface, repeating this over and over again, making her almost dizzy.

An inexplicable external force repeatedly pushed her to the surface of the water, trying to suffocate her, but she relied on her own will to stay conscious and refused to fall into a coma no matter what.

When force failed, that inexplicable force began to soften its approach, showing her some scenes she didn't really want to see.

That was a conversation that took place when she first met her marksmanship teacher.

"Four hundred and sixty-three years ago, the Brave known as the Spear Hero defeated the Demon King, but because he coveted and harassed his teammates' Bird Demon Pet, he was Backstab his teammates after the battle. Before his death, he left behind a Hero Spear Technique that everyone could learn, which laid the foundation for the current spear technique system."

"Three hundred and eighty-one years ago, the legendary master known as the Spear Saint, 'Demon Spear,' fought against the Demon King on the mountaintop. During their all-out battle, he was hit on the forehead by a stray rock, which broke his skill and seriously injured him. He left behind a complete gun technique teaching system before passing away."

"Two hundred and eighty-eight years ago, the fifth generation of Spear Saint 'Hei Mu' died of food poisoning after defeating the Demon King. His most outstanding contribution was thirteen exquisite gun techniques, each with its own strengths, and he also trained a large number of teaching talents."

"One hundred and sixty years ago, seven whimsical magicians launched an evil war ritual, each summoning the spirit of a historical hero to fight. The spirit of the Spear Hero was summoned, and he not only defeated the other six magicians but also greatly improved the spear techniques of the time."

"Unfortunately, just as he was about to win, this shady match was discovered by the authorities. In order to escape punishment, the magician who summoned the Spear Hero ordered him to commit suicide. The magician escaped and has not been caught to this day."

"So, what do you want to say, teacher?" At this moment, the trembling voice of little You Fei, who was still a child at the time, rang out.

"What I want to say is that the marksmanship you are learning now is the result of the hard work and dedication of your predecessors. You must study it well and pass on the fine traditions of marksmanship."

"I... I... Is it too late for me to learn something else now?"

Judging from You Fei's current state, the answer back then was probably that it was too late.

At that time, little You Fei had a big question—what does the fine tradition of the gunners refer to?

Bad luck!?

Otherwise, how could the Spear Saint have changed five times in just one hundred years!

But with the belief that once a decision is made, it should not be abandoned halfway, she has persisted in practicing marksmanship until now. From initially being anxious about when she would have bad luck to finding that her life has been smooth sailing and without any major problems, she has gradually come to terms with it.

The idea that those who wield long spears are prone to bad luck is probably just a rumor.

Then, when she got to Reid's side, a series of events she encountered made her slowly recall the rumor. Why did it feel like everything had gone wrong since she came to this land?

The unfailingly accurate sense of sympathy led him to see strange things, indirectly causing him to be parasitized by parasites, then he was beaten up by Maria, and now he's been swallowed by parasite eggs.

(Exaggeration) The tradition of those who can't shoot is about to be proven true in my case today, isn't it?

At this moment, her originally hardened heart wall broke down.

The external force seized the opportunity and surged into her body all at once. Then, her consciousness was completely taken over by darkness.

Before she completely lost consciousness, she saw a filthy, twisted giant worm grinning at her—that was the prototype of the so-called Insect King.

This is clearly a terrifying scene, enough to give anyone nightmares.

However, from You Fei's perspective, she seemed to see something that completely dispelled the atmosphere of horror.

The giant insect was completely unaware that several figures gradually emerged behind it, "smiling" at it.

Strange thing?

Seemingly due to premature birth, the insect king's body was unstable and unable to form a fixed shape.

So it simply used You Fei inside its body as the original body and modified itself into a new one.

You Fei's head remained unchanged except for its eyes, which had turned into insect-like compound eyes; at most, it had gained some evil aura.

However, the body is covered by a thick layer of crisscrossing exoskeletons, making it look ferocious and frightening, while also making the body appear too big and the head too small. Yet, the figure is actually quite good, with a strange kind of beauty, like a figure that has stepped out of a comic book.

The overwhelming demonic energy erupted from its center, crushing nearby parasites into powder. All the insects ceased their movements, casting reverent glances at this king and performing a gesture of worship.

Is there any hope for this situation?

"This guy"

The Farron Greatsword in Da Er's hand seemed to tremble slightly. Although his opponent was not from the Abyss, his powerful strength still inspired a fighting spirit.

I want to cut him!

But Da Er was no Miyamoto Musashi. He suppressed his urge to fight and carefully examined his opponent. The pressure from the Insect King far exceeded that of the demon Army Commander Doslai Bo whom he had encountered in Val City. This powerful aura was approaching that of the Demon King and was even rising steadily!

"..." Da Er paused for a moment, his expression gradually changing, from serious to looking like Historic, mainly because...

Thinking about it this way, the Insect King doesn't seem that strong, huh?

On his way here, he had imagined the true strength of the enemy leaders and prepared countless countermeasures, including the best and worst. But what he didn't expect was that the only plan he could actually use was the ordinary, unremarkable one.

That is, a normal battle.

Whether something is strong or not depends on the comparison. Unfortunately, the things that Da Er used to compare himself to the Insect King were the monsters in the Zane Dungeon.

He compared the various leaders to the Insect King, sliding down from the Nameless King to the Death Rite Bird, which he eventually categorized as a somewhat powerful but not very prominent leader in the Zane Dungeon, mainly because it wasn't very popular and hardly anyone mentioned it, although its strength was still considerable.

Da Er wouldn't dare say he could defeat his opponent single-handedly, but if he were given a standard adventurer team, he would definitely dare to give it a try!

He'd seen some good stuff before, and his psychological threshold had been raised considerably.

The Insect King suddenly turned its head and glared at Da Er. It seemed to feel that it was being underestimated, and immediately locked its gaze on this arrogant human.

But just then, Fan En roared, instantly drawing the Insect King's attention.

His body, swollen from his beast form, suddenly sprang up, casting a shadow over the Insect King. He looked down at his opponent and swung down with his claws and Saw Cleaver!

"When--"

A sound like steel clashing rang out, and the Insect King had somehow drawn You Fei's spear, steadily blocking his attack!

A phantom flashed by, and the Insect King unleashed seven or eight thrusts in an instant, each strike imbued with exquisite skill, exactly like You Fei's own fighting style.

It further enhanced You Fei's work in every aspect, instantly creating several bloody holes in Fan En's body!

Pain seemed insignificant to the latter; he didn't flinch at all, wildly grabbing at his opponent, followed by a fatal slash.

But the Insect King dodged them all. Despite being larger than You Fei, it was much more agile and left Fan En with countless wounds that could not be ignored while dodging!

With the next blow, Fan En was slammed down and fell from mid-air.

The Insect King smiled, clearly satisfied with the strength of this body.

The beast-transformed Fan En is already capable of serving as an Elite Monsters in the Zane Dungeon. Being able to defeat it effortlessly, its strength must be considerable.

But the smile had barely appeared for a moment when it suddenly raised its hand and caught the Saw Cleaver that had been thrown at it.

Even though it was caught, the sharp teeth of the Saw Cleaver still pierced through the exoskeleton and embedded themselves deeply in its palm. A few drops of blood slowly flowed down; it was injured!

Anger flickered in its eyes as it looked in the direction from which the Saw Cleaver had come. At that moment, Fan En reappeared before it, his hands, now transformed into claws, slamming down again. Despite his severe injuries, he immediately got up! Was it because he had forgotten his pain after transforming into a beast, or was it due to his indomitable will?

The Insect King didn't care about any of that; it just wanted this guy to lie down so it could show off its majesty. Its spear gleamed with a terrifying light, and an attack powerful enough to obliterate a mountaintop was about to be unleashed. The pressure of the initial stance made Fan En's movements stiffen.

If the surging fighting spirit of the spear tip had hit its mark, Father Gascoigne would have been half dead!

However, just as the attack grazed Fan En's shoulder, a dark shadow flashed by, and Fan En disappeared. The Insect King's attack missed its mark and crashed into the distant rock wall.

"Boom!"

Large chunks of rock fell, and the Insect King quickly locked onto Fan En's direction.

Looking again, one could see that Da Er was struggling to hold onto Fan En and punching him repeatedly.

Are they having internal conflicts?

No, he was just trying to knock Fan En unconscious, but found that the other party was surprisingly resilient.

Seeing the Insect King looking over, he immediately increased his strength and punched Fan En, which temporarily knocked the other man unconscious.

The spear's aura followed one after another. Da Er had already thrown Fan En far away, then rolled over and barely dodged the attack. He then rang the magic item in his arms, and a wolf howl that could be clearly heard throughout the city resounded throughout the capital. He was calling for reinforcements.

In reality, he didn't need to fight the Insect King alone here, especially since the Insect King seemed to be occupying the body of his teacher Jia Paer's daughter, which made it a bit difficult to know how to proceed.

Saving Fan En is considered completing the mission. The reason for knocking him unconscious is to prevent him from continuing his rampage and causing irreversible bestial transformation.

The moment the wolf howls of the assembled Farron Guard rang out, the Insect King sensed something. His figure vanished and then instantly reappeared in front of Da Er, his spear seemingly transforming into hundreds or thousands of afterimages as he thrust forward.

Da Er immediately activated his Wolf's Blood, dodging the attack with his signature Wolf Leap while simultaneously launching a counterattack. The Insect King reacted swiftly, and the two powerful blows collided at that moment.

A deafening collision resounded, and the Insect King took two steps back, his arm slightly numb, while Da Er was sent flying backward, narrowly slamming into the rock wall. Fortunately, he managed to regain his balance midway, but even so, he still coughed up a mouthful of blood.

At that moment, he realized that although the Insect King's demeanor was not as imposing as those of the leaders he had seen before, its strength was genuinely formidable!

"I misjudged it."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, downed several bottles of medicine, but before he could perform his usual monkey act, the Insect King was already upon him.

Now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to stall for time! He made up his mind to launch a counterattack after his teammates had gathered, and it shouldn't take long for them to arrive.

However, he seemed to have misjudged the strength of the Insect King and the speed at which his teammates could assemble.

The Insect King perfectly inherited and greatly enhanced You Fei's strength. On this basis, it even used a wide variety of moves that You Fei had never used before!

As a race that has focused all its talents on parasitism, the Insect King's original form may not be strong, but it possesses the memories of all those parasitized by the insects. In other words, as long as someone has been parasitized by an insect, the Insect King will acquire all their moves and combat experience and apply them perfectly in actual combat!

That's not all. Under certain conditions, the Insect King can frequently change bodies. Each time it changes, it can transfer the strength of the previous body to the next body, making it stronger with each new body!

This is a creature with a very high growth potential.

Although the two people present did not meet the conditions for it to switch bodies, You Fei's strength still allowed it to control the entire situation.

It probably didn't take more than ten minutes before Da Er was already unable to cope, and his body was covered with many wounds.

The Insect King seemed to have no repetitive moves, making it virtually impossible to defend against. Coupled with its immense strength, even the slightest mistake could result in serious injury. Da Er had already exhausted all the potions on his body.

"Why are you all so slow!" He stared intently at the leisurely figure of the Insect King, feeling extremely troubled. Logically speaking, the Farron Guard should have been assembled by now. What made them late?

As the Insect King launched its final attack, he was prepared to fight to the death, ready to be seriously injured again—no, he was certain to be seriously injured!

"Drink!"

A muffled roar resounded, and the insect king, which was about to strike him, was suddenly knocked away and crashed into a pile of rubble.

Before Da Er could even feel relieved, his eyes widened in disbelief, because it was Fan En who had knocked him away. How did this guy wake up so quickly?

The other party charged forward like a raging Hulk, and there was no way to stop them.

"Return!"

Da Er gritted his teeth and quickly followed. He couldn't let Fan En continue fighting; who knew what the consequences would be?

Just as the Insect King crawled out of the pile of rubble, Fan En suddenly rushed up to his face, swinging his large hand with great force, and slapped You Fei across the face. The force of the slap made Yuffie pause for a moment.

Why does it feel like the other person is stronger?

It immediately threw a punch back, Fan En only took a step back before throwing another punch back. The two sides engaged in a powerful and energetic brawl!

Da Er noticed something different, though, because Fan En was with his eyes closed and showed no signs of being conscious.

He wasn't awake at all, but his strong fighting spirit made his body move on its own?

I haven't seen such a ruthless person in a long time!

In a daze, it seemed as if some mysterious emblem flashed across Fan En's body. What was even more puzzling was that his bestial nature seemed to have been somewhat restrained, yet he was still able to fight the Insect King in terms of strength.

Before he could even think about what was going on, Da Er immediately joined the battle, smashing large sections of the exoskeleton with the Farron Greatsword!

Stopping Fan En is impossible, so let's end the battle quickly. Fan En in his current state is the best distraction; he can only restrain the Insect King's movements, allowing Da Er to inflict more damage.

Even the Insect King was a bit confused and was stunned for a while by Fan En's sudden burst of power.

The two were engrossed in attacking the enemy, and the Insect King's injuries were increasing, causing him to forget about keeping track of time.

Da Er felt a glimmer of hope for victory, but just then, he saw Fan En open his eyes.

Its eyes were clear yet confused, as if it wondered who it was and what it was doing there. Its pure gaze was incongruous with its ferocious animal fur.

The moment he regained consciousness, the insignia flashing on his body vanished, and his rising power plummeted.

"Pfft—"

The spear pierced through his body, pinning him to the rock face. He coughed up blood uncontrollably and his condition rapidly deteriorated.

So that was some kind of power spike? Da Er's Greatsword was too slow to retract before it was struck by the now unrestrained Insect King, sending him flying backward.

"Ah!"

The Insect King roared, and its shattered exoskeleton rapidly regenerated. It was truly enraged this time!

Its size suddenly became larger and more ferocious. In just a few exchanges, Da Er was once again forced back, his injuries deepening. He could only stand up by leaning on his Greatsword.

The effects of the Wolf's Blood are almost worn off, and if this continues, he will be even less able to fight back.

Where did everyone go?!

Seeing the Insect King charging towards him like Havel's moving castle, Da Er, who was powerless to dodge, gritted his teeth and raised his weapon with his last bit of strength.

"Si Telan, use the left bow against the enemy!"

A familiar voice suddenly rang out at that moment!