Fireflies

"Gron, take a group of soldiers to the gate immediately and bring in the wandering clan outside."

Lin Jin's gaze settled on Gron, who nodded slightly. "As you command, my lord."

Gron immediately carried out the order, setting off with a squad of five insects.

Lin Jin was not worried about anything going wrong.

After receiving the divine blessing, Gron had not only gained a tremendous boost to his physical abilities, but his resistance to paralysis, poison, burns, and mind control had also reached its maximum.

As long as magic was not involved, Gron was essentially invincible.

Besides, those outside were nothing more than a group of skeletal refugees.

Gron soon reached the gate. The enormous stone gate had no mechanism; it was simply two massive stones blocking the cave entrance.

Without hesitation, Gron pressed both hands against the stone gate, drew a deep breath, and pushed with all his strength.

The stone gate soon began to shake, then slowly opened outward.

"No matter how many times I see it, the chief's monstrous strength is incredible."

"Even fifty insects together couldn't move those boulders, but the chief pushed them open all by himself."

"So powerful. So strong."

Overwhelmed by the sight, the clan warriors accompanying him gazed admiringly at their chief as he pushed open the massive stone gate.

Every member of the reborn Ashen Clan respected and loved their chief.

Even during the clan's darkest days, Gron had never uttered a single word about giving up or surrendering to reality.

And when he received the god's blessing, he had never once thought of securing his own position.

Instead, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the god and winning a better future for the clan.

Gron fully deserved to be the first insect to receive a divine blessing. Throughout the clan, there was envy and admiration, but never jealousy.

And today, another figure in the clan, Isara, had also received the god's blessing.

Isara, the pontiff appointed by the god.

This warrior did not understand what a pontiff was, but he believed that any position established by the god had to be important.

The warrior had personally witnessed Isara eagerly use her power just after receiving her divine blessing.

She had actually moved from one place to another in an instant.

Incredible.

That sight had made the few worried unbelievers within the Ashen Clan fully submit to the faith of the Sunfire God.

It's incredible, but that means I need to work even harder.

Hope was within sight, and everything was changing for the better. In the past, that would have been simply unimaginable.

There it was again. An unfamiliar feeling welled up in the warrior's heart once more.

Over the past few days, this feeling had kept surfacing from time to time.

He still could not put a name to it.

Yet it was undeniably real.

The Ashen Clan would understand in time. It was honor and pride, the very things Lin Jin had been working to cultivate.

Ample supplies, a sense of security, clearly defined goals, and faith.

The changes Lin Jin brought were indeed remarkable.

The feelings and thoughts of the Ashen Clan, forcibly suppressed by the scarcity of resources in the wasteland, were steadily beginning to sprout and grow.

Outside the cave entrance, the knocking had not stopped.

Knock, knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

A weak firefly whose tail light had grown dim tried to persuade his chief. "Chief, stop knocking. Even if there really are insects inside, they won't open the gate."

The insect spoke with absolute certainty. This required no guesswork; it was common knowledge.

There was no need to imagine what would happen when two clans met by chance in the wasteland, let alone when one knocked directly on the other's door like this.

The firefly then steadied the chief again as he nearly lost his footing.

But when he thought of the clan's current plight, he could not find any words of comfort.

How tragic was it that they had run into a great storm without warning?

Although fireflies could fly, their clan was nothing more than rootless leaves before a natural disaster of that magnitude.

Their last remaining food had been swept away, and even their clanspeople had been scattered by the wind.

After they finally managed to regroup, fewer than one in ten remained.

At this point, the clan could essentially be declared extinct, yet the chief still refused to give up.

"This is our last hope. I cannot let the clan perish under my leadership."

"But..." The firefly wanted to say more, but suddenly he could not get the words out.

Before his eyes, the enormous stone gate blocking their path began to tremble slowly.

The other insects nearby all backed away in fear at the sight.

But the chief remained where he stood. The chief was the symbol of the clan, so even if he had to pretend, he could never show cowardice.

Seeing that the chief had not moved, the firefly who had spoken first could only suppress his fear and force himself to stay.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but through his frightened eyes, the great stone gate seemed to open more and more slowly.

Was it because he was afraid? Time seemed to have frozen.

Finally, whether in an instant or after a long wait, the stone gate opened.

"By the god's command, follow me and pay homage to my god."

Gron offered no pleasantries. His first words were an order.

The god's decree was absolute, but Gron would never do anything the god had not instructed him to do.

This frightened all the insects.

The fireflies looked at one another, none of them understanding what he meant.

Still, Gron's forceful manner had intimidated them so much that they did not even dare flee.

Judging by how far behind him those warriors are, could he have caused all that commotion by himself? one firefly suddenly wondered.

He had no evidence, but that was simply how he felt.

Gron remained unmoved and silent, but that very silence caused panic to spread.

In the end, the firefly chief made a swift decision. "We'll go with you."

Outside, the wind began stirring up dust again, heralding another approaching storm.

Their supplies were already gone, and every member of the clan was on the verge of a mental breakdown. They had no better option now than to follow.

Gron nodded, then turned and headed straight toward the temple.

The other five warriors surrounded the large group of refugees, acting partly as escorts and partly as enforcers.

Finally safe inside the cave, the fireflies could at last stretch their bodies, which had been shivering in the cold wind.

This was also the Ashen Clan's first encounter with other insects they could communicate with, and the clan warriors studied the refugees curiously.

They had slender, flattened bodies, heads dominated by two compound eyes, and tough outer skins.

Most were brown or black, but their chief was more distinctive, with red spots on his shell.

The greatest difference between these insects and the Ashen Clan was that they had six tentacles.

Apart from the lower two tentacles, which they used for walking, the remaining four served as hands.

Some had wings tucked tightly inside their shells, while others had none, carrying enormous bundles on their backs instead.

The one feature shared by the entire clan, the light-producing organs on their abdomens, had also grown extremely dim from hunger.

Gron remained utterly unmoved by the sight before him.

At that moment, he showed a cold-hearted side. Gron did have a sense of responsibility, but only toward the Ashen Clan.

As for insects from other clans?

Their fate would be decided by the Sunfire God. All he needed to do was obey the god's will and bring them before him.