Rasputin silently accepted the order.
For the time that followed, the guardians had a relatively easy time of it.
The scorpion-shaped Gu hovered steadily above their heads, continuously releasing an aura that kept the Blood Locusts well away.
Though the Blood Locusts still filled the sky, they all gave the group a wide berth. There was no longer any need to worry about sudden attacks.
About an hour later, the last Blood Locust finally vanished into the boundless mist.
The scalp-prickling buzz and rasp of beating wings gradually receded as well, until it disappeared completely.
The sky finally regained its former brightness.
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, their taut nerves finally relaxing.
Only when Incense Master Shen ordered them to set out again did they truly see what a terrifying disaster the passing Blood Locust swarm had been.
Since they were heading in the very direction the Blood Locusts had come from, the rest of their journey essentially followed the swarm's earlier path.
Incense Master Shen, who spent his days cultivating Gu Insects in the mountains, had never seen the mountains so quiet.
It was not merely that the birds had fallen silent. Even the insects had stopped chirping.
The passing Blood Locusts had drained the blood of every living creature along their route.
Every short distance, the group came upon another desiccated corpse, still holding its posture from before death.
The worst off were the wild animals that lived in groups.
Passing through a stretch of woodland, they found a herd of wild boars lying dead among the trees.
By the look of things, they too had tried to hide when the Blood Locusts attacked, but the dense undergrowth could not conceal their enormous bodies or strong scent.
And so the entire herd, more than a