Chapter 14: The Cheapskate Has Arrived (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)
"The little ones have also been killed, it's almost enough, don't pursue the poor devils, let them go. Let's head back home..."
A rare and intense battle between insect tribes also came to an end with the emergence of Old Liu's long, drawn-out voice. Although conflicts occur almost every moment in the Gaya Rainforest, even leading to the extinction of entire tribes, it is extremely rare for a brutal and shocking struggle like this to erupt between two ordinary insect tribes at the bottom of the hierarchy. The outcome was always the same: one side would be completely annihilated. However, Old Liu showed mercy, seeing that those ugly ghost-faced spiders had been killed by his new underlings, he didn't bother to pursue the scattered remnants of the enemy army. Moreover, Old Liu was eager to visit the Blood Mosquito Queen's lair to see if she had left any inheritance for him. Under the banner of humanitarianism, he sounded the retreat. And in his heart, he felt a sense of pride: "I indeed have leadership talent, I commanded my army to defeat those useless insects and successfully created new skills. Haha, who among those who crossed over is as powerful as me? As soon as I crossed over on the first day, I already had tens of millions of underlings, who can compare to that?"
Old Liu, who took all the credit for himself, didn't think that his malicious command would kill 5 or 6 million blood mosquitoes, almost half of the losses this time, and there were countless others with broken arms and legs. Fortunately, this original blood mosquito tribe had developed for decades and was extremely large in number, so it could withstand this casualty figure. If it were a smaller tribe, it would have been directly knocked back to its original shape.
Now this blood mosquito tribe is in the hands of Old Liu, and it's unknown whether it's a blessing or a curse. In short, these silly insects are still very obedient, all following the Queen's orders before her death, walking in Old Liu's footsteps. Even if Old Liu makes the most absurd decisions, they will only carry them out without any complaints or excuses. It's like a simple and clear white paper, unlike human complex groups, where each individual has their own thoughts and ideas, and everything is done with consideration for personal interests, unable to achieve unity. This is also the huge difference in evolutionary level between group consciousness and individual thinking. It can't be said whether this is good or bad, but what can be predicted is that once a tribe with group consciousness gains enough space to grow, it will be extremely terrifying. For example, the alien in the classic American sci-fi movie is the pinnacle of such creatures. Their appearance would be enough to overturn the world.
No need to say more, Old Liu was now surrounded by countless little brothers, flying towards the old nest of blood mosquitoes in a big way, like a touring king, patrolling his territory. It's not scary if you don't look, but it's really scary when you take a closer look. Originally, Old Liu had seen many mosquitoes on Earth, and he had killed many with his own hands, but now compared to these mosquitoes from another world, Old Liu couldn't help but sigh: "What is the difference? This is the difference! Those disorganized, undisciplined, free-roaming, good-for-nothing mosquitoes on Earth can't be compared to their counterparts in another world. Look at them, they've built a Versailles Palace and are self-sufficient, while you're still hiding in someone else's house, stealing food and fighting with mosquito coils. As a fellow Earthling, I really feel sad for you. Sadness!
No wonder Old Liu's words were astonishing, and what appeared before his eyes was over a hundred mud-stone mixed buildings that stood tall like mountain peaks. From top to bottom, it looked as if he had arrived at the Stone Forest in Yunnan, with dense, towering rock formations composed of needle-like, conical shapes everywhere. This entire forest of rocks had an overall height of over 20 meters and a waist circumference that could be encircled by four or five people, with small holes densely covering the top, which were the entrances and exits for the blood mosquitoes. Don't think that these rocky forests that suddenly appeared among the rainforest plants are natural formations - it's not that simple. This is actually a masterpiece built by several generations of blood mosquitoes through their hard work over hundreds of years. At first, there was only one building, but as the population grew rapidly, their living environment naturally changed, and it took this group of blood mosquitoes tens of years to achieve its current scale. So, saying that this stone forest is the Palace of Versailles in the insect world is not an exaggeration. Of course, now this entire area belongs to Old Liu. This isn't all - even the surrounding land for dozens of miles around the Stone Forest has been shamelessly marked as part of his territory by Old Liu. He's also dispatched several million blood mosquitoes divided into over a dozen small teams to patrol the area, reporting back to him about every detail. It seems he really wants to indulge in being a mountain king.
The palace of the Blood Mosquito Queen is naturally much larger than the living space of ordinary blood mosquitoes. If viewed simply from a human perspective, these nests built by insects are not only tall and strangely shaped, but also can't find other commendable views. However, at this moment, Old Liu was on the scene, feeling an atmosphere completely different from his previous life, and discovered that these insect cells without art were not just eating and drinking, but actually had many good things. For example, their toilets are very good... Of course, this is also a mysterious thing, and I won't explain it here.
This time, the blood mosquito tribe swarmed out to wipe out tens of millions of spiders. In the end, not only did they fail to rescue their own queen, but they also lost nearly ten million. They suffered a loss of one-tenth of their total strength, which can be said to have hurt their vitality. Now, with Old Liu's latest move, the patrols sent out for patrol, the ones searching for food, the entire Stone Forest seems much more desolate, no longer as prosperous as it was in its heyday.
When a country shows signs of weakness and fatigue, the strong enemies that surround it will naturally eye it covetously, each one eager to swallow this piece of flesh with little resistance, to satisfy their own greed. This rule also applies in the animal and insect world, where it is even more brutal and merciless, because these creatures are driven by instinct and do not have any disguise or concealment, once they seize the opportunity, they will jump out without hesitation and take a vicious bite on your weak body, taking away your life.
Old Liu, who didn't have a crisis awareness at all, never thought that his temporary decision would actually be a blessing in disguise, bringing him some warnings in advance. When the blood mosquitoes he sent out returned with messages, telling him that many powerful natural enemies had gathered nearby, including many magical beasts that fed on adult blood mosquitoes or their eggs. It wasn't until then that Old Liu realized the situation was not good. He immediately summoned his younger brother and made preparations for battle.
First to arrive were dozens of creatures similar to pangolins, with flat backs covered in shell-like armor that shone brightly in the scorching sunlight, emitting a dazzling luster like steel. Don't underestimate these slow-moving and seemingly clumsy little things, for they are also Steel-Armored Beasts ranking above low-level magical beasts. Although their own strength is not very powerful, their bodies are covered in steel-like armor that possesses astonishing defensive capabilities, making them rare among same-level magical beasts to be able to break through their defenses. At the same time, these guys rely on their invulnerable bodies and are frequent visitors to this rocky forest, often coming here to roam around and snack on some food during their free time. Moreover, their sense of smell is extremely keen, and they especially love to eat the eggs of blood mosquitoes. Once they discover the existence of these eggs, they will swarm in like flies attracted to blood, using their sharp steel claws to dig open the mosquito nests and devour those poor eggs with gusto. It was precisely this reason that forced the Blood Mosquito Queen to venture out in search of an ideal place to lay her eggs, ultimately benefiting Old Liu.
In the face of a swarm of black mosquitoes that filled the air with their nauseating buzzing, the Steelclad Beast moved slowly and sluggishly, crawling along as if it didn't even notice the tiny insects. In fact, they were all regulars here, and the mosquito nest had been dug open by them countless times. Every time, they would feast on the mosquitoes, so they naturally treated this place as their own dining hall, coming whenever they were hungry.
As the saying goes, "one thing suppresses another," the collective attack of the mosquito swarm was indeed formidable, capable of killing a large mid-tier magical beast in a head-on confrontation. But at this moment, they were powerless against these Steelclad Beasts. Because when faced with danger, these beasts would immediately react by either curling up into a ball and rolling away like a wheel or digging a hole in the soft earth to bury themselves.
No matter how strong the mosquito swarm's collective attack was, it was useless against them. After several attempts, not only had they failed to effectively repel these pesky predators, but they had also suffered losses and casualties. So, the previous generations of Mosquito Queens had grown accustomed to flying out whenever these beasts arrived, waiting for them to leave before returning.
Some slower-moving mosquitoes inevitably became the Steelclad Beasts' sweet treats, but because of this, it was difficult to fill their bellies, and instead made them come more frequently, causing trouble for the mosquito swarm. It wasn't until the previous Mosquito Queen's wisdom that they learned to sacrifice some of their own kind to satiate these beasts. Every time they arrived, she would send out a portion of the elderly, weak, and sick mosquitoes to feed them.
After eating their fill, the Steelclad Beasts would naturally leave, not returning for at least half a month. This had formed a strange cycle. Now, as the Steelclad Beasts once again entered Old Liu's Stone Forest, they thought they could still get free lunch. But little did they know that this place was now under new management.
Thinking of getting a free meal on Old Liu's territory? That wasn't going to happen!
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