Xyrin Empire
Chapter 416 - Chapter 416 Chapter 416 Crystal Jungle

Chapter 416: Chapter 416 Crystal Jungle Chapter 416: Chapter 416 Crystal Jungle The Third Raven Squad suddenly lost contact with us.

This was completely unexpected by everyone; the last message they left indicated that the squad had entered deep into the dungeon and had not engaged in any battles. After they discovered “the cave suddenly opened up, with a large void ahead” and “were about to enter a fault zone,” communication was abruptly lost. The calls from the Mother Ship went unanswered, and the two regular squads approaching this Raven Squad from two other passages in the dungeon also lost contact immediately afterward.

The eerie situation prompted me to immediately instruct the teams conducting searches near that dungeon to halt their activities and switch to a high alert state, ready to repel an enemy that could appear at any moment. Shortly after, Qianqian, Lilina, and I took a landing pod directly to the vicinity of the target dungeon.

After the successive loss of contact with the three teams, the First Squad led by Jaina was the first to arrive on the scene. With ten powerful Ravens and a hundred Great Mages from Dalaran and Silver Moon City, this squad possessed an unprecedented formidable strength. They had already sealed the entrance and exit of the cave with Arcane Shields and Ghost Energy Barriers under my order. However, as it stood, no enemies seemed to be coming out from that location.

The place where we now stood was a wasteland strewn with rubble, which the Insect Race had clearly infested for a long time. Although the raven-like Insects’ mold on the ground had been burned to ashes by the Flame Storm, the occasional charred remains of Insect Race limbs that bristle out from the desolate Gobi desert terrain still managed to churn one’s stomach. Since these insectoids had been dead for so long, the various characteristic chemicals within their bodies had long lost their activity, and coupled with their firm flesh, the Ravens did not spend too much effort to burn every blackened internal organ and muscle. As a result, large patches of quite uncomfortable insect corpses had been left behind.

“How is the situation now? Still unable to make contact?”

I addressed not Jaina but Raven 001, who assisted Jaina. While the former was the leader of this squad, she was more of an honorary leader and didn’t understand the advanced communication technology of the Xyrin People.

“Your Majesty,” Raven 001 dispersed the intense Arcane Halo floating on the black cloak and bowed upon seeing us arrive, “We have released several detectors and, so far, have not encountered the ‘fault zone’ mentioned by the Third Squad. There are no abnormalities in the current situation.”

From the real-time images transmitted by the detectors, I could clearly see the interior of the dungeon.

To be honest, the inside of the dungeon did not look as disgusting as I had imagined; in fact, it was much better than our surroundings–at least there were no suddenly exposed eviscerated Insect corpses to ruin your appetite.

The entrance to the dungeon was located under a gentle hillock, with a diameter of about ten meters, enough to allow light Single Soldier Fighter Jets easy access. The interior was mainly composed of a type of high-strength black mixed rock, with no possibility of collapse. The first hundred or so meters inside were flat and the environment dry. The footsteps of the First Squad were clearly visible under the lens of the detectors, and beyond that point, the terrain gradually sloped downward and grew steeper, while the walls of the dungeon slowly expanded, forming a flattened dome. The agile detector, following the information left by the First Squad, mirrored the latter’s route of action before their disappearance, gradually nearing a suddenly expansive area.

“The terrain here is like entering a flattened fuel tank through a slender tube,” Raven 001 provided a vivid description to portray the underground landscape, “Your Majesty, that is the fault zone up ahead.”

As Raven 001’s words fell, the images in front of us turned a corner and underwent a seismic change.

A vast Crystal Jungle!

Words fall short of describing this magnificent sight; the exquisite pale blue Crystals grew from the ground like bamboo shoots, some nearly a hundred meters tall, piercing straight through the voluminous dungeon that could almost be called another world. These Crystals branched out continuously during their growth, appearing from a distance truly like trees, with faint flowing light leaping and wandering among them, creating an almost dreamlike scene. The ground beneath the Crystal Jungle was no longer the black mixed rock, but some kind of dimly colored Crystal, with the composition of the cave forming two distinctly different parts. One side was the dull black rock stratum, bleak as a dirty slum, and the other side was the brilliant and magnificent Crystal Jungle, as majestic as an Elf Secret Realm–well, to be honest, I haven’t actually seen what an Elf Secret Realm looks like…

Then, the images in front of us suddenly twisted a few times, turning instantly into a noisy interference pattern.

Was it some sort of Energy present within the Crystal Jungle that caused the regular communication devices to malfunction?

Ordinary soldiers couldn’t possibly be equipped with Super Space-Time Communicators, a cumbersome piece of technology outside the standard specs. And regular communication devices–even those bearing the label of Xyrin manufacture–would fail in the presence of a super Energy Field.

“We need to go down there ourselves.”

I casually turned off the projector and, stretching my shoulders slightly, decisively spoke, immediately sparking a joint objection from Raven 001 and Jaina nearby: “Your Majesty (Divine Messenger), please do not take any risks!”

“There’s nothing dangerous about it, you should have some faith in your leader’s strength,” I said, casually patting Lilina’s head, “What’s more important is that with this little one here, there’s no problem.”

“Yes,” Lilina’s face immediately took on an almost indistinguishable expression of coy shyness, “You can feel free to use Lilina as much as you want~~ big brother~~~~”

“Bang!”

With a chop of my hand, I sent the little troublemaker flying.

But I wasn’t wrong, with Lilina by my side, so-called dangers were just clouds in the wind–as the Life Goddess Chief Priestess, created and empowered by the Cosmic Ruling God herself, this Fake Lolita possessed the most heaven-defying Halo Skill in the world: Life Gaze. Anyone within her sight gained a significant boost to their Life Force and recovery abilities, and more importantly, every fifteen minutes they would have a chance of resurrection, although I didn’t believe there was anything on the insignificant Bump Star that could kill an Emperor Level Xyrin Apostle. Nevertheless, Lilina’s ability had undoubtedly dispelled Raven 001’s doubts.

After ordering the First Raven Squad to stand by, Qianqian and I, accompanied by Lilina and personally escorted by Scorpion Wei Jia, entered the deep and dim Earth Cave together.

“Bringing Wei Jia was really a wise decision.”

Not long into our walk, Qianqian happily exclaimed.

I nodded and instructed Scorpion Sister, “Wei Jia, increase the brightness.”

Her disgruntled voice followed immediately, “Sir, any further increase in output power will reach attack thresholds!”

“Oh…” I nodded again and continued following Wei Jia, who had turned into a searchlight.

How did Qianqian come up with having Wei Jia use her tail’s carapace as a searchlight? Is this girl’s brain really developed according to human standards?

However, I had to admit, using the Photon Cannon on Wei Jia’s tail as a searchlight was actually quite effective…

“There’s a faint sense of life coming from up ahead,” Lilina said with a serious face, her delicate nose twitching slightly, as if she could actually smell the scent of life in the air, “Mmm, it smells like cumin…”

Me: “…”

This Earth Cave was truly deep, and the ground was littered with rocks and large holes, making the walk uneven and quite annoying. Qianqian initially had the energy of a child, hopping and playing around in a grand adventure game, but soon she became bored, apparently disappointed by the lack of even a wild Slime to pique her interest. Meanwhile, Lilina, using the eye-rolling excuse that she was a Priestess not accustomed to travel and a child in need of care, had monopolized the only stable spot: atop Wei Jia’s back. There she sat comfortably on Scorpion Sister’s back, a position that was supposed to be mine… oh well, no need to make a fuss over a child.

It took us nearly half an hour to traverse the difficult tunnel and arrive at the Crystal Jungle zone.

“Wow!!” As expected, Qianqian entered an excited frenzy, dancing with joy as she rushed into the Crystal Jungle, yanking crystals out of the ground like pulling up carrots–crystals that seemed impossibly sturdy squeaked and groaned under the onslaught of Qianqian’s strength, now comparable to that of Gangdamu, “Ah Jun, Ah Jun! Do you think we can turn these into diamonds?”

I was just glad that Little Baobao hadn’t come along; otherwise, the little guy might have ended up collapsing the whole Bump Star.

I ignored Qianqian, who had entered a berserk state, and instead began to sense the flow of energy around us.

Just as we had speculated at the beginning, there is an energy field with significant interference within this jungle, and our communication with the outside has been cut off.

This energy field is not strong, and it doesn’t even cause any harm, which is probably why Qianqian had no sense of alertness, but it effectively blocks any conventional means of communication. Under my perception of spiritual power, the entire Crystal Jungle is permeated with such energy fields, which oscillate regularly. They seem to synchronize secretly with the surrounding crystal clusters, as if these crystals were resonating. Gradually, I began to understand the principle of how these energy resonances block communication.

I don’t know if these crystals are a magical substance created by the Protos Natives, but if that’s the case, then these mysterious beings of the Protos Divine Race are definitely worth our thorough research.

“Jaina, can you hear me?”

“Divine Envoy! It’s so good to hear your voice, we just lost contact with you suddenly…”

“Calm down, our situation here is fine,” I breathed a sigh of relief, “The crystal jungle here has created a clever energy resonance. This self-contained resonance chamber makes conventional communication signals unable to get through, but it doesn’t affect my special abilities. You don’t need to worry.”

After a brief explanation, I called Qianqian, who was busy reversing the process by which these crystals were formed, and Lilina, who was riding on Vega’s back, and we set off deeper into the Crystal Jungle.

There was more than one entrance here. In addition to the path we had come through, there were two more passages aligned, likely the routes taken by the two missing squads. As a special close-combat unit, Vega excelled at such “hunting” skills. With her tracking, we easily found traces left by the missing squads. The traces were orderly and without signs of combat, indicating they had moved towards the depths of the jungle under organized command. But where had all those soldiers gone now?

With such questions, we delved deeper. The area of this crystal zone was astonishingly large, and its interior was no longer simply a “jungle.” Walls and passages formed by translucent crystals began to emerge, making the terrain in the depths increasingly complex.

“The life signals ahead are getting stronger!”

Lilina suddenly stopped us and then furrowed her brows tightly.

“It’s disgusting… it’s the Insect Race…”

Is there really a taste to what is called the life aura?

I couldn’t help but express my doubts, while Lilina had already jumped off Vega’s back and erected a light green energy shield around herself. Vega drew her twin blades, and the photon cannon on her tail switched to close-range blast mode.

As we moved forward, the air began to carry those low, grinding noises and the meaningless shrieks of the insects. We didn’t need Lilina’s guidance; we could quickly find the enemies.

Eventually, when the grating, teeth-grinding sounds filled our ears, we approached a vast crystal wall that seemed to have no end. The sounds of the insect swarm emanated from a series of uniform circular holes in the wall.

This must be the end of the Crystal Jungle, this vast crystal cave that I’ve been staring at until my eyes are dizzy.

We cautiously approached, then peered curiously into the holes.

“Damn, are all those insects concentrated here?”

I immediately whispered, I had always felt, even if the planet’s Insect Queen was dead, those Insects wouldn’t just be reduced to so few before the entire planet was incinerated. So they were all hiding underground?

“How many? I can only say that it was boundless, truly boundless. I wouldn’t even doubt the number if you told me there were tens of millions, but billions… well, that’s just ridiculous.”

The boundless insect swarm filled our vision, the deep purple carapaces and tentacles intertwining like a writhing, viscous swamp, nauseating to behold. Countless Spine Snakes, Jumping Worms, Lurkers, Flying Dragons, and other oddly shaped insects vastly different from those in games, seemed to gather in a chaotic mass. Their slight movements created a faint friction sound that, when mixed together and amplified by the Crystal Cave, was almost deafening.

“I’m starting to hate the atmosphere of this planet…”

I dug my fingers into my ears, irritated by the cacophony produced by the insects.

Vega immediately nodded with a serious expression, “Yes, Commander! We will burn off the atmosphere of this planet after the operation!”

Even Lilina felt a shiver of horror.

“They seem to be besieging something.”

Unaware of anything unusual in her own words, Vega continued to observe the situation inside the cave. The slight glow in her eyes flashed brighter, signaling that Scorpion Sister’s radar was in full swing, and soon, she located what she was searching for.

“Reporting to the Commander! There’s a strange high-energy structure at the center of the insect swarm, and we have detected the beacon signal! Our allies are fiercely battling there!”

“Prepare for battle! Assault forcefully!” I ordered in a low voice, followed by a sudden wave of comforting safety that radiated from my side.

Lilina’s hair had turned within a blink into a radiant green hue, reminiscent of light itself. This usually prankster little girl now gave me a sense of unparalleled sacred purity. She floated gently into mid-air, and surging life energy began to ripple through every inch of space around us.

“The Life Goddess’s Chief Priestess isn’t as simple as you think,” Lilina said calmly, then firmly positioned herself behind me, “Boss, you better protect frail Lilina later~~~”

Before I had time to give the usual triple-speed karate chop to this brat, Vega suddenly leaped into the cave from its crystal entrance. The Photon Cannon on her tail had already begun charging the moment she leapt out. As she landed, the deep red light had already accumulated to its peak, and then it burst forth explosively.

The thick beam of deep red light suddenly illuminated the somewhat gloomy underworld, painting a bloody hue over chunks of the insect swarm with its intense glare. Accompanying the instantaneous deafening roar of the swarm, a powerful flood of photons carved a terrifying scar–a few meters wide and hundreds of kilometers long–through the mass of insects. As Vega’s blades rapidly charged with a buzzing sound, she raised her upper body high and, with a battle cry of “Long live the Empire!” instantly turned into a phantom, speeding toward the signal beacon surrounded by the swarm.

I grabbed hold of Lilina and, with Qianqian close behind, followed them.

Tens of millions of insects besieging an insignificant structure means that only a fraction can actually engage in battle. Most of the highly agitated insects could only watch from afar in frustration, their nerves already aflame. Our appearance obviously provided them with an outlet for their aggression. Despite Vega’s sudden assault taking out nearly tens of thousands of the Insect Race, turning them into ash, the path she had cleared was instantly re-filled by more insects the next second. Then, the overwhelming swarm launched a ferocious attack on what they perceived to be the “weak humans” who had dared to confront them.

Qianqian hovered in the air, wielding her immense spiritual power, crushing these “weak” insects without any need for refined technique or any moves at all. Any insect daring to approach within a three hundred meter radius of us was turned mid-air into neatly chopped up meat or decayed, burnt remains. Already in a brutal state, Qianqian showed no mercy as she ripped through the currents of time around her. Not even the theoretically immortal insects could withstand this chaotic temporal turbulence. Their bodies were shoved into hundreds, perhaps thousands, of temporal streams spanning a thousand years, and before they realized what was happening, they were destroyed in bloodshed that poured from the sky.

No matter how many times I’d seen it, Qianqian’s way of fighting… was really too gruesome…

The dense crackling sounds and the ‘plop plop’ thuds of chunks of flesh hitting the ground created an exclusive symphony around us. All the attacking insects turned into lifeless rot and pus in mid-air. Even Lilina, who claimed to fear neither heaven nor earth, couldn’t help but retch at the sight of Qianqian’s ferocious combat. So I picked up the pale-faced little girl and followed in Vega’s wake, quickly leaving the blood and thunder caused by Qianqian behind.

(Don’t let the votes cool down! I want to stay on the genre rankings for a few more days…)(To be continued, for more details, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available, and support the author by supporting genuine readings!)