Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1051 - 166 Swarm of Insects

Chapter 1051: Chapter 166 Swarm of Insects

"How should we respond?" The girls didn’t know what an insect swarm was; neither the information they had nor anything Pannis had said included this term. However, Flare’s slightly solemn expression put the girls on alert. Each of them experienced adventurers, they were accustomed to dealing with sudden, unknown situations. Therefore, even Lina, the most curious among them, didn’t ask what an insect swarm was, but directly inquired about countermeasures.

"Go back to your rooms and seal the entrances," Pannis said with an annoyed slap to his forehead, speaking quickly. "Try not to make too much noise or large movements, like chopping trees or anything, there are no other restrictions. And remember, unless we indicate it’s safe, do not, under any circumstances, set foot on the ground—absolutely not. Also, Vivian, shut down all defensive arrays for now."

"Understood." Vivian tapped her wand lightly on the ground three times, then gave Pannis a thumbs-up. "Already turned off."

"Now, back to your rooms." Pannis bent down, picked up the light mage, and lightly pressed on the trunk, appearing in the mid-air branch in an instant. "Don’t worry, as long as you adhere to what I’ve said, there won’t be any danger. And even if an emergency arises, don’t be scared. The greatest advantage of a demigod lies in using the inherent psychic domain to evade danger."

The girls didn’t even respond, silently starting to climb up the tree. A crucial quality in every adventurer was that despite how noisy they could be at times, in critical moments, they would complete their tasks in the most straightforward manner without any delay. Even a second’s delay could put themselves or even their whole team in danger, and any adventurer lacking this quality had already been eliminated by the harsh reality.

The main characteristic of the tower trees was their trunks, which featured many large tree hollows. The hollows were spacious, some even roomy enough for a person to lie down in. Thus, adventurers in the Forest of Death sometimes used tower trees as dwellings. With a simple cleaning and a sprinkle of insect-repellent powder, a tree hollow would become a natural little room. Though cramped, it eliminated the need to sleep in the open, marking a significant improvement for outdoor living.

Because they were using Conaida’s former team’s abandoned campsite, the expedition naturally made use of the tower tree dwellings according to the original camp design, with the tree hollows naturally becoming what everyone referred to as ’rooms.’

After seeing Vivian into her tree hollow, Pannis waited until everyone had retreated to their rooms before entering his own. Before going in, he also switched off a couple of crystal energy lamps, plunging the campsite into darkness, with only the faint glimmer of the ground fire still flickering.

Once inside the tree hollows, each person took out a small bottle from their pocket and applied some of its contents along the inner edge of the hollow. The liquid was highly extendable and sticky, sticking to the upper edge of the hollow and stretching downward under the force of gravity, forming a thin film-like structure that sealed the entire tree hollow. This film soon solidified, eventually forming a hard transparent yellow barrier that isolated the inside of the tree hollow from the outside world.

In fact, the so-called liquid was the resin from a nearby tree known as the sticky glue tree. Wherever Tower Trees grew, one could find a sticky glue tree within a hundred meters. The resin from the sticky glue tree could be perfectly used on the cavities of the Tower Tree, as if nature had intended it as a gift for adventurers. Once the resin solidified, it became extremely hard, and common flying insects and small animals could not breach this thin barrier, making the tree hollow quite safe. If those inside wished to leave, it was simple, they could use brute force to break through the resin barrier. However, a more correct method was to rub their clothing quickly against the barrier, the heat generated from the friction would soften the resin, making it easy to tear open. Moreover, the greatest advantage of the resin was its breathability, after solidification, the barrier was filled with tiny holes invisible to the naked eye, allowing air to freely circulate, and ensured that it was never stuffy inside.

After sealing the tree hollow, the girls finally relaxed and lay against the transparent resin barrier, peering outside. Although it was very dark, with the help of the light from the stove, they could still faintly see the ground outside.

Soon, a strange rustling sound echoed around the campsite, as if countless insects were crawling on the ground, causing an involuntary itch upon hearing it, but the girls soon realized it was indeed numerous insects moving close to the ground.

Within the range of the firelight, countless crawling insects mixed together, varying in size and species, clustered into a mass resembling a black carpet creeping forward. The swarm included millipedes over a meter long and spiders and cockroaches the size of a thumb. Smaller individuals were indistinguishable due to the dim light, but they were certainly present. Even ignoring the smaller individuals that were indistinguishable, the girls had already seen no less than a hundred types of larger insects, most of which were unnamable exotic beings, with only a few commonly seen in the outside world.

Along with the movement of the insects, aside from the rustling noise, there was also a series of weirdly sweet and cloying scents. Upon detecting this fragrance, the girls immediately swallowed the antidote potion provided by Vivian. They well understood that this so-called fragrance was actually emitted by the toxic insects. Due to the large number, the faint scents mixed together many times over, forming the sweet smell present now, which contained strong toxicity. If it were an ordinary person, merely breathing in the fragrance could rapidly lead to poisoning and death. Even for professionals of Legendary Rank, an antidote potion was needed to alleviate the discomfort.

It seemed as if the insects on the ground were endless, and there was no telling when they would all pass by. Moreover, the rustling sound had not ceased before another annoying buzzing of wings rippled through the area.

The very next moment, the girls realized they could see nothing. Countless flying insects passed by the side of the Tower Tree, completely obscuring the outside space. Through the transparent barrier, they watched unclear dark shadows shaking before their eyes, unable to discern the sizes or species, only a chaotic mess.

After barely observing for a moment, the girls had to lower their gaze and stopped trying to make out the world outside the barrier. The wildly shaking dark shadows outside made them feel waves of dizziness and nausea, forcing them to bow their heads and rely on sounds to assess the situation outside.

The insects seemed infinite, their buzzing filled the girls’ ears. In the dark environment accompanied by monotonous sounds, they lost the ability to judge time. A mere five minutes felt as long as five years to them. The girls had become so numb to this environment that they didn’t even notice when the buzzing finally ceased, they just continued to stare blankly at the bottom of the tree hollow.