Chương 46: Chapter 46 - Iron Mantis
The group was retreating in a somewhat organized fashion, chased by a swarm of giant insects. Luckily, there were some bushes in front of them, slowing down the bugs that would otherwise easily catch up.
Slash! Slash! The iron mantis was a bit slower than the other bugs, but it was destroying the bushes with just one swipe of its raptorial legs. Sometimes, it would even bite a small tree off with one move of its jaws.
Rui Ming was closing their retreat, being their fastest runner. He took a quick glance at his squad. Everyone was out of qi, most people were injured, it was his responsibility to defend the group now.
What if? Yes, let's try this!
He retreated to a flank, and a bunch of bugs followed him. He didn't care, he was fast enough to avoid them for now. He aimed his wind path technique at the joint of an iron mantis. The carapace below its front leg should be thinner, if he could shoot it, he'd slow it down, and they'd be able to escape!
Swish. The arrow hit the target, but the iron mantis looked unbothered! The arrow bounced off the iron carapace, dealing no damage!
"Disciple Ming! Retreat!" Xie Taowei was so nervous that he forgot about promoting the Windsplitter to the rank of master.
Xin looked back. No, can't play hero. My job is to get everyone out. Once the bushy area ends, they'll start catching up again. This is where we build up the momentum for the escape, no distractions! He could feel himself get tired, and, given his endurance bracer, that probably meant that all the other squadmates were quite exhausted.
"Agh! I got hit, fuck!" Su Xing shouted in a shaky voice. "That thorn thing, fuck!"
"Brother Xing, wait, I'll eat a spirit stone, please keep running!" Wu Xiaoyun slowed down a bit.
"Don't, sister! You already ate one!"
"But! You..."
"Keep running, you retards! Stop wasting breath!" Xie Taowei tried to hold the team's shape together.
"There is no other way!" Su Xing spent mere moments contemplating, then stopped and turned towards the enemies. Xin looked back and saw a big thorn sticking out from his armour. Su Xing pointed his glaive at the bugs, hoping to at least make a heroic final stand.
"Brother Xing! No!"
Xin ran up to Xiaoyun and slapped the back of her head.
"Get moving! He died for you! Start running or I'll push you into the bugs!" Xin felt like there was no point in supporting or encouraging her, so he tried intimidation. He could always apologize later.
"Su Xing, you aren't sacrificing yourself correctly! Don't just stand there, run to the side and pull some enemies away!" Xin felt these words escape his lips, but he didn't remember thinking them. Flow state.
"Huh?" Su Xing's thoughts were a chaotic mess. His qi reserves were empty, his meridians were about to crack, the pain pierced his back, and he felt like he was about to faint. He was filled with anguish. I am so powerless, so weak! I hoped to live a carefree life, enjoying myself, and then I got myself dragged into this shit!
He remembered all the times he slacked in training and studies, all the cute girls he slept with. Would it be different if I was diligent? Nah, some people are just better. Rui Ming, Wu Lei — they are just a different type of fruit, there was nothing I could do. I want to go out a hero, but this fucking Xin! He is criticising the way I am trying to heroically sacrifice myself! What a pathetic end.
At this moment, Su Xing hated Xin, but he chose to submit anyway. He ran to the side, and several grasshoppers and a giant mantis have followed him.
"Hya!" He stabbed one of the grasshoppers, but his attack bounced off its carapace. He imagined himself at least killing one of the bugs before falling, but it wasn't meant to be. A grasshopper stabbed his thigh, then a giant mantis fell on top of him. He could see its ugly faceted eyes and a terrifying jaw, dripping with slime.
"No! Agh! Fuck! Aaaaaaa!" His shouts were muffled and then disappeared. The group kept retreating.
The open plains! We won some distance, but the bugs will now start catching up. The iron mantis is as fast as we are, so if we get tied in combat, it will catch up and cut us down. We have no methods to damage it.
"Is it that stepstone, Xin?" Xie Taowei pointed at an old stone, overgrown with moss and wild grapes.
"Seems so! We need to run uphill, there is a trail there!" The bugs were catching up. Terrible.
Lei chopped at a grasshopper's leg. It won't kill it, but it should slow it down. Good enough. He looked around as he kept running, Molten Heart leaving him dehydrated and exhausted. The iron mantis didn't seem to tire, and was slowly closing distance! Meanwhile, a stage two grasshopper shot a thorn at Lei. He barely dodged.
"Fuck! When are the mines?" Lei gasped for air.
"Up the hill, we'll make it!" Xin encouraged everyone, then slowed down to help out Murong Zhan, who was flanked by a grasshopper.
Suddenly, the giant mantis that felt so keen on catching Lei stabbed the earth with its foreleg. Lei could see the grass vines emerge behind his legs, and he quickly jumped aside. Sadly, he tripped himself and fell. The stage one grasshopper seized the opportunity, ran up to him and tried to finish him off!
Smash! Yao Nang emerged from behind his back, and kicked the creature in the chest. The hit was strong enough to stagger it. Lei tried standing up, but his foot shot up with pain. It was twisted!
"Stand up!" Yao Nang shouted out. She was covered in blood and mud, there was a thorn in her chest, and she seemed to have dropped her weapon. She picked him up by the collar and pushed him forward. "Can you run?!"
Lei huffed and panted. "Yes!" He kept running, ignoring the pain. No time to thank her. He almost made a perverted comment at her, but found no breath in his lungs. He would probably injure his foot even further with this sprint, but it didn't matter.
Xin approached the entrance of a derelict mineshaft, overgrown with wild vines. That's it!
"Get in, get in!" Xie Taowei shouted to everyone. Lei was the last one in this group. Xin had no time to reload, but he wouldn't abandon his friend. He used the remnants of his qi to reinforce his glaive, and attacked the grasshoppers together with the others.
The bugs that caught up with them were few in numbers for now, and it wasn't too hard to fight them off. The group hurried into the mines. It was absolutely dark there, so Xie Taowei opened the aperture of his core and threw some sparkling stones on the ground, spreading some light.
The group's spirits were crushed. In front of them, they could see a tall, long and wide tunnel. It was spacious enough for a group of twelve people to walk shoulder to shoulder.
"Shit! The mantis will get us! This mine is useless!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Xie Taowei ate four more spirit stones in one mouthful. Xin didn't know his exact limits, but he suspected this would stress his meridians severely.
"Keep running! I have a metal singing technique! Maybe I'll find something, it's a mine, after all!!" Murong Zhan touched the walls of the mines. "Yes! There is a small mineshaft forward!"
The group ran up to a hole in the wall, a human height tall and wide enough for only one person to enter at once. The bugs can't fight here comfortably!
"Get inside, everyone! I will protect you!" Xie Taowei activated a defensive technique as everyone entered this tunnel.
All the bugs circled around him for a moment, then rushed at him. The iron mantis kept a respectful distance, rubbing its raptorials together, which emanated a silvery glow.
"Faster, Lei!" He rudely pushed a struggling disciple into the hole. That's the last one. He prepared to deflect the blow.
Swish! Swish! Two arrow-like stings escaped from the creature's raptorials. Xie Taowei managed to evade one, but the second one pierced his hip, protruding from the other side.
"Agh!" Xie Taowei stumbled back. It was hard to move with a giant sting piercing your hip muscles, right near the bone.
The mantis then sprinted towards him, joining the swarm.
"Shit!" Xie Taowei entered the tunnel. He remembered the faces of his dead disciples. Not this time. He reached for the ceiling of the mineshaft, grabbed it with an earth qi technique and pulled. The ground cracked.
"Master, follow us!" Murong Zhan shouted. "The bugs won't reach us here!"
Shut the fuck up, kid. You don't know shit!
"Agh! Cunt!" Xie Taowei dropped the stones from the ceiling, crashing a grasshopper that tried to squeeze in. This created a significant blockage. He then felt his meridians crack, and the walls of his Condensation stage core collapsed. His earth qi spread around the body, uncontrolled.
"Master!" Tu Qiang ran up to him. "I'll help you, please let me grab you, I'll carry you away!" He tried to pick him up.
"Wait, kid. Ugghhh... My meridians are broken. I am bleeding severely, and not just from the hip. Internal bleeding. Listen to me before I faint. Grab this medicine." He opened a bag of holding and procured a pouch. "If I don't wake up, read a missive in my bag. Khe-Khe... Fuck. Now... Use the rock lifting technique to reinforce the blockage. You aren't safe here. The mantis can squeeze through the tunnel and throw rank two techniques at you. And it can drill through the stones."
"So, how do we defeat this creature?" Tu Qiang looked worried. The people behind him could hear the echo of their talk.
"I'll be fucked if I know..." Xie Taowei fainted.
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