Chapter 80: Chapter 75: Insect Race (Please Subscribe)
If a person loses even their most basic principles and bottom lines, then even the highest achievements mean nothing in the end.
Having made his decision, Song Chi agreed.
"Alright, let's give it a try, right, there's also one of those Crystal Boxes you mentioned in the second layer of space."
Hearing the words "Crystal Box," Shen Qing's eyes grew even more resolute.
The Crystal Box on the first floor held a Blue Oddity and several White Oddities; the Strange Objects contained within the Crystal Box on the second floor could only be more precious.
As they were discussing, ripples flashed across the Spatial Veil in the sky above, followed by a torrent of Insect Race creatures, half a meter high and nearly a meter long, falling from the sky.
These insectoids were dark greenish-black, their entire bodies wrapped in hard shells, with the mouthparts at the front of their heads especially fierce; the cold light flickered with each opening and closing, more terrifying than the sharpest clamps.
The top of the Spatial Veil where the insectoids fell was hundreds of meters above the first floor's ground. These creatures didn't have wings or anything, so Song Chi and Shen Qing initially thought that falling from such a height, surely hundreds would perish, but the hardness of the insectoids' shells was far beyond their expectations.
Despite falling from a height of hundreds of meters, they were unscathed upon hitting the ground. Emitting strange hisses from their mouthparts, they swiftly charged toward the Cangqiong and Qingfeng.
Upon seeing this, the Spectral Airships unleashed their Main Cannons and Secondary Cannons with all their might, firing powerful beams that easily tore through the insects' prized hard shells. The thickness of the insectoids' shells was indeed remarkable, but that was only relative to other creatures or attack methods of the same rank.
Most of these insectoids were Zero Rank, and under the barrage of First Rank Torch Warships, their so-called shells were no more than a slightly thicker film, which, no matter how substantial compared to ordinary films, couldn't withstand a single blow.
Suddenly, limbs and body parts flew in all directions, dark green blood splattered everywhere, and the entire first layer of space began to fill with a foul stench.
The blood of these insectoids was dark green and carried a strong stench. As it piled up, a dense green poisonous fog enveloped the entire closed space, and in an already dark environment, visibility became utterly impossible.
It was now only through the Spectral Airships' thermal scanners that the number of insectoids below, which had not decreased at all but seemed to be increasing, could be clearly tracked.
The Particle Beam Cannons of Cangqiong and the Shipborne Main Cannons of Qingfeng emitted ray-based attacks. These attacks had excellent penetration and range but the drawback was their difficulty in causing widespread damage. This put them at a significant disadvantage when facing enemies known for their numbers.
If it weren't for the nearly infinitely repeating Secondary Cannons, the number of insectoids in this layer of space would likely be even greater.
As the two grappled with their predicament, an alert from the semi-automatic intelligent brain aboard the ship compounded their troubles.
"Beep, beep, beep, warning, the concentration of the external poison fog has reached First Rank. Due to exposure to the poison fog, the Energy Shield is beginning to decrease."
Originally, the two Airships floated hundreds of meters in the air, enjoying a natural geographical advantage. Even with numerous insectoids below, it was difficult for them to reach them, ensuring their safety in both offensive and defensive postures.
But now, with their high-altitude geographical advantage about to vanish, the outside poison fog had spread throughout the enclosed space. No matter where the two Airships hid, they couldn't avoid the fog that had reached a pollution level of First Rank.
"Big Qing, we're going up. There are already over 20,000 insectoids on this layer; there shouldn't be many left on the second layer!"
In a crisis, Song Chi proposed a countermeasure. The two agreed instantly, piloting their Airships straight through the second layer's Spatial Veil.
Above, a continuous stream of insectoids still poured out of the Spatial Veil, their sticky bodies and sharp mouthparts making for a particularly disgusting sight.
After exchanging a glance, the engines at the rear of both Airships roared, propelling the two Airships upwards.
Thump, thump, thump!
Insectoids continuously collided with the Energy Shield of Cangqiong, causing ripples across the shield before being quickly deflected.
The insectoids weren't stupid, exerting much effort to control their densely packed limbs to stabilize their bodies. Their fierce mouthparts also frantically gnawed at the shield.
The surface layers of Cangqiong's Energy Shield began to flicker continuously, and the Shield Value decreased much faster than before.
Are you kidding? What's known as swallowing everything? Wasn't it their horrifying mouthparts? Even if only a group of Zero Rank insectoids, the power of their mouthparts was still extraordinary, even if the Energy Shield components on Cangqiong were of Orange Glory Quality.
Looking at Shen Qing, Qingfeng's situation appeared even worse; under the gnawing of some Zero Rank insectoids, the brightness of Qingfeng's shield had already dimmed by half, and it looked like it wouldn't be long before it overloaded completely.
Fortunately, this situation didn't last long. Braving the falling tide of insects, both Airships quickly crossed the Spatial Veil into the brighter second layer of space. Song Chi quickly increased the altitude of the Airships, soon regaining distance from the swarm of insects below.
At a glance, Shen Qing quickly understood why Song Chi had shown such an expression earlier; compared to a swarm of thousands of insectoids, these overwhelmingly torn remnants from below, resembling giant eggs, seemed far more bone-chilling.