Free Web NovelChapter 250: Chapter 200: Night Raid (2)
’There’s no escape...’
He struggled to keep his lips sealed, feigning ignorance in the face of Fei Lie’s question.
"Aketu... never mentioned a group of the Alien Race was hiding here." Seeing Wu Fan remain silent, Fei Lie’s gaze grew dark. He didn’t press the interrogation further, instead just waving his hand again.
The Insect Servant in front casually tossed the dying Wu Fan and Buck forward.
At the same time, the massive beetle beneath Fei Lie opened its mouth slightly.
A thick, crimson proboscis shot out, piercing through both their bodies and devouring them.
"CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH~"
The grisly sound of splintering bone echoed through the silent night sky.
...
Inside the academy.
In the still communications room, the green light on a Communication Device suddenly flashed on.
A burst of static jolted the drowsy communications officer, who had been dozing at her desk, wide awake.
Before the officer could react, a frantic voice crackled through:
"This is the East Gate sentry post! Ene—(BOOM!)"
However... he never finished the word. A violent explosion, swallowed by piercing static, erupted from the device.
Hearing this, the officer’s expression instantly turned grave. While flipping through the duty roster for the East Gate, she tried to raise them:
"This is the comms room, message received. Wu Fan, Wu Fan, can you hear me?"
With her other hand, she pressed the buttons on another Communication Device to contact Dean Wu and other key personnel.
A few seconds later, the line to Wu Fan’s device went dead.
Then, a voice came through the other device—Dean Wu’s, weary but tinged with alarm. "What happened?"
A call on the Communication Device in the middle of the night could only mean that something major had happened.
"Reporting, Dean Wu. Ten seconds ago, a message came from Wu Fan outside the East Gate..."
The officer didn’t dare delay, relaying everything that had just happened to Dean Wu in detail.
"Understood. Make a general broadcast now: all personnel are to assume immediate combat readiness!"
"Yes, sir!"
As a member of the academy, the communications officer was also a student. Having heard the panic in Wu Fan’s cry and the gravity in Dean Wu’s voice, her own heart was filled with anxiety. She hurried to the broadcast equipment on the other side of the room, switched it on, and took a deep breath to steady herself. Then, in a clear and firm voice, she announced:
"Attention all personnel, I repeat, attention all personnel! We have an unknown enemy invading! All personnel are to assume combat readiness!"
The piercing broadcast blared again and again, shattering the academy’s silence.
Within seconds of the broadcast, lights blazed to life in several of the pitch-black dormitory buildings.
The scuttling and shuffling of Soul Beasts could be heard from the hallways.
In a dorm room in Building B.
The moment the broadcast went out,
Lü Xiuning’s eyes snapped open from a deep sleep.
He had no time to dress. He just threw on a jacket, grabbed his waist pouch, and rushed out of the room with his two Soul Beasts.
By the time he reached the open area in front of the dorms, several teachers and students who hadn’t yet gone to bed had already gathered.
"Wu Fan was on duty at the East Gate tonight. He just sent word that the gate was under attack..." Dean Wu strode over, a greatcoat draped over his shoulders. "We haven’t heard anything since. I fear the worst."
Lü Xiuning’s expression was taut. He turned to the dormitories ahead and bellowed, "All combat teams, assemble in front of the buildings! Support staff, to the underground shelters!"
The words had barely left his mouth when he pulled a Silver Scale Shotgun from his waist pouch. His gaze fixed warily on the east as he asked:
"Where’s Han Ning?"
"He’s out on an exploration mission. We don’t know when he’ll be back. I’ve already had someone try to reach him via Communication Device."
Lü Xiuning nodded but said nothing more.
More and more people gathered in front of the dormitory buildings.
In no time, a force of over one hundred once-evolved Tree Spirits and Tree Demons had assembled before them.
Over thirty massive Electric Fire Cannon Insects.
There were also dozens of Blue Jade Spider Bees and Silver Thorn Damselflies.
Following Lü Xiuning’s orders, everyone took cover in the shelters of various sizes near the dorms.
And in the sky to the northeast, a red glow faintly appeared.
The expressions of every Beast Master present with Spiritual Power exceeding Tier One turned grave as they felt the intense fluctuations of Spiritual Energy from the distance.
"They’re here!"
Lü Xiuning gazed into the distance. With his enhanced vision, he could just make out a vast army of insects under the far-off sky, a swarm of red beetles and moths.
Crimson and orange-red light radiated from their bodies, illuminating half the sky as if it were day.
On the backs of these insects, large and small, stood tiny black figures. In the fiery red glow, they were shadowy and indistinct, like monstrous figures baring fangs and claws.
"Dean, do we try to negotiate, or do we attack directly?" Teacher Fang, standing at the front of the line, took a deep breath. He could feel the terrifying fluctuations of Spiritual Energy, and his voice was rushed.
"Don’t rush to attack," Lü Xiuning answered immediately. "They’re too strong. The Soul Beasts at the vanguard are at least Extraordinary Level. If we fight, the consequences will be unthinkable."
"Judging by their aura, they certainly don’t come in peace..." Dean Wu’s brow was furrowed in a deep frown.
Before he could say more, Lü Xiuning at his side suddenly vaulted onto the back of a Blue Jade Spider Bee.
"Xiuning, you—!"
Everyone’s expression changed dramatically at the sight.
"I’m going to negotiate. At the very least, I can’t let them get any closer, or we won’t even have a chance to fight. Dean, the rest of you, act as the situation demands!"
With that, Lü Xiuning brought the Insect Flute to his lips and blew a soft note, flying off toward the insect swarm.
"Xiuning, don’t!" "Teacher Lü, no!"
After Lü Xiuning spoke, the eyes of several other teachers and students reddened. They scrambled to mount nearby Blue Jade Spider Bees, ready to follow him.
But just then, Dean Wu, who had been silent, suddenly roared, "All of you, halt!"
His voice was like the roar of an aging lion—not thunderous, but filled with unquestionable authority.
The teachers and students around him stopped in their tracks.
Dean Wu’s eyes were rimmed with red, his tone like ice. "Wait! We’ll act based on what Xiuning does!"
The ever-brightening firelight illuminated Lü Xiuning’s grim face.
He directed the Blue Jade Spider Bee to halt in midair, a hundred meters from the red swarm. Lowering his Insect Flute, he performed a strange rite he had learned from Nia—the formal etiquette of the Insect-men—toward the twisted red figures at the vanguard. Then, in a resonant voice, he called out in the Insect Language, "Insect Masters from a distant land, for what purpose have you come to our home?"
’So this is the place from the prophecy? The place that will bring prosperity to our people?’
Seated atop the crimson beetle, Fei Lie raised an eyebrow. His gaze swept over the towering dormitories and the bright lights shining from within them. A look of growing astonishment spread across his ugly face. Finally, his eyes fell upon Lü Xiuning.
"Hmm... a member of the Alien Race who speaks the Sesmiyan Language."
"You... you’re not descendants of the Holy Race?"
Lü Xiuning’s lips thinned. He ignored the question and asked again, "Sirs, what is your purpose here? Can we not sit and talk this over?"
"Purpose?"
Fei Lie’s expression was unreadable. He sized up the Blue Jade Spider Bee beneath Lü Xiuning, and the wary Tree Demon and Purple Star Snake at his side. Then he let out a strange laugh.
"You want to talk? Of course. But I have one condition: I only parley with those who are stronger than me. You... don’t seem to qualify."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Lü Xiuning felt the air temperature soar.
A brilliant light flared before his eyes.
In the pitch-black sky, massive fireballs radiating a crimson glow began to materialize. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
They were countless, filling the entire sky.
Fei Lie slowly rose to his feet. The academy was reflected in his icy, insectoid eyes. In a sharp, grating, insect-like shriek, he commanded coldly:
"Burn it all. Leave a few of the people alive as slaves."
