Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

While Richard was still pondering the economic plans ahead, everyone cautiously groped their way forward.

Without warning, the soft ground beneath my feet suddenly sank! It was as if the foundation of the entire forest had been instantly hollowed out, followed by a violent tremor originating from the depths of the earth!

This tremor was anything but ordinary; it was as violent as a sleeping behemoth turning over, or as if the earth's veins were pulsating wildly beneath our feet. The thick layer of spore-bearing eggs was instantly thrown up and scattered, like an avalanche triggered by a small earthquake, a white expanse obscuring our vision.

"Here we go! Everyone, get ready!"

Richard's pupils constricted, his heart nearly leaped into his throat, and his adrenaline surged wildly. He practically roared and waved his hands.

Without the slightest hesitation, the one hundred well-trained cattle and horses instantly scattered in all directions like an exploding swarm of ants, relying on their powerful physical abilities, strictly following the rehearsed evasive formation, their movements as swift as lightning.

With each powerful stomp of their heavy bodies, they kicked up plumes of white snowflakes, quickly creating a safe distance between themselves in the chaos to avoid becoming the target of the anticipated devastating blow.

Just then—

"Boom!—Crack!!"

A deafening roar accompanied by a terrifying sound—the sound of some enormous, tough object tearing through the earth—was heard. Just as the group had left the core area, a section of ground covered with a thick layer of "snow" suddenly arched upwards and cracked open!

Soil, gravel, and rotting wood chips, mixed with countless spores and insect eggs, exploded into the air like a fountain! In the billowing white dust, a colossal creature, carrying the cold, damp air from the abyss, burst forth from the earth!

It is over twelve meters long and so thick that it takes several people to hug it. Its entire body is covered with a slippery, dark brown skin, which is also covered with fresh, wet mud and moss fragments.

This colossal, pillar-like body is covered with countless, chilling suction cups! Each suction cup is like the rim of a deep bowl, but its inner wall is not smooth muscle; instead, it is inlaid with eyeballs!

Red! Blue! Yellow! Purple!

Hundreds of eyes, in four different colors and of all sizes, suddenly opened up inside each suction cup like startled stars! Some were murky like old tree burls, some were clear yet cold like glass beads, some were bloodshot and filled with rage, and some were empty and indifferent...

The moment it burst from the ground, all the pupils of every eye focused and locked onto one target... Richard!

Richard was almost certain that this was the same road he and Goldie had encountered here last time!

The soil covering the tentacles was still fresh, not hardened clumps accumulated over the years; it was clearly something it had just covered up to camouflage itself while it was lurking!

Even though the cattle, horses, and people around were mentally prepared, they couldn't help but gasp in shock, their muscles instantly tensing up like iron.

Facing such a colossal object, witnessing the Cthulhu-esque scene composed of hundreds of eyeballs covered in suction cups, with bizarre colors and brimming with inhuman spirituality, the visual and mental impact far surpasses any description during training.

That cold, twisted gaze, a mixture of pure malice and immense power, pierced deep into everyone's soul like a tangible ice pick.

Especially for Richard, who was being watched intently by hundreds of eyes, the pressure he was under increased exponentially!

However, a bizarre scene unfolded!

The anticipated devastating attack did not follow immediately after the ground was breached.

After the enormous tentacle was completely detached from the ground, it simply... came to a standstill.

It stands straight amidst the billowing white dust, like a living totem pole reaching out from the gates of hell.

Hundreds of eyes stared intently at Richard, their pupils subtly adjusting their focus, the raging fury in their eyes almost bursting forth as solid flames.

However, it made no move at all, strangely. There was no howling whipping, no ferocious sweeping, not even a tentative wriggling.

It hovered there, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression, as if time had frozen at that moment. Only the occasional, extremely subtle movement of the eyeballs within the suction cups proved that it was not an inanimate object, but rather engaged in some profound and incomprehensible observation and weighing of things.

This restrained stance is more eerie and oppressive than any violent attack; the air is filled with a cold, viscous tension that is about to explode.

Although Richard tried his best to maintain his composure, his palms were already sweating and the muscles in his back were stiffening under the direct pressure of the fifth-order ultimate body's outstretched limbs.

The opponent's almost undisguised, overwhelming hostility surged forth like a tidal wave. But since the opponent did not immediately launch an attack, he also suppressed the urge to immediately order an attack. A delicate balance was established in silence.

This bizarre and suffocating standoff lasted a full ten seconds under the cold gaze of hundreds of eyes! Each second felt like an eternity.

In this tense standoff, Richard and the largest, bloodshot purple eyeball at the very center of the tentacle's tip seemed to be telepathically connected.

Simultaneous voices!

Richard's voice was deep and clear, carrying a hint of probing and confirmation:

"The Lord of the Forest?"

The sound emanating from the tentacles was like a muffled thunderclap, seemingly exploding directly in everyone's minds, filled with cold majesty and boundless rage:

"Intruder!!"

Richard's deep black eyes, and the array of hundreds of eyeballs of different colors, full of inhuman spirituality, crossed space amidst the billowing white spore dust, forming an extremely shocking cross-species gaze!

The hostility between the two sides was like tangible electric currents colliding violently in the air, crackling and popping. Yet, both sides remained strangely still.

What Richard was concerned about was that if these terrifying tentacles were to erupt, they could instantly cause irreparable casualties to his carefully trained team of bull-horsemen.

The concerns of the Forest Lord seemed to be clearly reflected in those eyes that were scanning the surroundings.

In particular, dozens of eyes were firmly fixed on the huge packages carried on the backs of the scattered cattle and horses!

Inside the package, a faint, ominous heat emanated from a source that both threatened and disgusted it, like a beacon in the darkness, restraining its destructive impulses. That was Richard's secret weapon for this trip.

Govi watched this unprecedented scene with great interest.

Although she knew that insect beasts of the fourth rank and above were no less intelligent than humans, such a bizarre, oppressive confrontation scene, filled with silent thunder and twisted beauty, was something she, a newly promoted fourth-rank Papal Knight, had never seen before in her life.

She crossed her arms, her sword still in its slashing form, but a playful smile played on her lips, as if she were watching a drama with an unpredictable ending.

After a few more seconds of silence, the air was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.

Finally, Richard took a deep breath, suppressing the pounding in his chest, and his voice returned to its usual calm, even carrying a hint of negotiating composure.

He spoke again, breaking the silence:

"Want to chat?"