Everyone's on a time-travel adventure! I'm raising city beasts in a post-apocalyptic world

The surrounding guards quickly withdrew their defensive line and retreated to the luxurious carriage pulled by four fine horses. This carriage was larger than the others, with intricate patterns carved on the carriage and sculptures of exotic beasts. The four tall horses were now pawing restlessly, puffs of white mist coming out of their nostrils.

A creature about three meters tall emerged from the shadow of a large tree. Its appearance was completely different from that of a half-insect human, whose lower body was an insect and whose upper body was a human torso covered in armor.

It resembled a 3-meter-tall humanoid insect, its entire body covered in a chitinous carapace, as if wearing a naturally formed heavy armor. Its head was shaped like an inverted triangle, with two compound eyes occupying most of its head. Two pairs of transparent wings hung on its back, now folded under the carapace, and it had a pair of hands like the fangs of a mantis.

He stood there, almost blending into his surroundings; if he hadn't made a move, no one would have noticed him.

As soon as this insectoid appeared, the surrounding half-insectoids made way for it, as if there was a strict hierarchy among them.

It spoke, its voice sharp and grating like sandpaper: "Hand over the people inside, and we'll let you leave."

The middle-aged martial artist's face darkened, and he gripped his long sword tightly.

"You're dreaming! You insectoid people of the Blade Mantis clan, how dare you intercept our Li family's caravan! Qing Shi City is just ahead. Aren't you afraid that our Li family will uproot your Blade Mantis clan's stronghold outside Qing Shi City?"

The mantis let out a low laugh.

"As long as I kill you all and take your people away, who will know it was me? Your Li family's Soul-Chasing Secret Technique is powerful, but someone still needs to go back alive to report. The Gray Fog Tide will arrive in three days. Do you think your Li family can get through the Gray Fog to chase me...?"

The middle-aged martial artist stopped trembling, turned his head and shouted to those behind him, "Take the young lady away, I'll hold it off."

The other guards gritted their teeth, nodded heavily, leaped onto the carriage, grabbed the reins and yanked them hard. The iron-scaled horses neighed and, with their strong limbs, pulled the carriage away from the caravan, galloping wildly. The surrounding guards fought and retreated, following the carriage to the side, keeping the attacking half-insects at bay.

As soon as the red-faced martial artist shouted, he rushed forward, his long sword flashing a silver-white light, the spiritual runes on the blade lighting up as he unleashed the Li family's ultimate technique.

"Stone-Splitting Slash!"

"You're asking for death!" The mantis-mane flapped its four wings and accelerated suddenly. Its scythe-like forelimbs were like two bolts of lightning, taking the blow head-on.

The blade collided with the blade's foot, generating a visible shockwave. The insectoid's body swayed, but it showed no discomfort. Instead, a cruel light shone in its compound eyes.

The other scythe's forelimb slashed down, and the middle-aged martial artist immediately blocked with his sword hilt. He was sent flying backward by the immense force, crashing into a large tree and slamming to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the long sword in his hand broke in half, with half of the blade stuck in the ground.

He got up again, holding the remaining half of the blade, and frantically poured his blood and qi into it. The spiritual patterns on the blade lit up, and his aura rose a notch. With a sudden burst of strength, he shot towards the mantis-man like a sharp sword.

Even though he knew he was no match for them, he still did not retreat. Behind him was the evacuation convoy, the people they were willing to risk their lives to escort to Qing Shi City. Even if he died, he would slow down their pace.

The middle-aged martial artist charged forward again, already prepared to die.

With only half a broken blade left in his hand, he unleashed an unprecedented sharpness, crashing into the mantis-man like a meteor. Knowing he couldn't kill his opponent, he feinted and only targeted the base of the mantis-man's left wing. The mantis-man didn't expect this heavily injured human to dare to take the initiative to attack.

The scythe-like forelimbs aimed straight for the opponent's chest, but the middle-aged martial artist neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the scythe to pierce through his chest, while the broken blade simultaneously struck the base of the opponent's wing.

"Click..."

The mantis-man's left wing was severed at the root, and green fluid gushed out. The mantis-man let out a fierce and furious screech, and its other scythe-like forelimb swept across, sending the warrior's head flying. The head flew through the air in an arc, and its last gaze fell in the direction where the carriage had disappeared.

"Miss... has left..."

The mantis-man killed the middle-aged martial artist. Seeing that the carriage had already gone far away, it leaped up from the ground and subconsciously flapped its wings to chase after it. However, it lost its balance and suddenly veered to one side, crashing into a giant tree, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

It cursed as it got up and ran swiftly along the ground, chasing after the carriage that had fled.

The carriage sped along at breakneck speed, with the guards and half-insect people fighting and retreating. Even though the mantis-insect people had lost the ability to fly, they were still extremely fast.

Soon the carriage was overtaken by the mantis-like creature. It was like a tiger among sheep, each swing taking a life. The guards' swords struck its carapace with clanging sounds, unable to break through its defenses.

One guard after another fell into pools of blood, their screams echoing throughout the room.

Inside the carriage, a young girl clutched her skirt tightly. She looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, but her figure was curvaceous and her face was extremely beautiful. At this moment, her eyes were filled with fear, but she bit her lip so hard that she didn't let out a cry.

Her right hand quietly slipped into her sleeve, her fingertips touching a cold object—a jade pendant engraved with spiritual patterns, her father's trump card for survival, containing a sealed blade aura.

The screams outside stopped.

The carriage door was cleaved open, splinters of wood flying everywhere. A mantis-like creature appeared in the doorway, its body covered in human blood. Its compound eyes glowed with an oily green light inside the carriage. It looked down at the girl who remained calmly seated.

He let out a piercing laugh.

"As expected of someone personally ordered by the Insect King, you truly possess extraordinary physiques and are a natural mother of offspring. No wonder the Insect King insisted on capturing you to transform you into an Insect Queen. It's no wonder I've been waiting for you for three whole months. I've finally succeeded. As long as I capture you and bring you back, I can be promoted to Insect General."

It retracted its sickle-shaped forelimbs, transforming them into a rough, large hand, and reached out to grab the girl: "Come with me, Miss Li, the third daughter of the Li family, Li Ruoxi."

The girl suddenly raised her head, the fear in her eyes fading, replaced by a resolute look. She crushed the jade pendant in her hand.

"Go to hell, you disgusting bug."

The moment the jade pendant shattered, a blinding blade of light burst forth from the fragments, carrying a devastatingly sharp aura. The fragrance was torn apart by an invisible force, and the blade of light slashed straight toward the mantis-man.

The mantis-man's compound eyes suddenly contracted to pinpoints, and it let out a terrified hiss: "General-level martial skill! No..."

It frantically flapped its wings to try and dodge, but it was too close. The blade slashed diagonally down from its left shoulder, piercing through its entire torso and splitting it in two. Its upper body was sent flying, while its lower body was destroyed by the blade, and a large amount of green liquid splattered out.

The girl slumped into the bare carriage, panting heavily, her forehead covered in cold sweat, her hands trembling, not as calm as she had imagined.

But the mantis-men are extremely resilient. Even after being split in two, the mantis-men, with only their right arm remaining, dragged half of their upper body and jumped toward a nearby half-man, landing on its back and roaring at the other half-men.

"Grab her, grab that bitch."

A dozen or so half-insect beings swarmed up, climbing onto the shattered carriage from all directions. They grabbed the girl's arms and dragged her out of the carriage. The girl struggled desperately, but she couldn't break free at all.

The mantis-man's upper body rode on the back of the half-insect man. Although he was seriously injured and beyond saving, he let out a triumphant sneer.

"What other trump cards do you have? You only have one general-level jade pendant, right? It seems you're not very favored in the eyes of the Li family patriarch. That makes sense, after all, you're just someone who was dragged out for a marriage alliance. If you obediently come back with me, you'll suffer less."

The girl was held by the arms of two half-insect beings, her feet almost off the ground, her skirt leaving a trail in the mud. She bit her lip tightly, not saying a word, her eyes full of stubbornness and resentment.

Just then, a clear and melodious eagle cry came from the sky.