367: Chapter 367 The Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand Locusts

Over the next two hours, the group cleared nine more locust egg nests.

During this time, they encountered two teams of colleagues who had set out from other outposts; they exchanged intelligence and continued advancing along their respective routes.

They also encountered several hundred live Sand Locusts, but these were easily dealt with.

"Brother Chen Yi, your strength really makes us old-timers feel ashamed," said a Beast Tamer in his forties with a sigh.

"When I was your age, I was still struggling at the Fourth Rank!"

"Indeed, heroes come from the youth; that saying is absolutely correct."

"The future of the Dragon Country depends on young people like you."

Facing the praise of the crowd, Chen Yi only gave a humble smile.

He knew in his heart that the system deserved a lot of the credit for him being able to get to where he was today.

Without the system's various enhancements and guidance, it would have been impossible for him to reach this level within a year, no matter what.

Just as everyone thought tonight's operation would continue to go smoothly, an accident occurred.

At three in the morning, the group discovered the tenth nest.

The number of locust eggs here was even greater, densely covering the entire sandy valley.

"Move out!"

Wang Feng immediately ordered, "Hurry and clear these locust eggs!"

However, just as everyone was preparing to attack...

*Crack, crack—*

The crisp sound of cracking suddenly rang out, quickly spreading from a few scattered sounds into a chorus!

"Oh no!"

Wang Feng's face changed drastically. "These eggs absorbed too much mana and have hatched early!"

As soon as he finished speaking, cracks appeared on the surface of those amber eggshells.

The cracks spread rapidly, finally bursting open with a "bang."

*Swish, swish, swish—*

Countless Sand Locusts the size of electric scooters crawled out of the eggs, spreading their wings and soaring into the sky.

Their compound eyes glowed crimson in the night, so dense they almost blotted out the sky.

At a rough estimate, there were at least ten thousand of them!

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

Wang Feng shouted hoarsely, "Tens of thousands of Sand Locusts—we can't possibly block them!"

The group also knew the situation was critical and immediately retreated.

But it was already too late.

After circling in the air a few times, the swarm of Sand Locusts suddenly dived down in unison.

Just when everyone thought they were facing a fight to the death, an eerie scene occurred!

Those Sand Locusts did not launch an attack; instead, they all landed on the ground and... bowed down to Chen Yi and his group?

Yes, a pilgrimage!

They folded their forelimbs, lowered their bodies, and pressed their heads to the ground in a posture resembling a religious pilgrimage.

And it wasn't just one; it was all the Sand Locusts, a full ten thousand of them, all making the same gesture!

The Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand Locusts!

This spectacular and eerie scene left everyone stunned.

"What... what is going on?"

Yan Lili murmured to herself, "Why aren't they attacking?"

Wang Feng was also bewildered: "I've never heard of Sand Locusts doing this—"

The girls were also filled with astonishment.

Only Chen Yi narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling upon Black Rose and Shi Yuying.

He suddenly understood.

The mana in the Plane Battlefield was very dense, and a Demon Empress was like a bright lamp in the dark night here.

Even though Black Rose and Shi Yuying had disguised themselves well, their very existence would trigger special fluctuations in the surrounding mana.

It was like a person who is completely invisible; the moment they enter water, they will inevitably create ripples.

And the instinct of magical beasts was to obey the commands of a Demon Empress!

In the eyes of these newborn Sand Locusts, Black Rose and Shi Yuying, these two Demon Empresses, were absolutely the strongest of the strong, supreme existences!

Out of instinct, they chose submission and pilgrimage.

"What are you all standing around for?"

Chen Yi suddenly shouted, "Take this chance to finish off all these Sand Locusts!"

His voice snapped everyone out of it.

Right, weren't these Sand Locusts just sitting ducks right now?

Although their defense would increase after hatching, a target that couldn't move was always easier to deal with than a flying enemy.

"Do it!"

This time, the group held nothing back, pouring out all their skills.

Fireballs, ice spears, Wind Blades, lightning, light arrows, dark spears—colorful attacks surged continuously.

Although those Sand Locusts had much stronger vitality and defense than the eggs, they still fell in swaths before such a saturated attack.

Even more miraculously, despite this, they remained motionless, maintaining their posture of pilgrimage.

For these newborn magical beasts, the fear of a Demon Empress reached straight to the depths of their souls, suppressing even their instinct to resist.

An hour later, the last Sand Locust fell.

The entire sandy valley was piled with the corpses of Sand Locusts, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of burning and blood.

Wang Feng and the others slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.

"I... I thought I was going to die here tonight!"

"Me too... tens of thousands of Sand Locusts. If we had really fought, we probably wouldn't have lasted ten minutes."

"It's all thanks to Brother Chen Yi and the others—"

The way the crowd looked at Chen Yi was no longer just admiration, but almost worship.

Especially that scene of the pilgrimage of ten thousand locusts; it was simply unheard of.

That scene was too shocking; they probably wouldn't forget it for the rest of their lives.

"Brother Chen Yi, what was that just now—"

Wang Feng couldn't help but step forward and ask.

Chen Yi smiled and patted the backsides of Shi Yuying and Black Rose: "These two possess very strong pressure-type skills! These newborn Sand Locusts were probably frightened, which is why that scene occurred."

Shi Yuying and Black Rose also stepped forward at the right time, releasing a sliver of pressure.

Even though it was just a sliver that had been deliberately suppressed, it still made Wang Feng and the others feel a sense of dread.

"So that's how it is—"

Wang Feng realized, "No wonder, that sense of oppression... it really is very strong!"

He actually still had doubts in his heart.

What kind of pressure skill could make ten thousand magical beasts kneel at the same time?

This effect was just too ridiculous, wasn't it?

But since Chen Yi had said so, he couldn't very well press further.

Everyone has their own secrets, especially in a place like the Plane Battlefield.

---

After the group took a short rest, Wang Feng reported the situation to headquarters through a special communication stone.

The feedback he received was not very optimistic.

"Dragon Country sent out a total of nine Beast Tamer squads tonight to perform the 'uprooting' operation."

"Aside from us destroying ten nests, the other eight squads cleared four at most, and many people were injured."

"Most importantly, no one has found the location of the Secret Realm Core."

"News from the main force says they are engaging the main force of the Sand Locusts—the Heavenly Insect Empress—and have slowly fallen into a disadvantage! We don't have much time left!"

The crowd fell silent.

If they couldn't find the Secret Realm Core and destroy the Sea of Deathly Sand, then Sand Locusts would be born continuously.

At that time, they wouldn't be facing tens of thousands, but millions of Sand Locusts!

Even if many Tenth Rank Beast Tamers came, they might not be able to handle it!

At this moment, the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

It was simply an unsolvable problem!