69: Swarm vs. Mech

The scene returns to Xu Yan. The satellite in the sky scanned several times, but found no trace of Mu Jin. However, these rounds of scanning were not without results. Wuxiang quickly detected a problem and issued a warning to Xu Yan.

"Satellite detection: At coordinates xxx, xxx, plants are rapidly disappearing, turning into barren land, and expanding outwards at an extremely fast rate.

The number of bee swarms in the scene is increasing rapidly. Based on the area of disappearing jungle and the growth rate of the bee swarm, it is estimated that within half an hour, half of the venue will be completely consumed, forming a small insect tide."

Listening to Wuxiang's mechanical voice, Xu Yan's cold sweat instantly streamed down his forehead.

For a moment, Xu Yan wondered, was this really a test among First-year freshmen? How could something as outrageous as an insect tide appear?

Having participated in the Molin City beast tide, Xu Yan had some understanding of such large-scale battles.

And an insect tide was one of the most dangerous and destructive among them.

They were numerous, reproduced quickly, were small in size, and most carried various toxins and parasitic effects.

Most importantly, in an insect tide, whether it was people, Spirit Beasts, plants, living or dead matter, extraordinary or ordinary, as long as it was exposed to the insect tide, it could be directly devoured as food, allowing them to rapidly multiply. It could be said that wherever they went, not a blade of grass remained.

According to the information Xu Yan collected, in the early days, for secret realms where insect tides erupted, only a few were discovered in time and had corresponding powerhouses dispatched to deal with them in a very short period, thus preserving the secret realm.

More often, before the insect tide was discovered and powerhouses could be contacted to enter the secret realm, it had already formed an enormous scale, causing irreversible and massive damage to the secret realm. What was once a resource-rich secret realm would eventually be left with only barren lands.

In such circumstances, most secret realms experiencing an insect tide had no need for salvation. The best way to deal with them was to evacuate directly and leave them alone.

Once the insect tide had devoured everything edible in the secret realm, the vast but foodless insect tide would begin to fight and devour each other, then gradually perish.

It could be said that in the early days of Blue Star, insect tides were extremely fatal to any secret realm.

This situation continued until the birth of the Mechanical System and the deployment of the Eye of Heavenly Weave, which allowed insect tides to be discovered directly at their first signs. Mechanical System Spirit Beasts could be equipped with various weapons, and their steel bodies were immune to toxins and parasites, making them powerful tools against insect tides.

However, even so, every potential insect tide could still attract high attention from officials and major forces. Spirit Beasts like the Flame Spirit Queen Bee, which possess queen bee abilities, are under extremely strict control and are not easily obtained. Even if obtained, they are subject to certain supervision.

It can be said that even though Mu Jin is just a First-year freshman at the Third Academy, the attention and importance she receives likely place her in the top tier among all students of the Eight Great Academies.

In this battle, it's hard to say whether Xu Yan or Mu Jin is more unlucky.

Xu Yan directly encountered Mu Jin, an opponent who could form a natural disaster-level insect tide given enough time, while Mu Jin, capable of initiating an insect tide, coincidentally ran into a Mechanical System Spirit Beast, the most effective counter to insect tides.

After discovering the opponent's actions, Xu Yan naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to wait in place for them to form an insect tide.

Following Xu Yan's command, Wuxiang and Zhu Yan together cleared a large open space around them.

Then, Wuxiang, shaped like a silver cube, landed on the open ground and began to transform.

Mechanical Reassembly: Mechanical Factory, Load Module: Energy Absorption Device, Load Module: Energy Metal Conversion Device.

Three large structures thus appeared on the open ground.

Afterward, the Energy Absorption Device began to operate, attracting various free-floating energies in the surrounding air, then converting them into various conventional or special energy metals through the Energy Metal Conversion Module.

At the same time, the Mechanical Factory began to operate at high speed, manufacturing drones one by one, which flew in all directions, spraying flames at various plants along the way, burning them to ashes.

Indeed, for the insect tide Mu Jin was about to unleash, Xu Yan did not choose to clear it before it could develop to a certain scale.

This method seemed like the correct answer, but its actual implementation would be extremely difficult.

With numerous small bee swarms dispersed, even with satellite guidance from the sky, Xu Yan's three Spirit Beasts alone would be unable to clear them all.

In fact, the opponent could even abandon a portion of the bee swarm to tie down Xu Yan and his three Spirit Beasts, while the remaining swarm continued to devour the surroundings.

It was precisely because of this that Xu Yan chose another method: developing in parallel with Mu Jin.

Scorched earth policy itself is one of the available methods for this situation.

Rather than leaving resources for the enemy to grow stronger, it's better to proactively destroy them. Our side gains no benefit, but neither does the enemy.

Moreover, Xu Yan having Wuxiang do this was not without benefits.

Every drone manufactured by Wuxiang was equipped with a miniature energy collector. During the destruction process, the plants' inherent energy, vitality, and even the energy contained in the embers were all collected. Finally, as the drones returned, this energy was aggregated into the Energy Absorption Device and, after conversion by the Energy Metal Conversion Device, became material for manufacturing new drones.

Then, the original battle suddenly transformed into a real-life RTS game.

Both sides collected resources from their surroundings, developed their units, and silently mass-produced troops, just waiting for the final confrontation.

As the open areas on both sides rapidly expanded, the number of bee swarms and drones also rapidly increased.

Meanwhile, the spectators outside, both new and old students, wore bewildered expressions, thinking, "Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?"

It was truly because the two 'immortals' on the stage were performing so outrageously, so absurdly, that it gave them a sense of unreality.

Have you seen a swarm disaster versus a mechanical frenzy? They were about to witness it.

Is this really a First-year freshman? This game really has no balance, they're not even pretending anymore, this trash game is doomed.

Both new and old students were quite shaken by the grand spectacle created by the two.

Amidst the complex gazes of the crowd outside, the two rapidly expanding clearings finally intersected.

This also meant that the development phase of this RTS game was about to end, and the contact battle between the two sides was about to begin.