Chapter 181: Thorns

Chapter 181: Thorns

Small-scale skirmishes and sneak attacks were clearly different from large-scale assaults on fortified positions. The power of bows and crossbows finally showed itself. Although the morale of the Demon Clan was low, they would not just wait to die.

A Feathered Arrow pinned a Nag that had gotten too close to the ground, then a second, and a third, each shot finding its mark. A marksman appeared on the wall of the fort, displaying amazing skill. This action drew cheers and shouts, and the morale of the Demon Clan was boosted.

At this moment, the difference between Nags and Cannibals became clear. The Cannibals seemed reckless, but they cautiously maintained a relatively safe distance.

While losing a few bugs meant nothing to the Insect Swarm, it still taught them a lesson. The grass swayed, and ripples spread into the distance. Seeing this, the loud cheers couldn’t help but pause. The number of insects exceeded their imagination.

When night fell, fire arrows were occasionally shot from the camp, streaking across the night sky and falling into the distance, illuminating a tiny area. The night passed without incident. The Insect Swarm still waited patiently, waiting for their prey to grow weaker.

Rio grew anxious. This was just a vanguard; the main force would arrive soon, and they could not afford to wait. He knew the Insect Swarm possessed intelligence, so he found an Insect King and tried to persuade it to launch an attack. But all he got in return was an irritating, grating sound of hard wings rubbing together.

Rio had no choice but to give up on persuading it and retreated helplessly. He gathered the Cannibals together and slowly retreated in the direction of Northland City.

The Insect Swarm had no experience in directly confronting the main Demon Clan army. Their only previous opportunity was just cleaning up the mess Lily had created. So, they could not yet understand the terror of an army holding its ground in a fortified position.

Small-scale conflicts and numerical superiority hid many things. The simple intelligence of the Insect Swarm could not yet deduce lessons in advance from complex calculations; they could only learn everything they needed from bloody lessons.

They were dealing with the Demon Clan’s vanguard using the same methods they used against lesser creatures. They did not yet understand that the two were completely different. Although the army’s morale was low, various methods to maintain order and preserve combat capability were still in operation.

If they could not launch a swift, thunderous attack while the enemy’s morale was low, then the earlier advantages would gradually disappear as the enemy implemented countermeasures.

The Insect Swarm had already lost the best time to attack. The Demon Clan’s vanguard also gradually steadied their morale under pressure. Now, everyone knew their fate: either die in battle and become food, or become pitiful Cannibals. This forced them to fight with their backs against the wall.

As if sensing the change in the Demon Clan, the Insect Swarm’s hunting instinct told them to keep bleeding the prey. The battle began at dusk.

The first wave of attacks didn’t even reach the edge of the camp. Under a dense rain of arrows, they all fell on the path of their assault. But the Insect Swarm did not retreat. That’s how hunting worked—once it started, it had to be relentless. And their numbers were still there; several Insect Kings were still there. Amid the angry chirping of the swarm, they surged forward like a tide.

After several waves of arrows, the Demon Clan awkwardly discovered that they had run out of Feathered Arrows…

The two sides began close-quarters combat. The fort walls, designed to stop humanoid creatures, did not serve as good barriers against the Insect Swarm. Bugs easily scrambled over the walls, leaped into the crowd, and disrupted the tight formations.

But that was all they could manage; they couldn’t expand their gains much. This wasn’t an ambush on the grasslands, nor a surprise attack from behind. This was a direct, open confrontation. In this kind of fight, they held no advantage. Facing dense military formations, they found themselves fighting few against many. Even though they had countless fellow insects behind them, those fellows could only watch and wait. Wait for them to fall, and then fill the life-devouring gap.

The seemingly chaotic, surging offensive made no real progress. And then, an unexpected blow fell.

…

When they realized the situation had changed, the Demon Clan began to adjust, and reinforcements were promptly dispatched.

A strange-looking army, half-human, half-beast, began to charge to their aid. Their lower bodies were lion-like or tiger-like, their upper bodies humanoid. Fish-scale-like armor plates covered their massive frames, protecting their relatively fragile ribs and abdomens. As they ran, the sound of clashing and rubbing armor plates rang out.

Just as the two sides were locked in a fierce struggle, they arrived in a swift charge.

This was an elite force. Against opponents like Nags, one of them could take on ten. So, upon the slightest contact, the Insect Swarm began to scatter.

The counterattack began. Amid the chirping of the Insect Swarm, the fort gates swung open. The defenders coordinated with the reinforcements to begin their counterattack and pursuit.

In the Night, after the initial thrill, the Demon Clan fell back into difficulty. The pursuit gradually scattered their forces, and they slowly lost the advantage of fighting as a group.

The Insect Swarm was not fleeing in disarray as expected. They simply broke into smaller units again, scattered, hid, and began desperate ambushes and sneak attacks under the cover of Night.

It was as if they had fallen into endless thorns. In the Darkness, countless thorns kept piercing their skin, cutting their blood vessels. At first, it was bearable, but as wounds accumulated, the Flame of Life also began to go out.