Volume 5, Chapter 8-2 – Void Projection(Part 2)

In the core regions of Sea Blue Forest, it could be said that no one dared provoke them. Even in a somewhat remote place like Ruilanduo Star, there were not many people willing to cross them.

And now…

Like many ordinary bystanders, Anran watched Maggie slowly walk past.

Although the front was a little revealing, the mechanical armor looked undeniably cool. It hugged her skin and was made from thin, lightweight metal, so it did not look bulky at all. Instead, it accentuated Maggie’s figure perfectly.

It also appeared to be highly advanced. The floating rings around her ankles were clearly built with sophisticated technology.

What if I stole that outfit?

Anran narrowed her eyes.

Tch…

It was obvious that she could not defeat Maggie, who possessed such an advanced suit, in a head-on fight.

But what if she used a different method?

What were the odds that she could pull the internally fired kinetic gun from subspace right now, aim at Maggie’s unprotected head, catch her completely off guard, and kill her with a single headshot?

If she killed Governor Fitch’s youngest daughter in the middle of a crowd, she would immediately become famous throughout Sea Blue Forest, just like Harrison.

In truth, the chances were probably not very high.

Maggie might appear unprotected, but who could guarantee that her armor did not possess force-field protection?

With the kinetic gun’s power, breaking through a force field would still be difficult.

However, aside from the kinetic gun, Anran also had a Gauss cannon stored in subspace.

One shot from that…

Anran refused to believe that a level 63 Gauss cannon could not deal with a small force field in the Sea Blue Forest map.

“Go take a look at that quest.”

Maggie spoke to the people beside her.

In the end, Maggie entered the Star Hunter Guild. Fortunately, the guild’s entrance was tall enough that the giant robot did not damage it.

Heh.

Woman, I’ve got my eye on you!

…

Frost Island.

The Faraway Lands Development Company’s second expedition to establish a foothold.

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This time, they had increased the number of mercenaries, while the hunters they had recruited were also much stronger. The Armor-Eating Beetles scattered around the edge of the crystal mine instantly became insignificant weaklings.

Under the hunters’ attacks, each beetle could generally be killed in two or three blows.

Now that everyone was on guard, not a single Armor-Eating Beetle ambush succeeded.

“We did it!”

Shaya, who was once again leading the group, was extremely excited.

In addition to these powerful hunters, he had brought two small red laser cannons. Combat testing had proven that concentrated, extremely high-temperature burning was exceptionally effective against these armored insectoid creatures.

With just one test shot, an Armor-Eating Beetle quickly melted into lava beneath the red laser, along with the surrounding ice.

“It’s just ahead!” Shaya shouted.

After crossing a slope, the excavated crystal mine finally appeared before everyone.

The glow emitted by the yellow crystals looked especially dazzling against the endless white surroundings.

Standing among the crowd, Harrison 47 revealed an unreadable flicker of emotion in the eyes behind his lenses.

Looking down through the opening that had been excavated, they could see the sealed Armor-Eating Beetle Queen.

Its enormous size and hideous body completely ruined the beauty of the yellow crystal mine.

“That’s the thing. We can’t detect any life signs from it at all, but ordinary Armor-Eating Beetles also produce very weak readings, so we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s still alive,” Shaya said with a frown.

Someone suggested, “Let’s chisel an opening through the crystal first.”

“It’ll be safer to approach from its back.”

“Get started.” Shaya called over the engineering personnel.

The mining robot soon moved behind the Armor-Eating Beetle Queen. Amid a burst of noise, it first stripped away the outer rock, then excavated the yellow crystals one piece at a time.

This type of yellow crystal ore could store radiation energy. However, the internal structure of the outer crystals had already been damaged, so they could only be used as decorations.

“Bzzzt…”

“It’s ready!”

The engineering personnel immediately raised a hand, and the mining robot retreated to one side.

“The microbeam laser doesn’t work on its shell.”

A hole about the size of a basketball had appeared before them. Near the bottom, the excavation opened into a hollow space, revealing the yellow crystal shell carried on the Armor-Eating Beetle Queen’s back.

“I’ll give it a try.”

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One of the hunters stepped forward.

His preferred melee weapon was an exceptionally sharp blade.

Crack.

A scratch appeared on the shell, but it suffered no real damage.

“That’s hard.”

Everyone was startled. A moment ago, this blade had cut down ordinary Armor-Eating Beetles with a single strike.

Even their rock-like shells could not withstand two blows.

The red laser cannons had been placed nearby, both aimed at the deposit as a precaution.

One person after another stepped forward to test their weapons. It was only when a magnetic oscillation weapon was fired that a relatively obvious crack appeared on the shell.

“It worked.”

“Increase the power!”

“Bzzzt…”

The crack grew wider and wider.

The people nearby had all made preparations, but they failed to notice that as the crack expanded, faint fractures also began appearing in the yellow crystals surrounding the Armor-Eating Beetle Queen.

The fractures continued to spread until they resembled a shattered mirror.

Crack.

The crisp sound echoed through the frozen world.

Once. Twice. Then the cracking became continuous.

Crack, crack, crack…

“The crystal deposit is breaking apart!” someone shouted.

Crack.

When the fractures spread across every part of the crystal deposit exposed above the ground, someone suddenly yelled, “It moved! The Armor-Eating Beetle Queen inside moved!”

Shaya lowered his head and looked at the life detector.

The life signs were rising sharply.

They went from so weak they were nearly invisible to exceeding the detector’s upper limit in an instant.

They had exceeded the upper limit.

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Holy shit…

Shaya’s hand trembled, and the life detector fell to the ground.

With a sharp pop, it began smoking and exploded.

“…”

Crash!

At the same time, the yellow crystal deposit exploded.

The shattered yellow crystals shot toward the surrounding people like fragments from a fragmentation bomb.

The hunters and mercenaries were powerful enough to avoid serious injury, but the ordinary engineering personnel were not so fortunate.

The lucky ones merely had their heads split open and covered in blood. The unlucky ones were left barely alive.

The crystal deposit! My crystal deposit!

Shaya’s eyes widened.

While he was mourning the crystal deposit, countless shadows flew out alongside the fragments.

“Click, click…”

“They’re young Armor-Eating Beetles!”

“Ah! Save me! Save me!”

“Pfft!”

Several shadows flew toward Harrison 47. His reactions were extremely fast, and he instantly sliced the Armor-Eating Beetles apart with his blade. But immediately afterward, a gigantic bone claw dripping with disgusting slime swept toward his face.

“Damn it.”

Cursing under his breath, Harrison 47 leaped backward and narrowly avoided the strike. The person beside him was not so lucky and was sent flying.

More precisely, it was his head that went flying.

Blood sprayed across the ground and splattered over Harrison 47.

“There are so many Armor-Eating Beetles! My god!”

With the rain of yellow crystal fragments no longer obstructing their vision, everyone could finally see what lay inside the mine.

The ground beneath the sunken mine was actually hollow. Dense masses of Armor-Eating Beetles were piled together below, while several tunnels had been excavated into the surrounding rock. The sight of so many beetles clustered together was enough to make anyone’s scalp go numb.

The largest Armor-Eating Beetle Queen swung its bone claws twice and had already claimed three heads.

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“F-F-Fire the cannons!”

Shaya sat on the ground with both hands braced behind him. He no longer cared whether the red lasers would melt the yellow crystals. Staying alive was what mattered now.

Fire the cannons!

In a panic, they activated the laser cannons. Two thick beams of red light immediately slammed into the Armor-Eating Beetle Queen.

“Skreee!”

It released a sharp, bizarre, and extremely grating cry.

Under the impact of the red lasers, the Armor-Eating Beetle Queen did not seem to be faring well.

However, just as delight appeared on Shaya’s face, an unexpected development occurred.

The densely packed young Armor-Eating Beetles were roasted to death by the heat transferred from the red lasers, finally exposing what had been pinned beneath them.

It was a brilliant radiance, a constantly shifting, multicolored light. It was as gentle and dreamlike as an illusion, making people instinctively want to reach out and touch it.

However, the expressions of those with broad experience changed instantly.

Void Projection.

“This is the Void Projection of an Ancient Brood Nest!”

It was a special ability of Ancient Brood Nests, allowing them to project insectoids to a particular location in the universe. The insectoid species had spread across the cosmos through this ability. No matter how many battles they endured or how many waves of them were wiped out, they could always use this method to multiply once again.

“We’re finished. There isn’t a single weapon here capable of destroying this Void Projection.”

“Who cares about that now? Run, damn it!”

Of course they had to run.

Harrison 47 was probably the fastest person there. The instant he recognized the Void Projection, he sprinted toward the spaceship.

There was no way there was only one Queen here. A much larger nest had to be hidden below. Staying here was the same as courting death.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Armor-Eating Beetle Queen swatted two more people to death. By this point, no one was paying attention to anyone else.

I don’t have to run the fastest. I only have to be faster than the person at the very back, right? As long as I don’t become the Armor-Eating Beetles’ target.

Everything descended into chaos.

“What’s going on?”

Aboard the spaceships flying in from above, members of the Ruilanduo Star government forces stared down at the ground in astonishment.