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| The Beloved Little Mother Insect (LITTLE MOTHER) |
From a perspective only Pearl could "see," his white mental power tendrils appeared isolated and pitifully fragile.
Under his clumsy control, they drifted in strands onto Hui's wound, brushing lightly like scattered whips. The previously condensed "blood-sucking insects" in the ethereal shadows instantly diminished slightly.
A subtle change, yet beneficial to the wounded.
It was an entirely different sensation from the psionic soothing and linking performed by the Narga People.
At the center of the battlefield, Hui—who had just raised his Pincer Leg to sever the Serpent Exotic Beast's torso—suddenly felt a lightness in his body. The wound on his back that was eroded by the sand rat's corrosive saliva, seemed to clear slightly, free from the deep-seated pain and numbness that had plagued him.
Sensing something, Hui turned his head. His deep blue Compound Eyes flickered with a faint light as it instantly locked onto the Little Mother Insect who was staring vacantly in his direction.
It was Mother...
His little pearl.
The discomfort within his body dissipated, replaced by a sense of relief that restored Hui's agility. As he turned and raised his pincer leg, he swiftly dispatched two small sand rats attempting to leap onto him once more.
He felt clearer-minded and more powerful than before.
Pearl couldn't "see" these changes—he only knew the contamination around the wound had lightened, which should mean his efforts were effective.
Thus, the Little Mother Insect, who had recently dared to establish shallow connections with three Narga People, held his breath and extended his psionic power once more.
Slender, soft mental tendrils continuously swept away the blood leeches from Hui's wound, like tireless little bees working again and again.
As he worked, the toxins entrenched in Hui's wound dissolved. Meanwhile, the contact from the Mother Insect's mental tendrils stirred fierce combat fervor in the Narga People as his Offspring.
Hui had experienced numerous battles against Beasts—hundreds of them, both major and minor.
He had led his subordinates to fight through chaotic Beast Tides. Even with the Narga People's robust physique, facing endless beasts inevitably led to exhaustion and injuries.
For minor wounds, they would endure and keep fighting until the Beast Tide was temporarily contained, then help each other tend to their injuries.
For severe wounds, they would retreat to medical stations behind the battlefield for two injections—one antidote, one restorative—then return to combat with unhealed injuries until the battle concluded.
Of course, in the latter case, Hui's Frenzy Syndrome would inevitably arrive prematurely.
Then he would board a starship with similarly afflicted comrades, leaving the Imperial Star for distant Irradiated Wastelands where they could violently counteract the loss of control caused by Frenzy.
This was his life—and that of countless high-ranking Narga People: resolve Beast Tides, suffer Frenzy recurrence, go to trial grounds to kill screened beasts to temporarily suppress Frenzy, then return to handle Beast Tides again.
None had anticipated that the trial grounds specifically designed for Frenzy suppression would contain an SSS-ranked Beast leading a Beast Tide.
Yet this unexpected development gave Hui the exhilaration of parched land receiving cold rain.
The gentle touch over his wound was extremely faint, yet the moment it withdrew, the normally calm and rational warrior felt an uncharacteristic urge to cling to it.
Hui shook off this sudden, sticky sentimentality that didn't suit his nature. As he refocused on the battlefield, Pearl continued to clumsily manipulate his mental tendrils to brush away the insects clinging to the Narga People's wounds.
Olovikin's elytra, Xagai's shoulder, and Ega's calf...
No blood leeches floating over their wounds went unnoticed.
The Little Mother Insect's mental tendrils fluttered like butterflies—quiet and cautious—dancing across the battlefield while gently kissing the Narga People's wounds.
He remained silent. Though still tense and still gripping the long hair falling over his chest tightly, he showed remarkable resilience and would just suppress any exclamations when Ega dodged abruptly by biting his lip while silently doing what little he could.
The frail white-haired youth that were held securely against Ega's chest by intimidating matte-black pincer legs, resembled a prince stolen by a dragon—his eyes vacant and expression cautious, like a beam of light falling upon ruins.
Faint yet warm.
Within the densely packed Beast Tide, at some unknown point, aside from Ega who was holding Pearl, the other three Narga People in their primitive forms had all gathered around Pearl, centering on him.
The Mother Insect—no, it should be said Pearl, this dim little pearl who had yet to learn how to fully shine—had unconsciously become the focal point around which the Narga warriors rallied during this battle.
This was a situation never before seen in the long history of the Narga Hivemind Imperium.
The Mother Insect, seated upon the throne, rarely ever stepped out of the exquisitely beautiful Sun Palace located on the Imperial Star. They did not understand the battlefields against the Beasts, did not inquire about the warriors' conditions, and even their psionic power comfort was given only sparingly. Naturally, they would never follow their Offspring to set foot on this battlefield filled with smoke and blood.
They believed they lived in a peaceful and tranquil paradise, unaware that all of it was bought by the sacrifices of those who defended against the Beasts.
Yet this newborn King, without even knowing what he was doing, had gathered his Offspring and become their leader.
Young and fragile, he had nonetheless brought about a nearly one-sided advantage on the battlefield.
But the King-level Sandworm, a biological level SSS creature, was no pushover. As it mutated, it also evolved—devouring Beasts and enduring radiation, all of which became its nourishment.
However, during the second offensive engagement, it too, which controlled the Beast Tide through psionic power, noticed something amiss—
The little snack it had set its sights on had now become the core influencer.
The Sandworm had no eyes, but the skin all over its body served as sensory organs. It could easily distinguish the Beasts, the Narga People, and the "little snack" on the desert grasslands.
In mere moments, this King-level Sandworm plunged into the desert while dragging along the corpses of the unfortunate Beasts, and burrowed back beneath the sand.
The Beasts surged like a tide, clustering together and leaving the Narga People no time to notice the changes underground.
Just as two giant vulture-like Beasts descended from the sky while extending their sharp talons to attack Ega, he swiftly retreated while shielding Pearl in his embrace with one arm while simultaneously striking upward with his Pincer Leg and Tail Hook, intending to kill the vultures.
In that 0.01-second gap, the loose sand suddenly trembled, and a pitch-black hole fifty meters in diameter abruptly opened beneath Ega's feet.
At the critical moment, platinum-gold Elytra swept in from the side, grabbing Ega by the back and pulling him away from the Sandworm's trap.
But the surrounding Beasts were not so fortunate—they instantly fell into the bottomless abyss, becoming mere snacks for the SSS-level Sandworm during the battle's interlude.
The violent shaking caused Pearl's delicate mental power tendrils to abruptly dissipate.
Pearl's cheeks flushed, his temples slightly damp and his arms completely devoid of strength. He could only press his back fully against Ega's embrace while breathing in small, shallow gasps.
Though not as shuddering and unbearable as a mental power link, this still took a significant toll.
Fatigue and drowsiness assaulted Pearl's nerves like a tide, nearly forcing his eyelids to shut. His interrupted mental power tendrils withered and retracted, unable to resume their previous state.
The newborn Narga King had never undergone systematic training; even his few attempts at psionic contact were accidental. Reaching this point was already his limit.
But the battle was not yet over.
Pearl's ears were ringing, but this wasn't from the murmurs of the Narga People—it was the aftermath of his overuse of psionic power.
The dizzy little artificial person shook his head as fingers dug fiercely into his palms as he struggled to avoid losing consciousness.
In the air, hundreds of large avian Beasts were disrupting Olovikin's flight path and was force to return Ega to the ground to prevent them from falling from great heights due to attacks.
On the ground, Ega shielded Pearl while dodging multiple probes from the SSS-class Sandworm and evading assaults from other Beasts. Meanwhile, Xagai and Hui, closing in from the sides, tirelessly held back the Beast Tide while carving out a small breathing space for the Little Mother Insect at the center.
But it was incredibly difficult.
The strength of the SSS King-level Sandworm was unpredictable, and endless Beasts surged from the distance. Just as Olovikin was trying to devise another plan, a familiar roar suddenly echoed above the chaotic battlefield.
It was the Galactic-class Battleship dispatched by the Narga Empire!
Olovikin shook off the Beast vultures gnawing at his flesh with his platinum hive wings as his mouthparts vibrating to emit a warning hum—
[Get him to the battleship first!]
Under the influence of the Radiation Storm, the Galactic-class Battleship could only remain controllably stationed for ten minutes. They had to break free from the entanglement of the ground-based Beast Tide within that time and successfully deliver the Mother Insect to the currently safest starship.
Compounded by their surrounded state, the support battleship couldn't even launch large-scale attacks, and instead resorted to eliminating enemies one by one—a futile effort against the overwhelming numbers.
The starship above hovered at an optimal altitude, with its hatch opening as several Narga People in their primal forms swiftly descended to join the battle.
Seizing the moment, Ega shoved the little artificial person in his arms into Olovikin's embrace.
Though his mind was muddled by the frenzy, his combat instincts remained intact; he naturally knew who was most suited to escort Little Pearl to safety at this critical juncture.
No unnecessary words were needed—they understood each other perfectly.
As Olovikin caught Pearl, Xagai and Hui below simultaneously raised their massive Pincer Legs to block the frenzied charge of the Sandworm and attempted to create space for their companion to soar upward.
The 500-meter bloated body of the Giant Sandworm slammed heavily into the ground, churning up dust thick as fog. Seeing its prey about to escape, the furious King-level Mutated Beast threw its head back and let out a piercing screech.
Roar—
Both the Beasts and the battling Narga People froze momentarily, their heads reeling as if struck violently.
The psionic assault of the SSS-class Beast was devastating. Pearl, with his frail constitution, instantly experienced tinnitus as the world around him seemed to fade into a hazy, distant blur.
In that moment of lost sight and hearing, Pearl turned his head in confusion; even Olovikin's embrace couldn't offer him a sense of security.
It felt as if he had been abandoned by the entire world.
Unbeknownst to Pearl in his silent world, another deep, resonant howl rose in response to the SSS-level Sandworm's call.
In the distance, standing atop a far dune, was a massive StarCloud Hound.
A StarCloud Hound that was a mycelial symbiont.
A King-level Mutated Beast, entirely snow-white without a trace of black.
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