116: Chapter 116 Mantis Giant Insect and Mysterious Mech

The tremor of the ground became increasingly intense.

"No—this is not a tremor, it is the resonance generated by some giant creature running at high speed!"

The moment that monster rushed out from behind the ruins, even the Longyan Warriors, who were accustomed to zombies and giants, felt a burst of instinctual fear.

This was a terrifying creature that completely exceeded cognition.

Standing seven to eight meters tall, its overall outline resembled a mantis, but it was a hundred times more ferocious than any Earth creature.

Its slender torso was an eerie dark green, and the surface of its carapace was densely covered with sharp barbs, each one resembling a poisoned dagger, casting a chilling, eerie glow under the dark red sky.

But what truly made the heart palpitate were its forelimbs—

Two naturally grown scythes of death!

Each one exceeded three meters, their blade surfaces as thin as cicada wings yet incomparably sharp, as if they could slice through the air itself.

The edges of the scythes were filled with jagged barbs, and sticky green liquid flowed across their surfaces, dripping onto the fungal mat and instantly corroding charred pits while emitting a "chih chih" sound.

Its head was an acute triangle, with two huge compound eyes occupying the entire "face," countless tiny eyes flashing within the compound eyes, densely packed like an abyss staring back.

Its mouthparts kept opening and closing, emitting a "crack" sound like grinding bones, and every time it opened, sharp fangs arranged in a spiral could be seen inside.

Its four thick hind legs were deeply inserted into the fungal mat, muscles knotted like springs compressed to their limit.

The next second—

"Ji-ji-ji——!!!"

The Mantis Insect emitted an ear-piercing shriek!

That sound seemed capable of tearing the Soul apart, and several soldiers even felt dizzy.

"Groups One and Two, cover the retreat of Group Leader Su! Group Three, rear guard! Quick!"

The command of Zhang Dabiao was hoarse.

The two combat groups instantly gathered around Su Mingyuan, forming a human wall, retreating backwards while opening fire.

Da-da-da-da—

The bullet rain of the electromagnetic rifles poured out.

But those projectiles, which were enough to pierce steel plates, hit the carapace of the Mantis Insect, only splashing a few sparks!

"Damn it! The armor of this thing is harder than a tank!" Zhang Dabiao cursed while firing, "Use anti-materiel cannons! Do not hold back!"

A soldier decisively pulled out the individual anti-materiel electromagnetic cannon from his back, knelt on one knee, and aimed at the head of the Mantis Insect—

Boom!!!

The fist-thick electromagnetic artillery shell tore through the air, accurately hitting the compound eye!

Bang!

Green body fluids burst and splashed!

The head of the Mantis Insect violently tilted backward, half of its compound eye blown into a bloody mess.

But it did not fall down!

Instead—

"Ji——!!!"

An even more berserk shrieking erupted!

Boom!

The hind legs of the Mantis Insect suddenly exerted force, its massive body catapulting out like a cannonball!

The speed was astonishingly fast!

The seven-to-eight-meter-tall body carved an eerie arc in the air, carrying the whistling sound of breaking air—flying straight into the center of the crowd!

"Scatter!!!"

The soldiers were horrified, desperately rolling to the sides.

But the target of the Mantis Insect was exceptionally clear—

Su Mingyuan, who was heavily protected!

As if some instinct was telling it:

"This human is the most important among this group of prey!"

Rumble!

The Mantis Insect heavily smashed down, less than ten meters away from Su Mingyuan!

The ground was smashed into a huge pit, fungal mats splattered everywhere, and the air was filled with a stench of corruption.

It slowly raised its head, the figure of Su Mingyuan reflected in its compound eye.

Then—

The two scythes were raised high!

Set against the dark red sky, the blade surfaces of those scythes reflected a chilling light of death!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

"Group Leader Su!!!"

Zhang Dabiao roared and rushed forward, shoving Su Mingyuan away. Two soldiers beside him followed closely, and the three of them built a human wall in front of Su Mingyuan with their bodies.

Zhang Dabiao directly faced those two scythes, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with madness:

"Come on! I will play with you!!!"

The scythes had already slashed down—

Su Mingyuan was pushed down to the ground, but he did not close his eyes and wait for death—

He flipped over, raised his electromagnetic rifle, aimed at the remaining intact compound eye of the Mantis Insect, and pulled the trigger!

Bang!

The projectile hit the edge of the compound eye!

Although it did not cause fatal damage, the trajectory of the swinging scythes of the Mantis Insect shifted slightly—

At this very instant—

"Siu——!!!"

A streak of silver light descended from the sky!

That was a sword!

The sword body was fully five meters long, silver-white throughout, exuding a cold metallic luster. The blade was engraved with intricate energy circuits, blue fluorescent light flowing through the patterns, beautiful yet lethal.

The longsword fell from the sky like a spear of divine punishment, at a speed that surpassed visual capture—

"Puchi!!!"

The tip of the sword accurately pierced through the head of the Mantis Insect!

Passing straight through from the damaged compound eye position, the sword tip burst out from the lower jaw, pinning the entire skull to the ground!

"Ji——!!!"

The Mantis Insect emitted a shrill and desperate scream!

The two scythes swung wildly, wanting to struggle, its body twitching violently.

But the longsword seemed to possess its own will—

The sword body suddenly erupted with blinding blue light!

"Zizizi!!!"

Berserk energy surged from the blade into the body of the insect, the carapace of the Mantis Insect beginning to crack from the inside, green body fluids gushing out like a spring.

Its struggles grew weaker and weaker.

A dozen seconds later—

Completely dead.

The massive body collapsed limply onto the ground, the scythes hanging down powerlessly, smashing onto the fungal mat with a muffled sound.

Zhang Dabiao sat slumped on the ground, panting heavily, looking at the close-at-hand corpse of the Mantis Insect, and cursed in lingering fear:

"Damn... almost bought it right here..."

Su Mingyuan was also panting; at that exact moment just now, he had even seen the scythe of Death.

But before he could even let out a breath of relief—

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

Even heavier footsteps sounded!

The frequency of the ground tremor changed, becoming more rhythmic and regular.

Afterwards, from the other side of the ruins, a huge humanoid silhouette rushed out—

Mecha!

Standing twelve to thirteen meters tall, its body was alternating dark gray and silver-white, with a simple yet sharp paint job.

The mecha design was full of the aesthetics of strength:

Broad shoulder armor, streamlined armor plates, every detail exuding a violent aesthetic.

Embedded in the chest position was a glowing energy core, the light blue light pulsing along with the movement of the mecha.

The right arm was equipped with an energy cannon of astonishing caliber, its muzzle still dissipating heat.

The left arm was a huge alloy shield, its surface covered in battle scratches.

Two thrusters on the back were spitting light blue flames, obviously having just undergone high-speed maneuvers.

The mecha head was a standard humanoid design, its monocular sensor flashing with cautious red light, rapidly scanning every target on the battlefield.

Most eye-catching of all—

Its right hand was empty!

That sword that descended from the sky was thrown by it!

The mecha walked with heavy steps to the side of the corpse of the Mantis Insect, slightly bent over, and grabbed the hilt with one hand—

"Click!"

The longsword was pulled out.

Green body fluids dripped down the blade, the mecha casually waved it to shake off the mucus, then held the sword in hand, striking a standard combat stance.

Smooth and flowing, accomplished in one go.

A voice came from the cockpit—

It was a young woman voice, carrying obvious shock and vigilance:

"You... what on earth people are you?!"

"Why did you appear in the Zerg-occupied zone?! This is an S-rank Death Restricted Area! Even the regular army would not dare to penetrate deep into it, and ordinary people are even less likely to enter alive!"

Su Mingyuan took a deep breath, suppressing the roaring waves in his heart, and responded through the external loudspeaker of his protective suit:

"We come from... another world."

He paused and added:

"We have no malicious intent. Thank you very much for saving us."

Inside the cockpit of the mecha, there was silence for a full five seconds.

Then—

"Another world?"

The female voice raised by an octave, filled with disbelief:

"What nonsense are you talking about?! What other world?"

Right at this moment—

"Ji-ji-ji..."

"Ka-ka-ka..."

Dense insect chirping came from all around!

Those centipede insects were rapidly approaching, their shrieks rising and falling, surging from all directions like a tide.

"Damn it! The Swarm has been alerted!"

The female voice became urgent:

"There is no time to chat! This place is about to be surrounded! Follow me!"

"Quick!!!"

As soon as the voice fell, the mecha abruptly turned around, its back thrusters erupting with intense blue flames, and began to sprint wildly in a certain direction.

Every step stamped out deep depressions on the ground.

Su Mingyuan looked at Tao Zhe.

Tao Zhe quickly nodded: "Keep up! This might be our only chance to understand this world! And—"

He looked at the increasingly close insect chirps around them:

"Staying here is a dead end."

"Everyone! Keep up with that mecha!"

Su Mingyuan ordered.

30 Longyan Warriors immediately followed, running at full speed on the eerie fungal mat.

Behind them—

"Ji-ji-ji!!!"

The shrieks of countless insects converged into a tsunami, crazily pursuing from behind.