18: Chapter 18 Night Raid, the Frenzied Swarm of Insects!

After a day of exploration, the harvest was quite substantial.

First, there were food resources; the meat obtained from two rounds of exploration was enough for about three meals.

If eating until full, it could last for two days. If rationed, it could easily last for three days.

Although the Insect Swarm Ranch could not be conquered in the short term, food supplies could still hold out for a while.

Aside from food, there were the command points gained.

Over the course of the day, there were five skirmishes with the insectoids.

Including the battle involving Su Yang, all fights were won without any injuries.

This was also the reason Su Yang organized three-man squads.

Insectoid squads were generally composed of five to six insects.

If two Armored Elite Soldiers faced them, they might suffer injuries, causing damage to their Imperial Armor.

Three Armored Elite Soldiers, however, were just enough to resolve the battle without injury.

Dispatching a squad of four Armored Elite Soldiers could increase risk resistance, but it would also reduce the number of squads and shrink the exploration range.

Therefore, the three-man squad was the most efficient grouping that Su Yang had decided upon after careful consideration.

Based on today's observations, this grouping was indeed effective.

A few waves of battles with the insectoids combined brought Su Yang a total of 1120 command points.

Adding the remaining 20 points from before, there were now a total of 1150 command points.

As expected, without achievement rewards and large-scale battles, relying on skirmishes to gain command points was still a drop in the bucket.

Although the gain in command points wasn't much, Su Yang analyzed intelligence about the insect nests through these few battles.

Insectoid squads didn't just spawn out of thin air; they were all produced by the mother nest.

The presence of insectoid squads meant there were insect nests nearby.

Based on the number of skirmishes the Elite Soldiers encountered, Su Yang estimated that there were two more insect nests around the base.

Furthermore, based on the locations of the skirmishes, he roughly determined the direction of these two insect nests.

Relying on skirmishes would not allow for rapid accumulation of command points.

To get a Rank 2 warrior unit as quickly as possible, the insect nests must be destroyed.

With the intelligence, Su Yang decided to lead his troops out first thing tomorrow morning to attack the insect nests.

Armored Elite Warrior Chen Wu's report was not yet finished; besides food and command points, there was another harvest.

A squad had discovered a cave that was not an insect nest, and it was engraved with many murals inside.

Upon hearing this, Su Yang knew they had encountered a ruin.

There were some peculiar places in the Forbidden Ground, and ruins were one of these types of places.

These places had no clear distribution pattern and were always encountered by chance.

When a lord personally entered a ruin, it would trigger a ruin quest, and completing the quest would grant a relic.

Relics could contain all sorts of things: weapons, supplies, high-Rank blueprints, and so on.

However, Su Yang's enthusiasm for this ruin was not very high, for two reasons.

The types of ruin quests varied, and the difficulty was generally quite high.

Moreover, the drop from the relic was completely unrelated to the quest difficulty.

Some lords would risk their lives to complete a quest, only for the relic reward to be quite mediocre.

Although the temptation of opening chests was great, the returns were too uncertain.

At least until the base was stabilized in the early stages, Su Yang did not intend to touch this ruin.

After listening to Armored Elite Warrior Chen Wu's report, Su Yang was quite satisfied with today's harvest.

Food and command point resources, plus the two special locations: the ranch and the ruin.

Although it wasn't much, this was something that those lords still in the protected zone could not even imagine.

The only regret was not obtaining any clues related to copper mine resources.

Subsequent series of upgrades would all be related to copper mines; failing to find copper mine resources would delay development progress.

The current exploration range was still too small, as the Armored Elite Soldiers' energy reserves limited the maximum distance they could explore.

Furthermore, Armored Elite Soldiers were combat units and weren't actually very suitable for scouting.

If a reconnaissance-type unit could be unlocked, it should be able to solve this problem to a great extent.

The speed of exploring resources would also be faster.

It was unknown whether there were reconnaissance units in the early Qin Dynasty; if not, then he would still have to rely on Armored Elite Soldiers to push through explorations.

As Su Yang's thoughts gradually drifted away, the aroma of roasted meat pulled him back.

The soldiers had efficiently processed the livestock and had already started a fire to roast the meat.

Looking at the chunks of meat on the charcoal fire, Su Yang's eyes flickered.

Having not eaten for nearly two days, his stomach had long since started to protest.

"Your Majesty."

Su Yang turned around and saw Armored Elite Warrior Chen Wu offering a leg of meat from some unknown creature with both hands.

The leg meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sizzling with grease, and sprinkled with some kind of crushed plant leaves, giving off an overflowing aroma.

They were actually able to find fragrant leaves in this bizarre dense forest?

Su Yang clicked his tongue in wonder.

As expected, in the eyes of my Yanhuang descendants, there was nothing that couldn't be eaten.

If there was, it must be because the method of eating it was wrong.

Su Yang took the leg, ignored the exaggerated appearance of the animal with its four eyes, and took a big bite.

The insectoids should really be thankful that there were wild animals in this dense forest that could be eaten.

Otherwise, the combat effectiveness of the Great Qin Elite Soldiers against the insectoids would definitely rise to another level.

...

Deep in the night, the fluorescent glow emitted by the dense forest vegetation illuminated the surroundings of the territory.

Su Yang arranged for six Armored Elite Soldiers to be on duty at night, while the others entered the barracks to recover their stamina.

The dense forest at night was terrifyingly quiet, with only the ceaseless steam mining machine hammering the ground blow by blow.

Inside the lords residence, Su Yang was sketching a simple map on the table.

Because he had taken a nap during the day, he wasn't too sleepy at the moment.

The map marked the approximate locations of various resources around the base, as well as some areas that had not yet been explored.

"Tomorrow morning, I should head in this direction first."

Su Yang sketched a route on the table.

"The second point..."

Buzz—

Suddenly, a piercing sound rang in his mind.

It was the alarm signal sent by the soldiers!

What was happening!?

Su Yang sprang up from his chair and rushed out of the residence.

The moment the metal door opened, sharp shrieks flooded his ears.

Insects, countless insects!

Stinger Bugs were madly shuttling through the base, besieging the Armored Elite Soldiers on duty.

In the distance, Spitting Insects stood in rows, unleashing ranged attacks.

The Armored Elite Soldiers brandished their sharp swords and were caught in a melee.

The Insect Swarm's siege!!!

"All hands on alert!! All hands on alert!!!"

Su Yang's thoughts flickered as he opened all the barracks.

The army of Armored Elite Soldiers gradually awakened.

"Prioritize protecting the mine! Prioritize protecting the mine!!"

Su Yang issued orders to all Armored Elite Soldiers.

Sla— Sla—

Amidst the chaos, two Stinger Bugs locked onto Su Yang, who was issuing orders, and charged fiercely toward the lords residence.

Damn it!

Su Yang cursed, quickly retreating into the courtyard.

Close, close, close!

He pulled the lever with all his might, and the metal door slowly closed.

Click—

Unfortunately, one Stinger Bug rushed straight in and jammed the door.

Su Yang quickly retreated, staying away from the doorway.

At this moment, the second Stinger Bug crawled in through the gap.

It raised its twin blades high and shrieked at Su Yang, its sharp mouthparts constantly dripping with mucus.

Under the moonlight, the insect blades gleamed with a cold silver light.