177: Does this look familiar? A similar tragedy is unfolding across the eye of the storm.

“Get rid of the others. This ship belongs to our Insect Nest from now on."

The Black-Robed Person commanded the controlled Li Mu.

“Yes, Master."

Li Mu nodded expressionlessly and turned to walk toward Zhao Tianyu, who was paralyzed with fear on the ground.

The crew members and guards, facing the attacks of the controlled Li Mu and the swarm, were utterly defenseless and were soon all converted into the Insect Nest's Puppets.

An hour later, the luxurious tiangong divine ark had become a mobile insect nest.

The hull was covered in black Fungal Mats, and ferocious insect-type Demonic Beasts crawled all over it.

The controlled Zhao Tianyu and Li Mu stood on the bridge like string Puppets, staring blankly into the distance.

“The next target is the deep sea leviathan.”

The Black-Robed Person sat on a chair covered in insect colonies, waving his hand as he spoke.

The modified tiangong divine ark turned its bow and sped quickly in another direction.

The owner of the warship was Wang Lie, a Fifth-Tier Beast Tamer from Rock City, and a strong contender for fourth place on the current competition's points leaderboard.

“Boss Wang, look at that?”

A crew member exclaimed, pointing towards the distant horizon.

Wang Lie followed the direction he pointed, sucking in a cold breath.

A terrifying “ghost ship,” covered in black Fungal Mats, was heading toward them at an astonishing speed.

“Is that the tiangong divine ark? How did it turn into this monstrous state?”

Wang Lie recognized the outline of the ship instantly, and an ominous premonition immediately rose in his heart.

He immediately gave the order:

“All personnel, prepare for battle! Activate maximum defense Rank!”

The “ghost ship's” speed was extremely fast, much faster than when it was the tiangong divine ark.

In the time it took to speak, it had already rushed right in front of them.

Li Mu, controlled by the Insect Nest, stood at the bow of the ship, looking at them expressionlessly.

“Attack.”

*Splash!*

A Stitched Monster surfaced from beneath the sea, causing the deep sea leviathan to rock violently.

Although Wang Lie was also a Fifth-Tier Beast Tamer, his strength was slightly inferior to Li Mu's.

All five of his beast pets were Lord-level, but unlike Li Mu, none of them were Lord Intermediate Grade; they were all Initial Lord Rank.

The five Initial Lord Rank Demonic Beasts were steadily defeated under the siege of the Stitched Monster and the swarm.

“Damn it! What kind of monster is this!”

Wang Lie's heart bled as he watched his beast pets fall one by one.

He couldn't understand why the tiangong divine ark had changed like this, or why Li Mu was attacking him.

Did Li Mu truly betray them?

“Boss Wang, our energy shield is about to collapse!”

The crew member's cry of alarm dragged him back from his shock.

He watched the energy bar rapidly dropping on the screen, his breathing becoming heavy. He slammed the wall hard, smashing an insect that had crawled up unnoticed.

“Even if it's me, I won't end up like you!”

“Boom!”

The energy shield of the deep sea leviathan was shattered by the Stitched Monster's massive pincers.

Countless Gold-Devouring Bai Ye swarmed onto the deck like a flood, devouring all metal in their path.

Wang Lie wanted to resist, but having lost his beast pets, he couldn't possibly fight off so many insects.

He and his crew followed in the footsteps of Zhao Tianyu and Li Mu, becoming Puppets of the Insect Nest.

Does this look familiar?

Such tragedies were constantly occurring in other areas of the Storm Sea Eye.

All competing vessels that entered the Storm Sea Eye, without exception, were attacked by the Insect Nest.

Even powerful Fifth-Tier Beast Tamers became vulnerable when faced with the traps set by the Insect Nest and the ever-increasing number of controlled Beast Tamers.

Warships were converted into mobile fortresses for the Insect Nest; Carbon-Based beast pets were controlled, and Silicon-Based beast pets were devoured.

The Beast Tamers themselves were reduced to slaves of the Insect Nest.

In just one day, the entire Storm Sea Eye transformed into a sea of insects.

The Monarch-level Magical Beasts showed no reaction whatsoever to the actions of the Insect Nest.

What did infighting among humans have to do with them? They were even hoping the conflict would escalate.

The mastermind behind all this was standing on the bridge of the tiangong divine ark, admiring his own masterpiece.

“What truly marvelous art...”

He spread his arms, intoxicatedly breathing in the insect stench permeating the air.

This was the smell of rebirth.

His goal had never been these participants.

A mere handful of Fourth-Tier and Fifth-Tier Beast Tamers were not worth this much trouble.

The captured Beast Tamers were merely incidental spoils of war, pawns used to strengthen the forces under his command.

“Doo-loo-loo-loo-loo-loo!”

The terminal on a captured Fifth-Tier Beast Tamer rang, and the communication request interrupted his contemplation.

The Black-Robed Person glanced at the screen; it was an emergency contact from the Blue-Eyed White Dragon City Beast Tamer Association.

A cold arc pulled at the corner of his mouth.

He walked up to the controlled Li Yan. The latter had been dispatched by the Association, originally intending to stay close behind Bai Ye.

But finding that Bai Ye didn't seem planning to enter the Storm Sea Eye, Li Yan had to come in alone to investigate the situation here.

“You know what to say, right?”

The Black-Robed Person asked softly, heavily tapping Li Yan's cheek with the terminal.

“Yes, Master.”

Li Yan expressionlessly connected the communication, vigorously rubbed his face, and restored his demeanor from before he was controlled.

Lu Yuanshan's serious face quickly appeared on the screen.

“Li Yan, what is the situation over there? Why have all the live broadcast signals been interrupted?”

Lu Yuanshan inquired anxiously.

“Reporting, President Lu, a small-scale Demonic Beast Tide has appeared inside the Storm Sea Eye, including Demonic Beasts with Hydroelectric Attribute, accompanied by a strong Electromagnetic Pulse, causing the live broadcast Drone and communication Systems to temporarily fail.”

“However, please rest assured, the situation is basically under control.”

“A Demonic Beast Tide?! What is the scale?”

Lu Yuanshan's large face pressed against the screen as he urgently questioned.

“It was mainly Thunder Submersible Sharks, mixed with some other Elite Rank Demonic Beasts, quite numerous.”

“However, the competing teams inside the Storm Sea Eye are all very strong, so handling it shouldn't be a major issue.”

Li Yan paused, then added.

“We also discovered traces of insect-type Demonic Beasts. It seems to be a minor maneuver by the Insect Nest Organization.”

“Insect Nest?!”

The several Fifth-Tier Beast Tamers beside Lu Yuanshan all changed their expressions.

“Yes, but the numbers are small and pose no threat.”

Li Mu chuckled lightly, pressing his palm down towards Lu Yuanshan on the screen, signaling him not to panic.

“I have already dealt with some of them. They seem only interested in creating some chaos.”

“They might be troublesome for Fourth-Tier Beast Tamers, but they are nothing to fear for us Fifth-Tiers.”

Lu Yuanshan and the high-ranking officials exchanged glances, seeing doubt in each other's eyes.

They felt like something was wrong, but Li Yan looked perfectly normal.

Furthermore, the report sounded impeccable.

It was hard for them to imagine that a Fifth-Tier expert with such firm resolve could silently and completely be reduced to a Puppet in such a short time.

Even a Mental-Type Lord-level Magical Beast would find it difficult to use its Skills to perfectly control a Beast Tamer who had opened five beast taming spaces in such a short period.