NOVEL ONLINE FREE CHAPTER 268
CHAPTER 268 Desperate Alliances and Unyielding Foes
The Golden Cicada materialized within the last intact insect nest outside the city, swiftly morphing into the form of The Queen of Blade. She stood there, breath coming in frantic gasps.
Gone was the exhilaration from her earlier deception of Hao Huang; now, fear gripped her features.
“Origin Realm… Origin Realm Level One,” she whispered shakily.
“If I die one more time… just once more, my power will regress to the Spirit Realm. I won’t be able to activate the [Golden Cicada Shell Shedding] technique.” She shuddered at the thought. “If that happens, death will be final.”
The memories of her two recent deaths surged back, flooding her with profound shame.
“No… no, that’s not it.”
Shame was irrelevant now. What mattered was the visceral fear that the prospect of death had evoked within her.
“I don’t want to die…”
“I don’t want to die…”
The ground shook with a powerful explosion. A massive energy fluctuation radiated from the city—Hao Huang was locked in battle with Lu Ming. The sounds of combat were intermittent and fleeting.
Without needing to see it for herself, The Queen of Blade understood one grim reality—Hao Huang was faltering. He could not endure this fight.
And with that, no one was left to save her.
“No! I don’t want to die!!”
The Queen of Blade’s beautiful face contorted with panic as she paced back and forth, her mind racing. “This is the only way,” she murmured decisively.
She moved quickly to the mother insect, extending her hand to initiate a long-range communication.
“Requesting to establish long-range communication. Parties: The Queen of Blade and Cockroach Night.”
The connection was established almost immediately. A flicker of distaste crossed The Queen of Blade’s face, but her tone was unexpectedly sweet.
“Brother Cockroach Night? Is that you?”
“It’s me, it’s me,” came the eager response. “Sister Blade, what a surprise. Is this about the matter I mentioned last time?”
“I agree.” The Queen of Blade’s expression darkened with further distaste. “I agree to become your mate. I will provide you with my genes and my fertility to give you the thousands of offspring you desire.”
The response on the other end was heavy with anticipation.
“But right now, I’m in trouble. I need your help.”
It was often said that accepting a beautiful woman’s favor was the hardest thing to refuse. Hearing this, Cockroach Night’s resolve hardened. “I won’t hesitate to climb a mountain of blades or go through a sea of fire!”
“I’m being hunted by an enemy of the Ancient Realm,” The Queen of Blade continued urgently. “Your army is not far from the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Could you ask your family to save my life?”
Her tone softened as she added, “If you save me this once, I’ll do anything you ask in the future—”
Cockroach Night fell silent.
An enemy of the Ancient Realm… Cockroach Night knew that this was no trivial matter. After a moment of contemplation, he gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll beg my second uncle for assistance. It’s likely he can save you, but killing the opponent might be challenging. You know my second uncle has only just reached the Ancient Realm…”
A deafening explosion interrupted their conversation. The Queen of Blade's eyes widened in terror.
A deafening explosion from outside made The Queen of Blade shudder. Before Cockroach Night could finish speaking, she cried out urgently, “Quick! Hurry! He’s here!”
Another explosion rocked the top of the nest, sending debris flying. A figure descended from the sky, landing directly in front of The Queen of Blade. Her heart sank as she saw that it was not Lu Ming, but a monstrous entity with Esek’s head.
Esek gazed at The Queen of Blade’s terrified face and laughed uncontrollably.
“Calling for help?” he taunted. “Cockroach Night? His second uncle? Oh ho ho ho ho!”
Esek extended his claws slowly. The four knife-like nails on his right claw gleamed with a faint purple light. Yet, it was the delicate golden pattern on the back of his right hand that drew the most attention, its intricate design shimmering with a mesmerizing glow.
The golden patterns on Esek’s right hand were exquisite and glossy, vaguely resembling a magatama. The Queen of Blade’s expression shifted dramatically at the sight of the intricate design. Esek’s laughter grew more arrogant, savoring her fear.
“How did you know that I’ve already reached the Ancient Realm?” Esek demanded with a triumphant sneer. “Just one move from me, and not a single blade of grass will remain!”
Meanwhile, at the center of the drill ground, Lu Ming loomed like a giant, towering at twenty meters. His gaze swept the area, finding no worthy challengers.
“Peak of Origin Realm? Is that all?” Lu Ming muttered, his voice tinged with disdain. He was aware that his power system had diverged significantly from the conventional source-powered extraordinary system.
He could defeat Hao Huang with ease; under normal circumstances, Lu Ming’s physical strength far surpassed Hao Huang’s. It wasn’t just a matter of one or two times—it was a difference of orders of magnitude, likely extending beyond single-digit comparisons.
This immense disparity in physical strength, coupled with the Force System’s ability to bypass enemy defenses, rendered Hao Huang incapable of enduring even a single blow from Lu Ming.
“But there’s something odd…” Lu Ming mused. “Hao Huang’s Origin power control seems ineffective against me.”
[The Infinite Rotating Wheel] that Hao Huang had used was imbued with the characteristics of an Origin Realm expert, capable of controlling Origin power. This technique aimed to drain the opponent’s Origin power if their control was inferior to Hao Huang’s, leaving them utterly defenseless.
Lu Ming’s Origin power control was clearly inferior to Hao Huang’s. His ability to control Origin power only manifested when he was in the [Origin State], and even then, it was weaker than that of an Origin Realm Level One expert. It was suited for dealing with lesser opponents.
Previously, The Queen of Blade had attempted to use Origin power control on Lu Ming, but she was unable to extract any Origin power from his body. At the time, Lu Ming had believed his physical strength was so overwhelming that it rendered him immune to the Origin power control of an Origin Realm Level Three expert.
Yet, Lu Ming had been mistaken.
As Hao Huang’s [Infinite Rotating Wheel] approached him, Lu Ming could clearly sense that the Origin power within him was beginning to show signs of losing control. This indicated that Hao Huang’s control over the Origin power was still having some effect.
However, under the protection of his defensive technique, Hao Huang’s attempts to control the Origin power were ultimately futile.
“It’s a body protective technique,” Lu Ming realized. “I didn’t expect that this transformed protective technique could withstand the Origin power control of an Origin Realm Peak expert.”
He opened his attribute panel to review the body protective technique column. There, it was clearly listed:
[Yin-Yang Mirror (Divine)]
[Additional Special Effects: Absolute Defense, Flame Vigor Burning, Enhanced Repulsive Force, Nourishment.]
When The Queen of Blade had infiltrated Lu Ming’s room and fed him the insects, he had been cultivating the [Yin-Yang Mirror] to the Divine level.
The cultivation of the [Yin-Yang Mirror] had not only granted Lu Ming new special effects but had also triggered a qualitative change. The accumulation of these effects caused Lu Ming’s protective technique to integrate completely. Various characteristics, such as enhanced defense and elemental resistance, were unified into a singular effect known as [Absolute Defense].
“Also, what does this thing mean?” Lu Ming wondered.
Lowering his gaze to his chest, he noticed a silver, wave-like pattern that had appeared seemingly out of thin air after the special effects integration. The pattern, though strange, posed no immediate threat and might even be a part of him.
Unable to decipher its exact meaning, Lu Ming decided not to dwell on it for now. He focused instead on the immediate concern—The Queen of Blade’s location outside the city.
End of Chapter 268