Qin Shi Lei took off a simple, ancient-looking bag from his waist and gently pulled it open.
Countless scythe beetles and silver beetles poured out of the bag's opening non-stop.
The golden beetle immediately stopped feeding and commanded its subordinates to attack the approaching claw beasts.
"Jingang, Xiao Qiang, prioritize killing those silver-level claw beasts."
Qin Shi Lei and his two golden-level pets attacked the claw beasts from three directions.
The sounds of running, crashing, and screams echoed through the silent night.
Two different species, the beetles and the claw beasts, engaged in a fierce battle.
With a combined force of four to five hundred thousand, they fought to the death under the command of their respective kings.
A claw beast tore apart a scythe beetle with one swipe, only to be cut in half from behind by another scythe beetle.
Innumerable insects died every second.
The claw beast king, hiding in the rear, was utterly bewildered.
It had only heard from its subordinates that a large ape had invaded its territory and was slaughtering its kin.
To be safe, it had brought most of its subordinates.
What was supposed to be a perfect ambush, a siege battle with an absolute numerical advantage, had somehow turned into a war of attrition against the beetles.
The claw beast king hesitated, "Should I lead my kin in a strategic retreat?"
Fighting these beetles to the death was meaningless for it.
It might even lose all its subordinates.
The claw beast king quickly made a decision and roared, "Roar..."
The immense beast roar instantly echoed throughout the mountain.
"Master, it's trying to negotiate with the golden beetle, hoping to stop the killing," Xiao Qiang's voice sounded in Qin Shi Lei's mind.
"Xiao Qiang, have the golden beetle stall it. Let's see if we can find this claw beast king," Qin Shi Lei instructed as he flew closer to Xiao Qiang.
"Understood, Master."
Xiao Qiang said a few words to the golden beetle not far away, then turned and flew towards the direction of the sound.
In the pitch darkness, Qin Shi Lei's vision was greatly impaired. It was the golden-winged thunder eagle with its excellent eyesight that finally found the claw beast king by a small lake at the foot of the mountain.
At this moment, the claw beast king was still trying to communicate with the golden beetle, "This is my territory. Take your subordinates and leave quickly, or I will report you to the Frost Insect Emperor."
"Frost Insect Emperor?"
Qin Shi Lei, who was about to teleport over and finish off the claw beast king, immediately stopped when he heard this term.
From the claw beast king's words, it seemed that this area should be ruled by this Frost Insect Emperor.
Then this Frost Insect Emperor must be at least Platinum level or higher.
How far was this Frost Insect Emperor from here? Was it a claw beast or some other type of insect?
Qin Shi Lei really wanted to extract more information from the claw beast king below.
Unfortunately, the claw beast king had already discovered Qin Shi Lei and launched a fierce wind claw attack.
"Forget it, it's not too late to ask the golden beetle after I kill you."
Qin Shi Lei dodged the wind claw and teleported to the claw beast king's side, thrusting his sword.
A wind shield suddenly formed outside the claw beast king, stubbornly blocking the thrust of the Juque Sword.
"Shatter!"
The yuan Qi within Qin Shi Lei surged into the Juque Sword. A sharp sword energy shot out, instantly shattering the wind shield.
However, the claw beast king used the force of the broken wind shield to quickly retreat, attempting to create distance from Qin Shi Lei.
It did not know that a phantom suddenly appeared on its retreat path.
One-Punch Man!
Lightning Chain Slash!
After activating his amplification attributes, the phantom unleashed ten consecutive sword strikes on the claw beast king.
How could a mere gold two-star claw beast king withstand the phantom's full power attack? It was instantly left on the verge of death and fell into a stunned state.
Seven Stars Fall to the Sky!
The phantom again used a combat skill to strike its target.
Swish, swish, swish!
After several sword strikes, the claw beast king was sliced into several pieces.
The claw beasts all over the mountain had no idea that their king had become a pile of meat. They continued to fight the beetles.
"Split up and kill!"
Qin Shi Lei collected the spoils of war and, carrying the Juque Sword, charged back towards the claw beasts.
The morning sun began to rise.
The sounds of killing finally subsided.
Qin Shi Lei looked up, and the entire mountain seemed to be as blood-red as the rising sun.
There were shattered corpses of strange beasts everywhere, both claw beasts and beetles.
The golden beetle was still mindlessly devouring claw beast after claw beast.
Qin Shi Lei kicked the golden beetle, "Stop eating. Have your subordinates transport all the corpses back."
"Roar!"
The golden beetle swallowed a bloody chunk of meat and roared up.
The remaining less than a hundred thousand beetles began to move again, transporting the corpses of claw beasts and beetles from all over the mountain to Qin Shi Lei.
Even though Qin Shi Lei had killed the claw beast king early on, the frenzied claw beasts had still killed over a hundred thousand beetles.
The golden beetle seemed unconcerned about this, and Qin Shi Lei certainly did not feel pity.
What mattered were the silver beetles; if they were still alive, it was not a major issue if the ordinary scythe beetles died.
At worst, the next time they encountered a beetle tribe, he could help the golden beetle re-subjugate a group of subordinates.
"Golden beetle, you know that Frost Insect Emperor, right?" Qin Shi Lei asked as he collected the insect corpses in front of him into the Qiankun Ring.
"I know, but I've never met it," Xiao Qiang translated from beside him.
"What kind of insect is it, and how strong is it?"
"It's a Phantom Butterfly Emperor, and I heard it's very powerful."
"Where is it?"
"In Butterfly Valley, very, very far from here."
"Do you all serve this Frost Insect Emperor?"
"Yes, every so often, we have to send a batch of rare treasures to Butterfly Valley as tribute."
"And rare treasures? Why haven't you offered any to me, your master?"
"I just sent a batch to Butterfly Valley, and I don't have any on hand now."
Through the exchange, Qin Shi Lei gained a preliminary understanding of the insect world.
The insect world was vast and boundless, with various insects as its rulers.
Basically, a golden-level insect would lead a tribe and inhabit a certain area.
Although platinum-level insects could command golden-level insects, they usually adopted a hands-off approach.
Qin Shi Lei, after careful inquiry, learned that Butterfly Valley was at least ten thousand kilometers away. He then put his mind at ease and began hunting in this area with his pets.
After three consecutive days of hunting.
Qin Shi Lei had killed eight golden-level insects, all of which were fed to the golden beetle.
Having received a large amount of nourishment, the golden beetle had advanced two levels, becoming a gold seven-star insect king.
The insects Qin Shi Lei encountered in the past two days were not beetles. Therefore, the golden beetle's subordinates were not replenished. Instead, due to continuous battles, fewer than ten thousand remained.
"You directionally challenged creature, where is the territory of that other golden beetle you mentioned? If we can't find it, you'll be a lone commander soon."
Qin Shi Lei kicked the golden beetle, which was still incessantly devouring claw beasts, with a scolding tone.