Chapter 78: Insect Clouds Obscure the Sun, the Eclipse Net, and the Tender Shoot

The purple-black swarm of insects surged like a sea of death, obscuring the already thin light of the wasteland sky and casting suffocating shadows. The air instantly thickened, reeking of acrid decay; every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass. The deafening, ultra-dense hum of countless wings scraped like billions of fingernails on metal, violently assaulting eardrums and nerves.

“Hive! Fire!” Lin Mo’s roar exploded atop the rampart!

Hssssss—!!!

Several thorned steel hive cannons on the rampart simultaneously unleashed orange-red energy pulse nets! Dense beams pierced the swarm, instantly clearing vast swathes—countless flying insects fell like dumplings into boiling water, smoking as they crashed. But the swarm’s numbers were terrifying; the cleared zones were instantly refilled. The pulse nets needed recharging—deadly gaps opened in the firepower!

“Iron Thorn! Spin it!” Tong Xu’s bellow came from within the fortress, accompanied by the terrifying shriek of a massive wheel accelerated to its limit by furnace waste heat!

Woom—BOOM!!!

The high-speed rotating wheel, bristling with quenched spikes, slammed into the front line of the diving swarm like the blade of a meat grinder! A continuous chorus of wet crunches erupted! Countless insects were shredded and flattened by the sharp spines; purple-black insect pulp rained down onto the rampart’s outer armor, hissing with dense corrosion!

The thorned steel armor plates glowed faintly blue-green, resisting the corrosion stubbornly. But the gaps between plates, cannon bases, observation ports—these weak points were quickly coated and seeped through by viscous insect sludge! Worse still, the unshredded insects clung like parasites to the armor, gnawing furiously with sharp mouthparts and corrosive saliva!

“Armor corrosion rising! B7 energy circuit critical!” Wrench, sheltered in the relatively safe interior, issued the alarm through a crude monitor screen, his voice trembling with tears.

Lin Mo stood atop the rampart’s highest point, bracing against the acid wind and rain of insect corpses, his gaze sharp as a hawk’s. He continuously unleashed thorn roots that burst from the rampart’s exterior, sweeping like giant brooms over the clinging, gnawing swarms—but the roots themselves were rapidly corroding. His inner Anchor of Order operated at full capacity, resisting the pervasive spiritual decay; the searing pulse in his right arm, under the swarm’s pressure, burned like a red-hot iron, bringing waves of dizziness.

“This won’t last! We must eliminate those command nodes!” Lin Mo’s eyes pierced through the swarm, locking onto several hazy, bloated figures deep within the insect cloud—each bearing a massive cluster of purple crystal—[Corrupted Hive Mothers]! They were the ones endlessly hatching and directing the swarm!

Ali’s figure appeared beside Lin Mo. Her face remained pale, her left arm’s bandages soaked through with purple-black insect blood, the purple aura around her wound churning more violently. Yet in her cold eyes burned a flame of resolve, ignoring her physical agony.

“Give me… time.” Ali’s voice was hoarse but unyielding. She ceased attempting to channel lunar energy for pinpoint strikes; instead, she drew a deep breath and slowly raised both hands above her head! The silver scar on her chest erupted in an unprecedented, almost blinding silver radiance—so intense it momentarily dispersed the insect cloud within several meters!

Countless fine, concentrated silver threads surged from her raised hands like a geyser—not confined to her front, but wildly spreading and interweaving across the surrounding sky! The number of threads far exceeded previous limits, moving faster than lightning. In an instant, a vast silver net—far larger than the rampart—unfolded dozens of meters above Ali’s head! The net was no longer flat; it formed a colossal hemispherical dome, enveloping the entire rampart area!

Thorned Lunar Net: Skyward Bastion!

Woom—!!!

As the net formed, a powerful purifying field cascaded down like an invisible waterfall! All insects entering its range perished like moths into flame, instantly burned and carbonized by the extreme purification force within the threads! Even the decay mist permeating the swarm’s core was significantly weakened!

The rampart’s pressure plummeted! The insects clinging to the armor rained down, charred and blasted away by the purifying field! The pressure on the thorn roots and “Iron Thorn” eased drastically!

“Ali!” Lin Mo’s heart jolted as he saw Ali’s face turn paper-white, her body trembling, her left arm wound boiling with purple aura—this strike was powerful, but its toll and stimulation on her were catastrophic!

“Hive Mothers… now!” Ali forced the words through clenched teeth, her body shaking—maintaining the massive net was already her limit.

Lin Mo’s gaze hardened—he instantly understood her intent! He slammed the “Earth Vein Arbiter” into the rampart beneath his feet, forging a mental link with the Earth Vein’s heart and the newly awakened Thorn Will!

Boom—boom—boom!

Several roots, far thicker than before and armored in thick rock and thorned wood, erupted like ancient beast tentacles through the charred earth before the rampart, driving with unstoppable force deep into the heart of the swarm—targeting the exposed Corrupted Hive Mothers!

The Hive Mothers sensed the threat; their purple crystal clusters flared wildly, spewing thick purple-black energy beams toward the incoming roots, while directing surrounding insects to swarm and block them!

The thorn roots’ rocky armor melted rapidly, their wooden spines snapped—but Lin Mo pushed through the drain, unleashing full power! Under the cover of the purifying field, the roots tore through the insect blockade and drove deep into the Hive Mothers’ bloated bodies!

Plos! Plos!

The wooden spines buried themselves deep; the Thorn Will surged into the Hive Mothers! They shrieked in agony, convulsing violently, their crystal clusters flickering erratically, their energy beams becoming chaotic!

“Hive! Concentrate fire!” Lin Mo roared!

All fully charged thorned steel hive cannons on the rampart instantly pivoted—their orange-red pulse nets no longer swept the swarm, but converged in focused volleys onto the Hive Mothers pinned by the roots!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dense energy pulses hammered the Hive Mothers’ fragile crystal clusters and bloated bodies! Purple-black pus and shattered carapaces sprayed everywhere! The Hive Mothers’ shrieks cut off abruptly—their massive bodies shattered in explosions!

With several core Hive Mothers destroyed, the vast swarm lost command and plunged into chaos! Attacks became random, even turning on each other!

“Iron Thorn! Clear the field!” Tong Xu seized the chance, spinning the massive wheel to shred the disoriented swarm before the rampart!

Pressure dropped sharply! Ali’s taut nerves snapped—the colossal Thorned Lunar Net dissolved into a shower of silver light. Her body went limp, collapsing forward—Lin Mo caught her. From her left arm wound, the purple aura surged like a venomous snake breaking free, instantly corrupting half her limb! Her breath faded rapidly.

“Lingna!” Lin Mo called sharply, holding the unconscious Ali.

At this moment of mingled victory and crisis—

Woom!

A fresh, immense surge of life energy erupted without warning from the direction of the Earth Vein fissure, instantly dispelling the lingering decay in the battlefield!

Everyone instinctively turned to look.

There, the world tree’s tender branch, which had lain motionless beside the jade fragments, now glowed with unprecedented emerald radiance! The silver lunar seals entwined around it—nourished by Lingna’s constant care and stimulated by Ali’s recent outburst of identical lunar power—had nearly healed their cracks! At the branch’s tip, the once-wilted, curled leaf had fully unfurled, its veins shimmering with crystalline light—and beneath it, a tiny, impossibly vibrant emerald bud had stubbornly pushed forth!

The tender branch… had sprouted a new bud!