Chapter 160: Mantis' Predicament

The Grand Prophet of the Mantis people is one of only three Half‑God Realm strongmen in the Mantis civilization.

In fact, before the Variant Civilization invaded Mantis, the Mantis civilization had a total of five Half‑God Realm strongmen! But with the arrival of the Variant Civilization, war suddenly broke out.

The Mantis civilization, which knew nothing about the variant creatures, suffered repeated setbacks in the early stage of the war.

Not only was the Green Blade Bug Race's former clan chief schemed against and parasitized by Variant Civilization creatures, but the Grand Prince who went to aid the Green Blade Bug Race, unprepared, was gravely wounded by a half‑god level Green Blade leader who suddenly turned against them, and after returning to the Mantis continent he survived only a few years before dying of his injuries.

It can be said that the Mantis's current predicament stems entirely from the initial stage, where ignorance of the enemy led the two Half‑God Realm strongmen into an inextricable deadlock of mutual opposition and death.

By the time the Mantis Plane recovered, the eastern continent Keti Si had already fallen in succession, losing most of its territory.

Countless Green Blade Bug Race members became parasites, turning into splinter sub‑entities of the Variant Civilization, a breeding ground for the latter's expanding hordes.

Only a few Green Blade Bug Race, leading many other groups on the eastern continent Keti Si, migrated to the central continent after defeat.

And this wave of retreating eastern‑continent groups to the central Mantis continent not only brought back more information about the Variant Civilization, but also carried a substantial amount of war supplies.

This Plane War, which lasted over two hundred years, after the eastern continent fell in less than ten years of resistance, entered a two‑hundred‑year stalemate on the central continent.

And the cost was measured in countless fresh lives and piles of white bones.

According to incomplete statistics, before the war, the Mantis civilization's total population was roughly three hundred billion.

It had reached a transcendent level, capable of fielding at least five million effective combat units of at least intermediate magic apprentice rank, and no fewer than three hundred thousand beings of Level‑One or higher life tier.

But today, after the Plane War began, the Mantis Plane's total population has dropped to two hundred billion, with fewer than four million able to form effective combat forces.

And the main force of Level‑One‑and‑above beings is also insufficient, numbering only a little over two hundred thousand.

The two‑hundred‑plus years of war have long suppressed all aspects of the Mantis civilization's potential to the limit, now pushing it into a state of chronic deficit.

Whether the number of newly risen strongmen or the birth of new population, both can no longer keep pace with the death toll.

Although on the surface the population loss appears to be only a few hundred billion, one must realize that this is after more than two hundred years, during which countless new lives were born and countless others died.

Even the current Grand Prophet of the Mantis civilization treats the matter with utmost secrecy.

What meets the eye is nothing but a battlefield shrouded in smoke.

The entire front‑line defense, centered on the command base, is spread across thirty‑six interlocking forts that support each other, covering the whole southeastern war zone.

Now, after seven forts have been consecutively taken, defensive pressure has surged sharply, making it time to gradually pull the line back.

"What stage is the second defensive line at now?"

The voice sounded slightly aged, yet carried a strange power that could soothe emotions.

In front, the Level Three male Mantis, who had been secretly worried and rather tense about the current battlefield situation, miraculously regained composure after hearing the Grand Prophet's question.

With reverent eyes, he looked up at the Grand Prophet, his expression extremely deferential: "Grand Prophet, General Morick has informed us to secure another ten years for him…"

"…ten years." His gaze was worried, murmuring the words.

Looking at this command base on the front line, where large sections of the wall have already collapsed, countless Mantis Plane beings pour forward, forming human walls with their lives, perilously repelling the wave of attack.

Hysterical shouts and killings, ferocious terrifying faces, fierce energy collisions, countless blood mists, and many severed limbs soaring upward.

Even though that place has become a battlefield meat grinder, there are still countless native Mantis Plane inhabitants, with death‑defying expressions, pouring forward, turning their flesh into walls to stubbornly resist.

Because behind them lies the home they depend on for survival.

Half a moment later, the Grand Prophet said in a hushed tone: "Seven years, at most seven years. Tell Morick, if he cannot do it, replace him with someone capable."

Only then did the Grand Prophet withdraw his gaze from the battlefield, turn his head, and look at the Level Three male Mantis behind him.

His demeanor remained gentle, but the Level Three Mantis understood that once the Grand Prophet had spoken, there was no turning back.

He no longer paid attention to the Level Three Mantis, instead his gaze settled in contemplation, murmuring faintly words like "variables" and "turning points".

In such circumstances, the Level Three Mantis before him was no longer surprised; after all, the Grand Prophet's mystery has long existed, and his wisdom is the key that has allowed the Mantis Plane to resist the Variant Civilization for two hundred years.

"You seem to have something to say?"

Even without turning, the Grand Prophet seemed to have already seen the Level Three Mantis's expression of wanting to speak but holding back.

"Grand Prophet, intelligence from the rear reports that in the past ten days, many resource control zones have seen large stockpiled resources mysteriously disappear, with signs indicating a premeditated collective action."

The Grand Prophet first nodded, and before the Level Three Mantis could finish, he shook his head and said firmly, "That's not the Variant Civilization's modus operandi; give us the result directly."

"Indeed, Grand Prophet, you are right.

Through our investigation, we have captured many isolated infiltrators; they are not any known Plane beings. As for where they come from, their memories have been sealed by secret arts, and our prophet priests cannot use mental telepathy to forcibly probe their memories."

After saying that, the Level Three Mantis clearly saw a different hue flash in the Grand Prophet's previously unruffled eyes.

The slightly aged Mantis Grand Prophet's head bore two ornate antennae, which lit up with a brilliant starlight.

At the same time, a dozen milky‑white beads with faint golden patterns floated before him; as the Grand Prophet intoned a spell, the beads erupted in golden rays, beginning to rotate in a fixed pattern.

"Prophet relic!"

Sensing the pure, potent energy contained in these relics, the Level Three Mantis thought in awe.

Prophet relics are special top‑tier resources that only appear after a prophet priest has passed away.

They contain powerful energy that can be easily absorbed by humans, which alone makes them an immensely valuable treasure.

Not to mention, they also harbor many more wondrous applications.

(End of chapter)