Chapter 161: The Great Prophet

The conditions for a prophet relic's birth are extremely stringent and unfathomable.

In other words, not every prophet who passes away in a sacrificial death yields a prophet relic, so its rarity makes it the most precious resource across the entire Mantis Plane, bar none.

Moreover, there are a dozen or so prophet relics that have reached Level Three Life Tier.

How could this not astonish him?

"Great Prophet, this is… a prophecy!?" the Level Three male mantis‑person shouted, unable to block the channel.

One must know that each of the Great Prophet's prophecies carries enormous cost and risk; he did not quite understand why the Great Prophet reacted so violently, dismissing it as merely a bunch of clucking chickens and thieving dogs, nothing worth noting.

As the Great Prophet's pupils turned golden, the prophet relic followed a mysterious trajectory, emitting a dazzling halo.

Then a powerful, mysteriously scented aura suddenly erupted.

One bizarre scene after another began flashing, finally freezing on a face—a humanoid intelligent being's visage.

But for some unknown reason, at the instant the image froze for a glimpse, an inexplicable force suddenly swept in, shattering the prophecy.

"Pfft!" a mouthful of fresh blood surged up and was spat out.

"Great Prophet!" the Level Three male mantis‑person shouted excitedly.

"I'm fine, Kaide." The Great Prophet waved his hand, halting the Level Three mantis‑person's attempt to come to his aid, indicating he was unharmed.

But anyone seeing his pallid complexion now would know that the backlash from that instant was far from the easy matter he claimed.

After a while of calming down, the Great Prophet said, "Did you see that image just now? Go find him; you must get him."

Even though the blurry image lasted less than a second, the Level Three male mantis‑person Kaide had already etched it into his memory and could recognize the person upon sight.

"Great Prophet, your injury." the Level Three Mantis‑person Kaide hesitated, his eyes full of concern and anxiety.

It's no surprise Kaide is so tense; the Great Prophet, as the front‑line commander and the Southeast war zone's anchor, any minor issue is amplified without limit in the war.

If an antagonistic variant civilization were to act, those two demi‑god realm strongmen would seize the Great Prophet's injury period to provoke, with disastrous consequences! The Great Prophet, as the foremost under the Fourth‑rank Sovereign Kurachi Bolante of the Mantis Empire on the Mantis Plane, …

His formidable strength, together with a mental aura that particularly restrains variant‑civilization beings, allowed the Great Prophet single‑handedly to hold back the two powerful demi‑god realm strongmen of the variant civilization! This prevented them from dispatching troops to other war zones for support or seeking breakthroughs.

This is why Mantis civilization, even after losing two demi‑god‑level strongmen, could maintain a two‑century balance; but if that delicate balance were to break…

He dared not think further; just as Kaide was about to say more, the Great Prophet's gaze, already bearing a lofty authority, projected forward, saying, "Hurry and find him; he may bring some… hope to Mantis."

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Fulade sensed something amiss, instantly looked toward the Sea of Cognition, and happened to see a faint glimmer retracting back into the Dark Book.

"What happened…?" a hint of doubt flashed in Fulade's eyes.

After observing a moment longer without detecting any anomaly, Fulade ceased his scrutiny and fixed his gaze on the resource node before him.

It was already the tenth day since the group arrived on the Mantis Plane, and this resource node was Fulade's primary objective.

Earlier, besides a certain resource node, its distance being too great for upcoming actions, Fulade decisively abandoned it.

Only after raiding the Blazing Thunder Stone resource node did he sequentially plunder two resource warehouses, arriving here on the final night.

At this moment, the resource node confronting Fulade and his party was heavily guarded, its defenses clearly far stronger than those of the previously raided sites.

The most obvious change was that Fulade sensed a distinct Level Three life‑form aura.

Although the opponent strained to conceal themselves, masquerading as an ordinary First‑rank mantis‑person warrior, others might not have even noticed or discerned their path.

However, for Fulade, who can sense blood, such a tactic was not only useless but riddled with holes.

Had the opponent not hidden their aura, Fulade would certainly not have suspected anything.

Since they concealed themselves, it plainly tells him they were prepared, waiting for Fulade's party to walk into a trap! Upon noticing, they naturally wouldn't jump inside voluntarily.

And moreover…

Fulade looked toward the warehouse, a hint of contemplation flashing in his eyes, and quickly made a decision.

………

"Princess, are you sure those infiltrators will come here?"

He was a burly, rough‑looking Level Three mantis‑person, but at this moment he had clearly disguised himself and concealed his aura; outwardly he resembled an ordinary First‑rank mantis‑person warrior.

Yet the pair of reverse‑grown arm blades on his arms revealed a hint of extraordinariness.

The sharp, chilling light, even from afar, gave a sensation like a blade at one's back, causing many nearby Mantis guards to tense up, unwilling to approach too closely.

Upon close inspection, one could see strands of white or violet arcs winding around the arm blades, appearing and disappearing, truly remarkable.

Opposite them stood a mantis woman who had previously clashed with Fulade, the Third Empress of Mantis civilization, Leila Bolante.

She still wore a V‑shaped armor that exposed her navel, widening upward and becoming ever more revealing.

Her big, bright eyes sparkled with a cute, naive glow, giving off a foolish‑cute impression.

"Of course, I've studied their route; these infiltrators will definitely return here." She was clearly very confident in her judgment.

As soon as she finished speaking, a series of loud, mocking noises erupted outside, and the two speakers' eyes lit up, exchanging a glance.

No longer hidden, they rushed toward the warehouse.

Crackling sounds rang out, arcs of electricity burst forth, a violet‑white lightning field bearing massive power instantly surged toward the source of the chaos.

Faintly, a flash of blade light suddenly ignited; at the chaos's core, a dozen Green Blade Bug Race warriors shivered, showing terror as they stared at the surrounding violet arcs, and just as they opened their mouths to explain, they were torn apart.

"What~!" the mantis‑person strongman, his body constantly crackling with violet arcs, turned his bewildered face toward the Third Empress Leila Bolante.

From his shocked gaze one could tell, "Is this…?"

Leila Bolante also stared blankly at everything before her, clearly astonished that she could so effortlessly slay the opponent in a single strike.

And in that stunned moment, a mantis‑person's voice suddenly rang from the other side of the camp: "General Made, the warehouse has been robbed!"

The warehouse—wasn't the warehouse fine?

As the surrounding guards collectively turned to look at the warehouse, bewildered, the Third Empress Leila Bolante and the Level Three mantis‑person General Made's expressions changed: "Not good!" Their voices rang out almost simultaneously.

Without hesitation, their figures flickered in succession, heading toward a secluded corner of the resource‑point base.

Facing the empty scene before them, Third Empress Leila Bolante's face turned a steely blue, her rounded twin peaks trembling continuously.

"Damn!"

Boom!! The Level Three Mantis General Ma De, with a sullen expression, casually swung aside; a cold blade flashed, dust rose, a huge fissure like a mouth that selects and devours appeared, accompanied by the sound of collapsing houses, suddenly emerging inside the base.

In the jungle.

"Sir, how did you discover they moved the warehouse?" This was an ordinary‑looking Witch, but she was wearing an Insect Puppet Clone, concealing herself.

The others also turned to Fulade, curious why Fulade was so certain.

Fulade smiled faintly: "If you were to devise a plan, knowing the opponent came for the warehouse's resources, what would you do?"

"Obviously we would relocate the supplies elsewhere."

"Even if we set an ambush, I would still move the supplies to prevent mishaps."

The group instantly showed a look of realization, their gazes toward Fulade filled with sudden reverence.

"Then, sir, how did you discover their relocation site?" someone asked, puzzled.

This time Fulade did not answer; instead, the Witch who had asked earlier explained on Fulade's behalf to the group.

"Since we know the warehouse has been moved, without knowing its location, we can feint east and strike west, luring all guards and ambushers together, making it clear at a glance."

"So that's how it is!"

"Where there are still guards, that is where the warehouse is!" the squad member instantly understood.

Everything interlocked, insight clear; indeed Fulade is worthy of the title.

"Since the mission is complete, let's hurry and make up time, return. Four days, if nothing goes wrong, will be enough for us to get back."

At Fulade's command, everyone headed west together, to the place where they installed the plane generator; the Spacetime Passage opened from there.

Three days later, evening.

The sky was slightly overcast, a light drizzle fell, moistening the small jungle before them.

A fresh scent mixed with floral and herb aromas, truly uplifting.

To the east, tens of thousands of li away, the sky above was rife with anomalies; the occasional energy turbulence, even from that distance, could be clearly felt as waves of pressure.

This caused the Dark World's gathered strong ones to repeatedly gaze toward that direction.

Faintly visible, a massive, pale‑golden terrifying aura was surrounded by successive flashes of cyan horror storms, rotating continuously around it.

Soon, the entire sky turned cyan.

These successive waves filled the sky, like a roaring dragon, relentlessly tearing apart everything around with terrifying storms.

It was the astonishing phenomenon created by Kuraji, a Level Four strongman of the Mantis Civilization, releasing a powerful wind law.

Amid those dozens of massive storms, a creature shrouded in black mist, kilometers in size, like a demonic deity, waved countless black tentacles sprouting from its body, exuding evil and terror, resisting the relentless onslaught of the cyan storms.

At this moment, the Dark World's invading raiders had all arrived, and only three hours remained before the Spacetime Passage would open.

It was evident that many had sustained serious injuries; clearly this operation was not without risk, and several figures had, after this mission, permanently remained here.

With a rustling of branches and leaves, Ma'erjin's party finally assembled.

At this point, less than half an hour remained before the passage opened.

As the time drew nearer, everyone's emotions grew increasingly tense.

"You're injured." Ma'erjin, who had just arrived, hadn't even finished scanning the surroundings when a slightly caring voice sounded in his ear.

Looking at Fulade as well, Ma'erjin unusually did not give Fulade a sour look: "I'm fine, just some superficial wounds."

"Why did you come so late?" Fulade asked.

Ma'erjin first scanned the surroundings, then gathered the dozen or so Bloodline Sorcerers behind him and aligned with Fulade's camp.

Also with Fulade was Malinfisen.

It could be seen that many figures were missing from Malinfisen's camp as well.

Even though this operation was thoroughly prepared, there remained considerable risk and unforeseen events.

The original force of over 280 now returned with fewer than 200, indicating that even though the Mantis Civilization is mired in war and has few personnel to guard resource points, it still retains substantial strength.

Even Fulade's team suffered notable losses, but fortunately Weiluona and the others were unharmed.

During the conversation with Ma'erjin, Fulade learned that her late arrival was because the team led by Boni. Liz had been pursued by a Level Three Mantis strongman.

It was Ma'erjin's timely appearance that rescued his sister Boni. Liz, but it almost delayed their return.

Upon hearing this, Fulade indeed noticed that Ailisi's mother, Boni. Liz, had a pale, bloodless face and a solid Magic Rune breastplate that had been split by a long crack, blood staining the white armor, a gruesome wound appearing before his eyes.

Seeing this, Fulade cast healing Blood Magic on her, but the stubborn energy corroding the wound limited its effect.

"It seems that Level Three Mantis who wounded you is no ordinary foe," Fulade said to Boni. Liz.

"Here, this should work well for your injury."

Fulade produced a fist‑sized Green Source spirit and handed it to Boni. Liz.

Seeing the high‑quality Green Source spirit brimming with vivid life energy, Boni's eyes lit up, and she looked at Fulade with a hint of gratitude.

Just as the few were conversing, a ripple of spatial disturbance suddenly arrived.

The Spacetime Passage is about to open!

(End of chapter)