Chapter 1698: The Battle Against the Fierce Insects

“Bloodthirsty Butterflies! We have a chance now.”

Han Li was no longer as ignorant as when he first entered the Spirit Realm. The moment he recognized these green butterflies, he gasped in shock before immediately bursting into wild excitement.

“It really is these vicious butterflies! Perfect. They are natural enemies of the Silver Tide Insects—once they meet, it’s a fight to the death.” Liu Shui’er also used a secret technique to clearly see the true forms of these green butterflies and was equally overjoyed.

“We do have a chance to escape now. But we must be careful not to get caught in their battle, or we’ll surely perish.” Shi Kun also perked up.

“At a time like this, the three of us shouldn’t stay together. Otherwise, we’ll be too conspicuous and risk being targeted by both types of deadly insects. Since we’re already more than halfway to the ruins’ forbidden zone, and we all know the map, we should split up and flee separately. Let’s regroup at the ruins in two months.” Han Li spoke calmly.

Hearing this, the other two were momentarily stunned.

But Shi Kun quickly snapped back to his senses and decisively agreed, “Brother Han makes a good point. The smaller the target, the easier it is to escape. Let’s do as he says—survival first, fate later.”

Liu Shui’er hesitated briefly, but after careful consideration, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

Thus, in this critical moment, the three exchanged only a few hurried messages before deciding on their separate escape routes.

By now, the green cloud in the distance had already swept close. Even without using any supernatural abilities, they could clearly see the overwhelming swarm of green butterflies with the naked eye.

Without hesitation, the butterflies let out a buzzing shift in tone—most of the green cloud surged toward the Silver Tide behind them, while a few smaller swarms charged straight at Han Li and the other fleeing beasts.

The Silver Tide, seeing this, was equally unyielding. It split into two as well—most of the silver torrent clashed head-on with the green cloud, while several smaller streams continued chasing the fleeing beasts ahead.

The beasts fleeing alongside Han Li were thrown into chaos, but the more intelligent ones immediately realized this was their chance to escape.

Under the roars of the strongest among them, the beasts scattered in all directions—some transformed into cyclones and vanished, others rolled away in demonic mist, fleeing desperately.

“Go!” Han Li didn’t hesitate. With a low shout, thunder rumbled behind him as his Wind Lightning Wings unfurled.

With a single flap, he shot away like a streak of cyan-white light.

At the same time, Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun accelerated without a word, darting off in two other directions.

With Han Li’s full-speed Wind Lightning Wings, his speed was among the top three even among the thousand beasts. In just a few flashes, he left the others behind in his path, reaching the horizon in an instant before pausing to glance back.

What he saw chilled his heart.

Hundreds of slower-flying beasts had been caught in the clash between the two deadly insect swarms. The moment the green cloud and silver tide surged over them, the beasts vanished without a sound—not even a trace of their remains left behind.

As the green cloud and silver tide collided, the dense swarm of butterflies suddenly halted mid-air, their wings flapping wildly toward their enemies. A strange green wind erupted from their midst, rushing violently into the silver tide.

A chorus of eerie screeches erupted as countless silver-winged insects, each only a few inches long, began falling from the silver tide.

Several green clouds surged forward, swallowing the fallen silver insects whole before dispersing—leaving no trace behind.

Han Li’s eyes flashed with blue light, allowing him to see clearly—many of the butterflies that had devoured the silver insects now bore crimson spots on their bodies.

Despite the Bloodthirsty Butterflies’ deadly poison, the sheer number of silver insects was overwhelming, and many of the stronger ones resisted the toxin.

After the poisonous wind passed, tens of thousands of silver insects still plunged into the butterfly swarm. At first, they were devoured without return, but as more and more silver insects surged in, the two swarms finally collided completely.

Buzzing and screeching filled the air as butterflies and silver insects rained down from the sky, only to be swallowed by the swarms behind them.

The silver insects clearly had a stronger devouring ability, but the butterflies were covered in lethal poison—a few flaps of their wings could disorient and incapacitate their foes.

Yet both sides fought with ruthless ferocity, indifferent to their own lives, locked in a stalemate.

Meanwhile, the smaller swarms that had split off to chase the beasts also scattered into countless smaller groups, pursuing their prey without overlapping targets.

Many beasts hadn’t gotten far before being overtaken, forced into desperate battles.

The roars of beasts and cries of insects intertwined, punctuated by occasional explosions.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, spotting Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun far in the distance—each trailed by a small silver stream and a tiny green cloud.

But he had no time to observe further. A glance revealed a silver tide of about a thousand insects ignoring other beasts and charging straight toward him.

Taking a deep breath, Han Li flapped his wings again, transforming into a streak of light and darting away.

This time, he flew for nearly an hour before looking back—there was no sign of pursuit.

Yet instead of relief, his brow furrowed slightly.

In the past few days, even when he and Liu Shui’er had outpaced these insects temporarily, they always reappeared inexplicably, no matter what concealment techniques they used.

After a moment of contemplation, Han Li snorted coldly. Black light flashed around him as a layer of black gauze materialized, rendering him completely invisible.

Now concealed, he drifted forward cautiously.

But half an hour later, as he floated along, his expression suddenly changed. He whirled around.

A moment later, a deafening buzz erupted from the horizon as a colossal silver insect, over ten feet in diameter, appeared in the sky.

With a single flap of its wings, it emitted a piercing shriek and vanished—only to reappear a hundred yards away, charging straight toward Han Li’s hidden position.

Han Li’s face darkened as his Brightsight Spirit Eyes pierced the illusion—the “giant insect” was actually a mass of a thousand silver insects clustered together.

Though he didn’t understand how the insects had tracked him despite the black gauze’s concealment, he knew one thing: he couldn’t leave safely without eliminating this swarm.

The Silver Tide Insects were terrifying not just for their numbers—each individual was formidable. Their bodies were incredibly tough, resistant to ordinary treasures, and their razor-sharp fangs and forelimbs could shred defenses with ease.

Ordinary treasures would be useless against them.

As the giant insect closed in, Han Li’s eyes flashed coldly. With a flick of his sleeve, a similar buzzing erupted as a hundred golden flowers shot out.

They swirled mid-air before expanding into half-foot-long golden beetles—mature Gold Devouring Beetles.

“Go!” Han Li commanded without hesitation, sweeping his sleeve toward the silver monstrosity.

The hundred Gold Devouring Beetles surged forward.

The silver giant, which had been charging fiercely, shuddered violently at the sight of them. With a shrill screech, it turned tail and fled.

But Han Li had no intention of letting it escape.

A thunderclap sounded behind him as he vanished in a flash of cyan-white lightning.

The next instant, he reappeared above the silver giant. Without a word, he flipped his hand—a black mountain shot out, expanding into a ten-foot peak before crashing down.

With a spin, a gray light erupted from its base, trapping the silver insects in a magnetic field.

The giant insect stiffened, its movements sluggish under the suppression.

With an enraged shriek, its massive form shattered into a thousand silver insects, which swarmed in one direction, devouring the surrounding light.

The magnetic field visibly weakened, but Han Li remained unfazed.

Because in that brief moment, the hundred Gold Devouring Beetles had already arrived beneath the black mountain.