CHAPTER 268 TO CONQUER THE QUEEN OF THE DARK HEAVEN INSECTS

The strength of the Dark Heaven Insect at the third grade of the three-star level was similar to a spirit

manipulator at the Heavenly Stage, transcending a spirit manipulator at the primary level of the

Heavenly Stage even. Also, a spirit manipulator master at the advanced level of the Heavenly Stage

would not readily take on a Dark Heaven Insect of that ranking, more so, defeat it. Thus, even with his

strength at present and assured help from Uriah and Rubygon, Rocky was not entirely confident that he

could conquer and capture the Dark Heaven Insect he was now facing.

Fortunately, Rocky was quite experienced in the art of capturing Dark Heaven Insects. That aside, he

knew its weaknesses and how to immobilize it. Thus, notwithstanding the apparent challenges involved

in capturing it, he had some serious advantages that improved the odds of getting it alive.

For fear that any further delay would only cause him more trouble, Rocky promptly teamed up with

Uriah and Rubygon to launch a potent offense against the Dark Heaven Insect. While his war beasts

dashed at the insect, he bided his time, brandishing an arrow, waiting patiently like a predator stalking

its prey. He knew the insect would sooner expose its Achilles' heel under the joint attacks, leaving it

vulnerable to the swift strike of his arrow. That would be the perfect time to deal a fatal blow. It was the

best plan he could come up with at the time. And it was slightly failsafe.

Uriah's power had improved as quickly as Rocky had grown in strength. In a general sense, the spirit-

manipulated beast of a spirit manipulator grew in power as its master became stronger. If the strength

of the spirit manipulator continued to grow, then all aspects of the spirit-manipulated beast would

improve as well. Rocky was well on his way to make the eighth grade of the Earthly Stage, which was

the primary condition for his spirit-manipulated beast to reach the third grade of the three-star level.

Hence, the quicker Rocky's strength grew to the eighth grade of the Earthly Stage, the faster Uriah

would become a beast of the third grade of the three-star level.

Consequently, with its improvement in strength, Rocky observed Uriah had a noticeable change in its

fighting ability. The last time, Uriah was unable to defeat a Dark Heaven Insect at the second grade of

the three-star level. This time, however, Uriah was much fiercer, more energetic, and full of superiority

and momentum in facing an even stronger insect. Uriah had made for the insect without hesitation,

initiating a vicious attack.

While the insect appeared stunned to see such strong opponents, its attacking actions were notably

cautious. Relying on its characteristic hard, durable exoskeleton, the insect defended all the attacks

with no small effort. Although, from time to time, it would use its massive size to its advantage by

colliding with and counterattacking its attackers. As the fight ensued, the insect moved, razing the

woods around the areas it passed in an instant-an apparent depiction of its strength and power.

For Rubygon, who fought by Uriah's side, there was no sign of weakness or slowing down. If anything,

it grew even stronger from how it consistently came to Uriah's aid, dashing at the insect from the side.

Rocky's two war beasts seemed to have some unspoken cooperation between them, and their

correlated attacks appeared to infuriate the insect. However, a Dark Heaven Insect at the third grade of

the three-star level was the most powerful of all Dark Heaven Insects. So, even though the insect

appeared suppressed by Uriah and Rubygon, it was not becoming weaker in any way.

The three beasts were locked in a fierce stalemate. It was such a fierce fight; it was hard to tell who

would triumph over the other.

All the while, Rocky didn't initiate any attack. He silently observed the fight, training his eye on his prey.

He believed in Uriah and Rubygon's ability to open up an opportunity for a fatal attack on the insect at

any rate.

After some 15 minutes of fierce fighting, Uriah and Rubygon were beginning to show signs of content rights.

weariness and panted heavily. Rubygon, in particular, who was less stronger than Uriah, had expended

most of its physical strength and could only manage to stand next to Uriah. It rested before resuming its

attack again. For the Dark Heaven Insect itself, it had its worst experience yet. It was fast tiring out from

fending off the attacks of the two spirit-manipulated beasts. And for the first time in its life, the Dark

Heaven Insect felt less fierce and energetic and even vulnerable.

Uriah, who was now fighting solo, made for the insect again, digging its keen talons into the hard

exoskeleton of the insect. The Dark Heaven Insect let out a piercing cry, flashes of light erupting from

the breach in its skin-its infallible defense.

Fueled by rage, the insect stopped defending, engaging Uriah in swift attacks. Rocky, who'd begun to

become complacent about the situation, brandished his arrow with renewed interest as he noticed the

insect growing powerful as its rage grew. The Dark Heaven Insect deflected a blow from Uriah,

responding with a deadly counterattack of its own. It threw its magnificent frame, which compared to

the size of a war tank, at Uriah. The poor beast whose strength had depleted significantly could not

move in time to avoid the collision. The insect bumped violently into Uriah, sending the latter sailing into

the air before kissing the ground in an earsplitting thud. The inertia at the moment was so powerful that

it left traces of Uriah's impact on the ground.

Seeing such an impromptu attack performed to perfection greatly encouraged the Dark Heaven Insect.

And for the first time since the battle began, it wanted to chase after its attacker and ensure it was dead

indeed. Seconds later, the insect was dashing towards Uriah's sprawled frame, moving its huge body at

an incredible pace. As it neared its target, the Dark Heaven Insect raised both its forelimbs, slamming

them violently into Uriah, mimicking playing a percussion instrument.

Uriah endured the poundings from the Dark Heaven Insect, biding its time for a prime attack. The

moment came when the insect raised its forelimbs in attack; Uriah shook both its fiery tails, launching a

fireball at the insect. The fireball caught the insect slightly below the head, just under the chin,

exploding in a loud bang. Sparks erupted in several directions. While the fireball didn't mainly count as

a deadly strike, the speed and point-blank range had frozen the insect in mid-air, long enough for its

weak spot to be left unguarded.

Rocky, who had been waiting for this moment since forever, pulled back on his bow, letting fly a bone

arrow stained in the venom of a Centipede-snake. The bone arrow cut through the air with a whoosh,

sailing as swift as a shooting star. It soon erupted in a blaze of light as Rocky's power combined to

propel an even deadlier strike. The arrow met its contact, sinking into the hind leg of the Dark Heaven

Insect.

A bang erupted, sending waves of dust spiraling in all directions. Rocky, who had ducked for cover,

observed that the bang had been the insect collapsing to the ground, hard. The venom had paralyzed

its hind leg, making it incapable of supporting the hulking mass of the insect.

Rocky was wild with excitement but willed himself to remain calm and focused. The ordeal was far from

being over. He stepped out towards the insect, producing the Frozen Wind Dagger, which he infused

with the power of the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage. He began to run towards the insect, determined

to claim victory in one swing. Uriah, who had been watching the tactical approach of his master,

seemed to gain renewed strength, for it rose, shook itself, and dashed towards the insect.

Realization dawned on the Dark Heaven Insect on how precarious a situation it was in. It let out an

effortful yelp, producing two mighty wings from its sides. Both wings began to beat in flight, stirring up a

strong dust wave, which blinded Rocky and Uriah temporarily.

Rocky strained to see in the sandstorm, but it was helpless. However, his senses tingled, warning of

something approaching. While his disposition remained mostly unchanged, Rocky moved cautiously to

avoid whatever was headed towards him. He heard a whip through the air, turning around to see a tail,

long and thick and full of spikes, like a scorpion's tail.

"When did Dark Heaven Insects begin growing tails?" Rocky could not believe his eyes. He was still

contemplating the spectacle he had witnessed when the storm began to clear, revealing the insect with

the magnificent tail attached to it somehow.

Rocky did a quick mental search of any information regarding Dark Heaven Insects in the Beast

Encyclopedia in his mind. It wasn't hard before he found a match. The record contained a single

sentence; it could be easily missed if a reader didn't watch it carefully. Should the spirit manipulators of

the Wild Spirit Land he was in now read the record, Rocky believed, they would not hesitate to battle

him for the insect.

The sentence read, "A Dark Heaven Insect with a scorpion's tail full of sharp spikes is the queen, and

only the queen can hatch the larvae." Rocky could not believe his luck. He had found the Dark Heaven

Insect Queen, which was so rare that it was regarded as the myth of the Beast Encyclopedia.

Moreover, only the queen was capable of producing the eggs and hatching the larvae of the Dark

Heaven Insect. In other words, the queen was key to the multiplication and continuation of the Dark

Heaven Insect species.

Everything was beginning to make sense to Rocky now: why it was surrounded by many spirit-

manipulated beasts earlier. Like the queen of any colony, it was being protected and looked after. He

understood immediately what that implied. The spirit-manipulated beasts were under the queen's

control. Rocky turned to face the Dark Heaven Insect Queen whimpering in the sand. Unexpectedly, a

series of strange events had led him to encounter such an extremely rare beast. The odds of the

encounter were one in a million. Thus, Rocky was thrilled by his good luck.