CHAPTER 270 THE NEW EMERGENCY

The last time Rocky dealt with two Dark Heaven Insects at the same time was comparatively harder.

His power was weaker the last time. This time he went against a four-star Dark Heaven Insect Queen

at the third grade. Though he was already extremely exhausted for his present encounter, Uriah and

little Rubygon were both more powerful so he had nothing to worry about.

Little Rubygon in particular had the potential to be a three-star spirit-manipulated beast at the first

grade, an equivalent of a spirit manipulator at the Earthly Stage. Without Uriah and little Rubygon, it

was impossible for Rocky to subdue the Dark Heaven Insect Queen.

The Dark Heaven Insect Queen was at a disadvantage when one of its hind legs was injured. It tried to

use its fierce spiked scorpion tail but to no avail. Rocky retaliated with a surprise attack that hit the Dark

Heaven Insect Queen. The Dark Heaven Insect Queen's most effective attack was disabled. Its

movement was impaired and this made it easier to deal with.

But a head-on confrontation with the Black Heaven Insect Queen was still dangerous. So Rocky

decided to approach it with a well-planned strategy.

Uriah, little Rubygon and Rocky all contributed to the victory. Rocky just recently improved from the holds text © rights.

second grade of the Earthly Stage to the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage. Most spirit manipulators

spent several years to a decade in order to achieve a similar amount of improvement. But Rocky

achieved that much improvement in a matter of a few months; an achievement that most spirit

manipulators considered impossible. Rocky's current power level was a major contributor to the Dark

Heaven Insect Queen's defeat.

A Dark Heaven Insect Queen laid eggs that hatched into larvae of Dark Heaven Insects. Similar to

three-star Dark Heaven Insects at the third grade, the Dark Heaven Insect Queen bred Dark Heaven

Eggs at the premium stage, and these were highly valued for their ability to assist in the cultivation of

spirit manipulators at the Heavenly Stage. With the assistance of the Dark Heaven Eggs, the

improvement of spirit manipulators beyond the Heavenly Stage produced was close to twice the effect

with only half the effort. This was why many spirit manipulators at the Supernal Stage preferred the

Dark Heaven Eggs.

Capturing the Dark Heaven Insect Queen was like catching golden coins dropped from heaven.

Although it required great effort to capture one, the benefits of a successful capture greatly outweighed

the cost and risks.

"We're done here," Rocky declared to Uriah and little Rubygon. His problem was how to transport the

Dark Heaven Insect Queen back. The last time he captured two Dark Heaven Insects, he was fortunate

to loot two lumber wagons. He then used the wagons to transport the two Dark Heaven Insects back

with him. Without any means of transport, Rocky had no choice but to use an old transport method.

Uriah made use of magical saliva and ran in front of the Dark Heaven Insect Queen to lead it back as

the queen chased after Uriah.

Rocky was about to put his plan into action, when a thunder light rushed towards him from one side.

"Who is there?" Rocky exclaimed as he quickly moved away from the path of the thunder light. A figure

with an aura of the Heavenly Stage appeared before Rocky.

"Are you a spirit manipulator from the Timber Deity Empire?" Rocky asked as he studied the figure

before him. The appearance of a timber spirit manipulator from the Timber Deity Empire was

unexpected, especially not one with the power of the spiritual race that matched a royal spirit

manipulator of the Holy Dragon Empire.

The only thought in Rocky's mind was that he was in big trouble.

The newcomer was surprised when he saw a subdued Dark Heaven Insect Queen. The aura that he

sensed from Rocky was very weak; he couldn't possibly have defeated the Dark Heaven Insect Queen.

The presence of Uriah and little Rubygon that stood at the ready on both sides of Rocky surprised him

further. He assumed that the two were the spirit-manipulated beasts of Rocky. Under normal

circumstances, a spirit manipulator only had one spirit-manipulated beast at any given time. He had

never seen nor heard of a spirit manipulator who controlled two spirit-manipulated beasts at the same

time. This realization brought him more awe than surprise.

"Who are you?" the timber spirit manipulator asked casually.

"Me?" Rocky replied smiling. It was folly to tell the timber spirit manipulator his true identity for his

spiritual power was almost completely depleted. He was no match for him at this state. At his best,

Rocky had a good chance to beat the timber spirit manipulator before him. He wisely decided not to

confront him at his current state.

A quick recollection of the items that he had with him gave Rocky an idea. He quickly brought out a

small token with a flame-shaped sign and flashed it before the timber spirit manipulator. He found the

token together with three other treasures when he encountered the mummy. "I'm from the Roaring

Flame Empire," Rocky said while showing the marked token.

"You're from the Roaring Flame Empire?" the timber spirit manipulator asked skeptically. He hesitated

as he looked at Rocky one more time. Rocky's appearance did not fit a typical spirit manipulator from

the Roaring Flame Empire. Moreover, he was also perplexed with the token in Rocky's hand. In

addition to representing a citizen of the Roaring Flame Empire, the token also embodied the status of

its bearer. The token that Rocky had with him told the timber spirit manipulator that Rocky was a citizen

of the Roaring Flame Empire who was held in great honor.

The Roaring Flame Empire and the Timber Deity Empire had a secret alliance. The timber spirit

manipulator hesitated at the sight of Rocky's token. He was unsure if it was a good idea to reveal his

true intent. At length, he greeted Rocky and said, "I see. We are allies. What brought you here? What

happened to that Dark Heaven Insect?"

'Allies!? The Roaring Flame Empire and the Timber Deity Empire are allied with one another!?' Rocky

voiced within himself in overwhelming surprise. He replied back in a neutral tone, "I'm a collector that

specializes in gathering valuable materials from different spirit-manipulated beasts."

"A collector?" The timber spirit manipulator was shocked for he had never heard of anyone who was a

collector.

"Were you the one who subdued the Dark Heaven Insect?" the timber spirit manipulator asked. He

stared at the Dark Heaven Insect Queen lying on its stomach, with greed in his eyes. His initial

assessment told him that it was a three-star Dark Heaven Insect at the third grade, but he didn't know

that it was a rare Dark Heaven Insect Queen.

"Yes and no," Rocky replied playfully.

"What do you mean?" the timber spirit manipulator asked puzzled. He failed to realize that Rocky

played with him.

"I found it in a weakened state. I believe it was dying. I took advantage of the situation and shot a few

arrows to weaken it further. Now I am going to gather anything valuable that it has," Rocky replied

calmly.

"Really?" The timber spirit manipulator was suspicious of Rocky's response. Avarice blazed in his eyes.

A brief observation quickly revealed that the timber spirit manipulator was a merciless and wicked man.

He merely waited for the slightest flaw in Rocky's statements and he would kill Rocky without

hesitation. The token that Rocky possessed granted Rocky a slight defense from the timber spirit

manipulator's vigilance. He could not completely dismiss Rocky's words for the token signified that

Rocky was a person of great honor.

The presence of the timber spirit manipulator complicated things for Rocky, however. Transporting the

Dark Heaven Insect Queen back was impossible while the timber spirit manipulator was in the vicinity.