Tafel sat atop Vur’s head near the edge of his snout. The demon watched as the humans retreated from the battlefield, leaving the dragons and phoenixes to guard the web full of insects. “Them not being here shouldn’t be a problem, right?” she asked, looking down at Vur.

Vur nodded. “They didn’t do much.” In fact, even though all Vur was doing was standing in one spot while holding his upper legs up, he was doing the most work. His web caught, restrained, and left the insect-type Oebu Sin completely helpless. The dragons and phoenixes were doing their best to reduce the number of bugs stuck in the web, but there were too many; as such, the leftovers were left for Diamant to deal with. The mountain elemental had slain more bugs than the dragons and phoenixes combined, whacking the Oebu Sin when the threads dropped their bound bodies on the ground.

The humans had been slaying the bugs that were slicing the web apart with their mandibles, but even if they weren’t there, reinforcements—the phoenixes and dragons who had been left behind in the roost and Great Canopy—were on their way to the barbeque to replace them. Of course, not all the humans were leaving. The guilds left behind teams to kill and capture the bugs; after all, the Oebu Sin were made of good materials.

Vur turned his head to the side where Kim Hajun was approaching them from. The well-dressed man raised a hand, waving at the dragon. “I’ve convinced your aunt to help me,” Kim Hajun said. “Hopefully, I won’t need her assistance much … or at all.” He took in a deep breath through his nose before nodding at Vur. “It’s impossible to defeat the insect-type Oebu Sin because there’re simply too many of them. If you want to end the battle, you have to defeat the princess bug. It’s on the other side of the rift, and it’s also the bug maintaining it. Also, if you let it retreat, it’ll return to its hive and alert other princess bugs. If you think there’s a lot now, wait until the whole hive appears.”

Vur blinked. “So, if I capture this princess bug, I can let it go whenever to get barbeque delivered to me?”

Kim Hajun stared at Vur. Then, the well-dressed man turned to look at the web that practically encompassed the whole sky. It was squirming and wiggling, and bound insects dropped to the ground like rain. Perhaps, in the dragon’s mind, this apocalypse-like scenario for the tower really was just a free buffet for him and his family. Everything had a natural enemy; Vur must’ve been the insects’. Kim Hajun cleared his throat. “I know these bugs are delicious, and I know you’ll want to capture as many of them as possible, but please, remember us humans are going to do our best to stall the severed hand with your aunt’s assistance. We’re counting on you to finish things here in a timely manner.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“You’ll be fine since Auntie’s going to be there,” Vur said and looked at Tafel. “She likes bringing humans back to life.”

The demon nodded. “Yeah,” Tafel said. “She might seem cold on the outside, but she’s actually really caring deep down. She’ll make sure to keep you in good condition.”

Vur and Tafel didn’t even know how strong the severed hand was, yet they spoke with absolute confidence in their aunt. Also, what did it mean Lindyss was going to keep Kim Hajun in good condition? He wasn’t a product. “The severed hand is incredibly strong,” the well-dressed man said. “If your aunt tries to fight it by herself, she’ll be in danger. I know you’re not impressed by the Oebu Sin since you’re stopping one practically by yourself, but your ability just happens to counter these insects.”

Vur tilted his head. “How were you going to stop the severed hand without our help?” he asked, looking down at Kim Hajun.

“Ideally, I would’ve had several years to get stronger before the Oebu Sin arrived,” the well-dressed man said. If Vur’s group wasn’t around, would the insect-type Oebu Sin be attacking a tower this early? Would the severed hand still attack the tower without this major battle siphoning away the elite forces capable of harming the hand? The Oebu Sin was clearly exploiting an opening to get what it wanted from the tower—an opening that had been created by the group of variables messing up the timeline. “As for dealing with the severed hand, Ouyang Feng is the centerpiece of my plan. Despite being just a hand, it’s very moody and easily provoked. With the Martial Lord’s enemy-emotion-to-energy ability and the support of the remaining lords, he can fend it off.”

Vur tilted his head the other way. Earlier, Kim Hajun had said the severed hand was difficult to defeat. Now, he said the Martial Lord could defeat it. “If the Martial Lord can defeat it, is it really that strong?” Vur asked, looking at Tafel.

Tafel shrugged. “It could be Ouyang Feng’s innate ability counters the severed hand.”

“That’s precisely the case,” Kim Hajun said. “That being said, I don’t think I can afford to spend any more time here. The tower’s struggling with keeping the severed hand at bay. I’ve told you what you needed to know, what you decide to do with the princess bug is up to you.”

Vur nodded. “Okay,” he said before crossing his eyes to look at the tip of his snout. A few seconds later, Stella popped up, giving Vur a weird look.

“Did you do something just now?” the fairy queen asked.

“Yes,” Vur said, not bothering to elaborate. “What do you want to do with the princess bug?”

“What do I want to do with it?” Stella asked, pointing at herself while blinking. “These bugs aren’t cute at all; if the princess bug is just as ugly, we should eat it. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?”