The Veteran of Bug Wars: Reincarnated as a Transcendent Mantis - Chapter 78
Puhwak! My sword mercilessly shredded the antennae of the king centipede larva charging straight at me.
Kieeeek! The thing let out a agonized screech as it tumbled sideways. It wouldn't be coming to its senses anytime soon. That made one down.
Two left.
Even if I could subdue them, I still had no idea how to deal with Kiria lurking behind them—but I shoved the thought aside. That was a problem for after I'd handled the crisis right in front of me.
Kiiik! The remaining two king centipede larvae hesitated, having heard their comrade's pained scream, before freezing in place midway through their charge.
"Ugh, these things are impossible to control. I told you three to surround and pin him down—why are you messing up again?"
Kiria's irritated voice drifted down from above. From the looks of it, the one that had charged me headlong and gotten knocked aside had ignored her orders and acted on its own.
Lucky break.
Not that it made much difference in the grand scheme. Perfect control over primal species with mind control was still a pipe dream, it seemed. No wonder the Four Great Lords were so obsessed with finding a way to master it completely.
Shasha-shasha! The two remaining larvae circled me warily, spinning in tight loops. With one subdued, they seemed to be obeying Kiria's commands better now.
Sheeeek! Suddenly, one lunged from behind while circling.
But I'd been tracking their every move with my sixth sense.
Predator's Eye!
Thanks to the skill, countless weak points lit up across its body. As expected of a higher species—only activating Predator's Eye made them clearly visible.
Now!
I dodged the ambush and thrust my sword into the seam between its head and torso.
Thuk!Keeek!
My blade struck true along its exoskeleton's grain, cracking it wide open. A solid hit. The larva screeched in agony.
Kiiit! Seeing that, the last one barreled straight at me.
Sheeek! Its front leg whipped past, grazing my hair. A split-second slower, and it would've impaled my skull.
Those two front legs on centipedes served like fangs, laced with venom—their deadliest weapons. If that had landed, I'd have been in deep trouble.
"You idiots! I said subdue, not kill!"
Kiria, hovering in the air, bellowed with raw fury. A crushing pressure slammed down on us.
Urk.
My legs nearly buckled; I barely stayed upright. Even the frenzied king centipede larvae flattened themselves submissively, like tamed aphids.
It was akin to the predator's aura from that king mantis primal I'd faced before.
"This is your last chance. One more act of defiance, and you're scrap. Got it?"
Kii, kiit!
Whether they understood her warning or not, the larvae cried out in tense voices. They calmly encircled me again—and to make matters worse, the one I'd antenna-smashed earlier staggered back into the fray.
Surrounded by three, I knew I was out of options.
How can I turn this around... Ah!
One glaring detail caught my eye: the centipedes' fatal weakness! A way out flashed in my mind.
My lips curled into a natural smirk. Did that piss one off? The hotheaded one—the first I'd antenna-smashed—lunged from behind again.
Now!
I triggered High Jump on instinct.
Boom! I exploded upward with a thunderous roar, rocketing over the attacking larva's head.
Thunder Qi Gong!
I stomped down on its head as it passed beneath, reciting the incantation. Faint sparks crackled from my foot, compressing explosive power.
Its threatening mandibles made a perfect stepping stone. I unleashed the pent-up force without mercy.
Kwang!
The blast propelled me forward, breaking their encirclement. A lake gleamed ahead. I bolted straight for it.
Channeling thunder ether nonstop, my speed was incomparable to before.
Kieeeek! The larvae scrambled after me from behind.
I reached the lake's edge well ahead of them, switching to Wind Qi Gong and drawing wind ether into my sword.
Urk.
Freely swapping heart techniques was still beyond me. Agonizing pain twisted my ether circuits like they were tearing apart.
Without Origin Protection Rune, they might've ruptured entirely. But with it and Super Regeneration Rune, the damage knit back together swiftly.
I completed the Wind Qi Gong cycle, summoning wind ether at last.
Wind White Swordsmanship. Fourth Form: Gale Heart Rain.
The strike evoked "fierce winds and pounding rain," unleashing from my blade. It maximized destructive power by blending wind and water attributes—perfect for humid environments like underwater or lakeside battles.
That's why...
I swung toward the lake, adding centrifugal force and spinning my body back. Water from the lake fused with wind ether into a watery tempest around my sword.
I hurled it at the three charging king centipede larvae.
Shwaaaaa!
The deluge engulfed them.
Kii, kieeeek! Kiiie. Kiiiiiik.
Drenched and shredded by the vortex, they writhed on the ground, howling.
No wonder. Their critical weakness was water.
Centipedes respire through their exoskeletons. Dousing them disrupts breathing and scrambles their senses. Adults had some resistance, but for larvae? Devastating.
Time to finish this.
I gritted my teeth, switching back to Thunder Qi Gong. My circuits screamed again; blood surged up my throat.
My fragile injuries had burst open. But I trusted Super Regeneration. As the circuits healed, I channeled thunder into my sword.
No dedicated thunder forms yet, but enough to strike them all at once.
Pajijijizit!
Sparks erupted from the electrified water on their bodies, amplified manifold. The shock to their brains must've been massive.
Not dead, but definitely immobilized.
"Whoa, you're incredible! You just handled both wind and thunder ether, right? How? And without any treasures or badges."
Kiria, who'd watched from the air, clapped in admiration as she descended. She couldn't care less about the fainted larvae—her focus was entirely on my dual attributes.
Now she's onto my dual-ether use. I have to end this here, one way or another.
No running now; even if I could, it was too late. Word of this reaching the Four Great Lords would make me a prime target. Especially Craig, mad for profit—he'd capture me alive for experiments, reverse-engineering dual attributes to sell.
Explains the labs.
Craig's horrific facilities, infamous continent-wide for grotesque bio-experiments. Capture meant a one-way trip there.
"First freak with regenerating antennae I've seen like you. Got anything else?"
Curiosity dripping from her voice, Kiria raised her right hand skyward.
Paaaat!
Purple light stretched from her palm into a long spear. Its shaft bristled with hundreds of grotesque tiny legs.
Centipede clan trait!
The signature weapon granted upon reaching Complete Body, just as I'd seen pre-regression. It was key to centipedes claiming a Great Lord's seat.
"Entertain me. Who knows? I might even let you go."
I bit my lower lip at her smug tone. Being a Complete Body's plaything wasn't amusing, even as a joke.
Escape first, plan later.
Even marked by a Great Lord, survival came before revenge.
I still have an ace.
I mentally prepped Stealth. Good—she wasn't crushing me outright. That meant a window.
Muddle the situation, then vanish. Slim chance, but possible.
Predator's Eye.
I scanned her again, but it was like peering through fog—nothing. The level gap was too vast; no weaknesses showed.
"What, plotting to run? Take the chance while I give it."
She grinned, gripping her spear shaft. Eyes smiling, but cross her and she'd strike without mercy. Dilly-dally, and I'd lose a limb.
Can't even seize initiative.
I charged, slashing full-force.
Wind White Swordsmanship. Second Form: Twenty-Four Petal Divine Wind.
Whoosh! Winds whipped wildly with myriad variations—"the breeze as twenty-four spring blossoms bloom," perfect for dazzling foes.
Fwok!
But my sword didn't target her. Dust from the ground billowed around her instead.
Head-on is suicide.
No matter what, my blade wouldn't touch her. That's Complete Body realm.
Wind White Swordsmanship. Eighth Form: Typhoon Frenzy.
My sword danced fiercer, kicking up even more dust.
Now!
Eyes flashing, I triggered Stealth... or tried to.
Chwiiak!
Before she could counter, her casual thrust evaporated every speck of dust. Not blown away—gone.
Monster...
My body shivered instinctively, understanding the martial principle behind that strike.
Confirmed: Kiria was top-tier even among Complete Bodies.
"Clouding vision so I can't see? You didn't think dust would let you slip away, did you?"
Actually, yeah.
If Stealth had activated undetected, escape was viable. Crushing even that attempt stung.
Might've failed anyway... No other way?
If all else failed, I had a nuclear option: awakening the unknown entity buried in my subconscious. Tied to Megaera Mantis, no doubt.
Could I surface it? What happened to my consciousness? Unanswered questions, but better than centipede captivity.
"Nothing more? You used dual attributes earlier—why stop now?"
Bored, she jammed her spear into the ground and leaned on it.
If I had half... no, a fraction of my pre-regression power...
My grip tightened on my sword. Humiliating. Infuriating.
Think, Aleck. Even hornets can be escaped if you stay sharp. Cloud centipedes' weakness... Wait, cloud centipedes?
A memory surfaced: a lab subject from Craig's hellhole, strikingly vivid. Why now? But she resembled Kiria eerily.
Her name was...
Ah!
"...Kirin."
That was it. Similar to Kiria. As I murmured it softly,
"You—where'd you hear that name?"
Kiria's eyes widened in shock.