Chapter 97: The Power of the Larva


    "Calm, composed, and unshaken, with combat instincts worthy of a master. You''re clever, too. The only flaw is your impulsiveness. Otherwise, you''d truly be a formidable opponent," the veiled woman said, her tone almost complimentary.


    Han Ming glanced around at the human women bound to the stone pillars, then turned his gaze back to the veiled woman and sneered, "Thanks for the praise. If you saw your own people being slaughtered by outsiders, you''d act just as impulsively."


    The veiled woman''s expression turned icy, her voice sharp as frost. "How do you know our snake clansmen haven''t been slaughtered by humans? What do you know? Haven''t humans killed enough of us? If it weren''t for our deep-seated hatred for humans, why would we go out of our way to provoke them? Our women have been violated and even publicly traded by humans. If we hadn''t learned to retreat and protect ourselves, the snake clans might have already vanished from this world!"


    Han Ming wasn''t surprised. For an outsider to slaughter human women so mercilessly, there had to be deep-seated hatred behind it. Otherwise, such actions would be unimaginable.


    "As the saying goes, ''every debt has its debtor, every grievance its cause.'' I believe what you''re saying, and on a personal level, I apologize to your snake clan. But indiscriminately capturing and killing innocent humans? That makes you no better than the worst of humanity."


    "What a sharp tongue! Let''s see if your skills are as sharp as your words!"


    The veiled woman was clearly angered by Han Ming''s retort. She glared at him, her pale arms tinged with a faint bluish hue slowly rising. Her hands swayed rhythmically, the silver bells on her wrists jingling softly.


    *Ding ling ling... Ding ling ling...*


    The crisp sound of the bells echoed through the hall.


    Han Ming''s expression turned serious. He took a cautious step back, watching the veiled woman''s movements warily. He didn''t know what she was up to, but a sense of unease crept over him.


    Sure enough, moments later, a faint buzzing sound reached his ears. The noise grew louder and louder until, from another entrance of the hall, a swarm of black insects flew in. The snake clansmen cheered excitedly at the sight.


    The insects hovered like a dark cloud above the veiled woman, their bodies slightly larger than the ones Han Ming and his companions had faced before.


    "Let''s see how you handle our snake clan''s insect swarm," the veiled woman said, pointing at Han Ming.


    The swarm, obeying her command, surged toward Han Ming in waves.


    Han Ming took another step back.


    If he tried to fight these insects head-on, he''d be torn to shreds. But he wasn''t overly worried. He had something far more terrifying in his arsenal—the larva of the Devouring Rainbow Butterfly. This little creature was a true monstrosity, far more fearsome than any swarm of insects.


    Han Ming sent a mental command.


    The small red larva in his pocket stirred, waking from its slumber. It released a presence only insects could sense, a dominance that struck fear into the hearts of lesser creatures.


    The swarm of insects, now inches from Han Ming, suddenly froze in mid-air. They trembled, overwhelmed by the larva''s oppressive aura. It was a primal fear, a racial hierarchy they couldn''t defy.


    The veiled woman''s face paled. "What''s happening? Why are the insects disobeying me? What did you do?"


    Han Ming smirked coldly. "Disperse."


    The larva unleashed an even more intense aura. The swarm panicked, scattering in every direction like mad. Some insects, too close to Han Ming, dropped to the ground, paralyzed with fear.


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    "You! What are you!? Are you even human? Why do the insects fear you?" The veiled woman was genuinely shocked. She had never seen anything like this. Insects, afraid? It was unthinkable. Since learning the art of insect cultivation from her elders, she had never heard of insects fearing any race. Even when commanded to fly into flames, they obeyed without hesitation.


    Han Ming chuckled. "I''ll give you one last chance. Release the human women, and I''ll pretend this never happened. Two of my friends died at your hands, and many of your clansmen fell to us. As for the grievances between our races, I don''t care to intervene. If you want revenge, go after the humans who wronged you. Don''t take it out on the innocent."


    The veiled woman sneered. "Oh? Or what?"


    Han Ming knew further words were pointless. He shook his head helplessly. "I didn''t want it to come to this. I respect all life. I''d rather raise it myself than let it kill indiscriminately. But today, since you refuse to see reason, I have no choice. After all, I still want to live."


    "What?"


    Before the veiled woman could react, Han Ming untied a small cloth pouch from his waist. He opened it and placed it gently on the ground, murmuring something under his breath.


    From the pouch emerged a small red larva.


    "What... what is that?" The veiled woman, with her heightened senses, immediately felt an inexplicable danger emanating from the creature.


    The larva, as soon as it touched the air, scurried toward a nearby snake clansman at the speed of a running human.


    The clansman, curious, raised his foot to crush it.


    *Squish!*


    The clansman stomped on the larva, then burst into laughter. "I thought you were going to do something impressive, but this? Just a scare tactic?"


    Han Ming felt a pang of doubt. After all, this was just a larva. It couldn''t even teleport—it could only crawl. Was it really so fragile that a single stomp could kill it?


    But the clansman''s laughter abruptly stopped. A black line began to spread from his foot, rapidly climbing up his leg. The line split into countless threads, covering his entire body in seconds. The clansman''s mouth opened, but only a choked gurgle escaped before he collapsed, lifeless.


    At his feet, the red larva wriggled free, unharmed, and scurried toward another clansman.


    "Danger! Get away!" the veiled woman shouted, spraying a stream of green venom at the larva.


    The venom sizzled as it landed on the larva, which curled up and stopped moving.


    "No way! Did it really die that easily?" Han Ming regretted releasing the larva. It was still just a larva, after all. Before metamorphosis, it was fragile, relying on its adult form for protection. He had been reckless to use it.


    But then, to everyone''s astonishment, the larva twitched. The green venom covering its body began to dissolve, vanishing completely.


    The larva rolled over, spat out a glob of the same green venom, and scurried toward the nearest clansman. The venom struck the clansman, who screamed as his flesh began to rot and smoke. The larva climbed onto his foot, and black lines spread rapidly through his body. Within moments, he too collapsed, dead.


    "Haha! It actually absorbed the venom!" Han Ming was thrilled. He had thought the Devouring Rainbow Butterfly could only drain life force, but it seemed it could consume venom as well.


    However, the larva could only expel the venom it absorbed, not produce its own. It spat several globs, poisoning more clansmen, then happily rolled around before darting toward the remaining snake clansmen.


    The veiled woman, horrified, flung several long needles at the larva, pinning it to the ground.


    "Is it finally dead?" she wondered, her heart racing.


    Han Ming watched anxiously. The needles had clearly pierced the larva''s body, pinning it firmly.


    But then, the needles twitched and were absorbed into the larva''s body. The creature sprang back to life, spitting the needles out with deadly accuracy. They pierced the skulls of several clansmen, killing them instantly.


    "What!? It can even absorb our venomous needles!?" The veiled woman was terrified. The larva''s ability to consume solid objects was beyond comprehension.


    Han Ming, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "This little guy is unstoppable! It eats everything and spits it back out. Even if it''s not as terrifying as the adult Devouring Rainbow Butterfly, it''s still a nightmare!"


    The remaining snake clansmen panicked, fleeing in all directions.


    The veiled woman, her face pale, shook the silver bells on her wrists again.


    From the hall''s entrance, several massive insects crawled in—the same kind Han Ming had seen earlier in the sand pit. These were the adult forms of the smaller insects.


    The adults, obeying the veiled woman''s command, leaped toward the red larva, surrounding it.


    Han Ming watched nervously as the larva stood on its tiny tail, spinning in a circle as if delighted.


    One of the adults swallowed the larva whole.


    But within moments, black lines spread across the adult''s body. It collapsed, and the larva crawled out of its mouth, unharmed, and scurried toward the next adult.


    The remaining adults, terrified, leaped away, fleeing for their lives.


    Now, only Han Ming and the veiled woman remained in the hall.


    Han Ming, grinning, called the larva back. He reached out to pet it, but as his finger touched the larva, a black line began to spread up his hand.


    "Damn it!" Han Ming yanked his hand back, horrified. The black line vanished as soon as he broke contact. He sighed in relief. Thankfully, the larva recognized him as its master due to their soul contract and wouldn''t harm him. Still, he couldn''t touch it directly without risking his life.


    "Guess even I can''t handle it. Good thing I pulled back in time. Dying at the hands of my own pet would''ve been a real joke."