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Kim Hajun stared at the insect-type Oebu Sin, a foe he hadn’t expected to face until much later. Perhaps he would’ve had other methods to handle the bugs, but he wasn’t given the luxury of time. The only thing he could prepare was the field of siege weapons ahead of him and the lords. With the massive web restraining the insects’ advance and the sheer number of the bugs, it would be very difficult to miss an attack. However, they still had to aim.
“Don’t you dare hit a dragon or phoenix!” Jasmine shouted. The Wind Lord retrieved a triangle instrument from her root bracelet and poised herself to strike it. A piercing ringing sound raced through the air, causing everyone, humans, dragons, phoenixes, and insects alike to wince as if a ghost had flown through their chests. “Wind cannons! Fire!”
One hundred glossy metal cannons shone with green lights as runic etchings appeared on their surfaces. Wind swirled, a vortex forming around the siege weapons, the cannons’ gaping maws sucking in as much air as possible. The sounds of rushing wind grew louder and louder before suddenly falling silent. Then, explosion after explosion rang out as the cannons fired heated balls of compressed air towards the Oebu Sin.
The humans in charge of guarding the siege weapons cheered as some of the insects trapped in the web burst apart. The threads were set ablaze before dropping towards the ground, creating an opening for several Oebu Sin to burst through unhindered. The dragons and phoenixes up front turned their heads, giving nasty looks at the group of humans before dealing with the bugs that came through.
Vur detached the burning portions of the web and replaced them with more threads. He glanced down at the white mist spewing out of his claws, and a frown appeared on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Stella asked. “Did they burn too much?” She peered at the hole left behind in the web by the previous wind cannon attacks. It was slowly being repaired, bugs still flying out of it. “I know we have a whole bunch of phoenixes and dragons, but that’s a lot of bugs. If you think you can’t hold them back anymore with your net, let me know, so I can hide.”
Vur shook his head. “Maintaining the web is easy,” he said. “But my paws are full, and I want to snack on some bugs.”
“Hey!” Stella said, shouting down at the phoenixes and dragons. Vur wasn’t in his enlarged state, so she they remained within hearing range. “Cook one of those bugs and feed it to Vur! Maintaining such a large web on an empty stomach is bound to make anyone grumpy, and you don’t want to deal with a grumpy Vur, do you?”
“Quick, feed him!” a phoenix shouted before the fairy queen even finished speaking.
Kim Hajun’s brow furrowed upon seeing a dragon step aside to cook a bug for Vur in the middle of a fate-deciding battle. Meanwhile, the lords were having a hushed discussion, deciding on the best course of action. After a few seconds of discussion, a group of lords, led by Ouyang Feng, split off from the group, taking their underlings with them.
Jasmine shook her head as the group walked away. “I’ll never understand the people who want to fight on the frontlines,” she said. “Isn’t it much safer standing in the back while attacking at range? I don’t understand what’s to hate about it.” The Wind Lord turned her head to the side where Sir Selddup was approaching them from. On top of the dog, Ashley was sitting and sipping on a blue, bubbly liquid in a glass. Jasmine waved. “You’re finally here.”
Ashley and Sir Selddup glared at the Wind Lord, causing her to raise an eyebrow. The Light Lord shook her head before turning towards Kim Hajun. “You’ve fought these bugs in your prophetic dream, right? How does the fighting now compare to then?”
Kim Hajun stared up at the sky. Although he hated to admit it, right now, the tower was doing a lot better than when the insects had first appeared in his prophetic dream. When the insects had first shown up, they slaughtered everything near the aulertu trees. Then, after securing the insect gold, they set up hatcheries in the sword mountain range and continuously pumped out an army after army of insect soldiers. Right now, all the insect gold had already been gathered, and the bugs hadn’t killed any individuals yet. “We’re doing great. The web is playing a major role in reducing casualties.”
Kim Hajun exhaled. Even if Geomi were to appear and weave a web similar to Vur, it wouldn’t last. Somehow, Vur’s web was stronger, more abundant, and easier to maintain. If the large caterpillar ever found out, Kim Hajun wasn’t sure how it’d feel about that.
Ashley nodded. The insects were capable of cutting through the threads with their mandibles, but Vur’s web repaired itself with every passing moment, forcing each insect to cut its own way out. Ashley spotted one such insect and raised her rifle, shooting at it without taking time to aim. The insect stopped moving, and a phoenix plucked it out as if it were a grape on a vine. “What do we do with the Oebu Sin corpses?” the Light Lord asked Kim Hajun. Normally, research would have to be done on a new material to figure out what it could be used for, but with a prophet, a lot of research steps could be saved.
“The armor is sturdy and resistant against most acids,” Kim Hajun said. “There’s layers of furry flesh attached to the carapace, and those can be harvested for insulation against both freezing and burning temperatures. Their flesh is also rich in nutrients; you’ll grow stronger if you eat it when it’s cooked correctly. Their mandibles can obviously be used as slicing weapons or turned into ammunition for projectiles.” Kim Hajun nodded. “Their wings are also surprisingly useful as sandpaper, and their eyeballs, once hollowed out, make great helmets.”