Chapter 488: Void Insect Race

Duke and Vivian exchanged glances, seeing an unprecedented gravity in each other’s eyes.

This was no simple monster riot or discovery of an unknown species; the crisis hidden behind it might far exceed imagination.

"We must report this immediately," Duke said in a deep voice and, without hesitation, used the Wizard’s Mark to contact Lucas.

He didn’t know if Lucas was available at the moment, so he sent over all the information he had gathered.

Duke relayed what he saw and heard, including the appearance of the demons, their resource-plundering behavior, high organization, individual strength, and the deduction that they were not indigenous, succinctly and clearly.

He originally thought Lucas might find this surprising, but unexpectedly, the other end of the Wizard’s Mark was silent for a moment, then responded with information imbued with a heavy "as expected".

"You’ve encountered them too," Lucas’s mental pulse carried a hint of fatigue and severity, "It seems their infiltration scope is broader than we estimated. Duke, the intelligence you’ve provided is significant; it confirms our recent findings."

"You already knew about these demons?" Duke’s heart stirred.

"Yes," Lucas affirmed, "Based on the collected samples and information, we have temporarily named this invasive species from an unknown other plane as the Void Insect Race."

The name sent a chill through Duke’s mind, realizing it truly was an invasive demon from another plane.

Lucas continued to relay information, his tone serious: "Based on limited analysis, this insect race possesses an extremely terrifying social structure and desire for expansion. They will establish a biological nucleus known as a nest, voraciously extract the resources of the world to hatch endless insect armies. The area you are in now has these demons, and it’s very likely there is a developing insect nest nearby."

"A nest?" Duke instantly associated this with the demons’ resource-plundering behavior.

"It must be found and destroyed before it fully activates and stabilizes its connection with the main nest. Once a nest grows, it can self-replicate and expand like a plague, hatching even more powerful and bizarre units. At that time, clearing them will cost ten times, even a hundred times more, possibly turning the entire Florence Continent into a wasteland," Lucas’s tone was quite heavy.

Duke’s face was solemn, finally understanding the Void Insect Race’s ultimate purpose in collecting resources: to support and construct a war fortress capable of producing endless armies.

Lucas immediately added, "I will send someone over to support you right away, but the distance is far and will take some time. During this period, stay there to stabilize the situation and try to find and destroy that nest."

"Of course, don’t take unnecessary risks; our understanding of the Void Insect Race is still very limited. The current focus is intelligence gathering. The Florence Continent lacks Extraordinary Power; if the Void Insect Race takes root there, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Duke understood Lucas’s meaning; the pinnacle force of the Florence Continent’s patrol is the Great Knight.

Such power is far too weak when faced with demons from another plane.

Although the Florence Continent is impoverished and lacks Extraordinary Power, it is also vast, home to many ordinary people.

Should the Void Insect Race develop there, all life, and resources here would become fodder for them, making it difficult to handle later.

Even if Lucas hadn’t mentioned it, Duke and Vivian would choose to stay after understanding this.

Because this is their homeland, with familiar family and friends, they could not abandon them and leave alone.

Vivian had already contacted the Thorn Holy Tower and informed Grace of the situation.

However, it seemed that Grace was unaware of the Void Insect Race; she only learned about it after contacting other wizards at the Thorn Holy Tower.

Similar incidents had been reported several times across various areas of the Wizard Plane, but it had not yet captured the attention of the higher-ups, with various Wizard Organizations still investigating the matter independently.

Because the Void Insect Race typically chooses to build nests in deserted places, far from human settlements, they are often hard to detect.

Duke also informed Lucas of the location of the island where he encountered the Void Insect Race, and Lucas noted it down, planning to report it for further processing.

According to the habits of the Void Insect Race, there must be a nest nearby that island, though Duke and the others didn’t discover it at the time.

Back then, Duke hadn’t given it much thought, assuming it was a type of demon he hadn’t seen before.

Now it seemed the problem was not that simple.

Rein gripped his longsword tightly; although the concepts of planes and the Void Insect Race were unfamiliar and shocking to him, he was very clear on the need to destroy the origin of the threat against his home.

"We must find that nest," Duke said in a determined voice, his gaze directed toward the forest’s depths, where an increasingly intense source of ominous energy emanated.

"How do we find it? This forest is vast," Rein tightened his grip on the sword hilt, although full of fighting spirit, he understood how challenging it would be to find a deliberately hidden nest in the vast forest.

"They need to transport resources," Vivian reasoned clearly, pointing to the drag marks and footprints left behind by the insect race on the ground. "Following these traces, they will ultimately converge at the same place, which is the nest’s location."

Duke nodded, "Not only that, but the flow of energy fluctuations in the air serves as a guide. These insects are not only plundering physical resources but also drawing Earth Vein Energy. The closer to the nest, the clearer the signs of energy extraction are, and the environment will become increasingly desolate."

Having identified the direction, the three immediately took action.

Duke expanded his Spiritual Power perception to the maximum, meticulously discerning the faint energy flows in the air, as if capturing a fleeting thread in the dark.

He also deployed the Eye of Darkness to conduct surveillance in the Shadow Space.

Vivian handled the perimeter defense, her senses equally sharp, vigilantly guarding against any possible insect patrols.

Rein focused on observing the environment and leading the way; he was very familiar with this forest, having spent much time here over the years.

He wouldn’t be responsible for any main combat, and Duke, along with Vivian, wouldn’t let him take such a risk.

They advanced with extreme caution, avoiding open areas as much as possible, utilizing withered trees and rugged terrain as cover.

The deeper they went, the more shocking the surrounding scene became.

The once dense forest had completely disappeared, replaced by vast expanses of bare land covered with dark purple fungal blankets, as if the earth had some kind of malignancy.

The air was suffused with a stench so overwhelming it almost turned tangible, making one feel nauseous.