The group from Xijiang University also disappeared into the distance, leaving Honda and Ran Hongxia quietly waiting on Chengxi Avenue. Even the survivors rushing by couldn't help but turn back frequently, marveling at the two women's beauty.
Both were beautiful and spirited young women, unlike Honda, who was serious and earnest. Ran Hongxia possessed a youthful aura, while Honda, with her solid foundation, the bloodline of the Female Ivy Queen, and the results of her recent cultivation, exuded an ethereal quality, as if she were a fairy about to ascend to the celestial realm. Their waiting here was quite conspicuous, but due to the impending insect plague, no one dared to linger. Of course, no presumptuous gentleman dared to disturb them; the powerful aura surrounding Honda was also a factor.
"By the way, Sister Honda. What is your inheritance?" Ran Hongxia asked curiously. For a while, Honda had been elusive, rarely seen and always in seclusion. Later, because she was collecting resources, the two rarely got to meet. At this moment, Ran Hongxia observed Honda with curiosity, sensing her power. However, she didn't know how much stronger Honda was than herself!
"I have three inheritances in total," Honda said, glancing at Ran Hongxia without concealing his power. He then began to speak to her, showing her what he had obtained.
"That's great! You and Li Jiayu both have your own exclusive weapons." Ran Hongxia looked at the Sake Immortal Sword and the Purple Gold Gourd in Honda's hand, as well as the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Dragonfly Cutter, which was still incompletely fused and was currently a lump of liquid. She expressed her envy for you whales who spend so much money on in-game purchases!
As an awakened swordsman, Ran Hongxia didn't have a good sword. Although the swords made by the metal awakeners at Xijiang University were not bad, they were still made of ordinary iron and broke after a few battles! The quality of their weapons was far inferior to those of Honda and Li Jiayu.
When Ran Hongxia said those words, Honda gave her a strange look. "You'll have your own exclusive weapon someday," Honda thought, but didn't say it aloud. That 'forgiveness-colored divine knife' that had driven Li Jiayu wild... Honda couldn't help but get goosebumps. How could such a heartless and insane thing exist in the world?! Later, the aura of this knife almost caused Li Jiayu to lose her virginity to Li Wuxin. It's terrifying; this guy must be stopped from courting death.
"Crack! Crack!" As the two were talking, the sky seemed to shatter!
Spatial rift! A massive spatial rift opened directly above the city! Colorful swarms of insects were spewed out from the rift!
The survivors who were still lingering in the city panicked. How could this be! The spatial rift had opened ahead of schedule! Then came a frantic escape, filled with cries of "Daddy, Daddy!" But many of them had families with them; how could they possibly escape the insects?
"Wasn't there still an hour left? Why did it start earlier again!" Ran Hongxia said in surprise.
"Where's Li Jiayu? Why is he so slow!" Ran Hongxia paced anxiously back and forth, but Honda didn't answer her. Silently activating his Heavenly Eye, Honda began searching for Li Jiayu.
"Holy crap, that's disgusting!" Honda almost blinded himself after accidentally witnessing two gay men having sex in the city! Doing this kind of thing during the apocalypse. Honda expressed his admiration, then went to vomit.
"What's wrong, Honda-neechan!" Ran Hongxia asked with concern as she looked at Honda, who was covering her forehead and vomiting against the city wall railing.
"It's alright! Wait a moment." Honda fully activated the Ice Heart Technique, permanently erasing the image he had just witnessed! In less than ten breaths, Honda's pale face, due to excessive shock, returned to normal. Then, he continued to search for Li Jiayu using his Heavenly Eye. This time, Honda learned his lesson and focused on the street instead of the building. In less than 30 seconds, Honda finally found Li Jiayu riding a horse at full gallop, seemingly followed by a group of people, but the insects behind them didn't appear to be keeping up.
"Li Jiayu has escaped the encirclement and is currently on her way here!" Honda comforted Ran Hongxia.
Honda observed the approaching insects for a moment, then shook his head. There wasn't a single sake item here suitable for use in the Dionysus sword technique.
Honda whistled, and the Purple-Gold Gourd instantly took flight. It expanded in mid-air, a technique frequently used by the Drunken Sword Immortal in the Legend of Sword and Fairy to travel. Combined with Honda's cultivation of the Tai Chi Xuanqing Dao, he could already fly using objects. Therefore, Honda directly refined the Drunken Sword Immortal and the Purple-Gold Gourd into his natal magical artifacts. He removed two layers of the seals, which was sufficient for the current world. After some time, once the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Dragonfly Cutter was fused, Honda would reforge the two magical treasures and remove all the seals. This way, he could participate in the South China Sea Campaign.
"Over here!" Honda, sitting at the head of the gourd, took over the operation!
Upon seeing the enormous gourd, Li Jiayu arrived with her men! However, now was not the time to speak. Honda had a group of people lift the children onto the back half of the gourd. Now there was no need to worry about anything!
Speaking of which, Honda's method of travel is much more stylish than Li Jiayu riding a horse; just look at Yang Xuyan's envious expression. Ran Hongxia watched over the gourd, making sure the child didn't fall. After all, the gourd is round!
They now need to overtake the rearguard to catch up with the main force!
The sky was growing increasingly dark, with thick, dark red clouds rolling and surging overhead like a raging torrent, stretching for thousands of miles across the sky. The biting wind grew colder and colder, making one shiver involuntarily.
Ahead was a unit that had volunteered to stay behind and cover the rear.
There were a full thousand people, none of them inheritors or awakened ones, only a few guns and ammunition, sharp bayonets, and brave hearts.
The army's mission was simply to put up a fight against the insects and buy more lives for the fleeing civilians.
In fact, Commander Li did not agree with the army staying behind to cover the retreat, but there are always some people in the army who always put protecting the people first. It would be very dangerous for them to stay behind to cover the retreat, but they still chose to do so without hesitation.
As a result, the rearguard troops even had a complete falling out with Commander Li, who then ignored them completely, even though Commander Gao and Commander Li were locked in a life-or-death struggle.
These are a group of good soldiers.
It's a pity they will die young.
The soldiers were deeply moved when they saw Li Jiayu and Honda on the gourd; the scene was truly surreal. The regimental commander even stepped out from the ranks, wanting to say a few words to Li Jiayu and Honda, but the overwhelming pressure from the dark swarm of insects behind him, coupled with Li Jiayu's indifference, made it difficult. Honda, however, stepped forward to see these admirable soldiers off. Unlike those who only thought of themselves, they were willing to stay behind and risk their lives to give the main force a glimmer of hope! They were indeed a group of lovely and endearing people.
"Thank you!" Ran Hongxia was also somewhat moved and thanked the group of passionate individuals along with Honda. Honda then handed a blank bamboo slip to Commander Gao. If someone could decipher the wordless book, they would be able to read what was on it.
He instructed Commander Gao to drip each soldier's blood onto the bamboo slips. This would charge the slips, and when the slips were crushed, a massive explosion would occur. Commander Gao, without hesitation, ordered the bloodletting.
While Honda and his group were still chasing after the main force of Xijiang University, a huge explosion occurred behind them. Hearing this, Honda, sitting atop the gourd, smiled slightly. That bamboo slip was no ordinary item! Honda checked his spatial storage and saw over a thousand glowing beads. That's right, the bamboo slip Honda gave Commander Gao was the contract of the Grassroots Army; these passionate soldiers couldn't die so easily! They were now sleeping in Honda's spatial storage, waiting for Honda to fully digest Erlang Shen's legacy.
They can be summoned by scattering beans to fight the insects, and their strength is linked to Honda's. The stronger Honda is, the stronger they become, but they only have one percent of Honda's combat power. They're only good for clearing out weaker enemies! However, they can fuse with the souls of powerful beings, allowing one of them to fully inherit the powerful being's energy. What a remarkable ability!
Half an hour later, Honda and the others finally caught up with the main force, while the more than 5,000 teachers and students of Xijiang University deliberately slowed down and stayed behind the fleeing troops, obviously waiting for Honda and Li Jiayu to return to the team.
By this time, everyone was clear that the end of the world had truly arrived, and everything was beyond repair.
The insect swarm has already reached the top of the Earth's food chain, and humans will be slaughtered and devoured by them at will, just like pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep.
Even the air was filled with a dangerous atmosphere, making people's hair stand on end. Whenever a cold wind blew, people would feel a chill slowly creeping up their backs, as if sticky water snakes were crawling along their skin.
Not only ordinary people, but even the teachers and students of Xijiang University felt the same way. When they turned around and looked at Xijiang City surrounded by black mist and swarms of insects, their hearts almost stopped. It was as if a huge boulder was pressing heavily on their throats and chests. They couldn't even breathe, let alone be surprised.
At this time, the students of Xijiang University became increasingly dependent on Li Jiayu, feeling that only by being by her side could they feel slightly at ease.
Li Jiayu is their tranquilizer, their talisman. That's the idol effect, plus Li Jiayu's current goddess-like image. I wonder how many people think about him at night and masturbate in bed!
Because Honda doesn't frequently cultivate his reputation with the students, most people only know of him as someone as strong and beautiful as Li Jiayu. They rarely see him in person! Only a small number of people know what Honda looks like!
"Thank goodness, you're finally back."
Seeing Honda, Li Jiayu, and Ran Hongxia rush back to the group, Xiao Wanqing, who had been worried for a long time, finally went to greet them and happily took Honda's hand. Because they had already caught up with the crowd. Honda then put away that flashy gourd! But Principal Xiao, are you treating Honda like your daughter? You're even neglecting your niece.
"This is no place to stay any longer, let's get out of here quickly."
Li Jiayu gave a call, and the students of Xijiang University didn't dawdle. They all quickened their pace and hurried along with the large group in front.
At 5:30, a few scattered insects appeared at the front of the citizen's line. There weren't many, only about thirty or forty amoebas, seven or eight water beetles, and a few mid-level level two insects.
The citizens at the front of the procession were terrified, and bursts of cries and screams erupted. Fortunately, there were a considerable number of inheritors in the procession, with more than a hundred Yang Soul inheritors and more than a dozen Yin Soul inheritors stepping forward. After suffering more than thirty casualties, they finally killed the insects.
However, over a hundred civilians had also died ahead. The rain couldn't wash away the bloodstains on the ground, and panic spread uncontrollably. The civilians were already extremely sensitive and vulnerable, and now, encountering insects that seemed to appear out of nowhere, they were practically collapsing in fear.
After much difficulty, it took more than an hour for the citizens to finally arrive at the hot spring resort gathering place, looking disheveled.
Xijiang University had also occupied an open space early on and set up many tents. Li Jiayu and the Dark Octopus were having a conversation inside one of the tents.
"Hey, octopus, do you even know what this fruit is?"
Li Jiayu took out the "Cucumber" Devil Fruit from her backpack, held it up to the dark octopus, and gestured with a shaky hand, asking with some distress.