There was no need to say anything more.
The other end of Si Zhao’s spatial passage was located in the corner closest to the Insect Queen. As the one who had created it, she could freely control whether the passage was visible.
To avoid drawing the Insect Queen’s attention, she naturally concealed the other end of the spatial passage. Although the passage itself could be hidden, the distorted spatial fluctuations around it could not be concealed completely.
Afraid that delaying too long would alert the insectoid race, Si Zhao switched Guiying into aircraft mode inside the starship and led He Youchuan through first.
Fuyuan, the other two, and the four other SS-rank ability users followed close behind.
The small aircraft could just barely fit everyone. Once she had confirmed that everyone was seated securely, Si Zhao cloaked Guiying and piloted it into the dark-purple vortex before them.
The aircraft soon disappeared into the vortex.
Si Zhao was still somewhat apprehensive. There had been no time to experiment, so she was not certain how many people her spatial ability could carry.
Fortunately, the spatial passage did not reject anyone else.
Guiying, still invisible, soon appeared inside the insect nest.
Yunyang and Wu Zhengming, who had just taken over the shift, stared intently at the images transmitted by Butler Four.
They could not see Guiying after it had become invisible, but Yunyang knew that Si Zhao and the others should have arrived at the insect nest.
She issued an order to Butler Four through her optical brain, instructing it to change position so that it could clearly observe the entire underground insect nest.
Yunyang took the initiative to establish voice communication with Si Zhao, then focused on observing the situation around the Insect Queen.
Since most of the insectoids were fighting the Federation army on the surface, there were not many left inside the nest—only about one-fifth of the number on the ground.
However, every one of that remaining fifth was a high-level insectoid of at least rank six.
The male insectoids stood guard around the Insect Queen in layers according to their ranks.
At the very center were the rank-nine insectoids and those possessing healing abilities. The latter were constantly treating the Insect Queen.
But the Insect Queen’s injuries were too severe, and she had forcibly helped the male insectoids advance one after another. The healing she received was little more than a drop in the bucket.
For now, Guiying’s cloaking ability seemed excellent. At the very least, it had managed to evade the senses of the rank-nine insectoids.
Of course, it was also possible that Sister Zhaozhao and the others simply had not begun their operation yet.
Si Zhao indeed had not acted.
Even while injured, the Insect Queen’s defenses remained extremely powerful.
Without absolute certainty of killing her in one strike, any attack would merely alert the insectoids.
But even with He Youchuan and Cang Zhuonian working together, and using the weapon with the highest damage output, they still could not kill the Insect Queen in a single blow.
The best solution was to muddy the waters.
Although Si Zhao was not a commander in the Federation army, she had received the education of a ruler since childhood. When it came to battle strategies, she was in no way inferior to the thirty-two commanders.
She quickly made a decision and turned to look at Fuyuan, who was standing beside Leonardo.
“You’re Fuyuan, right? Are you familiar with Guiying?”
Fuyuan hurriedly nodded. “I am.”
Although Guiying had been designed by Fu Shiyi for their female master, all nine of her beast husbands had deliberately familiarized themselves with every detail of it, in case anything unexpected happened.
“Good. From now on, you’ll be entirely responsible for piloting Guiying.”
Of the people they had brought with them, Fuyuan was the only one whose ability Si Zhao was unfamiliar with. That made him the most suitable person to pilot Guiying.
After handing over control of the aircraft to Fuyuan, Si Zhao assigned the others their tasks and connected everyone’s optical brains.
Soon, Guiying began inching carefully toward another corner.
Because it moved so slowly, it did not attract the insectoids’ attention.
The Insect Queen still had her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the injuries on her body to gradually recover.
Yet, within the entire underground insect nest, it seemed that only that female insect had sensed something. Its dark-green eyes turned toward the spot where Guiying had initially stopped.
Its pair of antennae trembled lightly.
Yunyang noticed the female insect’s reaction through the images transmitted by Butler Four.
Without hesitation, she immediately sent the information to Si Zhao. “Sister Zhaozhao, pay attention to the female insect beside the Insect Queen. Its ability is probably no simple matter.”
No one knew exactly what ability the female insect possessed. Previously, Yunyang had only been able to deduce that it was the female insect responsible for gathering information about the Federation.
Moreover, the Insect Queen devoured every female egg she produced. For this female insect to have survived beside the Insect Queen until now—and for the Insect Queen to share “food” with it—its ability was certainly more than simply gathering information.
The unknown was often the most frightening thing of all.
All Yunyang could do was remind Si Zhao to be especially cautious.
“I know.”
Si Zhao did not let her guard down simply because the female insect was still a larva. She immediately assigned one of the support-type ability users to watch the female insect’s movements closely.
Guiying slowly moved into another corner, and the hatch opened silently by a narrow slit.
He Youchuan crouched behind the hatch, gripping a concentrated light-energy rifle. With the fastest motion possible, he fired one shot into the cluster of male insectoids.
He did not check whether he had hit his target. The instant he fired, he pulled his hand back and pressed the mechanical button to close the hatch.
An explosion rang out inside the insect nest, drawing the attention of every insectoid. Even the Insect Queen opened her eyes.
The male insectoids swarmed over to inspect the spot where the light-energy rifle’s projectile had struck.
The Insect Queen, however, did not hesitate. She spat a large mouthful of green mucus toward a certain corner.
After firing, He Youchuan had already begun to move. Fuyuan piloted Guiying away, narrowly avoiding the Insect Queen’s mucus.
The Insect Queen’s savage mouthparts shifted, and she spat another mouthful of mucus at the impact site, completely unconcerned about whether she might injure the other male insectoids.
The Insect Queen opened her mouth and emitted a peculiar sonic wave.
Leonardo translated on the spot from inside Guiying: “The Insect Queen says the male insectoids are not to worry about where the attack came from. They are to focus on guarding her.”
At those words, everyone—including Fuyuan and Cang Zhuonian—was stunned for a moment.
Fuyuan understood within less than a second and continued piloting Guiying to change position.
Si Zhao finally understood why Yunyang had been able to learn that the Insect Queen was seriously injured.
It was because of Leonardo.
It was not common for beastmen to understand the language of insectoids, but this was not the time to investigate the reason.
Si Zhao swiftly pushed the matter aside and said to the other ability users, “Continue the attack.”
Fuyuan piloted Guiying to a stop in another corner. After remaining still for roughly a dozen seconds, he opened the hatch by another narrow slit.
This time, Leonardo launched the attack. He took a light-energy rifle identical to He Youchuan’s and fired another shot at the group of rank-eight insectoids.
He likewise withdrew his hand as quickly as possible and closed the hatch.
A second explosion rang out. The insectoid swarm erupted into chaos once more, revealing the two rank-seven insects that had been struck by the projectile.
The Insect Queen’s mucus was spat toward the corner at the first opportunity again, but Fuyuan reacted in time, and the mucus missed once more.
After two successful sneak attacks in a row, the insectoid swarm grew restless.
The male insectoids were already prone to irritability and aggression under the influence of the Insect Queen’s mental shock.
Now, they were furious and wanted nothing more than to drag out the attackers and tear them apart to devour them.
The Insect Queen stamped her two front legs and once again ordered the male insectoids not to let themselves be distracted.
Yet less than ten minutes after the swarm had settled down, the third sneak attack erupted once more.
