Chapter 321: Another Queen Mantis.
Region after region was trampled by the Ruin City, yet the harvestable building materials were very limited.
Even a normal Queen Mantis would continuously migrate while gathering materials, making it impossible for Jié Jié to determine when the activity took place.
Even transforming into a Fire Dragon for an aerial overview wouldn’t reveal more without straying far from the Ruin City.
Thus, the four-legged improvement plan for the Ruin City remained indefinitely postponed.
Should we pause Ruin City’s journey then?
Jié Jié crawled out of Ruin City, feeling the heavy snowfall cloaking the surrounding mountains in a continuous white blanket.
Even Ruin City itself was covered in a layer of white.
In such weather, the dragging of Ruin City’s tail gained lubrication, but its two front legs started slipping.
The Thunder Wolf Dragon had already overtaken Ruin City from behind, sprinting towards the horizon as if about to vanish.
Perhaps, the Thunder Wolf Dragon initially followed Ruin City for safety, now merely migrating along the same route.
Queen Mantis burrowed into Ruin City. A Flying Bird soared across the sky, landing near the hunters, eavesdropping on their intelligence.
“The Thunder Wolf Dragon has left,” “Ruin City has stopped moving again,” “We haven’t had much success lately.”
“The Ancient Dragon Observation Ship hasn’t discovered any new Queen Mantis individuals.”
The female archer named Lena returned with supplies.
Clearly, the hunters weren’t satisfied with only gathering a bit of intel; the Guild was also collecting information on other Queen Mantises.
Perhaps this could be useful?
The following conversation lacked substance, and Jié Jié merely judged that their desire to hunt him wasn’t strong.
Perhaps the shock of pulling down the Old Mountain Dragon made them reassess their own strength.
Or perhaps their fondness for Ruin City, which brought them honor, kept their legend alive.
Or maybe because Ruin City didn’t attack human settlements and only scavenged, they felt hunting wasn’t necessary.
After listening for a while, Jié Jié left, and Ruin City restarted in the hunters’ line of sight.
…
Ruin City walked through the snowy day, with the Thunder Wolf Dragon ahead, like a playful Husky in the snowstorm, already out of his perception range.
The hunters behind hadn’t moved for a long time, gradually widening the distance from Ruin City until they disappeared from his perception range.
Jié Jié slowed Ruin City’s pace, but no hunter chased up for a long time.
Remember, even when the team split up, someone would stay to observe Ruin City.
Being tailed had become routine, so when they suddenly stopped tailing, Jié Jié naturally became puzzled.
The way to solve this puzzle was naturally to take a look—what situation could make them stop tailing me?
This is a Queen Mantis operating Ruin City! Isn’t it more alluring than any beautiful girl or handsome dragon?
From Mojia Village to the current hunter squad, Jié Jié had long noticed the similarities between hunters and the players controlling them.
That is—they both have a tendency towards draconophilia!
Hunting monsters, getting close to monsters, cute Ghost Frogs, cool Fire Dragons, and handsome Thunder Wolf Dragons.
Facing the terror of monsters brings joy.
Facing monsters might leave fear, but surviving leaves adrenaline-pumping memories of those brilliant scales and ivory claws.
Isn’t battle a kind of thrill?
Even hunters who lost everything to monsters can’t resist this thrill, turning the conversation to the beautiful materials obtained after slaying monsters.
Love and hatred are both intense emotions.
Liking beautiful things? Hunters’ affections always revolve around monsters, whether alive or dead.
So,
A Queen Mantis that can control the massive Ruin City in insect form—Jié Jié dared to say no hunter wouldn’t be interested.
Flapping its wings, he chased the traces left by the hunters to find out.
The footprints broke off, but a huge Ancient Dragon Observation Ship hung in the cloud sea, impossible to hide.
Jié Jié flew onto the Flying Airship, peering through the window at the people walking inside.
Four hunters were leaning on the central table conversing, with a Dragon Person scholar nearby, apparently the supervisor.
A strange smell made him sniff lightly.
It seemed to come from the airship’s fuel area, and it stunk a bit?
He transferred his acute sense of smell to his ears and began eavesdropping on their conversation.
“If we all go chasing another Queen Mantis, what should we do with the current one?”
The Great Sword user asked. Queen Mantises attacking human settlements had been speculated, and he was more interested in the ones not attacking human settlements.
More familiar, more likable.
“There will be investigators taking over. Compared to this Queen Mantis, the aggressive one needs your attention more.”
The Dragon Person supervisor wrote something, looked up to answer the question, then lowered his head again.
He was busy.
Since the Queen Mantis investigation reports and speculations increased, the Guild began focusing on this increasingly known monster.
Similar case files resembling Queen Mantis behavior but unable to confirm the culprit were given priority. They estimated Ruin City’s forward route and invested manpower in previously attacked settlements and those along the way.
Piles of intelligence formed mountains, roughly defining the Queen Mantis’ activity range.
Recently, there was an incident where a settlement was targeted with specific intent to dismantle buildings and carry them away.
Such news undoubtedly triggered the Guild’s sensitive nerves regarding Queen Mantis matters, and the dispatched investigators quickly locked onto the target.
It was another Queen Mantis controlling Ruin City.
The elite squad was recalled to face the threatening Queen Mantis.
Listening to the people’s conversations, Jié Jié captured the key information.
Another Queen Mantis trail!
His fighting spirit ignited instantly!
Good and evil will eventually get their due.
Previously tailed by hunters, now it was his turn to tail the hunters!
“The Guild has deployed many personnel for preliminary preparations this time; you just need to wait for the Flying Airship to bring you to the front lines.”
“Will the Ancient Dragon Observation Ship participate in the battlefield?”
“Yes, the Flying Airship has acquired some military equipment from the arsenal, and there will be an airdrop.”
The Dragon Person supervisor pointed to some cannons placed at the back, with Dragon Person engineers adding equipment to cushion their fall.
The failure in fortress combat led the Guild to adjust subsequent battlefields. Without fortress facilities, hunters relying solely on hunting gear to breach Ruin City was difficult, hence the Flying Airship’s airdrop of cannons.
Next came the hunters’ tactical discussions, which Jié Jié wasn’t interested in. He directly returned to Ruin City, pulling silk threads.
At first glance, Ruin City seemed to continue moving forward, but the difference in step adjustments meant Ruin City would complete a turning maneuver after some travel.
Chapter 322…
