Chapter 117: The Insect Nest and the Strength of a Five-Point Scum

“Impressive. It is actually a large nest of radiation-mutated insects!” Charles exclaimed.

At a glance, dozens of mutated insects could be seen lying inside the cave, while several others patrolled the surrounding area on guard.

Fortunately, just as they approached, Lan had suddenly warned them to be careful, saying that there was an immense danger ahead. Otherwise, Moonchild would have barged in carelessly and alerted every insect in the nest.

The three of them stopped on a small hillside a hundred meters from the cave entrance. Their bodies were completely concealed by the dense shrubs around them, and with the aid of several concealment spells, the insects were utterly unable to detect them.

A shy smile appeared on the boy’s face, as though he felt rather embarrassed.

“My primary totem, the Azurewood Bird, grants me the ability to sense danger. It can perceive the degree of danger posed by nearby life-forms and convert it into a specific numerical value.”

“Interesting. How precise is it?” Charles asked, staring at him in surprise.

Aside from providing constant protection, primary totems could sometimes grant their wielders additional abilities. Certain special totems bestowed powerful gifts upon spirit summoners, such as Eileen’s ability to foretell the future through dreams, Isaac’s Slowing Field, and Rody’s Unyielding Form.

In truth, such ability enhancement was considered the exclusive privilege of transcendent totem beasts. Every totem beast with transcendent potential could provide it. This was the essential difference between transcendent and high-grade talents.

However, while every transcendent totem beast could grant an additional ability, not every totem beast that granted one necessarily possessed transcendent potential.

The boy’s primary totem was clearly not transcendent. Otherwise, his strength would not have remained at the pitiful level of only rank one.

Lan reached out and stroked the trembling Azurewood Bird. Keeping a wary eye on the direction of the cave, he said solemnly, “If we consider the danger level of an ordinary person to be one, then a forest wolf would be around three. The weakest of those insects inside are at level five, while the strongest exceed thirty. And deeper within, there are presences whose danger I cannot sense at all!”

How interesting. Wasn’t this just like scanning combat power in an online game?

Charles was increasingly astonished. He had not expected the other boy to possess such a practical ability.

It provided no boost to combat strength whatsoever, but it could sense the dangers around them, making it exceptionally useful for survival.

After all, no matter how powerful one became, there would always be someone—or something—stronger. If one could evade powerful enemies upon encountering them, the chances of surviving wilderness expeditions would increase dramatically.

One had to remember that, in the future, there would be endless radiation monsters. Among them were evolved forms, ultimate forms, and even disaster-grade divine beasts.

“Tell me, how dangerous am I?” Charles asked with great interest.

Lan hesitated, then answered cautiously, “Your danger level is five…”

“Uh… So I’m combat trash at level five?” Charles asked, half amused and half exasperated. He had never expected the boy to reach such a conclusion.

He now understood. The danger level Lan referred to clearly measured the strength of a life-form, not its combat power.

After all, Charles possessed more than a dozen evolved-grade totems. In terms of combat strength, he should have been equivalent to several hundred, if not a thousand, forest wolves.

“What does ‘combat trash’ mean?” Lan asked curiously when he saw that Charles was not angry.

“Nothing. Kid, do you want to follow me?”

Charles instantly developed the idea of recruiting him. An ability as useful as this would certainly shine brilliantly in the future.

“Of course. But I want to borrow some money to buy a few gemstones…” Lan nodded without hesitation, then lowered his head shyly and spoke in a timid voice.

“That’s a small matter. I can help you evolve, but you’ll have to listen to me.” Lan’s decisiveness surprised Charles somewhat. “By the way, why did you agree so quickly?”

“Because the highest danger level I can sense is one hundred, and your totem exceeds that value!” Lan hesitated, then pointed at Moonchild.

“Impressive. You can even see through this disguise.”

Charles was even more pleased with his new little assistant. He reached out and patted Lan on the shoulder, then had Moonchild transform at once.

In an instant, Moonchild became a ferocious five-meter-tall beast. It trampled through clusters of shrubs and strode fearlessly toward the densely packed insect nest.

“Come on. Let me show you the true strength of this so-called combat trash!”

Moonchild let out a long howl.

The savage cry instantly sent the cave into turmoil. Countless insects surged out like a torrential purple tide.

“Danger!”

Lan screamed behind him. In his mind flashed countless powerful auras capable of threatening his life. Their numerical values were terrifyingly high, and there were so many of them that he could not even determine their number.

Yet the humanoid monster showed not the slightest fear. Instead, it charged forward brazenly and opened its mouth in a furious roar.

A visible layer of sound waves erupted and thundered into the hundreds and thousands of mutated insects.

The instant the wave struck, the bodies of more than a dozen insects at the front seemed to have bombs detonated inside them. They exploded with a deafening blast, shattering into countless fragments. Like a violent rainstorm, the remains drenched the insects behind them in green insect fluids.

Moonchild then plunged into the swarm like a tiger among sheep and began slaughtering indiscriminately. Every casual swipe killed several insects.

The one- and two-meter-long creatures were as fragile as flies in its hands. With a few careless blows, it slaughtered hundreds of them, then unleashed another terrifying sonic attack.

At the same time, Firefly and the newly subdued monster charged into the swarm as well. The three powerful totem beasts completely overwhelmed the insects.

Ten minutes later, not a single insect remained at the cave entrance capable of launching an attack.

“Incredible! Big Brother Charles, your totems are unbelievably powerful!” Lan’s face was filled with admiration. He had never imagined that the battle would become such a one-sided massacre.

From beginning to end, the insects had been unable to inflict any meaningful damage on the three totem beasts. Moonchild, in particular, charged wherever the insects were most numerous, heedless of everything else. Nearly two-thirds of the insects had been slaughtered by it alone.

“It was nothing. Let’s go inside and take a look.” Charles spoke indifferently. They were merely a swarm of unranked insects; they truly amounted to nothing in his eyes.

He then ordered Moonchild to lead the way. Stepping over the countless insect corpses, the three of them entered the cave.

A powerful stench of decay and blood rushed toward them. Fortunately, the protective radiance blocked part of it. Otherwise, it would have been enough to make them vomit up everything they had eaten the previous night.

As they ventured deeper, the three of them entered an enormous underground chamber, somewhat similar to the place Charles and Rody had visited.

However, there were no trees here. Instead, the chamber was filled by a massive reddish-brown tower-like structure that rose more than a hundred meters to the ceiling. Its surface was covered with countless openings.

“Incredible. They actually built such an enormous insect nest.” Charles’s eyes shone brightly.

If one ignored its size, this strange tower-like structure looked remarkably similar to the tower ants that built nests across the African savanna.

Generation after generation, those ants devoted their entire lives to constructing towers several meters tall—structures far more magnificent than the pyramids built by humankind.

“Ah! Monsters with danger levels exceeding fifty are charging toward us! There are more than thirty of them—no, wait! I can sense a terrifying monster inside whose danger level exceeds one hundred!” Lan cried out.

Rumble!

The entire ground began to tremble. One giant beast after another crawled out through an opening. Each was nearly ten meters long.

“Go, Moonchild. Reveal your true form and kill them all for me,” Charles said softly.

Moonchild threw back its head and howled.

Its entire body suddenly expanded with a thunderous roar. Under the astonished gazes of Lan and Eileen, it transformed into a colossal beast more than twenty meters tall in a matter of seconds.