CH 53

C53 – The Hermit Crabs’ Downfall

Blue hermit crab, LV4, beast species.

“Wow, that thing looks delicious.” The little Insect Girl Lo Bing’s eyes had been fixed on the group of restless hermit crabs in the distance for quite some time while she bit the hard-winged insect meat in her mouth.

These creatures carrying snail shells or crab shells raised their heads, and all raised their pincers.

The hermit crabs had mixed feelings at that moment. They had been keeping an eye on the territory of the Hard Winged Flying Bugs. They couldn’t help but think about them all day and night. About a few months ago, that territory was still under the control of the hermit crabs. But then a large group of hard-winged flying insects took over and drove the poor crabs to a relatively desolate place.

‘Damn it, how dare they steal our territory?’

That was basically what the blue hermit crabs were thinking, though their leader didn’t care such much. Because, in its view, this land was once theirs and should continue to be theirs for generations to come. It could not be taken away from them.

The hermit carbs had always been very confident in their own strength. They were chased out by hard-winged flying insects, not because of their lack of combat power but because they had too many enemies that could fly. So, they were at a disadvantage when they fought. However, they saw this as an advantage now that a swarm of wingless insects had taken over the land. Others would not be able to defeat them as long as they were not hard-winged flying insects.

With that thought, the leader slowly crawled into the haystack with a few large blue hermit crabs and approached the Insect Girls, who were eating food little by little.

They were smart creatures that understood how to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses. So, they crawled towards the location where there were fewer Sickle Insects.

As the distance slowly narrowed, Lo Yu, who was eating the hard-winged insect meat, raised her head questioningly and looked at the large crab squatting in the grass.

“Why is that guy looking at me?”

Lo Lo, who was beside Lo Yu, licked her fingers. Then it appeared as though an idea passed through her mind, and she said, “Maybe it wants to give itself to us to eat.”

“Huh, is it that good?”

Lo Yu suddenly had a distinct impression that the crab had a conscience.

The number of hermit crabs watching the Insect Girls increased considerably a few minutes later.

“Wow, be careful, guys. These crabs must have come here for a sneak attack.” Lo Ya, who had hurriedly come with a few Sickle Insects, remarked to the two Insect Girls who were even bigger than her. Then they began to make their way to the tribe.

The hermit crab’s leader widened its eyes at the sight of their opponent attempting to flee. There was no way it would give them a chance to run away.

About seven and eight crabs rushed out, lifting their pincers, and charged towards the Sickle Insects and three Little Insect Girls.

Swoosh!

The two closest Sickle Insects immediately jumped up and slashed at the heads of the crabs.

Crack! A hole appeared on the skull with a snap, exposing the white flesh. The hermit crab’s leader raised its pincers angrily and grabbed the sickles of the Insect.

Yes, it did manage to grab the sickles!

‘Wow, it really is just a piece of trash. I can catch it in an instant.’ In the crab’s leader’s mind, a satisfying thought occurred.

However, before it could enjoy its joy, another sickle cut over and hit its outer shell.

To lock the opponent, the crab leader had no choice but to swing its second pincer. In this way, the three monsters were entangled as they desperately fought with all their strength.

The battle situation of the other individuals was similar as well. In a situation where they were fighting on their own, neither side could gain the upper hand.

The pincers of the hermit crab were precise and fast. And they wouldn’t let go even if they were killed, causing the Sickle Insects a lot of headaches.

However, due to the current situation, the plan to attack the Insect Girl was shelved.

After a few minutes of entanglement, the crabs were forced to choose to retreat. They released their pincers and prepared to return to their own territory. In the end, the Insect Girl who had left before suddenly turned back, approaching the position of the hermit crab leader.

The leader’s eyes lit up as he felt the time had arrived to take advantage of the situation. So, it raised its pincers and rushed forward again.

Earth Spike!

Puff ~

From its lower body, a sharp spike pierced through its flesh. Due to the lack of protection from the shell, it was pierced through on the spot.

As they attempted to flee, the other crabs scattered in all directions. But Lo Ya consecutively stabbed several ground spikes and killed three more. The summoned skeleton at the side took the dagger that Lo Ya gave and chased after the crabs.

The difference between and human skeleton and a crab was the height. The human skeleton was clearly several centimeters taller than that of a crab. Moreover, the skeleton was at the Black Iron Level, so it was not a problem for it to deal with a few crabs. Even if it died, it could still be summoned immediately.

After Lo Ya treated the two injured Sickle Insects with natural healing, more than half of her spiritual power had been consumed. So she prepared to rest for a while to recover her magic power.

The skeleton slowly rushing into the territory of the crab made these creatures extremely nervous. However, given that the territory had been invaded, resistance was unavoidable. Thus, a few crabs gathered together and attacked the skeleton once again.

The pincers made contact with the bones, but they didn’t move at all.

The skeleton opened its mouth and lifted the dagger to stab it down as it lowered down at the three crabs desperately pulling with their bones in between.

A burst of flesh and blood flew, and the three crabs lost their lives.

The skeleton nodded happily and continued to walk towards the territory of the crabs.

“Damn!” After witnessing how formidable her fellow was, Lo Ya turned her head to glance at the Undead Insect beside her. She then decided to send it out too.

The appearance of the Undead Insect was much more handsome than that of the skeleton. Its black gas was much stronger throughout its body than the undead’s, giving it the impression of liquid armor. The black gas on its head appeared to form a helmet, but the skeleton was still a skeleton, and the bones all over its body remained empty.

The Undead Insect kept up with the skeleton and killed the remaining crabs in the same way.

After a fierce battle, the hermit crabs retreated miserably. Two groups of Sickle Insects immediately rushed forward to occupy the land. They squatted on the ground one by one and swore the sovereignty of the new territory.

Other Sickle Insects continued to gnaw wildly at the food. Not long after, a few insects with more energy reserves gave birth to many super small tails.

Lo Ya couldn’t help but curse at this speed of reproduction. Insect Girls had also given birth rapidly in the past. If she hadn’t evolved so quickly, the number would be frightening today.

Fortunately, they had evolved because the current Gaeta Insect Swarm had occupied the Insect Girls’ original homeland. If everyone was still small at that time, waiting for them would be a miserable end.

Lo Ya squirmed in front of a newly hatched Insect Girl and discovered that her body was only half of her size. Only then did she understand that her body had become much bigger.

“Hmm, this little fellow is as cute as when I was a kid,” Lo Ya said as she rubbed her little face.

The Insect Girls had a high level of genetic similarity. But the mutations that came with them during the split would cause the offspring to have some differences in appearance.

However, the cuteness was not something that could disappear.

Lo Ya picked up the little fellow and licked her.

“Lo Ya.” Lo Xin coincidentally crawled over, and when she saw Lo Ya licking the baby, her eyes instantly turned fearful. “You are eating… eating Insect Girls?”

Boom!

“How can you think about me in such a perverted way?”