Teacher Fang, who was standing a little behind, took out a bundle of cylindrical objects taped together from his bag. Using the most primitive method—a lighter—he lit the fuse and handed it to Teacher Zhou.

"Go! Throw it where the insects are thickest!"

Teacher Zhou carefully took it. He held the device in his hand for a few seconds, then shouted and tossed it to his Silver Lotus Wood.

The process was clearly well-rehearsed. The Silver Lotus Wood flicked out a vine, precisely wrapped it around the flying object, and aimed for a relatively slow-moving swarm of colorful butterflies up ahead before flinging it.

SWOOSH~

Hurled by the Silver Lotus Wood, the explosive pack flew with incredible speed, landing directly beneath the swarm of butterflies before they could notice.

There was almost no delay.

BOOM!

A deafening roar echoed out.

A flash of orange-red light, accompanied by a massive cloud of smoke and dust, swept out in all directions.

A dozen or so cylindrical sticks of dynamite, ignited by the fuse, erupted with a powerful shockwave, instantly blasting seven or eight approaching butterflies backward.

To be honest, the force of the explosion couldn’t even compare to the destructive power of a single Silver Thorn fired by an Entry Level IV Silver Lotus Wood.

However, the explosive’s area of effect was much wider than a Silver Thorn’s. The resulting shockwave and smoke could hinder the swarm’s advance, buying them at least a few seconds. This was far more useful than its raw power.

Following their masters’ commands, some of the Silver Lotus Woods immediately fired a dense volley of Silver Thorns, riddling the blasted butterflies with holes on the spot.

"Good stuff, Lao Zhou. Where’d you get it? How much more do you have?" Lü Xiuning asked, his eyes narrowed as he periodically squeezed the trigger, shooting down insects that tried to get close.

"It’s a new invention. Resources are scarce, so we couldn’t make many. We brought about a dozen bundles this time—the academy’s entire stock," Teacher Zhou said, carefully surveying the surroundings, ready to toss another bundle of dynamite at a moment’s notice.

"A dozen bundles... That’s not nearly enough..."

"Where am I supposed to find that much gunpowder for you?"

Han Ning watched the four Insect-men who were focused on directing the swarm against Yin Yi, then turned to the others and said:

"Teachers, I need about ten people. With your covering fire, we can sneak up on those Insect-men and take them down with our guns. If they keep controlling the swarm, our casualties will only get worse."

As he spoke, several large crickets, at least two meters tall with white stripes on their bodies, suddenly leaped up from the front of the Silver Lotus Wood Defense Line. They emitted a high-frequency "CHIRP CHIRP" toward the teachers and students.

Ripples, visible to the naked eye, spread out rapidly.

Everyone in their small group of twenty or so people, along with all the Silver Lotus Woods in the firing zone, suddenly froze—everyone except Han Ning.

On another side, a dozen or so slightly smaller ground beetles turned in unison, their bodies flashing with orange-red light.

SHHIIING!

A dozen scorching lines of fire converged and shot toward them.

"Egg Pancake, block it!"

Even before the enemy had fully formed the lines of fire, Han Ning had a bad feeling. He quickly grabbed the automatic rifle from Teacher Fang’s hands, aimed at the noise-making crickets, and fired in short bursts.

A shotgun’s range was far shorter than an automatic rifle’s. The large crickets were hiding behind the swarm, and only the automatic rifle could reach them.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The bullets struck the large crickets squarely in the head, instantly cutting off their chirping.

At the same time, the lines of fire rapidly closed in.

"JII!"

Egg Pancake, who had been guarding Han Ning all along, crouched slightly on its stout hind legs and then exploded with power.

It leaped into the air, its right claw clenched into a fist. Mud churned around the fist, forming a heavy, oval-shaped rock gauntlet.

BAM!

The rock fist collided with the flames, erupting in a brilliant shower of sparks that scattered in every direction.

Egg Pancake only managed to block it for a fraction of a second before the explosive force of the flames sent it flying backward, its body peppered with stray sparks.

TSSS~

Its right claw was set ablaze by the flames, turning into a burning fist. The stone gauntlet was seared back into molten mud, which dripped to the ground, releasing wisps of scorching white smoke.

"Look out! Get behind the slope!"

The other Silver Lotus Woods snapped out of their stupor, shooting out vine after vine to envelop the remaining scattered sparks.

"Damn it, these damned bugs just keep pulling new tricks out of their asses."

Teacher Fang cursed, took out three bundles of dynamite, and handed them to Han Ning. His eyes were fixed on the swarm ahead as he said urgently,

"Take these dynamite packs."

"Pick whoever you want. The dozen or so people who went to scout in the other directions haven’t returned yet. The twenty or thirty of us here are the strongest the academy has left."

Han Ning glanced around. He pointed a finger, sweeping it across nine of the relatively stronger Silver Lotus Woods nearby, and then at Liu Zhiran beside him. "Zhiran, you’re with me," he called out. "The masters of these nine Silver Lotus Woods, you and your beasts come with me."

Liu Zhiran nodded without any hesitation. "Okay."

Originally, Han Ning had wanted to command everyone’s Silver Lotus Woods directly, but contracted Soul Beasts only obey their own Beast Master. Without the other Beast Masters present, he couldn’t command them at all.

Of these ten Silver Lotus Woods, only two had reached Entry Level IV; the rest were Entry Level III.

After all, too little time had passed. It had only been a few days since the great flood. Although there were plenty of black leeches, everyone had their own Silver Lotus Wood to feed. Elevating each one to Entry Level IV required a massive amount of Energy. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Then, Han Ning patted Egg Pancake’s head and whispered, "Egg Pancake, get ready to fight."

"Jii~"

Egg Pancake’s nose twitched as it sniffed the scent of blood and gunpowder in the forest. Its expression grew serious.

Yin Yi was the strongest, so it was drawing most of the enemy’s fire. Pinned down by a silver mantis and the swarm, it was locked in a bitter struggle, and even the four Insect-men had their attention focused there.

This was the perfect time for a stealthy infiltration.

’Flying in the air... what a pain...’

Han Ning frowned, studying the dark forest. He pointed to an area on the right where the swarm was thinner and said, "Teacher Lü, Teacher Zhou, shift your fire. Help us clear out the swarm on the right. Everyone else’s Silver Lotus Woods, move forward and protect us."

"Right!"

Teacher Zhou shouted, lit the fuse on the dynamite pack in his hand, and passed it to his Silver Lotus Wood.

A few seconds later...

BOOM!

The explosives detonated.

A powerful shockwave swept through the area.

Under the cover of smoke, a hundred Silver Lotus Woods fired their Silver Thorns toward the right in unison.

SHH-SHH-SHH~

The dense barrage of Silver Thorns formed a magnificent green net that tore through the air, instantly clearing out the swarm on the right and creating a temporary vacuum.

"Go!"

Seeing his chance, Han Ning waved his hand, signaling to the ten people and ten Silver Lotus Woods with him. They crouched low and plunged into the forest on the right.