Chapter 8: Green Blade Beetle (Part 1)

As a sharp screeching sound arose, the members of Luo Jie’s team and the Eagle Demon team both grew tense. There were differences in strength among the talisman insects, so it was necessary to first determine what kind of talisman beast it was and how many there were before engaging in an effective battle.

Luo Jie wasn’t nervous at all. With two powerful talisman warriors holding off the talisman insects, coupled with his own and Guo Shier’s long-range attacks, they could easily take down two of them. The others weren’t just for show either; even if three talisman insects appeared, it wouldn’t be terrifying. Calmly, he said, “Shier, take command!”

Eagle Demon had never seen this before and almost fell off his horse. What a joke? Asking a child to take command? Was he crazy? Before he could say anything, Guo Shier had already started giving orders.

Qi Nanshan was sent out to scout, while Eagle Demon was assigned to a forest on the right side, instructed to form a battle formation and prepare for combat. Guo Shier and Luo Jie stood respectively at the rear and front, very close to each other—only two meters apart. The other talisman warriors were positioned ten meters in front of Luo Jie. It was a strange formation, yet no one questioned it.

Eagle Demon was actually full of doubts, but seeing Qi Nanshan and Luo Jie execute the orders without hesitation, he forced down his questions and went to the spot designated by Guo Shier to stand guard.

A moment later, Qi Nanshan returned and said, “I can’t find it!”

Guo Shier grew slightly nervous. The intensity of that shrill scream made his soul tremble slightly—this talisman insect was definitely not ordinary. He silently prayed that it wasn’t a mutated talisman insect, as those things were terrifying. Even with three masters here, he wasn’t sure he could handle them. Mutated creatures were always frightening, just like the deep impression the Earth Dragon had left on him.

Guo Shier said, “Grandpa Nanshan, go in front of my master and stay vigilant!”

Qi Nanshan nodded and rushed straight to stand in front of the line of talisman warriors. For a while, no one moved. Luo Jie had already unleashed his life talisman book, and Guo Shier had thrown out his life talisman ball, ready for battle at any moment.

Ten minutes!
Half an hour!

Everyone remained motionless. Eagle Demon grew increasingly impatient, but he was also a warrior who had fought his way through chaos. Half an hour was enough for him to realize Guo Shier’s strategy: wait passively for an opportunity. It was better to form a formation and wait than to be caught off guard mid-battle. Especially since he and Qi Nanshan, the two masters, were positioned at the front—with their strength, they could effectively hold off the talisman beast if it appeared. Yet such waiting was truly frustrating.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Everyone’s spirits lifted. Guo Shieru shouted, “Get ready!”
The trees not far in front of the Eagle Demon swayed, producing a rustling sound, along with heavy footsteps and the cracking of trees—the noise growing louder and louder. Suddenly, a shrill cry shook everyone. They stared wide-eyed at the woods. Guo Shieru kept praying that it wasn’t a mutated Sigworm!
Prayers didn’t bring what one wished for—this was something Guo Shieru finally understood, realizing he truly had a knack for bad luck. A huge triangular head emerged from the woods, followed by massive scythe-like forelimbs. Guo Shieru was stunned—what kind of Sigworm was this?
“A mutated Sigworm!”
The Eagle Demon’s fur stood on end. He couldn’t help but admire Guo Shieru—luckily they were in formation, otherwise the entire team might have been wiped out, with maybe just a few masters able to escape. He couldn’t understand how a mutated Sigworm could appear; these things were the most troublesome. Sigworms were strange, with all sorts of bizarre abilities, and the most common and unbearable one was their toxicity. He hoped this wasn’t a poisonous mutated Sigworm.
“Damn! Isn’t that a mantis? A mantis this big!”
It was the first time Guo Shieru had seen such a huge insect—five meters long, with a slender body entirely green. Up close, it was covered in tiny sigil patterns, along with a pair of extremely beautiful compound eyes. It rotated its triangular head as if sizing up everyone, its two forelimbs acting like large knives, making a faint slicing sound with each movement, giving off a chilling feeling.
Guo Shieru asked softly, “Master, why is it a mutated Sigworm and not just a regular Sigworm?”
Luo Jie frowned and said, “Regular Sigworms aren’t big. Only mutations make them large. This is a mantis—a mutated Green Blade Mantis.”
Guo Shieru asked, “Is it hard to deal with?”
Luo Jie replied, “Yes, but it’s much weaker than the Earth Dragon… That’s good news.”
The Green Blade Mantis didn’t attack but kept rotating its head from side to side, its compound eyes fixed on everyone, while the two antennae on its triangular head swung back and forth.
Guo Shieru suddenly remembered something and whispered, “Pass the word—no one moves! No talking, no movement!” He added softly, “Master, do you want to kill this Green Blade Mantis? If not, let’s stay still!”
Luo Jie was surprised. “Stay still? Won’t it attack then?”

Actually, Guo Shier was taking a gamble. In his past life, he had vaguely heard about the habits of mantises, but he could no longer remember clearly. It seemed that mantises hunted living creatures in front of them; if the prey didn’t move, the mantis wouldn’t notice it. He guessed that this Green Blade Mantis had the same habit and said in a low voice, “It’s just my guess…”
Luo Jie was instantly speechless. At that moment, one of the warhorses behind them suddenly ran out. Whether it was frightened or acting crazily, it charged straight at the Green Blade Mantis. Guo Shier shouted, “Everyone, stay still!”
The warhorse seemed not to see the Green Blade Mantis, whose body was half exposed, and ran right past it.
In an instant, two green flashes appeared, and the warhorse was split into three pieces. Guo Shier gasped in shock. Such a green light could cut a large warhorse into three pieces—its attacking power was truly terrifying.
Luo Jie had already made up his mind. He said in a low voice, “Kill it! Shier, you take command!” There was no reason to spare a mutated talisman worm. Anything related to talismans, whether beast or insect, was valuable, especially the mutated ones. Even a single insect could be priceless.
Eagle Demon and Qi Nanshan watched Guo Shier from afar.
Guo Shier cut across his own neck with his palm, then pointed at the Green Blade Mantis, signaling the two to attack it.
Qi Nanshan and Eagle Demon nodded slowly. Guo Shier then gave further orders for everyone to stay alert, then raised his thumb to signal them. Eagle Demon attacked first. He grabbed a long-handled talisman sword and rushed forward.
Immediately after, Qi Nanshan also charged out. Eagle Demon was about seventy meters away from the Green Blade Mantis, while Qi Nanshan was about two hundred meters away. Thus, Eagle Demon entered the Green Blade Mantis’s line of sight first.
Squeak!
Everyone wanted to cover their ears. Was that the Green Blade Mantis’s cry? Why was it so unpleasant?
Eagle Demon tentatively swung his long-handled talisman sword. A bluish-green light flashed as the blade sliced straight toward the mantis’s triangular head.
The mantis’s two front limbs, transformed into giant swords, crossed left and right in an instant. Two green lights scattered the incoming blade strike, producing two sharp bangs. Then, the mantis’s body moved forward at lightning speed. Eagle Demon shouted, “Perfect timing!”
Boom! Boom!
The mantis’s two front limbs were incredibly fast. The two green lights, actually two slashes, were so swift that it was impossible to see clearly—only two green flashes could be seen. After all, Eagle Demon was a great talisman martial artist with extraordinary strength. He managed to block those attacks, forcing others to retreat. He shouted, “Old Qi! Attack its belly!”

Luo Jie breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Green Knife Mantis was fierce, it had no special skills. As long as Eagle Demon and Qi Nanshan could hold it off, they would win for sure.

Guo Shier said, “Master, act quickly! They won’t last long—the guy is too fast!” Suddenly, he thought of something and, before he could tell his master, he tapped his life talisman sphere. A golden thread rose into the air, after which he said, “Master, be careful—the Green Knife Mantis can fly!”

Luo Jie’s expression changed drastically. He tapped his life talisman book, and a burst of flames appeared. He shouted, “Be careful and dodge!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. His master actually wanted to use fire to burn the Green Knife Mantis’s wings. In his opinion, an ice-based attack would be better, as insects feared the cold the most.

The flames were extremely powerful, but they had to hit their target. The Green Knife Mantis was faster than lightning, and by the time the flames fell, it had already darted to the side.

Guo Shier didn’t launch an attack but instead controlled his sword talisman to circle in the air. When the golden thread didn’t transform into a blade, it consumed very little energy and remained unnoticed, with only close observation revealing its faint golden glow.

“Master, use an ice-based attack to freeze its speed!”

Luo Jie cursed himself for being so foolish, needing his disciple’s reminder. With a flick of his finger, a series of ice spikes were sent flying. Instead of targeting the Green Knife Mantis directly, they exploded above it, turning into ice mist that fell downward. At this moment, Luo Jie’s strength became evident—hundreds of ice spikes flew out in succession, quickly turning into ice mist above the Green Knife Mantis, causing the temperature to drop sharply. Instantly, the Green Knife Mantis’s speed slowed down.

Qi Nanshan and Eagle Demon breathed a slight sigh of relief. This mutated Green Knife Mantis had put a huge strain on them.

Squeak! Squeak…

Eagle Demon and Qi Nanshan were terrified. The sound was horrifying, like a sharp blade scraping against glass, making people’s hearts tremble. Qi Nanshan held his breath and suddenly shouted loudly, “Ya Dai!” Only then did everyone’s minds calm down a bit.

Luo Jie ordered, “Don’t let it escape the range of the ice mist!”

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo Zhan, use the talisman bow to test that guy’s defense!”

As long as they could slow down the mutated Green Knife Mantis’s speed, Guo Shier could slowly find its weakness. Once the weakness was identified, the mutated Green Knife Mantis would be doomed.

Luo Zhan took out a talisman bow, nocked an arrow, and asked, “Where to shoot?”

Guo Shier replied, “Its stomach!”

Whoosh!

Luo Zhan shot an arrow immediately. Guo Shier said, “The chest!” As he spoke, Luo Zhan fired arrow after arrow. Guo Shier felt helpless; Luo Zhan’s shots were extremely accurate, but none of them could penetrate the Green Knife Mantis’s shell, as the mutated Green Knife Mantis completely ignored the attacks from the magic arrows.
“Uncle Luo, stop.”
Luo Zhan exclaimed, “It’s damn hard! If we can’t break this shell, we won’t be able to win!”
Guo Shier said, “Prepare the javelins! Uncle Luo, form two teams of five each. Follow my orders and take turns throwing the javelins!”
The javelins they used were not the same kind seen in the secret realm last time, but locally made magic javelins that didn’t explode but had extremely strong penetrating power, making them excellent weapons for group attacks. Ever since witnessing the power of javelins in the secret realm last time, Guo Shier and Luo Jie had ordered a batch of them to be distributed among the magic warriors.
Luo Zhan quickly gathered his men. Guo Shier shouted, “Attack!”