Chapter 1: The Swarm of Golden Beetles (Part 1)

A sea of golden beetles covered half the sky, so dense that it obscured the view. Even more terrifying was the fact that these beetles could spew flames. Outside the defensive talismans, fires raged, engulfing everything that could catch fire. From time to time, the beetles fell into the flames, seemingly absorbing their energy.

The professionals from the Fire Sect and those from other factions were tasked with breaking out of the defensive circle and doing their best to kill the golden beetles, reducing their numbers so they couldn’t continuously attack the talismans. With so many beetles attacking relentlessly, even the Fire Sect’s defensive talismans might not hold out. If the talismans failed, everyone would be doomed.

Han Yan said, “The mission tokens you’ve been given have one function: they allow you to leave the defensive talismans and return at any time. We’ll form teams and take turns going out to fight. If things get too tough, we can retreat immediately… Everyone, be careful—when retreating, there’s a risk of bringing in more golden beetles. So, several teams will stay inside the defensive talismans to kill those that follow… Is everyone clear about their tasks?”

“Understood!”

The task was simple, but not easy to complete. A single mistake could mean death, so everyone was tense.

Han Yan continued, “Remember, the Fire Sect doesn’t want you to risk your lives. Just kill the golden beetles… Never venture too deep into the swarm. If you can’t hold back, retreat back to the defensive talismans immediately. I don’t want anyone to die—there are already too many casualties.”

As long as it wasn’t an endless battle, Guo Shier was confident he could survive. Feeling a bit relieved, he asked, “Elder Han, the main attack direction of the golden beetle swarm isn’t here, is it?”

Han Yan nodded. “We’re on the side. The main attack is coming from the north, still some distance away from here.”

Since it wasn’t the main attack direction, it meant the beetles here weren’t very strong—most were level eight or nine, with the rest being lower-level. Thus, most of those sent here were mid-to-low-level professionals. Even a Sage Master would be considered a top expert here, while a Grand Sage Master would be the decisive force, needed in critical moments.

Eagle Demon said, “Shier, when you go out later, don’t go too far. I’ll protect you.”

Guo Shier shook his head. “Uncle Eagle Demon, no need to protect me. This is a chance to train. It’s rare to have an opportunity to fight freely like this…”

Luo Zhan added, “Yeah, this is a fight with a safety net and a way to retreat. I want to train too.”

This is both a crisis and an opportunity. Through this slaughter, all the surviving disciples of the Fire Sect can be tempered, and many of them will advance rapidly—combat has always been the fastest way to grow. Guo Ershui quickly understood this truth. The Fire Sect truly is the most powerful sect on the Earth Fire Continent. Although it suffered countless losses in cities and lives due to this swarm of golden-armored insects, if it can survive this crisis, its overall strength may still increase. As for ordinary people, they can migrate to other continents if they wish. Professionals from the intermediate continents are eager to join the sects on the advanced continents, and since the Fire Sect is a large sect on an advanced continent, it is even more attractive to skilled individuals. Therefore, temporary losses in personnel have little impact on the Fire Sect. A sect like the Fire Sect has existed for tens of thousands of years, with a depth of heritage beyond Guo Ershui’s imagination. The swarm of golden-armored insects can only harm its flesh but not its core strength. Despite the fierce onslaught of this swarm, the Fire Sect remained calm and quickly organized a counterattack. The group Guo Ershui was in consisted of ten people. Xu Yan, who was both a Saint Master and an outer sect disciple of the Fire Sect, naturally became the temporary leader of the group. Among them, besides Xu Yan being a Saint Master, four others were also Saint Masters, including Guo Ershui and Eagle Demon; the rest were Mad Masters. The other two Saint Masters were professionals from outer continents, one of whom was skilled at controlling spirit beasts. He released an ice bear, a level-seven mutated spirit beast, and made it shrink to the size of a small dog so he could hold it in one hand, ready to strike at any moment. Guo Ershui was curious—having traveled for so long, it was rare to see a professional skilled at controlling spirit beasts or spirit insects. He stepped forward and said, “What a cute ice bear.” The man glanced at the Ancient Flame Sparrow on Guo Ershui’s shoulder, showed slight surprise, and bowed, saying, “Qianbing Continent, Hanmen, Lu Yiding, junior talisman beast Saint Master.” Guo Ershui finally saw a beast control professional and quickly bowed in return, saying, “Xinji Continent, wandering professional, intermediate talisman Saint Master, Guo Ershui.” Lu Yiding was surprised, “Aren’t you a beast controller?” Guo Ershui smiled and said, “I’m a talisman profession, not a beast control profession. But I do possess beast talismans.”

Lu Yiding was puzzled. Beast control was a specialized profession, and that Ancient Flame Sparrow clearly possessed spirituality—something ordinary professionals couldn’t achieve. Since it was their first meeting, he didn’t feel comfortable pressing further and said with a smile, “We’re in the same group. Let’s take care of each other once we go out.”

Guo Shier nodded. “Let’s take care of each other.”

Another Sage Master, like Guo Shier, was also a nomadic professional. He only gave his name and remained silent, appearing quite reserved. His name was Gu Yi, a junior Spell Sage Master who was thin and short, with an unremarkable appearance.

Thanks to Han Yan’s support, Guo Shier’s group was relatively strong. Out of ten members, five were Sage Master level, while the other five were Berserker Masters, with the lowest being a junior Berserker Master. Other groups had many master-level professionals, but their strength was relatively weaker.

Each of the three groups was responsible for a section about a hundred meters long. Their task was to kill the Golden Armored Beetles within that area. There were also a dozen other groups composed entirely of experts, whose task was to provide rescue. If any group got into trouble, they would rush to help and minimize casualties.

Han Yan originally planned to have Guo Shier join such a group, but Guo Shier preferred to fight and improve his combat skills, gaining various battle experiences. He had the authentic heritage of the Ancient Spell People, but what he lacked was combat experience.

This kind of killing was essential for spellcasters. Only through harsh battles could a spellcaster truly grow, and that was exactly what Guo Shier lacked the most. In his three lifetimes, he had been kind in his first life, never killing anything. In his second life, he struggled in the mortal world—neither truly kind nor evil. In this life, in this special world of spells, he himself didn’t know whether his actions were good or bad. However, killing Golden Armored Beetles carried no psychological burden for him.

Such combat experience was extremely rare, especially with protective spell arrays backing him up, which made him feel much more at ease.

Each group went out to fight for ten minutes, then it was the turn of another group to rest for twenty minutes before going back into battle, in this alternating pattern.

Guo Shier focused and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, be careful and protect Uncle Luo. He hasn’t received the Berserker inheritance yet.” Without the Berserker inheritance, Luo Zhan’s strength was only slightly better than that of a senior Great Spell Martial Artist, and it wasn’t even comparable to that of a junior Berserker Master. Entering the battlefield was somewhat dangerous for him.

Eagle Demon said, “Don’t worry, Guo Shier, I’ll protect you all.” He seemed very confident—using the newly acquired Golden Armor Talisman Shield, those golden beetles wouldn’t be able to break through their defenses at all.
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Hmm, you have a pair of highly defensive turtle shells!”
Eagle Demon was confused, “Turtle shells? These are Golden Armor Shells…”
Guo Shier chuckled. Sometimes he would casually mention concepts from his past life, but the people here often couldn’t understand them. He said, “It’s our turn soon… Let’s watch how the first group fights first.”
The first group consisted of two female professionals who were already middle-aged but appeared young; both were master-level experts. There were only three masters in this group, but the leader was an advanced master whose strength was not much weaker than that of Guo Shier’s group. The power of an advanced master must not be underestimated.
If a real fight broke out, relying on his own strength, even with Eagle Demon by his side, Guo Shier wouldn’t be able to defeat an advanced master. But with spirit beasts like the Giant Nesting Dragon, the advanced master would be at a disadvantage. That was Guo Shier’s advantage.
Watching as the first group rushed out of the defensive barrier and was immediately overwhelmed by a tide of golden beetles, Guo Shier and the others felt chilled to the bone. They knew these people were fine—having on defensive talisman armor—so those low-level golden beetles couldn’t break through their defenses in a short time. Yet being besieged by so many golden beetles was still terrifying.
The ten-person group had to clear the golden beetles within a 100-meter range. As the battle progressed, in just about four minutes, the group retreated in disarray, with almost everyone injured. The advanced master’s face was pale as he panted and said, “There are too many… We can’t hold them off. If this goes on, the defensive talisman armor won’t hold!”
A few master-level professionals in the group were severely injured—one had a leg broken, and another was badly burned. The two were quickly carried away by ordinary people to the tent area for treatment.
Even so, the second group still had to rush out. No matter how many minutes they could fight, they had to eliminate as many golden beetles as possible to reduce the pressure on the defensive talisman array.
Without hesitation, Guo Shier followed Eagle Demon out of the defensive talisman array. He used both the Golden Armor Amulet and the Green Lotus Talisman as defensive measures, while also employing his life talisman sword as a defensive barrier around him. These were all his defensive methods, and he figured they could hold off for at least a few minutes.
As for attacks, he had only two options: commanding the Ancient Flame Sparrow or using the Giant Axe Talisman.

In addition to wielding the newly crafted Great Golden Armor Talisman Shield, the Eagle Demon also held a Life Talisman Sword. Against level 9 or 10 mutated talisman worms, this sword might not be able to pierce their defenses, but it required no effort at all to slay these lower-level golden armor insects.

Luo Zhan hid within the Eagle Demon’s Great Golden Armor Talisman Shield, standing back to back with him, ready to use talisman weapons to deal with the golden armor insects.

As they rushed out of the defensive talisman array, a scorching heat wave hit them. Thanks to the two layers of defense in place, if it weren’t for them, their clothes would have caught fire as soon as they stepped out of the array. The surroundings were ablaze with red light, as countless golden armor insects swarmed forward and were shattered by the spinning Life Talisman Sword. The crackling sounds mixed with their eerie screeches were unbearable to hear.