Seeing Dean Wu’s grief-stricken expression, as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words, Han Ning shook his head.
"Dean... let’s not dwell on that for now. Have the others clean up the battlefield. We’ve administered first aid to the wounded, but they need more thorough medical attention."
Dean Wu nodded and immediately assigned all remaining personnel to clear the battlefield.
"What about the new group of foreigners? Didn’t you bring them along?" Teacher Zhou, who had regained consciousness, asked as he looked at the familiar faces before him, coughing heavily.
"Xiaozhou, your face... what happened?"
The moment Dean Wu saw Teacher Zhou, a look of profound disbelief spread across his weather-beaten face.
He’d only been out of sight for a few hours, yet the young man had somehow aged to look even older than the dean himself.
"My Spiritual Power Talent is Damage Transfer. I absorbed too much of the damage meant for my Soul Beast during the fight. It wasn’t physical damage, but it took a toll on my Spiritual Power, Life Force... all of it," Teacher Zhou said with a bitter smile. His expression, however, was blank, and a deep sorrow filled his eyes. "Even though I burned my Spiritual Power to its limits, I still couldn’t save the day."
Dean Wu fell silent for a long time, rubbing his eye sockets with a withered hand. "They’ve never even seen an insect swarm," he finally explained, his voice trembling. "I was worried bringing them here would cause a mutiny. They would have been more of a hindrance than a help, so I had them hide in a relatively safe place." His gaze then shifted, searching the crowd for a familiar figure.
"Dean, who are you looking for?" Teacher Zhou had already guessed who it was. His face, already stiff with pain, could show no further emotion.
"Where’s Xiuning?" Dean Wu asked, his voice hoarse.
"Teacher Lü... like Liu Yueming, he might never wake up."
Han Ning stepped aside, revealing Lü Xiuning lying on a pallet of soft sheets.
"Before you returned, Han Ning, Xiuning and the rest of us devised a plan. He was going to use his Spiritual Power Talent to assassinate the Insect Masters of the Red Centipede Tribe."
As someone who had witnessed it firsthand, Teacher Zhou began to tell Han Ning and Dean Wu what had happened at the start of the battle.
"Xiuning’s Talent is a power similar to Instant Movement. He can burn Spiritual Power to move a target he has locked onto with his mind. According to him, the larger the individual and the more Energy it possessed, the more Spiritual Power it would consume. So... his plan was for us to draw the attention of the Insect Masters and their swarm while he snuck into range to assassinate their most powerful member using his Instant Teleportation Talent."
"His name is Fei Lie," Han Ning said, pointing to where Fei Lie lay on the other side, personally guarded by Yin Yi.
"Teacher Xiuning... failed," Teacher Zhou sighed heavily. "He was captured by Fei Lie. I was too far away after that, so I don’t know what happened."
"Teacher Lü used his Spiritual Power Talent to rescue He Yang, burning the last of his Spiritual Power to do it." Han Ning recounted what he had seen upon his arrival, intentionally leaving out the gruesome detail that Fei Lie had beheaded him.
"It’s not just Teacher Lü. I’m afraid He Yang, the one he rescued, is likely gone too..." Han Ning mumbled, unwilling to tell them that he had personally witnessed it. He had seen Lü Xiuning use Instant Movement to teleport He Yang to safety below, only for the man to be instantly vaporized by the shockwaves from the battle.
"..."
Listening to their accounts, tears streamed down the old dean’s face.
Lü Xiuning had always been his left and right hands. The two of them were like the pen and the sword, managing the academy’s many affairs. Forget after coming to this world—even before, they had worked together for years. Their bond ran deep, far deeper than any other.
Now, with Teacher Lü on the verge of death, Dean Wu was overcome with grief.
Just then, Teacher Fang walked over, supporting a black-eyed Lin Tianhe. He wiped the blood from his nose and smeared it on a nearby wall before speaking to the group.
"I have the casualty report. Before the battle, we had 263 people, 12 Extraordinary Level Soul Beasts, and 251 Awakened Level Soul Beasts. After the battle, only two Extraordinary Level Soul Beasts remain, both near death. Ten were killed. Of the Awakened Level Soul Beasts, 200 were killed and 51 are critically injured. Our entire insect swarm was wiped out."
"As for personnel, we have 67 dead and 128 critically injured. The rest are all wounded to some degree."
"The two surviving Extraordinary Level Soul Beasts are Miss Niya’s Jade Spirit Damselfly and... Tianhe’s Xiaoyu."
Teacher Fang’s gaze fell on the figure in Lin Tianhe’s arms, which had been reduced to a tiny sprout.
"We also have the Green Moth Tribe to thank for their help. Without them, other than Han Ning, I doubt any of us would have survived."
As the numbers from the report were read aloud, everyone gathered around fell silent.
After a long moment, Han Ning broke the silence. "Dean Wu, Teachers, I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"I want to see if the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm can inject a Subordinate Insect into Fei Lie. We could turn him into our puppet, have him infiltrate the Red Centipede Tribe, and then coordinate an attack from both the inside and out. We could kill Fei Ming directly, install Fei Lie as the new Clan Leader, and make the entire Red Centipede Tribe our puppet."
Han Ning took a deep breath.
"Developing methodically is too slow. This world is too dangerous, and we never know when the next disaster will strike. We have to take a gamble to rapidly increase our strength."
"With the entire Red Centipede Tribe providing us with resources, our power will grow exponentially. The next time we face danger, the outcome won’t be this devastating."
The effectiveness of the Subordinate Insect was undeniable. At first, he’d suspected Aketu of betraying them by reporting their location to the Red Centipede Tribe.
However, his observations suggested Aketu was not at fault. The Red Centipede Tribe had carried out all their actions without Aketu’s knowledge. He simply didn’t know what was happening, so he couldn’t have reported back to Han Ning.
Of course, he’d have to wait until after he interrogated Fei Lie and the other captured Insect Master to be certain.
Hearing Han Ning’s plan, Dean Wu—who normally prioritized safety and stability above all else—didn’t object. Instead, he countered with a question.
"Didn’t you say the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm could only create one Subordinate Insect to control one puppet?"
"That’s true for now. But I want to try something. I’m going to get the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm to advance to the War General Level. Logically, the higher its level, the more Subordinate Insects it should be able to create."
He planned to use the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s mimicry Talent to disguise himself as the Insect Master who had died in the battle. When he went to report back to Fei Ming, he and the puppet Fei Lie would assassinate him together.
It was the fastest way Han Ning could think of to increase their power, and also the plan with the highest chance of success.
It was incredibly dangerous, but the rewards were immense.
Fei Lie was the second-in-command of the Red Centipede Tribe. Even if Fei Ming was a suspicious man by nature, he wouldn’t be paranoid enough to suspect his own High Priest of plotting to kill him.
"It’s too dangerous... If that Fei Ming finds out, Ah Ning, what will... what will you do?" Lin Tianhe’s face was etched with worry.
Han Ning’s voice was grave. "Better to take a desperate gambit for long-term peace than to live in constant fear."
The Red Centipede Tribe was even larger than the Yinsaike Race, second only to the Ran Huo. With such a massive Insect Master Family to support them, he believed it wouldn’t be long before the academy could produce many more Beast Masters of the Insect Master Level.
Once the plan succeeded, they could use the massive influx of resources to help Yin Yi evolve and break through to a higher level. At that point, aside from the Five Ancestor Families, they would likely have no enemies left on the entire Insect Continent.
"The risk is immense... but it is feasible. I’m just... I’m still worried about your safety, Xiaohan." Dean Wu’s brow was deeply furrowed.
Han Ning said no more, his tone becoming resolute.
"We’ll use the next few days to recover our strength. Let’s try to use what’s left of the fallen Red Centipede Tribe’s insect-men to rebuild our home. I’m going to have the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm break through to the War General Level. I can guarantee that once it’s a War General, our chances of success will be extremely high."
"Even if I fail, I’ll be the only one to die. If the mission fails, Dean Wu, just take everyone and retreat to the second shelter."