Section Sixty-Eight: Insects

They had returned.

Judging by their numbers and their military bearing, her ambush had failed.

Charles felt conflicted. He was relieved that the one who held his life in her hands had failed, yet he was also worried about his own future.

Would she demand even more from him? Force him to do even more dangerous things? Right now, Wang Luo already did not trust him, and merely maintaining the status quo was difficult enough.

He did not know what exactly was happening on the side of Wuzhou. No need to ask—Dart would never tell him. So now... should he go to Wang Luo, or to Gertini?

How much did Wang Luo know? If I tell him everything I know, can he help me pay off my debt?

As for Lin Feirui, what did he know? She had a skill that could instantly kill a boss, and it seemed that apart from consuming stamina, it also used general points. In addition, her luck was excellent; many times, she did nothing at all and yet somehow gained the advantage.

That should be impossible. As for Xue Yu, I know nothing at all about the reason for her victory. How could those things possibly be worth more than a million general points?

If that is the case, then I still have to hope she wins... because if Wang Luo wins, or worse, if Huaqian is killed, I will be killed outright. And even if it is the leechworm instead, if they lose, then the outcome will be that I must repay double the debt.

Either way, I would be erased.

He touched his chest, but felt nothing unusual. Recently, he had been fairly cooperative, so the worm had not acted up much either.

Parasite: can be transmitted by various forms of contact into the target's body, where it usually lies dormant. When the host disobeys the worm master's will or shows hostility toward the worm master, it is activated. Once activated, it increases the host's pain by 300 percent, and under the worm master's control, can attack it at will, dealing one point of damage with each strike.

The parasite feeds on the host's life points or general points, and returns part of the gain to the worm master.

Wuzhou—does everyone there have this thing in them? Charles thought of the miserable state he had been in when it was first activated, and could not help shivering.

If he wanted to survive, either the Han army had to win, or Huaqian had to defect as well.

That woman... she alone was probably impossible to betray.

The man who had once been so confident, so capable and shrewd, was now trapped in a dead end. He had no idea how things would ultimately turn out; for the moment, all he could do was get through one day at a time.

----

"They are so mean..."

Lin Feirui nestled in the arms of the woman beside her.

In both appearance and figure, the woman was the complete opposite of Lin Feirui at that moment. Her hair was dry and yellowed, her body thin and gaunt. On her deathly pale face were high cheekbones, thin lips, slightly upturned nostrils, and dim triangular eyes.

Her body, usually wrapped in black, was now in a pitiful state. Her abdomen was somewhat bloated, yet her chest was painfully flat, her hips narrow and slender, and she had no waist to speak of.

"You haven't come here in a long time." She stroked Lin Feirui's smooth back. "Well, yes, we haven't suffered a defeat in a long time either."

"They bullied me, sob sob..." Lin Feirui sniffled.

"Even though I worked so hard, why won't they just do what I want? Why won't they die? Why do they keep causing me trouble? I spent more than two million... sob sob... and only got a little over a thousand in return..."

In other rooms, she usually came to indulge herself. But in this room, beside this old friend with whom she had cooperated the longest, the pillar of the team, the person she trusted most, she could finally speak her heart freely.

"Yes, he is really hateful!" Huaqian responded to her friend's words. "Anyone who bullies a girl deserves to die! He's just a newcomer trash, and yet he has caused my darling such trouble! When we get back, I will make sure the worm eats him alive! Start from his lower body, let him watch as it eats, let it hurt him to the marrow! Let him scream in agony, and then we will stand by and watch, and never forgive him!"

Huaqian cursed like this, stroking Lin Feirui as she continued to cry. She smoothed her hair and gently kissed her cheeks, licking away her tears.

After that, the conversation did not go any deeper. A while later, when she felt the other woman's emotions had stabilized a little, Huaqian continued.

"Feeling better?"

"Mm."

"How many more times can Xue Yu be used?"

"At most once, and only the basic range and minimum duration."

"There's still a chance. You saw how strong the Han army is. We do as we did at the beginning: follow them, wait for an opportunity. We can still win."

"Mm." Lin Feirui's tone gradually regained its usual composure. "Charles's worm can evolve now. He is still useful. As for Gertini's side, I plan to give him more concessions; he can do more."

"Over by Zhou Suyan's side, have them speed up. Her influence on the enemy should be very limited, but... perhaps it may still prove useful."

"Gruna's situation is going smoothly. After this, I will arrange for him to continue holding his post. Once there is a decisive development at the front, then we can consider a pincer attack."

"As for our side, everyone should have their own ideas. At a time like this, if we can win one battle, then everything can be solved. But you should also prepare your worms; I will try my best to control the pace. If anything comes up, don't rush to act. I will choose the remaining two suitable ones myself."

"All right." Huaqian agreed, touching her own face.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to burden you either." Lin Feirui threw herself into the other woman's arms. "For now, three should still be manageable, right?"

"Yes, but that is the limit too." Huaqian replied.

Lin Feirui began crying again.

Was this because of the pain of her losses? Because she felt it was outrageous that the other side had not let her have her way? Because she was saddened by her friend's suffering? Or because of something else?

----

"Find a few soldiers and report Gruna. Say that while chopping firewood outside the camp, some soldiers have been spreading rumors in private and shaking the army's morale."

"He can't mobilize the soldiers. He may go see for himself, or he may have Han officers handle it. But in any case, he will leave the camp. While he is out, Eric and Morrow will draw away the guards on his side. Owen will go in when he leaves his tent and set up the trap. I will kill him."

Garriville poured out the plan he had previously devised all at once.

The plan was simple. As for the risks, not a single word was mentioned.

"Our stats are only at half right now. If everyone performs normally, plus a bit of luck, maybe we can succeed. And after that?" Moronov asked.

"Continue the propaganda." This time, Garriville's thinking was very clear. "These things are highly tempting to most soldiers. The foreign Han army can't keep things under such tight control forever. Once they start to relax, we will keep spreading it. When the main force from the large camp arrives, we will persuade them to surrender or kill the new Han troops!"

"This time, we will do everything we can and take all these soldiers over there!"