CHAPTER 53: IRON INSECTS

Kyrian opened his eyes when the sun had not yet fully touched the sky. The morning chill was present, yet it did not affect him, in fact, it was comfortable.

The forest was silent, broken only occasionally by the distant rustling of leaves.

He rose immediately, without any laziness. He adjusted his clothes before turning to Mu Yanyu, who was leaning against the wall of a cave, still asleep. Only a few days had passed since they left the city.

With a small movement, he touched her shoulder.

"Wake up. We have to leave."

Yanyu opened her eyes slowly. Her body was slightly sore from the training, but she did not dare complain. She simply stood, adjusted her sword at her waist, and followed him as he was already exiting the cave.

"We will reach the territory of the Iron Insects today," Kyrian said briefly.

Yanyu simply nodded. And then they continued forward. Suddenly, they began to notice that the dense forest seemed to open up.

The trees appeared to be more spaced out. The ground had a slightly yellower hue. Both of them immediately sensed the strangeness but continued until they reached a clearing.

The path was silent until, suddenly, the ground beneath their feet trembled. It started lightly at first but within seconds turned into strong vibrations that caused leaves and branches around them to begin falling.

"Step back!" Kyrian said without hesitation.

The two jumped simultaneously, but right where they were about to land, the earth violently broke apart. A grotesque body emerged, throwing soil and stones in all directions.

Kyrian did not waste a moment, the spear immediately appeared in his hands, firm as an extension of his body. His eyes glowed with an icy hue, the iris in the shape of a snowflake expanding.

A cold pulse ran through the shaft of the spear to the tip.

With a direct strike, he drove the spear into the head of the creature still emerging from the ground. The impact echoed with a crack, followed by a piercing scream from the beast.

The icy energy spread, freezing the flesh and cracking the metal that covered its body. In moments, the insect stopped screaming and moving.

But that did not bring relief, it was only the beginning.

The ground trembled again, even more violently than before. From beneath the soil came high-pitched, incessant hissing sounds that echoed with hatred.

Kyrian raised his gaze.

"Step aside. I’ll handle this." His voice was firm, leaving no room for doubt.

Yanyu hesitated slightly but obeyed. She leaped quickly to move out of the circle that began to form around Kyrian.

The ground then exploded at different points. And from there, monstrous creatures emerged.

Kyrian finally saw the true form of the Iron Insects. Their bodies were enormous, a combination of ant and spider.

Their heads had two pincers resembling curved blades, sharp enough to cut through stone. Their entire bodies were covered in metallic plates, reflecting the sunlight. Their abdomens, in particular, seemed like unbreakable carapaces.

As the eight eyes of each of the eight Iron Insects fixed on him, an instinctive hatred consumed the beasts. The hissing grew louder, echoing through the forest.

All the beasts were at the 5° or 6° stage of the Qi Accumulation realm.

Kyrian did not retreat. His gaze narrowed, and the icy energy within his pupils took form.

’I suppose it’s time to test, to truly fight with intentions.’

Kyrian could simply freeze all the beasts in front of him. But the Qi required for that was something he did not yet possess. Even having broken through to the second stage. If he used all his Qi, he might freeze all the beasts for a moment. But then what? He would be left without any strength to defend himself.

He gripped the spear firmly, taking a deep breath. The cold pulsed in his eyes. His eyes and mind were focused.

One of the insects launched first. Its metallic body surged forward in a straight line, fast as a projectile.

Kyrian reacted immediately, but in the instant he moved, he realized.

’Fast, too fast...’

Despite his gaze tracking every detail, his body would not have been able to dodge in time if more than one beast attacked simultaneously.

His cultivation was far below in terms of speed. Even being able to react instantaneously to attacks.

However, the ice intention expanded within his field of vision. The world seemed to slow down before his eyes, but not because time had stopped. The cold created by the intention acted on the joints and muscles of the beasts, making their movements heavy and slow without consuming an absurd amount of Qi. The creature’s motion was enveloped by a layer of cold.

This gave him an opening and enough time. Kyrian swung the spear in a short arc, driving it straight into the eye of the beast. The ice spread like roots, freezing its brain until the entire body collapsed dead.

But he did not have time to breathe. Two more insects were already upon him, one from the left, one from the right. Two pincers descended in sync.

Kyrian knew that, by reflex, he would not be able to escape both with his speed. His eyes glowed intensely, the intention expanding to both sides. The cold gripped the joints of the beasts’ legs, making their movements stiff for a moment.

But it was enough. Kyrian swung the spear horizontally, cutting the throat of one and then driving it into the chest of the other.

Cracks echoed as the ice spread, destroying their internal organs until both fell heavily to the ground.

Three were dead.

Yanyu, from afar, watched without blinking. Her heart raced as she observed, she wanted to help but knew she could only handle one of the beasts, and Kyrian had told her to stay back. In the end, she trusted Kyrian’s strength.

The five remaining beasts launched at the same time. The ground shook under the weight of their metallic bodies. The hissing sounded even more piercing.

To Kyrian’s eyes, everything was clear, every movement, every raised leg, and the exact angle of the pincers. He saw it all but could not react adequately. His speed was insufficient. If he tried to move just his body, he would be pierced in the blink of an eye.

Kyrian’s eyes widened slightly. The cold expanded. He knew. Alone, he could not keep up with so many angles. But with his intention, he could.

The first pincer descended toward him. Kyrian raised the spear, narrowly dodging, and drove the tip into the insect’s abdomen. The cold ran through the metal and burst inside, the frozen body collapsed.

Two beasts came right after, one in front, one behind. Kyrian spun instantly, letting the cold expand through the air like invisible blades. His legs were not fast enough, but the momentary rigidity caused by the ice’s intention gave him an opening. The spear cut through the air and pierced an eye, penetrating the skull. A crack echoed, and the creature fell.

Another was almost upon him, pincers open to crush. Kyrian leaned his body, the attack grazed his shoulder, and he seized the gap to deliver an upward strike. The tip of the spear entered its throat, the ice spreading inside the beast, freezing it.

Two remained. They advanced together in deadly synchrony. Kyrian gritted his teeth, forcing all the understanding he had learned in the barrier. Not just to create ice, he forced all the cold of his intention to fill the air and space around him from his eyes, the cold was used to control the rhythm and movements of everything in his vision.

The beasts, previously too fast, slowed down.

He advanced. Three short and precise thrusts. Eyes pierced, two brains frozen. Two bodies crashing heavily to the ground.

Silence returned to the clearing. The environment was cold, and blood began to drip as the ice rapidly dissipated when Kyrian stopped using his Qi.

Kyrian took a deep breath, keeping the spear steady for a few seconds before finally relaxing his shoulders. His eyes, still with a slight icy glow, narrowed.

Breathless, yet still smiling. Kyrian forgot the world around him as the images of the battle replayed clearly in his mind.

’I have always only used the intention to create ice and manipulate it using Qi as fuel. But that requires an absurd amount of Qi.’

’Instead of simply creating raw ice, using the ice’s intention to slow, restrain, and briefly immobilize or slow things is the best way to use the intention for now. The Qi I used was much less,’ he thought, clenching his fists.

Then he remembered the moment when the insects advanced too fast to dodge, if it were just by speed, he could have been seriously injured or worse.

Kyrian finally understood that spending an immense amount of Qi to create or freeze an enemy entirely would be wasteful. The intention did not require brute force. The intention acted as a kind of authority of the nature of ice over the environment or the target. A moment of rigidity, imposing cold on whatever was in his vision, was enough.

If his spear approached and touched the enemy, it would then be easier for the cold energy to take over the body directly.

He smiled slightly.

He crouched, taking the corpses to his ring. Meanwhile, Yanyu stood with a disbelieving face. Without waiting any longer, she ran to him.