The Doomsday Lord: Starting as a Insect Queen
Chapter 155 - 69: The Game of Hunting the Lord (3k)

Chapter 155: Chapter 69: The Game of Hunting the Lord (3k)

"Someone entered the dungeon world?"

Although it had been indicated on the panel before she exited the dungeon that the world was still part of the instance and that other Lords could enter, she had not anticipated the arrival of the first Lord so soon.

And what’s meant by "please handle it in time"?

It’s as if it’s talking about a food delivery order...

"It’s a shame I can’t directly see who this ’customer’ is..."

However, thanks to this ’customer’, Bai Yi gained an additional day to enter the dungeon, and it didn’t seem to count against her weekly entry. She wasn’t sure if she had to wait a full seven days to re-enter or if entry permissions would refresh weekly.

But for now, Bai Yi had not acquired new time.

However, there were still many matters to deal with inside her territory, this week’s Cycle Challenge had yet to be prepared, and both the advancement of her superpower and the [Forest Elf] ritual needed to be completed within her territory.

A pile of "folders" remained in "new" status, and she couldn’t spare two days to delve into the dungeon just yet.

"Now, whether it’s a seven-day cooldown or if the entry permission refreshes tomorrow, I need to consider how to make use of the extra time provided by the dungeon soon. With the threefold acceleration of time, that’s two free days.

Moreover, there’s such a vast world inside, it could serve as an excellent testing ground for the Insect Swarm.

There are no large-scale wars inside the dungeon, making it difficult to test combat-oriented Insect Swarms, but it’s perfect for Parasite research, which I hadn’t got time to study since coming back.

However, the main task now is to raise my superpower to Rank 4. Afterwards, whether it’s nurturing Tree-men or researching Parasites, things will speed up significantly."

Having set her priorities, Bai Yi momentarily put aside the matter of the dungeon world and continued to access her panel.

She hadn’t yet checked the ranking rewards after this week’s settlement or the details of next week’s Cycle Challenge, both of which were crucial for her upcoming plans.

Of course, the Cycle Challenge was more important. Upon opening the challenge interface, she indeed found anomalies.

[Cycle Challenge - Man and Beast: The power causing the cold disaster is fluctuating, and there’s a hint of the cold receding. However, this is currently irrelevant to the Lords as the weather remains harsh. Both man and beast must fight for the chance to see the dawn.]

[Note: During this week, all Mutant Creature groups will be assigned "temporary territories" based on their size and assigned temporary Ranks. Challenge Points will be awarded based on contributions made by destroying territories. Hunting points leaderboard will be active, with settlements at 12 PM every day, and a daily marketplace opened according to the leaderboard. The points will carry over to the next day.]

[Note: This week’s challenge will last for two weeks. All Lords, please strive to survive.]

It seems the challenge hints emphasize hunting down Mutant Creature groups, even forming teams to challenge powerful Mutant Creatures for points.

But Bai Yi, who had expanded her vision to cover the entire region, knew that after the challenge of the previous week, most of the Mutant Creature groups in White Poplar City had already been hunted down.

Many of them fell because of her own efforts. Currently, the largest Mutant Creature groups left were only around White Poplar Mountain and along Red River downstream near White Poplar Lake.

Both these areas, due to the presence of the Beast King, remain unchallenged by other Lords. Under the Intimidation of the Beast Kings, some Mutant Creature groups have been preserved.

As for other places, Bai Yi couldn’t claim they had been absolutely purged; for secrecy, her Insect Swarm hadn’t approached the urban ruins, only hunting near the invisible barriers on the outskirts.

And as other Lords shared the spoils of hunting Mutant Creatures close to the urban ruins, only some hidden among the gaps of the two regions’ hunting areas remained.

However, it was certain that in White Poplar City, the number of groups left as hunting targets were few.

Once these remaining Mutant Creatures were hunted to the brink of extinction, the only path left openly for the Lords would be to challenge the two large Mutant Creature habitats guarded by the Beast Kings.

But provoking Beast Kings meant danger.

Especially for Low-tier Lords, they had no choice but to adopt a zerg rush strategy or collaborate with others if going near the territory of the two Beast Kings for hunting, which could easily attract other ravenous Mutant Creatures due to their large presence.

It could even capture the attention of the Beast Kings, who may view it as a provocation.

Aside from herself, there wasn’t a Lord in White Poplar City who could confront the power of a Beast King head-on, especially the gorilla near White Poplar Lake.

Yet, Bai Yi thought of a new path—hunting Lords.

Perhaps it was due to her new awareness of territory functions, but Bai Yi was extremely sensitive to such terminology nowadays.

The announcement only mentioned temporary territories for Mutant Creatures, but it didn’t limit which territories could be destroyed.

And perhaps this challenge was inherently designed for Lords to slaughter each other, with the Mutant Creatures merely a side factor, or just serving as a "tutorial" to acclimate the Lords to the challenge setup...

Bai Yi suddenly thought of something and looked ahead at the challenge’s introduction, which also implied there was no difference between humans and Mutant Creatures; both must be ruthless to survive.

Also, after two weeks of the cold disaster, food supplies were getting scarcer. Even if Landon I somehow managed to secure the building that could stimulate plant growth, Bai Yi had seen it.

Landon didn’t hide any details of the building—from the price to the functions and consumption, it all proved that this could only guarantee basic sustenance for Low-level Lords.

And as the Mutant Creatures dwindled, the last source of meat would soon vanish. One could easily predict what the Lords trapped in resource scarcity might do...

This matched the challenge’s description perfectly, perhaps setting the stage for a bloody catalyst of the challenge.

And all of this is initiated by the Lords themselves; no one would associate it with the game’s guidance since the game even offered an alternative plan that only involves hunting Mutant Creature packs.

"I wonder what Rank those two Beast Kings from White Poplar Mountain are. Maybe I could make a deal with them to ’surrender’ symbolically when the event starts?

Or perhaps I can destroy what’s judged as territory, and maybe earn a substantial amount of points in one go!

Speaking of which, how are the talks with Ju going? It’s been a whole morning; there should be some results by now..."

Bai Yi got up from the makeshift Potion mixing table inside the tree hollow and walked out onto the suspended walkway supported by branches outside the hollow, where a vine hung down, affectionately interacting with Bai Yi, expressing elated emotions.

"Hm? Is it going to rain?"

You conveyed its perception to Bai Yi. After nearly half a month of cold disaster, the weather finally began to warm up, showing signs of impending rain—something You, as a plant, was extremely sensitive to.

With You’s prompt, Bai Yi looked into the distance through the dense canopy that You deliberately parted.

After multiple attribute enhancements, Bai Yi’s strengthened body gave her a vision far beyond that of an ordinary person. Through the shade of the trees, dark clouds were already enveloping the sky nearby, and the snow accumulated upon the branches showed signs of melting.

Branches that were once coated in white frost were now clearing up, revealing their brown limbs beneath.

"Is the cold disaster really coming to an end..."

Bai Yi harbored doubts about this; she remembered the challenge introduction mentioning only fluctuations in the power of the cold disaster, not a retreat.

As if to confirm Bai Yi’s thoughts, the dark clouds nearby produced a few weak Lightning bolts through friction and quickly turned from pitch black to grey, eventually transforming into white clouds and completely dissipating.

Instead, visible Sunshine spread in this direction, bringing a breath of warmth.

Yet, this warmth did not last long before it was replaced by a wave of cold, and once again dark clouds obscured the sky, a muddled grey that immediately brought downpouring rain.

"It’s the two Beast Gods fighting; this is merely the aftermath of their battle."

A very unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed in Bai Yi’s ears, and You, maintaining a Spiritual Connection with her, also conveyed a feeling of alertness. More vines with flowing black Corrosion and spikes flavored with Space appeared around her.

Even the Insect Swarm, hidden in the trees and lingering nearby, suddenly halted their actions and quickly gathered under the giant banyan.

"Oh oh oh, calm down, calm down. Let me introduce myself; I am one of White Poplar Mountain’s Beast Kings, known as the Monkey King.

Of course, I prefer the title Great Saint, as it makes me sound cooler.

Or you could also call me by my Human name, Guan Sheng, the ’Guan’ from Guan Yu and the ’Sheng’ for victory. It was the name my former keeper gave me."

Bai Yi looked down in the direction of the voice and saw the orange cat lying on the back of a tall, upright monkey.

The monkey was standing tall, nearly reaching the suspended platform under Bai Yi’s feet. If not for the tail behind it and the largely unchanged appearance, Bai Yi might not have recognized this as a monkey.

However, with the staff of unknown material it clutched in its hand, it really did look the part.

Beside the monkey was a white bird that landed on the ground, which seemed to be only half the height of the monkey.

Without a doubt, these were two of White Poplar Mountain’s Beast Kings.

"Snake is still in hibernation and hasn’t woken up, so he didn’t come. You must be the Tree King that Old Cat mentioned, right?"

The orange cat did not refute the title, instead, it also looked up at Bai Yi and said:

"The cat has persuaded them; they are willing to join the territory and become a Hero Unit within the territory like me.

The cat’s job is done; the rest of the details are for you to discuss~"

After speaking, the orange cat suddenly disappeared from the monkey’s head and hid back into the tree hollow.

Bai Yi gestured behind her, and You immediately understood her intent, pulling out a staff bound with branches using vines from the tree hollow to hold in her hand.

The power of the Forest Elf and Chimera doubled onto Bai Yi, and both Beast Kings clearly felt that, at this moment, Bai Yi’s aura spiked to the same level as theirs.

What kind of power is this?

The monkey and the bird exchanged glances, seeing the confusion in each other’s eyes.

But of course, Bai Yi wouldn’t clarify their doubts. She waved her hand to signal You to relax the guard, the surrounding Insect Swarm once again concealed themselves, signaling Bai Yi’s goodwill to the two Beast Kings.

However, she continued to accelerate the return of the external swarm, constantly providing her with attribute enhancements while also calling Shang Ji back from Eternal Life City, readying herself for the subsequent negotiation.

"Since the two of you have come here, you are guests. Please come inside first, Beast Kings. We can sit down and talk at leisure if there is anything."

Bai Yi invited the two Beast Kings generously, making a welcoming gesture and turning to enter the tree hollow.

...

Beast God: In everyone’s hearts, the Beast God always refers to one being. It made its mark from the beginning of the Mutation, possessing divine intelligence. After breaking through to the legendary 8th Rank, it descended into the earth to slumber, and the land of its slumber became tainted by its power, creating the Burning Desert...