He said he was going to participate in a war of destiny.
He himself offered to help, but was refused.
The reason given was that it was too dangerous, which he found perplexing.
He pointed to the distant city-state and said that if the sensed vibrations were too strong, he hoped he could go and offer assistance.
He asked if he would return.
He pondered for a long time and replied that he would, but did not specify how long it would take.
As the memory faded, the exposed structural diagrams on the steel beams reached their end, with the remaining parts submerged in the wreckage.
The mantis raised its scythes, pulled out the entire steel beam, and continued to observe it, suspended by insect silk, as memories flooded back.
Since then, time had passed day by day.
Except for occasional visits from his companions, he felt as if he had been forgotten by the world.
He would often gaze towards the city-state, anticipating his appearance.
Until the source of the tremors arrived, and his companion said this crisis was immense and they had to strike early.
However, the city-state did not seem to welcome him, but it didn't matter...
Because the familiar him, this time, seemed to have truly returned.
He didn't know if he still remembered him, but he had learned the humanoid mecha he spoke of.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~
All the insect silks retracted simultaneously into the giant serpent's remains.
Based on the two claw-like steel beams, the feet, ankle joints, lower legs, and knees...
The torso quickly took shape amidst the filling and piling of debris.
Zuda, who was commanding the battle in the Great Elder Hall, had a grim expression on his face.
But he was helpless, other than mobilizing troops for support.
Vegaisha glanced at the location of the supply depot warehouses and immediately recognized it as the soft underbelly of the entire combat street.
If anything were to happen, a large-scale explosion of the stored artillery shells would not only cause severe damage to the urban buildings and the combat street's transport railway, but also disrupt all combat supplies.
However, this was not a mistake in planning or construction. The frontline mountain stronghold facing the Lao Shan Dragon had no conditions for deploying supply depot warehouses because it had to withstand immense seismic shocks.
The danger of deploying them within the city was self-evident, but given the extremely high structural integrity of the supply depot warehouses, by the time the Lao Shan Dragon could pose a threat to them, Dong Duoluma would have already fallen, and the surrounding buildings would have long since collapsed into ruins, making any threat moot.
But the battle in the mountain stronghold was still ongoing, and after the Steel Dragon was repelled, the Guild held a glimmer of hope for victory.
If, at this moment, the supply depot warehouses were to explode on a large scale due to an attack by the mantis, the entire battle situation would be completely overturned.
"Mobilize all the rail-mounted artillery vehicles deployed at the South Gate. Overwhelm the mantis's reconstruction speed with artillery fire. This is our last chance."
After much deliberation, Zuda issued his deployment order.
Vegaisha looked at the city engulfed in smoke and fire below and softly asked, "Zuda, why not trust the hunters?"
"Trust the hunters..."
Upon Vegaisha's reminder, Zuda suddenly realized that the wide area of effect during concentrated attacks would prevent the hunters from participating.
"Can it really work?"
Zuda's face showed doubt.
Because every decision made at this moment determined the future of the Guild and Dong Duoluma.
"Otherwise, weren't monsters of Elder Dragon class always repelled by hunters risking their lives? Moreover, if the 'Xucheng' constructed by the mantis this time has stronger mobility than the giant serpent, locking onto it with concentrated fire will be even more difficult. And the mantis might not even consider the supply depot warehouses as its primary target. If they detonate due to artillery collateral damage, wouldn't that be the Guild cutting off its own hope?" Vegaisha explained.
Zuda fell silent for a moment, then loudly issued the command: "Cease fire! Redirect hunters for concentrated attack!"
As countless green signal flares ascended and exploded, and the sound of gongs and horns changed, the hunter teams engaged in frontal combat quickly gathered and joined the fray.
"Thank you for the information, Guild Master. We're off!"
"Bye-bye, meow!"
"Good luck!"
On the side of the street, the Guild Master waved goodbye to the departing man and cat.
"Sigh~ Why does that silhouette look so familiar... Never mind, I should transport my poor decorative vase out first."
The Guild Master said, hoisting the rope onto his shoulder and quickly pulling the cart forward.
"Li Fan! There are so many purple signal flares in the sky, meow!"
Dilu, clinging to Li Fan's neck, pointed a cat paw at the sky and said.
"Hmm... it was mentioned in the operational deployment meeting. Purple signal flares in combat represent guarded areas... That's not right, why would that area need guarding when it's not the Guild Headquarters?"
Li Fan, running, was somewhat puzzled.
"Let me check, meow."
Dilu opened the map and looked up at the location where the purple signal flares were flashing.
"It's the supply depot warehouses, meow!"
"That place?"
Li Fan was greatly surprised.
"Yes, there are no other important buildings around, meow."
Dilu confirmed.
"I saw Sophia there once. She was... drawing a floor plan of the supply depot warehouses! That's right! If that place is destroyed, not only will the city suffer from the explosion's impact, but the combat supply line will also be cut off."
Li Fan suddenly realized something was wrong.
"There's a conspiracy, meow! ...It's Sophia, meow! It's Sophia, meow!..."
Dilu cried out rapidly, as if in a reflex.
"I know, I know... But how did she guide the mantis to attack the supply depot warehouses?"
Li Fan, having extensive experience in monster cultivation, always considered how Sophia achieved it when thinking about guiding the mantis.
After thinking for a long time without any clues, Li Fan decided to rush to the supply depot warehouses to take a look.
The Great Wild Boar, Qingtian, appeared and, with a peculiar gait of running one step and flying two, carried Li Fan and Dilu rapidly through the streets.
Screech!
Qingtian stopped abruptly in front of the supply depot warehouse's main gate, holding steady.
Rail cars were speeding in and out on the tracks, and a large number of Guild members were transferring artillery shells, mega bombs, and other explosive items.
Li Fan didn't rush to find someone to understand the situation, because if the anomaly occurred inside the warehouse, these professional warehouse personnel employed by the Guild would surely discover the problem before him.
"Dilu, let's both sniff and see if there are any unusual smells that could attract the mantis."
The man and the cat immediately sniffed.
"Uh... besides the strong smell of gunpowder, I don't smell anything, meow."
Dilu said, rubbing his nose.
"That's strange. Could it be that Sophia can communicate solely through language, like a legendary hunter... No, when I encountered the mantis before, it didn't seem adept at responding with sounds, but rather with more physical movements."
As Li Fan was thinking, a loud rumble echoed from a distance down the street.
At this moment, as the insect silks binding the giant serpent's remains were detached, its already dilapidated overall structure collapsed on a large scale.
The giant serpent split in two from its back, toppling towards the surroundings as it cracked open.
The waist constructed by the Xucheng was revealed.
Looking at the steel beams and debris fragments pieced together to form legs standing in the city, Dilu couldn't help but exclaim, "It's a giant, meow!"
Bang! Bang!...
While the upper body was still being assembled, the giant Xucheng, with slightly clumsy steps, lifted its foot and advanced forward.
A large number of hunter teams followed closely behind the giant footprints, continuously attacking.
But under the tremors caused by the giant foot striking the ground, it was difficult to even stand firm.
Even if they could hang onto the giant Xucheng's leg and hold on with their weapons embedded to avoid being thrown off, the swarming insect silk balls would knock them away.
Soon, the abdomen was joined. The thick metal frame that had a large circular hole cut out of it, which was the giant serpent's head.
It spun upwards, dragged by insect silk, and smashed heavily onto the abdomen, forming an inverted triangular metal chest cavity.
"The chest cavity is the control room... A well-planned structure."
Li Fan couldn't help but exclaim.
"Ah, meow! Now is not the time for praise!"
Dilu said, somewhat exasperated.
"After the giant Xucheng was assembled, its initial direction of movement was a straight line along the combat street. However, after moving, it quickly deviated and is now heading directly towards the supply depot warehouses... This indicates that the opponent is approaching intentionally."
Li Fan analyzed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were observing so intently, meow."
Dilu lowered his head and said.
"This change is a bit strange. This supply depot warehouse doesn't seem to have anything special..."
As Li Fan muttered, he quickly ran to the grassy area where Sophia had drawn before and looked towards the supply depot warehouses.
Gazing at the spacious warehouse, Li Fan noticed a problem: from this vantage point, one could not draw a floor plan of the warehouse.
"She must have recorded it from a higher vantage point before coming down to the ground..."
Li Fan immediately thought of a possibility.
A possibility for achieving the mantis's induced attack!
After the torso was completed, the giant Xucheng, with slightly compromised balance, slowed its pace and adapted for a moment.
Once its steps became stable, its arms and head began to assemble simultaneously.
After the right arm was completed, several insect silks extending backward from the fingertips of the steel beam structure straightened rapidly as they were dragged.
Clang! Bang! Clatter!...
With a series of metallic collisions, two Dragonpiercer Lances, rolling and sliding on the ground floor of the combat street, arrived at the giant Xucheng's feet.
At this moment, a facial outline resembling a human male's face was assembled.
The two rusty Dragonpiercer Lances, moved by insect silk with their tails facing each other, were filled with debris and steel beams, and then wrapped tightly with insect silk, they were quickly connected.
The giant Xucheng raised its right hand, and under the contraction and pulling of the insect silk, the long staff formed by the two Dragonpiercer Lances, end to end, was adhered and entangled with its right palm.
The giant Xucheng moved the long staff backward, positioning it behind its body.
"This appearance... it's a hunter wielding a Switch Axe!"
Zuda was stunned.
"Incomprehensible."
Vegaisha also couldn't help but shake her head.
Inside the chest cavity, the mantis, attempting to control the right hand holding the long staff, suddenly felt an inexplicable resistance.
Before it could figure out what was happening, a large dent appeared on the thick metal frame, which then exploded.
Pazhizi, holding a golden insect silk in one hand and a Diablos Hammer in the other, leaped in.
The mantis now understood why there was resistance in its right hand – it was the human in front of it causing trouble.
Pazhizi, looking around the chest cavity, found that everywhere it looked was filled with insect silk balls, which was quite troublesome.
Sensing that the insect silk it was holding was being dragged by the opponent, it immediately thought of a plan.
Bang! The Diablos Hammer was dropped to the ground.
Pazhizi switched to gripping the insect silk with both hands and pulled back forcefully.
Creak! Creak! Creak!....
The giant Xucheng's right hand, trembling continuously, slowly rose.
The mantis immediately pulled back with force, and the right hand slowly descended.
Lift, lower, lift, lower...
The man and the insect began a tug-of-war.
Realizing that more humans were touching the insect silk, the mantis made the giant Xucheng body swing violently, shaking off all those attached to the surface and climbing upwards.
"Uh... Li Fan, the giant Xucheng is dancing, meow..."
Dilu, responsible for observation, truthfully reported what he saw.
"I really want to see it, but now is not the time. Remember the moves, and show me later."
Li Fan, having leaped to the roof of the warehouse with his Kinsect Silk, suppressed the urge to watch.
After all, finding Sophia's arranged lure was the most important thing at the moment.
"It's really here! This is it!"
Li Fan saw a large white cloth nailed to the roof of the warehouse at four corners and ran towards it excitedly.
"Tear... there's a red circle outside, meow? What does that mean?"
Dilu asked, puzzled by the strange content on the white cloth.
"This should be a marker used by legendary hunters when training the mantis to construct Xucheng."
Li Fan explained as he quickly gathered the white cloth with Dilu.
"Sophia used this, meow! That's why buildings with the marker will be destroyed by the mantis!"
Dilu suddenly realized.
"Phew~ Fortunately, we came in time."
Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the giant Xucheng not far away.
Guild Headquarters Observation Deck.
Sophia, looking down, slowly lowered her binoculars.
"It really is you. I should have realized it sooner... Why didn't I notice?"
After muttering, Sophia looked at the opened sewing box at her feet, which contained several white cloths with the same marker.
As long as she unfurled and posted them here, the Guild Headquarters would become the mantis's next target.
But at this moment, she had no intention of using them anymore.
The legendary hunter she admired had truly returned.
However, this reunion was not a stroke of luck for Sophia.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
The giant Xucheng shifted sideways, continuing to advance along the combat street.
"Great, meow! The giant Xucheng has changed direction!"
Dilu cheered.
"Uh... why do I always feel like Sophia has a backup plan? It seems I need to find her as soon as possible. If she can clearly understand the meaning of this marker, it means Sophia must have often observed when the legendary hunter trained with the mantis. There might be markers I don't recognize... Wait, I know where she is!"
Besides the Guild Headquarters, the operational command center, there were no other high-value targets in the city.
Li Fan immediately thought of Sophia's hiding place.
But as soon as he took a step, he froze.
No! The Guild hasn't been able to detect any anomalies, it must be due to that charm.
Although I have [Good Luck] to counteract it, based on my previous performance, it will take a long time to adapt.
If Sophia can easily evade pursuit, then everything done so far will be in vain.
Rather than that, it's better to strike from the mantis's side with the vast amount of information I've gathered!