Reborn as a Transcendent

Book 3: Chapter 772: The Insectman Attacks, A Terrifying Opening Move!!

At the same time. Several kilometers away, the sudden fluttering of thin wings echoed from the rooftop of a building. Immediately afterward, a dark shadow shot upward into the night sky.

Under the pale moonlight, the figure revealed itself as a strange creature, half human and half insect.

“Kssshkssh-kssh!” A peculiar sound escaped from its mouth, carrying a faint trace of anger. Its wings beat violently as the mantis-like humanoid, armed with a pair of enormous sickle-shaped blades, surged through the air and sped off toward a distant location.

On the other side, the instant the giant mantis’ head exploded, Yae-hime swiftly retreated several meters, then raised a layer of aura to shield herself from the fragments that shot outward.

**Squirt! Squirt! Squirt!**

The green liquid that burst from the mantis’ head splattered onto the ground, and the moment it touched the surface, it began corroding the concrete floor. Wisps of white smoke curled upward as the chemical reaction rapidly ate into the pavement.

“This bug is way too extreme. I was planning to capture it and take it back for research.” With a casual flick of her slender hand, Yae-hime swept away the nauseating stench lingering in the air using a wave of aura.

Her gaze then shifted back to the giant mantis. At that moment, its body was visibly dissolving, melting away at a speed the naked eye could easily perceive.

“It didn’t even leave me a corpse…” Yae-hime muttered with obvious frustration. She had originally intended to use the mantis’ remains for medical research. After all, mutated creatures like this often contained unknown biological elements that could yield unexpected discoveries.

Unfortunately, the creature had chosen to destroy itself rather than give her the opportunity to study it.“Come to think of it… a giant insect like that probably isn’t the only one around.” Looking at the puddle of green and white slime spreading across the ground, she spoke uncertainly.

Just before the creature killed itself, she had faintly sensed a peculiar mental fluctuation spreading outward at incredible speed.

“Maybe… that was just my imagination.” Retracting her gaze, Yae-hime took out her phone and opened a special application developed by Little Blue.

“Master, did you finish it?” The moment the interface appeared, a tiny face popped up on the screen.

“It went south,” Yae-hime replied.

“What, what!? The omnipotent and magnificent Master personally took action, yet you still couldn’t catch that bug… I-Is it some kind of divine insect!?” Little Blue shouted in exaggerated shock, clearly putting on a performance.

“Your acting gets a score of 0.1.” Yae-hime shot back irritably.

“Hehe, I’m still working hard to improve! But never mind that. Master, you really miscalculated?”

“Miscalculated… well, technically speaking, I suppose it counts as a miscalculation.” Yae-hime briefly explained what had happened. Then she tilted the phone slightly so Little Blue could see the puddle of slime on the ground.

“Ugh! That’s disgusting! I never want to eat bugs again!” High above on the City of Chaos, Little Blue retched violently.

The Vera clones nearby stared at her in confusion. ‘Did she eat too much or something?’

“Bleeegh! Bugs are so gross!” Little Blue bent over in midair, looking as if she were about to actually vomit.

“If you’re going to throw up, wait until I get back and then—” Before she could finish speaking, Yae-hime’s expression suddenly changed. Her body shot backward in a rapid retreat.

The next instant, a deep fissure split open exactly where she had been standing. The crack was perfectly smooth, as though it had been sliced open by something unimaginably sharp.

If that attack had struck her directly, Yae-hime would not have come away unscathed. At the very least, her clothes would have been ruined. She was currently wearing a simple white casual outfit. Its value was difficult to estimate.

After all, it had been specially custom-made for her by Nangong Lin, and only three sets existed in the entire world.

“Kssshkssh-kssh!”

Just as Yae-hime steadied herself, that strange sound echoed from somewhere not far away. Following the sound, she looked up and immediately spotted a dark figure hurtling toward her at incredible speed.

“Launching such a sharp attack from that distance just to ambush me… this thing’s got some skill.” Yae-hime slowly clenched her fist, her eyes fixed on the approaching shadow. It was a creature that looked half human and half mantis.

“An insectman!?” The moment she clearly saw its true form, a trace of surprise appeared on Yae-hime’s face. What surprised her even more happened next. The mantisman swooped down from the air and landed heavily on the ground, shattering the concrete beneath its feet.

Immediately afterward, a powerful aura erupted from within its body, surging outward like a raging typhoon sweeping across the area.

This was the aura of a Grandmaster. There was no time for further surprise. With a swift lift of her slender hand, Yae-hime conjured a shield of aura before her.

In the blink of an eye. The mantisman’s surging aura slammed forward with ferocious force and crashed heavily into the shield. The shockwave burst outward instantly, and the shield twisted violently under the impact.

Yet despite the severe distortion, the barrier held firm. Not a single crack appeared as it completely blocked the powerful aura attack. Yae-hime remained completely unharmed.

Seeing this, the mantisman immediately revealed a humanlike expression of shock. It had believed that single strike would be enough to destroy her. This human who had killed its kin was no ordinary opponent.

Unlike the earlier giant mantis, the mantisman clearly possessed a level of intelligence comparable to that of a human. Until it fully understood the enemy before it, it dared not act rashly. As one of the top predators in the insect world, the mantisman possessed extraordinary patience.

“Who are you? Why did you attack me?” Yae-hime dispelled the aura shield and looked toward the mantisman as she spoke.

The creature had patience, and so did she.

“Kssshkssh-kssh!” As if it had understood her words, the mantisman first glanced at the small patch of slime still lingering on the ground. Then it gestured with its scythe-like arms. An unmistakably humanlike fury appeared on its strange face.

“……” Yae-hime could neither understand its speech nor decipher its gestures. However, the creature’s anger was something she could clearly sense. ‘This insectman clearly has more research value than that giant mantis. I wonder if I can capture it and bring it back…’

If the mantisman had known what Yae-hime was thinking at that moment, it would probably have exploded with rage on the spot. The two stared at each other in silence. The scene grew so quiet that the faint whisper of the breeze could be heard.

Seconds ticked by. The predator remained still, while the prey also showed no intention of moving. After several minutes passed.

“Ksssh!” The predator, the mantisman, finally lost its patience. With a powerful stomp of its left foot, its muscular body shot toward Yae-hime like a cannonball.

Before it even arrived, its overwhelming aura surged forward first.

“An intermediate Grandmaster, huh? Not bad. Now I wonder just how much stronger your physical ability is compared to a human’s.” Yae-hime calmly assumed the opening stance of her self-created Taiji.

Unlike the traditional Taiji she had studied, her stance was simple. Her left foot stepped forward half a pace, her body sank slightly, and both hands rose to chest height, one forward and one behind. Then she slowly opened her palms.

It looked almost casual. Yet the moment Yae-hime took this stance, the mantisman’s heart tightened. Because it sharply sensed a terrifying pressure emanating from her. The instant it entered her attack range, it would be crushed beneath that overwhelming pressure.

‘I absolutely cannot get close. I have to defeat her from a distance!’ The mantisman immediately changed its combat approach, gathering its power into both scythe blades before slashing forward with brutal force.

In an instant, two enormous, visible blade arcs shot toward Yae-hime. The violent aftershock carved two deep gouges into the ground as it passed, sending shattered stones flying and dust billowing into the air.

Faced with such fierce and razor-sharp strikes, Yae-hime merely shifted her footing slightly while her left and right hands traced slow circles through the air. At that moment, the pressure the mantisman had sensed earlier became even more terrifying. It felt as though heaven and earth themselves were now under her control.