Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 537: Cleanup

The development strategy of the mother hive and the various responses in times of crisis, at their core, aim solely to increase the possibility of sustaining the swarm.

Essentially, there is no difference from the singular mother hive encountered before; within the mother hive cluster, Level 1 and Level 2 nests are just expendable entities, akin to those individual units of the Insect Race.

The energy storm triggered by the self-destruction of the mother hives gradually subsides, and the western battlefield is engulfed in silence and desolation.

The originally dark purple mycelium area has become riddled with massive pits and scorched marks, the scars left by the mother hives’ self-destruction.

The sea is mingled with the strong burnt smell, the stench of Insect Race bodily fluids, and the pungent remnant of energy.

Duke maneuvers the winged serpent, slowly returning to the core of the battlefield from a relatively safe area, his gaze calmly sweeping over the scene of wreckage.

His slave creature legion suffered significant losses, especially those units that failed to retreat in time at the onset of the self-destruction, almost annihilated by the violent energy shock.

Rough estimates show that the fifty thousand legion now has only about thirty-five thousand left, with many bearing injuries.

This loss is similar to the one from Maple Hill County, but the durations of the battles in the two places are significantly different.

The battle at Maple Hill County lasted over a month, whereas this one was less than an hour.

"What a pity..." Duke sighed inwardly, not just for the lost slave creatures, but for the Hearts of the Insect Race that were completely obliterated and unclaimed in the self-destruction.

Especially the cores of several Level 2 nests, whose value would far exceed several Level 1 cores if acquired.

But all the Level 2 nests on the western battlefield self-destructed, leaving Duke no options but to watch helplessly as those Level 2 nests turned into a mass of surging energy spreading to the surroundings.

The western battlefield is the farthest place from Lauren, so by the time he intervened to curb the mother hive’s self-destruction, it was already a bit too late here.

"All units, disperse in squads and execute battlefield cleanup." Duke issued new orders through the control talisman.

He had already received the message from Lauren that the war was basically over, and all that remained was the final battlefield cleanup.

The remaining thirty-five thousand slave creatures began to move, starting the cleanup of the western battlefield.

The huge, powerful pincered creatures are responsible for moving away the massive wreckage of Insect Race and their own kind, clearing a path, and categorizing and piling up the valuable and relatively intact Insect Race carapaces, special organs, and so forth.

Though these materials are not as precious as the Hearts of the Insect Race, they are still good resources that can be used for creating alchemy creations or as research samples.

Some slave creatures roamed through the ruins and debris, seeking fellow slave creatures that might have survived but lost their ability to move, bringing them to the rear for preliminary treatment by slave creatures with simple healing abilities or alchemy creations equipped with healing functions.

Every slave creature is a valuable asset; any loss that can be recovered, however slight, is worthwhile.

A few energy-sensitive slave creatures were dispatched to the core areas of each mother hive’s self-destruction, monitoring for any unstable energy residues or harmful radiation, attempting to perform localized purifications to ensure area safety.

Other small, agile slave creature units combed through the battlefield like a fine-toothed comb, collecting sparse yet still valuable Insect Race materials like sharp limb blades, sacs containing special acid, and relatively intact compound eyes.

Duke himself wasn’t idle either, maneuvering the winged serpent in a slow circle above the battlefield, his spiritual power casting like a fine net, meticulously scanning the ruins below.

His primary focus was on the sites of the self-destructed mother hives.

Although the Hearts of the Insect Race were most likely completely destroyed in the explosions, there was still the possibility of finding exceptionally lucky shards that for some reason were not fully detonated.

Even a thumb-sized piece of Heart of the Insect Race containing pure life energy is far more valuable than ordinary materials.

Simon and the other Wizards were also performing similar cleanup and search tasks in their respective areas. Simon had a hint of lingering fear on his face, but more than that, the relief of completing a mission. He commanded his slave creature squad to carefully collect those marked as valuable Insect Race remains.

This is the part everyone loves the most, with little danger remaining and a chance to pillage various materials extensively.

Especially for Wizards like Simon with no background or talent, who rely almost solely on themselves, these materials were extremely important.

For Duke, these materials are somewhat trivial, not amounting to much when converted into magic stones.

However, for others, even tens or hundreds of thousands of magic stones represent a fortune, capable of purchasing many resources needed for cultivation.

Duke’s real goal was to search for potential Heart of the Insect Race shards, as they would be much more useful.

Duke’s spiritual power was like the most precise detection net, repeatedly scanning over the chaotic, scorched pits left by the mother hives’ self-destruction. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Most areas indeed had nothing left but the desolation after the violent energy sweep, but he did not give up.

When he reached the edge of a massive crater left by a Level 2 nest’s self-destruction, his spiritual power caught a few extremely faint yet exceptionally pure life energy reactions.

He immediately maneuvered the winged serpent to land at the pit’s edge, amidst the fragments of twisted biological material and scorched remains. After careful searching, he successfully found three nearly fist-sized Heart of the Insect Race shards, colored dark red and crystalline, with fine cracks on their surfaces.

These shards felt warm to the touch, with what seemed like liquid energy circulating slowly inside, although tiny energy light spots constantly dissipated from their surface, indicating the structure was quite unstable and the energy was continuously leaking.

Although far from a complete Heart of the Insect Race, the life energy contained within was still quite substantial, which is beneficial for the World Tree Seed that requires nutrients and is still an invaluable resource.

Duke collected these three shards and continued to search elsewhere.

He conducted a more meticulous search in the areas where the Level 2 nests were located, using his spiritual power as a sieve to thoroughly inspect the mother hives and surrounding areas, leaving no stone unturned.

Unfortunately, aside from the initial three Heart of the Insect Race shards, he found no other fragments.

A few hours later, the cleanup of the entire western battlefield was basically complete.

Losses were tallied, valuable materials were packaged and organized, and the injured slave creatures had also undergone preliminary treatment.