The black line was incredibly fast, sweeping towards the settlement like a tidal wave. Jiang Wen focused his eyes, clearly seeing what was within that black tide.
Dead insects, endless dead insects. It was a number of dead insects too numerous to count, impossible to describe in words.
The buzzing of their flight merged into a shockwave, and even at a distance of tens of kilometers, one could hear that soul-stirring sound of flight.
"It's dead insects!" Jiang Wenji's face was extremely unsightly. She was wearing iron armor, draped with a beast-skin cloak, her eyes transformed into vertical pupils, revealing a golden color.
Just seeing that black line, her tone already carried a hint of fear and defeat. Ten or a hundred dead insects would be one thing, but she never imagined there could be such a vast number, numbering not just in the tens of thousands, but even hundreds of thousands or millions!
"Princess, what should we do?" Meng Yue asked in a muffled voice. He had been living a happy life in the settlement recently, not only eating and drinking well, but also enjoying the flattery of many tribal women, focusing on enjoying himself to the fullest. Even the flesh on his face had increased, and his handsome appearance had become quite plump.
He was draped in heavy armor, holding a long spear in his hand. He also looked towards the endless dead insects, his expression unsightly.
"The speed of the dead insects is extremely fast, even if we evacuate the various tribes of the settlement now, it will be too late. With such a massive swarm of dead insects, even if we run far away, we will still be affected. Even the Tuoba clan will sooner or later encounter such a pestilence!" Jiang Wenji felt extremely uncomfortable. This was the city she had built with her own hands, and also the capital she could use to bargain with Li City. She left Li City to seek independence, and if all her previous efforts were to be abandoned, then she could only return to Li City and accept the demands of the royal family.
But if she were to defend this place, just looking at so many dead insects made it clear that it was impossible. Faced with this countless insect plague, the nearly ten thousand tribesmen in the settlement would only be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Such a disaster could only be dealt with by the combined forces of all the tribes under the command of the Taicang Royal Capital.
"Princess, this place probably can't hold out! Let's leave." Meng Yue requested in a low voice. "If the city is gone, we can come back and rebuild it. But if the princess suffers any harm, then there will be no chance to start over."
"Then what about the many tribesmen under my command? Are we just going to abandon them like this?" Jiang Wenji asked, looking at Meng Yue without any expression.
"Princess, they are just wandering tribes, not even tribes under the control of Taicang. How can such people be compared to the princess's life?!" Seeing the insect swarm getting closer and closer, Meng Yue's tone became more and more anxious. "Even these ten thousand or so tribesmen, how can they compare to the princess's life!!! I hope the princess will think twice!"
Jiang Wenji took a deep look at Meng Yue, then looked at Jiang Wen: "Wen, what do you think I should do?"
"Abandoning the city and fleeing is definitely not the best strategy. These dead insects are very fast. Even if we can run, we will eventually be caught up. Rather than waiting for death, it is better to fight and strive for a chance to hold on." Jiang Wen stared at the dead insects, analyzing the strength comparison between the settlement and the dead insects in his mind. Thinking of the things he had recently refined, he felt that it was not impossible to defend this place.
Hearing his words, Jiang Wenji's expression softened slightly. Meng Yue on the side didn't have a good look on his face, glaring at Jiang Wen before anxiously saying: "Impossible, it is absolutely impossible to defend it! You should have all seen the dead insects. Even a single one is not something ordinary tribesmen can deal with, and now there are so many, how can we defend it! Jiang Wen! Don't confuse the princess!"
"Confuse? What do you mean by that?" Jiang Wen looked at Meng Yue calmly, smiling lightly at his bloated figure. "You are becoming more and more comfortable, even your ambition has been worn away."
"You…"
Meng Yue was ashamed and embarrassed by Jiang Wen's words and was about to lose his temper. Then he heard Jiang Wenji slap the city wall and sternly shout: "Enough! No need to argue anymore! I have already decided to defend this place!"
"Princess!" Meng Yue exclaimed.
"Meng Yue, I am very disappointed in you. When you came out with me, you were not like this at all. Why have you become so timid now? You are a member of the Meng family!" Jiang Wenji looked at Meng Yue, closed her eyes and sighed. She turned her head and no longer looked at him, only gazing at the approaching insect plague.
"Princess, Meng Yue understands." Meng Yue lowered his head in shame and knelt on the ground to apologize to Jiang Wenji. A complex and remorseful expression appeared in his eyes, but no one could see it when he lowered his head.
"This time I will spare you. Go and convey my will. I want to defend this place to the death, and share life and death with all the tribesmen!"
"Yes." Meng Yue retreated, and the drums in the city shook the sky. When the tribesmen heard that the Jiang royal family was going to defend this place with them, they were all greatly encouraged.
As Jiang Wenji had expected, no tribesmen would run away at this time. Because they all knew that once they abandoned the city and fled, they would only face a dead end. Since a great figure said that they could defend the settlement, that was naturally the best choice, and most people chose to believe it.
Of course, there were still a very small number of people who had already heard the news and fled. They scurried towards the depths of the forest, looking for caves to hide in. Jiang Wenji saw it in her eyes, but did not pay attention to these people. She issued the order, and everyone worked hard to move the stones as cover, preparing to fight the insects to the death.
"Wen, do we really have a way to defend this place?" Jiang Wenji said somewhat uncertainly.
"Of course, we do." Jiang Wen nodded. He took out the eight iron swords from his back and arranged them neatly in front of Jiang Wenji. "I have a technique called the Four Symbols Eight Trigrams Formation. It is a superior defensive formation. As long as it is deployed in the four corners of the city, it will be extremely difficult for even the dead insects to get in."
"Four Symbols Eight Trigrams Formation? Formation?" Jiang Wenji listened in a daze, but vaguely knew that this thing was very powerful. Hearing Jiang Wen say this, she felt a lot more at ease.
This person always brings her countless surprises and always makes people feel at ease.
"I have no words to express my gratitude, Wen." Jiang Wenji smiled gently. "When I become one of the kings, I will enfeoff you as a marquis!"
Jiang Wen was quite surprised to hear this. He had been here for quite some time. He did know about the noble status of the Taicang Dynasty. The so-called kings were the most powerful monarchs below the emperor, usually Jiang royal family members or those hegemons who ruled over one side. These kings all had hundreds of thousands of tribesmen under their command, and their power was so great that they could even influence the choice of the emperor in the royal capital. And the marquis was the highest rank under the kings, able to build their own territory.
It could be said that the marquis was the most trusted confidant of the kings.
However, Jiang Wen was not very interested in this, after all, he did not know how long he could stay in this world. He had merely entered that spiritual vein and been transmitted to this era hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago.
He felt that his arrival in this ancient period was no accident, and there was some kind of cause-and-effect relationship in the future.
