The thought had barely flickered through her mind before the sight she witnessed left her stunned. A creature entirely blue, seemingly appearing from thin air, materialized above them, its colossal body like a mountain blocking all the light! "Th-th-this i-is a-a-"

It wasn't just Allison; every elf below was frozen stiff. The change was so sudden, leaving them with absolutely no preparation!

Just moments ago, they were discussing a large bird; now, in the blink of an eye, it was directly overhead. This wasn't a matter of speed anymore; it scaled into the realm of the utterly abnormal!

All the elves held their breath. If such a massive bird were to descend, they, the elves, would surely be annihilated!

What occupied their minds now was the identity of this freakishly large bird. Why, after living in this forest for so long, had they never seen it, nor even heard tell of it?

What truly ratcheted up their tension was that this colossal bird simply hung suspended above them, showing no inclination to fly away. What did it intend?

Facing such an enormous bird, forget fighting it—a single landing would easily crush them all! Now, they could only pray inwardly that this thing would depart quickly, sparing their 'Elven Kin' further calamity!

Just then, a voice suddenly echoed down from above the giant bird. Though not loud, Allison and the others clearly heard it!

"Rojiel, is this the place?" Zhong Shenxiu inquired. "Yes, it is, right here!" Rojiel replied, a thrill in her voice, for she could sense the presence of her kin. The anxiety that had gripped her heart finally eased. "How can there be people up there?" a nearby elf, seemingly of the same status as Allison, muttered quietly. It wasn't just her; every elf below wanted the answer to that question!

As their eyes remained fixed upward, an eerie sight made them jump again: the giant bird's body was shrinking at a visible rate!

And then, several figures suddenly leaped down from above with soft whoosh-whoosh sounds—it was the entire roster of the 'Ethereal Mercenary Group'! At that moment, every elf below gaped, staring at these sudden, strange arrivals! "Lady Allison, Lady Abigail... Wonderful, you are both here!" Rojiel exclaimed, squeezing out from behind Xia Luo and the others.

Allison’s mind was still reeling. She stared blankly at the excited Rojiel for a long moment before finally responding, "You... you are Rojiel?"

"It is I! Lady Allison!" Rojiel performed a respectful curtsy toward Allison.

Allison's brain remained fogged. She genuinely couldn't fathom how Rojiel had jumped down from that bird, nor who these people were. "Lady Allison, allow me to introduce you..." Under Rojiel's explanations, everyone finally made acquaintances.

Though introductions were made, Allison remained wary of Zhong Shenxiu and his companions, and she was even more puzzled as to why Rojiel had brought these strangers.

Considering them guests for the moment, Allison planned to have someone escort Zhong Shenxiu and the others inside to rest, while simultaneously reporting the matter to the Empress. But just then, the alarm blared again, followed by Pitcher's panicked voice: "Lady Allison, it's bad! Those Insectoids seem to have detected us and are flying this way!"

Because of the arrival of the 'Blue Fiend,' the wards set up by the elves had been shattered, which the Insectoids immediately sensed! In truth, this was mainly due to the unparalleled distinctiveness of the 'Soul Tree,' whose location the Insectoids could easily detect from a great distance!

Hearing the report, Allison's expression shifted instantly, but she did not lose her composure. She commanded sharply, "Third and Fourth Squads, prepare to intercept! First and Fifth Squads, be ready for support! Everyone else, prepare for evacuation!" Instantly, the atmosphere grew tense, and the surrounding elves moved to carry out their respective duties! "Abigail, please report to the Empress, I will cover the rear here!" Allison turned and pointed to Abigail. Abigail nodded solemnly, gathered her people, and departed swiftly! In an instant, the entire camp descended into controlled chaos as elves began gathering their belongings at top speed!

Zhong Shenxiu and his group were momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events, watching the busy elves without knowing what they should do! "Lady Allison, what happened? Are those Insectoids attacking?" Rojiel inquired.

"Rojiel, this is no time for talk. Time is critical; those Insectoids are almost here. Before they arrive in force, we must evacuate this place immediately. Go and help out quickly!" Allison's words tumbled out in a rapid stream, betraying her extreme urgency! Having dealt with Insectoids before, she knew their terror well. These creatures possessed extreme immunity to magic; their firepower could only slow their advance but rarely kill them outright! To the elves, these Insectoids were specialized demons designed specifically to counter them! "Understood!" Rojiel replied seriously, nodding, and started to run toward the front lines. "Where are you going?" Allison pulled her back, asking somewhat impatiently. "Aren't we going to kill those Insectoids?" Rojiel countered, confused.

To other elves, these Insectoids were insurmountable demons, but to Rojiel, they were no different than common ants!

The three years of seclusion had not been wasted. Though her strength lagged far behind Xia Luo and the others, dealing with these Insectoids was more than adequate for her!

"What nonsense are you speaking? Those Insectoids are not as easy to kill as you imagine. Go help with the packing; don't concern yourself with the front lines!" Allison started to leave; she needed to direct the battle!

Rojiel was chastised for reasons she didn't understand, feeling as though she had genuinely done something wrong, leaving her speechless for a moment. Just then, Zhong Shenxiu, who had remained silent, spoke again: "Excuse me, do you need our—"

Allison shot Zhong Shenxiu a look, almost choking back a laugh. This big child, she thought, if he doesn't cause trouble, that would be a help!

Just as she was about to politely decline his offer, Zhong Shenxiu continued, "How about this: I'll eliminate those incoming Insectoids first, and then we can talk properly!" Huh?

Allison thought her ears were deceiving her. Eliminate the Insectoids? Don't make her laugh. If those creatures were that easy to dispatch, they wouldn't be living this nomadic, running life! She even wondered: Children are just children; perhaps he doesn't even know what an Insectoid looks like!

Due to the tight timeline, Allison didn't want to waste more time here and turned to leave. However, what happened next caused her body to freeze rigidly in place! "Blue Fiend, I'll treat you today; leave those Insectoids to you!" Zhong Shenxiu suddenly turned and spoke to the 'Blue Fiend' perched on Rachel’s shoulder. Upon hearing this, the 'Blue Fiend' became instantly agitated, chirping "Chirp chirp!" "Resolve it quickly; I don't want it to take longer than five minutes!" Zhong Shenxiu added.

The 'Blue Fiend,' not wishing to dawdle, flashed away in a streak of blue light towards the sky. Once it reached a certain altitude, its massive form reappeared!

Allison only caught a glimpse of the 'Blue Fiend' before it accelerated. By the time she tried to focus, the creature was gone from the sky!

Did he send that giant bird to deal with the Insectoids?

Allison looked toward Zhong Shenxiu in astonishment. What was truly bewildering, however, was that Zhong Shenxiu was now casually discussing 'Elven Specialty Dishes' with Rojiel! "Lady Allison!" At this moment, Pitcher's voice came again from the lookout post. "Lady Allison, you... you must come look!"

As Pitcher spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the distant horizon, but the expression on his face had become one of profound horror! "What is it?" Allison ascended to the lookout platform. But the moment she gazed toward the distant horizon, she was utterly stunned!

Dense clusters of black dots were swarming toward them like a tide, their numbers so vast they made the scalp crawl—clearly, these were the Insectoids! But that wasn't what shocked Allison. What truly stunned her was that these black dots were vanishing in massive swathes at an unsettling speed, like writing on a whiteboard being erased by a rubber!

Bizarre. Truly, utterly bizarre!

Those swarms of Insectoids visible moments before vanished into thin air the next second. The Insectoids in the surrounding area were being methodically cleansed, at a speed that was simply unacceptable!

About three minutes later, the 'Blue Fiend' flew back and settled onto Rachel's shoulder again, looking quite satisfied, even letting out what seemed like a small burp.

On the lookout platform, Allison remained standing there like a statue. Looking out, within hundreds of miles in every direction, not a single Insectoid could be seen! (If Zhong Shenxiu hadn't set a time limit, perhaps within thousands of miles, it would have been difficult to spot even one Insectoid!) "Hey, are all the Insectoids gone?" Zhong Shenxiu shouted toward Allison. The look in Allison’s eyes as she turned toward Zhong Shenxiu now was noticeably different!

Could it be... that he did all of this?