Astral Cockroach

In all my conversations with Beetle King-level warriors, I could sense that they were very wary of mentioning "Gods" and "Stars", avoiding the topic whenever possible.

Only now did Banbu understand that it wasn't just avoidance, but also fear.

For the insect tribes of this planet, "Gods" and "Stars" brought not only "divine gifts" but also "divine punishment".

Divine punishment was simple: no longer projecting "Star Divine Power" onto a certain tribe. The consequence would be a sharp decline in the tribe's population, and they would not receive divinely bestowed seeds from managing the tree sea…

…

Drawing on the situation in the Myriad Races Continent, one could deduce that the continent ruled by ants had many scattered small and medium-sized raw stone veins. This was deliberately done by the Gods, with the aim of inciting mutual conquest between the ant kingdoms, what the Crimson Crow Ghost King called "baptism of war".

During the long journey back to Crimson Crow Mountain from the Crimson Rock Continent, Banbu meticulously planned how to indirectly plunder the raw stone veins of the Sakura Continent by cultivating ant kings, controlling ant kings, and operating from behind the scenes. He had already perfected a complete set of strategies.

The notion of "divine punishment" was like a bucket of cold water, shattering his beautiful dream.

"We can't plunder, but trade should be possible, right? There's trade between our Myriad Races Continent and the Myriad Kingdoms Continent…"

Banbu reluctantly suggested, but quickly rejected the idea himself: the long journey, the high transportation costs, normal trade – no matter how it was done, it would be a guaranteed loss.

"Trade won't work either." The Crimson Crow Ghost King decisively rejected, saying, "Trade is a matter for merchant caravans. It's best not to have any dealings with the ant tribes."

The Crimson Rock Roach King also advised, "Banbu, we've already gained enough benefits from exploring the Dragon Bamboo Continent. Next, there's the Crown Pear Continent, the Crimson Rock Continent, and another continent. As long as each continent yields the same as the Dragon Bamboo Continent, the Crimson Roach Tribe can rise rapidly. Not to mention surpassing the Skyfire Roach Tribe, surpassing Longevity County will definitely be easy."

The Autumn Maple Roach King agreed, "Yes, we don't need to become a top-tier prosperous county like Crimson Crow Mountain. As long as we can surpass Longevity County, there will definitely be no problem continuing the race. Using the wreckage to cultivate more high-quality arboreal wild divinely bestowed seeds is the right path."

The Begonia Butterfly King said, "A wild divine-grade divinely bestowed seed is equivalent to a large mine that can yield hundreds of billions of raw stones. A high-quality wild arboreal divinely bestowed seed is equivalent to a small raw stone mine. The foundation of racial development and continuation lies in tree sea management and plant seed cultivation."

"I understand the principle… Then let's not get involved in the Sakura Continent…" Banbu changed the subject and said, "Then should we reconsider the matter of laying steel rails?"

Laying steel rails would cost nearly 300 million raw stones. Banbu readily agreed to the Crimson Crow Ghost King's proposal, intending to make a tactical retreat, hoping that they would also be more accommodating in future cooperation to "develop the Sakura Continent". As a result, Crimson Crow Mountain, the Crimson Rock Roach King, and the Autumn Maple Roach King were unwilling to provoke the ant tribe, and the original plan fell through, causing him some regret and heartache.

The Crimson Crow Ghost King said displeased, "Lord Banbu, you just agreed to something, you wouldn't want to go back on your word, would you?"

"I am…" Banbu changed his perspective and said readily, "Of course I wouldn't go back on my word."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King tapped his antennae and continued, "Laying steel rails requires first surveying the mineral veins and large-scale mining. Our Crimson Crow Mountain can complete these tasks. Smelting the ore requires fire abilities. We hope your Crimson Roach Tribe can send 20 Mountain Lord-level warriors, preferably two or three County Lord-level warriors to help."

The Crimson Rock Roach King said, "That's no problem."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King said, "The refined pure iron will be made into finished components by our Crow Wasp Tribe's County Lord-level warriors using metal abilities. The roadbed for laying the steel rails can also be made by our Crimson Crow Mountain. However, in terms of transportation… the Black and White Flower Roach Tribe also needs to send corresponding warriors to participate."

The Autumn Maple Roach King immediately said, "We can also send 50 Mountain Lord-level warriors to be responsible for transporting materials."

"To save time, for the matter of digging tunnels, our Crimson Crow Mountain will directly send Ghost Kings who have earth and stone abilities to work together and forcibly open mountains."

"The preliminary plan is like this." The Crimson Crow Ghost King asked, "Lord Banbu, do you think there is anything else that needs to be added?"

"I don't have any construction experience either, for the time being, no." Banbu said, "We can first stockpile a large amount of metal materials, and start after the materials are ready. I will take the time to provide on-site guidance and solve problems temporarily. I don't think there will be any major problems."

"Then let's settle it like this for now." Crimson Crow looked back and waved his antennae, saying, "Lei Zhu, carefully consider the warriors participating in this matter tonight, and you can arrange it tomorrow."

The Crimson Rock Roach King said, "Then I will also return to the tribe to organize the warriors."

The Autumn Maple Roach King said, "It has been more than a year since I left. I should also return to Autumn Maple County to take a look. The warriors participating in the transportation will arrive within 3 months."

"Thank you both, Roach Kings." The Crimson Crow Ghost King said politely, and then said to Banbu, "Lord Banbu, the Primal Force food from Crimson Crow Mountain is ripe this year, do you remember?"

Calculating the time, it should be the Blood Jade Longan. Next year, the Snake Scale Fruit will ripen soon after.

Banbu said, "I remember."

Next was the exchange of divine-grade Primal Force food between Crimson Crow Mountain and Reedy Bamboo Peak.

The Crimson Rock Roach King and the Autumn Maple Roach King were inconvenient to participate, and they followed Ghost King Lei Zhu down the mountain.

After Ghost King Lei Zhu and his party walked away, the Crimson Crow Ghost King asked, "Lord Banbu, do you need to exchange?"

Banbu said, "Crimson Crow Ghost King, I think we should first talk about the exchange of Ghost King Locust."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King was concise and decisive, saying, "54 Dragon Bamboo Fruits."

"…" Banbu said, "Crimson Crow Ghost King, it can't be calculated like that. I'm about to advance to Roach King. After advancing to Roach King, the value of the Dragon Bamboo Fruit will still change."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King said, "First of all, you have to be sure that you can advance to Roach King within 60 years. Secondly, after advancing to Roach King, no matter how the quality of the Dragon Bamboo Fruit improves, we will make corresponding compensation, and we will not let you suffer. What Crimson Crow Mountain wants is a share, 54 purchase shares, allowing 54 warriors to have the ability to move freely in an environment without Primal Force."

The logic was clear, the intention was clear, and there was nothing to criticize.

A bit of a stalemate. Banbu changed the subject and asked, "Crimson Crow Ghost King, the Five-Colored Fruits we exchanged earlier, have they been successful? We agreed on this year."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King said, "It was negotiated a long time ago. The things will be delivered in a few days. You have to wait a few days."

Banbu said, "Then I will wait."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King said leisurely, "Lord Banbu, I suggest that you still exchange for a Ghost King Locust."

Something that only produces one serving every 120 years. Crimson Crow Mountain is very clear about the value of the Ghost King Locust and will not budge.

Banbu didn't have the heart to haggle over the exchange quantity anymore, and instead said, "54 servings are okay, but each batch of Dragon Bamboo Fruit that matures can only give Crimson Crow Mountain 3 servings, exchanged in 18 batches."

That would take 180 years to complete the exchange.

The actual exploration of the Dragon Bamboo Continent is less than 20%. Everyone has only searched the places that seem most likely to have wreckage remains, and incidentally looked for plant seeds. There are still more than 80% of the land waiting to be carefully searched. In addition, there are 3 brand new continents waiting to be explored. Everyone lacks warriors who can move freely in an environment without Primal Force.

The division of the current search area is already relatively general. Crimson Crow Mountain searches the tropics, and Reedy Bamboo Peak searches the cold temperate and temperate regions. In fact, after everyone finds the most likely places, they will not follow the regulations and cannot follow the regulations to search.

There are a total of 4 continents, half a planet, and hundreds of warriors thrown in. That is really a drop in the ocean. You can go wherever you want to find them. It is impossible to divide the area for restrictions, and the things definitely belong to whoever finds them.

In this case, there is no doubt that whoever has more warriors has the advantage.

Banbu plans to make some adjustments to the number of warriors and seize the opportunity.

The Crimson Crow Ghost King's thinking was active, and he immediately understood another meaning of Banbu's words and asked, "Lord Banbu, your plan is that for each batch of Dragon Bamboo Fruit produced, Crimson Crow Mountain gets 6 servings, Autumn Maple County gets 3 servings, and Reedy Bamboo Peak retains 9 servings?"

"Close enough." Banbu corrected, "Reedy Bamboo Peak retains a fixed 9 servings. Crimson Crow Mountain gets at least 6 servings, and Autumn Maple County gets at most 3 servings."

Banbu then explained, "In recent transactions, the Autumn Maple Roach King is not as forthcoming as before. I guess it's because the raw stone vein of their Black and White Flower Roach Tribe has been mined almost completely. It is impossible to say that every batch of Dragon Bamboo Fruit produced will purchase 3 servings."

The Crimson Crow Ghost King pondered slightly and agreed, "Then the exchange of Ghost King Locust will be settled like this. Lord Banbu, how many servings of Blood Jade Longan, Snake Scale Fruit, and Ghost Mist Lotus that will mature in four years do you need respectively?"

Banbu said, "2 servings each, just enough to exchange for 3 servings of Dragon Bamboo Fruit."