Tasked with the Lord's mission while simultaneously hunting for a one-night lover for herself, Meichi threw herself into the search.
'The male mantises are so weak this year. I've searched for three days and haven't found a single decent one!'
'Forget about the Lord—even I wouldn't look twice at these pathetic things!'
As she inwardly cursed the useless males, she suddenly caught the scent of a distinct pheromone.
This pheromone was unique to male mantises, perceptible only to females.
The intense scent filled Meichi with delight.
It seemed there was an incredibly strong male nearby!
She hurriedly changed direction and flew into the depths of the dense forest.
Landing on a branch, she instantly spotted a very plump mantis sunbathing with his belly exposed.
This mantis was a full thirty centimeters long.His strength had clearly reached the Third Grade!
A Third Grade male mantis!
Among mantises, males were always weak and females strong.
Even Second Grade males were exceedingly rare, yet she had just found a Third Grade one!
Meichi practically drooled on the spot.
Had she not remembered the Lord's mission, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from rushing straight at that male's belly!
Who could possibly resist such a thing?
Just as she was drooling in anticipation, the situation abruptly changed.
A Low Tier Fourth Grade Arrow Sparrow spotted the large belly on the rock and immediately launched an attack.
Such a tantalizingly large belly held a fatal attraction not only for female mantises, but for predators as well.
Meichi immediately panicked.
She had finally found a strong male mantis, and before they could even exchange a greeting, he was going to be eaten by an Arrow Sparrow?
Meichi wanted to save him, but she was only Third Grade herself. Against a Fourth Grade Arrow Sparrow renowned for its speed, she would be completely useless.
'Bad luck, what terrible luck! Such a strong male, and he's going to be eaten by a bird! Sigh.'
Just as she watched on helplessly, the situation shifted again.
Arrow Sparrows were renowned for their speed, as well as the power and precision of their high-altitude dives.
Let alone a Third Grade mantis, even a Fourth Grade would end up as a meal when facing the Arrow Sparrow's lightning-fast strike.
Unless... there was a Fifth Grade behemoth.
Lu Qing, his hunting skills already incredibly polished, easily snatched the Arrow Sparrow out of the air like he was plucking a peach.
Then, he skillfully snapped its neck.
Dazhuang flipped over and expertly climbed down from the rock.
"Haha, we actually caught a Fourth Grade Arrow Sparrow."
Over the past few days, even the empty-headed Dazhuang had learned to gauge grades and strength.
...
Meichi was completely dumbfounded.
Wait, in that situation just now, shouldn't the mantis have been the prey?
How had the Arrow Sparrow become the prey in the blink of an eye?
Wasn't this inverting the heavenly order?
And also...
Her gaze fell on Lu Qing.
Her four secondary legs suddenly clenched.
What an enormous male mantis!
This time, she wasn't just drooling, she was also leaking...
Looking at that sheer size, he must have already reached the Fifth Grade, right?
A Fifth Grade male!
Meichi quickly collected herself.
The Fifth Grade one naturally had to go to the Lord. As for that Third Grade one, of course she would keep him to reward herself!
Meichi spread her wings and glided down from the treetop.
"To think such a powerful male appeared within our territory, yet I remained completely unaware..."
She landed beside the rock.
Dazhuang, holding a mouthful of bird meat in his jaws, turned his head and immediately froze.
In his entire life, this was his very first time seeing a female.
The instincts and genes deep within his body instantly grew restless.
The female's beautiful wings seemed to harbor an enchanting magic that left him obsessed.
The bird meat fell from his mouth to the ground.
"L-Lord..."
He thought she was the Lord.
Meichi gave a coy laugh. "I am not the Lord. I am Meichi, one of the Four Great Blademasters under her command. May I ask your names?"
"My name is Dazhuang..."
Lu Qing swatted him aside with a wing.
Have you never seen a female before?
It's just a mere female mantis, and you forgot how to speak the moment you saw her?
All my teachings lately have been wasted on you!
Just a moment ago, Lu Qing had also felt a surge of instinctive restlessness, but he had forcefully suppressed it.
"Meichi? What's your business here?"
"It's like this. Summer is coming to an end, and the annual breeding season has arrived once again..."
She was extremely straightforward, but Lu Qing didn't like it.
"We aren't interested. Go find some other mantises."
Dazhuang had just stood up, wanting to express his longing for the female, only for Lu Qing to send him flying with another swat of his wing.
Meichi froze in place.
Not interested?
What was the meaning of a male's existence?
It was precisely for this annual grand assembly of pleasure!
How could any mantis refuse?
Meichi's voice turned a few degrees colder. "You two are the strongest males in the territory. You will receive the Lord's favor and should feel honored. As for him..."
She pointed her Sickle Leg at Dazhuang, who had fallen to the ground. "I'll take a slight loss and settle for him."
"You may cheer now!"
With that said, Meichi spread her Sickle Legs and her wings, showing off her 'wonderful' figure.
Lu Qing knew the truth perfectly well.
This grand assembly of pleasure lasts for a few seconds, and then we get eaten by you. And I'm supposed to cheer?
Like hell I'd cheer for that.
"Did I not make myself clear enough? The two of us aren't interested."
"Uh—"
Meichi's mind was full of question marks.
Still not interested?
But I'm a famously beautiful mantis!
Wait, are you blind?
She grew anxious.
"Did you not see my figure? Am I not tempting? Let me tell you, the Lord's figure is even better than mine..."
Lu Qing couldn't be bothered to bicker with her any longer.
"You're too tempting. If you keep dawdling around and don't get lost, I might not be able to resist eating you!"
"I—"
This was backward. Completely backward.
A male wanted to eat a female!
If any other male mantis dared to speak to her like this, Meichi would have attacked without hesitation and taken him by force.
But the one in front of her... was twice her size.
If they really fought, she would definitely be the one getting eaten.
Unless she secreted...
It wasn't time for that yet. It wasn't time.
Meichi lost her nerve.
"I will report this to the Lord. When the time comes, it won't be up to you—"
Still dawdling around. Did she think Lu Qing was joking?
She was dead set on eating me?
He absolutely wasn't going to humor her.
His black Scythe swung in a full arc, heading straight for Meichi's wings.
Weren't her wings beautiful?
Wasn't she showing off her figure?
Let's see you show it off from now on!
His strike was blisteringly fast. Meichi barely had time to react before her wings were clamped in his black Sickle Leg.
Lu Qing applied a little pressure, and his Sickle Leg, which was no different from a guillotine, severed her wings right at the root.
"This time it's your wings; next time it'll be your head! Now crawl!"
The freezing tone and her severed wings made her realize what true danger was.
Meichi didn't even have the courage to be angry. She simply turned and crawled away.
She had no choice but to crawl; her wings were completely gone.
Dazhuang stared blankly as his 'goddess' crawled away, only snapping back to reality after a long while.
"Brother, she was such a perfect female mantis... so wonderful..."
Without hesitation, Lu Qing swatted Dazhuang with his wing again.
"Wonderful my ass. Female mantises are poison! You get a few seconds of pleasure, and then you lose your life!"
"If I weren't repulsed by the idea of eating my own kind, I would have twisted her head right off!"
Lu Qing was speaking from the bottom of his heart.
The 'graceful lady' in the eyes of a mantis was still just a mantis to him. If it weren't for his psychological aversion to cannibalism, he would have chopped off her head and eaten it like a jellybean long ago.
Dazhuang grunted and flipped himself back over.
"I couldn't help it, she was just so attractive... Brother, how do you manage to stay completely unfazed by female mantises?"
"It's simple. I firmly adhere to the creed that 'life is precious.'"
"Life is precious... Does that mean I don't have to be the bait anymore?"
"Don't even think about it. Get on the rock and lie down!"