"Whoa..." Gu TangLang exclaimed, their attention momentarily caught by the rapidly extending, emerald sea expanding, swaying, and muting the stormy wind and monsoon rains. While the mantis was distracted, Mike brought out a shirt and pants for them to wear.
There was nothing really exposed that needed covering, but Mike thought he would offer it, since they had gone to the trouble of pilfering the robes of their former master. It seemed that they were conscious of their looks.
"Ah... thank you, but is it really okay for me to come along? E-even when I'm like this?" Holding onto the clothing, they asked, looking at their arms and body, covered in a shiny green carapace, with some human skin peeking through certain gaps and places exposed by normal clothing. This was also why Mike had not seen anything suspicious at first glance.
"Don't worry. I actually know people who will look forward to meeting you," he said confidently. Mike was sure Neeco Boos would jump at the task to make clothes for Gu TangLang to accommodate their special physique.
"Do you think my...my..." they stuttered and fell silent again. Mike could guess what they were going to ask.
"As I said, we will try to help you. I'm sure you will be able to remember in time, and then we can look for your parents or whoever you hold precious," the lion assured Gu Tanglang again. However, this time, the mantis suddenly looked even sadder.
" Did I say something wrong?" Mike asked.
"No, it's just that I don't think my parents are still alive. When you mentioned them, I was suddenly overcome with a terrible feeling. I don't think I'm looking for them," they said with a weak smile.
"I know it doesn't feel good, but this is actually a good sign. It means you kept at least some personal memories. That mean's there is hope to recover them," Mike mentioned the silver lining.
They knew something bad happened with their parents, but at least that meant they knew something about their past. Unlike Adam, whose memory was completely wiped to the point that not even the Muir Empire had been able to help him regain what was lost.
"I guess so. Then can we leave now? The quicker I remember, the better," they asked, slightly better. Although Mike would have wanted to, there was still something he had to do, and one more potential thing that had come up.
"Well, not yet. My job here isn't over yet. On that note, Gu TangLang, I have to ask you, are there any more like you? Are there any more Urthans kept under control in this place?"
There had been many people from Y-City who were transported to this place. If the Gu Family had a way to turn people into creatures like Gu TangLang, then there might have been more survivors they didn't know of.
It didn't matter to Mike that they were changed. If they were here, kept against their will, then he wanted to free them and allow them to return, just like Gu TangLang. The mantis in question answered hesitatingly.
"There are others like me, human gu. Every young master like Gu Mo has at least one for protection, and the elders have several. But I don't know if they are like me... their eyes were always cold and empty when I saw them..." Gu TangLang explained.
"I see," Mike mumbled and looked at the central barrier. He checked on the powerful presences he had noticed earlier. With the storm mostly blocked by the tree, those guys would also get ideas and start moving.
According to intel, there were at least 10 elders in the Gu Family, which meant there was a whole bunch of lv.160+ insect humans that would resist his help until their masters were killed. His
They weren't perfectly clear, but he could tell there were quite a lot of powerful beings bunched up together somewhere in the center of the barrier. That was quite the force. Good thing he had the Guardian Sapling. Now, he just needed a plan.
"Gu TangLang, I will have to deal with them and free the other human gu. Could you wait for me at the edge of the estate? " he asked her, after coming up with a rough plan.
"I can help you! I'm actually quite strong, you know? If it wasn't for the Tang lang talisman, I would have ripped apart Gu Mo myself," they boasted. However.
"I don't know whether any of the elders can take control of you like the guy just now. Wouldn't they know the technique too? You can't harm me, but if you freeze up after trying to attack me, I will have to protect you." Mike shot the child down.
"Ah-... I didn't think of that." She hung her head.
"The best thing you can do to help me is to make sure you are safe, and I don't have to worry about you," Mike explained to her. " I have more than enough help to pull this off," he assured her, and a row of Orc Golem knights appeared at his side.
All their levels were in the 90s, and they were covered in epic enchanted armor. Any of them would have been enough to fight Gu Mo one-on-one and win. He only brought one row of ten out from his inventory because he worried about the structural integrity of the roof.
"None of them is as strong as me," Gu TangLang commented. That was not wrong, but they didn't have the crucial weakness of becoming a liability in the middle of battle. Mike obviously didn't say that out loud.
"I got a bunch more of them in my inventory. One might not be able to beat you, but two will overpower you without a problem. There will be enough for what I intend to do." After all, Mike didn't intend to actually fight them with numbers. If things went well, there wouldn't be a fight at all.
Unwillingly, Gu TangLang accepted to wait as Mike and his entourage of golem orcs moved towards the barrier. The lion stopped on the roof of a nearby manor, while the squad of golem knights charged toward the inner estate, "knocking at the door".
Various epic weapons ranging from swords to helbards, to axes and spears collided with the foreign magic and ripped into the light membrane. It was different from most barriers Mike knew, as it didn't break or crack. While resisting the strikes, it lost chunks of energy, without any visible damage.
That changed when the golems began using skills. Their weapons were enveloped in various powers and auras as they penetrated the defense that withstood the might of the hurricane. Obviously, their knocking did not stay unnoticed.
When gaps appeared in the white surface, cultivators charged at the knights, hacking away. While the lower members of the family had fallen victim to the storm and their own insect pets, the elite had hidden inside the central barrier, waiting out the storm.
Some were using centipede-like creatures as whips, others cast some kind of skills or magic using bugs in their hands. A couple even commanded swarms of bugs to attack. Mike had never seen such a bizarre way to fight, except maybe during the Great Tournament of Little Gamma, when he witnessed the power of the maggot priest. It was like they all had gotten a rare tamer class or something.
"How can they withstand my Grinding Swarm?" "They are immune to my Marrow Poison Gu?!" " I refuse to believe my Blood Line Centipede can't put a dent in youuuu!" They kept reporting the status of their battle, for everyone on the field to hear.
Little they did could do true harm to the golems, as barely anything they threw at them penetrated their defense. Mike could only say that bugs and golems were a bad match-up. As cultivators started falling in quick succession, the other side also realized its disadvantage.