****(POV)

How does one know how strong a Gu is? In the wild, it's all about territory. The bigger the territory controlled and the fiercer it is. Of course, it always remains an objectively small area since they are bugs.

In this room, they are all toppled atop one another, slowly crawling over one another. This is crazy! To any regular human, this would seem pretty normal. That's what bugs do, right? Not Gus! Especially not ones of different species!

A Gu user would instead disdain them all as weaklings. But for me, this behavior is puzzling and highly interesting. It took me months to achieve this!

But the more I watch and the more confused I become. It seems like there really isn't anything peculiar about this place.

That is when I hear a shout. "Come back here, you little shit!"

I hear a very faint sound of buzzing and hurried footsteps. That is when I see a small Gu pass in front with a human following soon afterward. The mad chase seems to have him exhausted. He doesn't even glance at me.

He's surrounded by tons of swarming crawling bugs around his legs. They seem to be plenty of soul-crushing centipedes. Not the strongest, fastest, or even deadliest of Gus, but they get the job done. Well, just not this specific job.

From time to time, there are playful Gus that enjoy running away from people. These are akin to an omen of death. They will often lure their prey into a trap, either one of their own or the territory of a high-tier Gu.

Then again, that guy probably knows that. I'm surprised all his shouting hasn't attracted unwanted attention just yet. I guess the residents already consider him a goner and belonging to that one Gu he's chasing.

It's crazy how complex yet simple Gu society is. It's all instinctive, but it works. Now I just want to figure out the instinctual behavior that is happening at my feet. Yes, Gus are crawling over my boots, but they don't mean any harm at all.

Usually, my troops would be defending me, but even they are puzzled. They are trying to figure out if these are new recruits, enemies, or even food. They are restlessly awaiting my input. I try to take out various ingredients from my backpack.

For this little Gu meat, for the other one it should be vegetables, for this one pepper and this one fruit. I know their liking since these are all the general kinds of Gus that have barely evolved and are commonly found everywhere in the sect.

That is when I notice something weird. They all happily start munching, but there is one thing that completely gets ignored. None are even going near the apple I have thrown. How come?! I can notice some of their legs moving about in excitement as they smell the sweetness of it before giving up in defeat.

This isn't normal Gu behavior at all! But that is when I notice something. There is a very tiny moving dot near the juicy goodness. On the apple is a minuscule, puny, and barely noticeable fruit fly.

Wait, are all these Gus afraid of this small one? I cannot feel any aura coming out of it at all. It is evidently a normal Gu, but why is it feared? I grab a random crawler and place it near the fly, and sure enough, it avoids it like the plague.

Is it possible that this is the offspring of a stronger Gu? Gus generally don't have any attachment to kins. Some Gus are even 100% the result of mana overflowing. Gus are part demonic and part bug, with every single one being unique from one another.

This entity in front of me doesn't make any sense. It does seem to be happily enjoying its snack. If it loves sweet things, how about this? I get a raspberry out before pushing it in front of the creature.

I get the feeling it is at that exact moment it notices my existence. It sees the offering. Then it begins to taste it. The reaction is instantaneous. I still can't sense any danger, but I sure do feel its joy.

It somehow quickly finishes the berry bigger than it, and then it politely sits in front of me, waving its delicate wings in expectation. I get another treat out and watch it devour it in bliss. But the peaceful atmosphere gets broken by the sound of footsteps.

In the entrance is the running man from earlier. Coincidentally he's the other guy that told me he'd kill me should we meet. Guess it's fine anyway. I can't be wasting more time here.

"You are still here, you loser? As I thought, I really had seen a piece of shit from the corner of my eyes back on that chase. A shame that Gu was too fast. Still, now I just have the perfect target to vent on. Isn't that great? You'll finally be useful for something!"

He really said all that as some bottom-tier villain. Plus, the reason he hates me is even worst than the other guy. He's just mad that I take resources that could be split amongst the others. He thinks of me as useless because I'm friendly to Gus.

He's way too overconfident. He advances with a cruel look in his eyes and his army of soul-crushing centipedes. As long as I remain far from these, I will be fine. Actually, I can just use my new addition, the worms with teeth. These guys are good at avoiding physical attacks and are immune to soul attacks.

I totally have this in the bag. Had it been the previous me, this could have been slightly troublesome. The difficulty would have obviously been how to sacrifice the least Gus to achieve victory.

Well, time for a bit of acting.

"Please, man! Please, Sir! We are all part of the same sect. There is no need for us to fight! It would just weaken us both, and then…."

"*Scoff? Weaken us both? You really overestimate yourself, trash! To me, you are nothing other than a worm crawling on the floor. There is nothing you can do to change your fate. Actually, perhaps I will spare you if you remove your clothes and beg on the floor. As long as you can make my mood better, I might just let you live…."

That is when I retreat in fear toward the corner of the room while trembling. Actually, I'm subtly ordering my Gus to attack. Well, it's hard with the new ones. I barely showed them a few tricks while moving.

That is when he takes a step closer, crushing the berry and the cute fly under his feet. Poor little thing, it just wanted to live peacefully and eat. But that is when I barely notice it coming out of the fruit mush, alive.

I see it fly slowly, all the way toward my opponent, before stinging it. That is when he falls, just like that. What the fuck?!...