Vikram didn’t rush to leave immediately.

Instead, he sat on the sofa and carefully thought through the situation at Savage Wolf Shelter.

Simply bringing everyone into an underground shelter wasn’t a permanent solution.

The insect plague was different from zombies.

Zombies only knew how to attack directly.

Insects, however, could gnaw through almost anything.

If they surrounded the underground shelter for long enough, sooner or later they would chew their way inside.

Even if he managed to rescue everyone today, the same thing would happen again tomorrow.

"There has to be a better way..."

Vikram muttered as he tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Suddenly, his eyes landed on Fiery, who was lazily leaning against his Treehouse.

Thinking back to the previous night’s battle, Vikram’s eyes lit up.

"The insects seem to fear fire the most."

Last night, Fiery had almost turned half of the insect tide into ashes by himself.

Compared to hammers, arrows, or even bullets, flames were obviously far more effective against such densely packed insects.

Vikram couldn’t help but chuckle.

"So... if one Fiery equals an insect exterminator..."

"Wouldn’t ten flamethrowers equal one Fiery?"

Although they definitely couldn’t compare to the real Fiery, dealing with ordinary insects should be more than enough.

Without wasting another second, Vikram walked directly toward the Metal Mage Druid’s Treehouse.

Steely had already noticed Vikram approaching and respectfully bowed.

"Vik."

Vikram got straight to the point.

"Can you manufacture flamethrowers?"

Steely lowered his head slightly, as if communicating with the Treehouse through the Root Network.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

"Yes."

"Using the Territory’s biological workshop, together with metallic plant fibers, compressed bio-fuel sacs, pressure vines, and several common materials, I can manufacture biological flamethrowers."

"They will also require a certain amount of Plant Essence."

Hearing that, Vikram immediately smiled.

"As expected."

"As long as Plant Essence can solve the problem, it’s not a problem."

Without another word, he waved his hand.

"Produce ten of them first."

Steely nodded once again.

"As you wish, Vik."

The moment the order was issued, countless metallic vines extended from beneath the Treehouse, carrying various materials into the Vehicle Modification Room.

Soon, the entire workshop began operating at full capacity.

The first batch of biological flamethrowers officially entered production.

Seeing that killing the insects was no longer the main issue, Vikram shifted his attention to another problem.

Keeping the insects away from the Shelter. After all, these insects could even gnaw through metal.

Simply reinforcing the walls would only delay them for a while.

Leaning back in his chair, Vikram began planning the reconstruction of Savage Wolf Shelter.

"The first problem is the ground insects."

"If they can’t reach the walls, the pressure on the shelter will decrease significantly."

His eyes immediately landed on Watery.

"A moat..."

With Watery’s abilities, digging a wide moat around Savage Wolf Shelter and filling it with water wouldn’t take much time.

Once completed, most ground insects would be unable to directly reach the walls.

Then Vikram thought about the walls themselves.

"The current walls definitely won’t work."

"Since the insects can chew through metal, a pure metal wall is meaningless."

"If Earthy reshapes the surrounding rocks while Steely reinforces them with biological metal, they should be able to construct a composite wall in a short period."

"Even if the insects manage to chew through the outer metal layer, the compressed rock beneath will greatly slow them down."

After arriving at Savage Wolf Shelter, he could have Earthy and Steely finish the construction before bringing them back.

Soon, another thought crossed his mind.

"The insect corpses..."

"They’ll only attract more insects if they’re left outside."

With Watery’s water manipulation and Fiery’s flames, disposing of the insect corpses afterward shouldn’t be difficult.

Thinking this far, Vikram nodded slightly.

The plan was gradually becoming complete.

He only needed to bring Watery, Earthy, Steely, and Fiery to Savage Wolf Shelter once.

After finishing the moat, rebuilding the walls, and clearing the battlefield, they could immediately return to Territory 1.

As long as Shalini’s people had the flamethrowers and the reconstructed defenses, they should be able to withstand future insect plagues on their own.

—

After the ten biological flamethrowers were completed, Vikram stored them inside his backpack.

Without wasting any time, he summoned his Armored Vehicle.

Instead, he took those required for the reconstruction. Fiery, Watery, Earthy, Stormy, Steely and Phanty.

The moment everyone boarded the vehicle, Vikram stepped on the accelerator, and the Armored Vehicle sped across the wasteland toward Savage Wolf Shelter.

—

Nearly an hour later.

The familiar outline of Savage Wolf Shelter gradually appeared before everyone’s eyes.

However, compared to the last time Vikram had visited, the place now looked completely different.

The entire Shelter looked as though it had been ravaged by a natural disaster.

Most of the wooden watchtowers had collapsed.

The outer fences were riddled with countless holes, as if they had been gnawed apart by millions of sharp teeth.

Several buildings above ground had partially collapsed, their roofs filled with dense bite marks.

Broken wood, twisted metal, shattered glass, and insect corpses were scattered everywhere.

The surrounding ground was littered with deep tunnels and countless tiny holes left behind by the insects.

The air carried a faint rotten smell mixed with burnt insect shells.

Occasionally, a few surviving insects could still be seen crawling out from the rubble before quickly disappearing underground.

Even after the insect tide had ended, the entire Shelter still appeared lifeless.

At the entrance, Shalini was already waiting.

Although she looked slightly exhausted, her clothes were neat, and there wasn’t the slightest trace of panic on her face.

Seeing Vikram’s vehicle approaching, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Boss."

She respectfully greeted him.

Vikram simply nodded before scanning the surroundings once more.

"The damage is even worse than I expected."

After observing the situation at Savage Wolf Shelter, Vikram suddenly noticed another group approaching from the distance.

Around fifty Survivors were making their way toward the Shelter in a rather miserable state.

Most of them had dirt-stained clothes, exhausted expressions, and weapons tightly clutched in their hands as they constantly looked around, afraid another insect swarm might emerge at any moment.

Walking at the front of the group was Brandon.

The moment he spotted Vikram standing at the entrance of Savage Wolf Shelter, his tense expression immediately relaxed.

He hurried over with the remaining fifty members of Blue Frost Shelter following closely behind.

"Boss! You really came!" His voice was filled with relief.

The fifty Survivors behind him also secretly let out sighs of relief.

On the journey here, they had been terrified that Vikram might not keep his promise.

Fortunately... He had arrived before them.

After taking a look at their miserable condition, Vikram didn’t say anything.

Instead, he slowly scanned the entire surroundings of Savage Wolf Shelter.

Then he turned toward Earthy. "Earthy, create a trench around the entire Shelter."

"Okay, Vik." Earthy smiled and stepped forward. She gently raised both hands.

Immediately, the surrounding earth began to tremble.

Rumble...

The ground around Savage Wolf Shelter slowly split apart.

Massive amounts of soil sank downward as if swallowed by an invisible force.

Within moments, a trench nearly three meters deep had formed, completely surrounding the Shelter like a giant moat.

The excavated soil was neatly piled to one side instead of scattering everywhere.

Everyone present stared with their mouths agape.

Even Brandon and his fifty members couldn’t believe their eyes.

This was the first time they had witnessed something like it.

"Boss... what are you doing?" Shalini finally asked, unable to understand the purpose behind it.

Vikram simply smiled. "You’ll understand soon enough."

Then he looked toward Watery.

"Watery, fill the trench with water."

"Okay, Vik."

The moment the order was given, Watery stepped forward, preparing to transform the giant trench into a protective moat around Savage Wolf Shelter.

After Watery finished filling the trench with water, a complete moat now surrounded Savage Wolf Shelter.

Looking at it, Vikram nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, now, most ground insects won’t be able to reach the Shelter."

"Even if a few manage to cross the moat, there won’t be many of them. You won’t need to worry about those."

After saying that, Vikram shifted his gaze toward Earthy and Stormy.

"Earthy. Now create a five-meter-high wall around the Shelter. Use rock as the main material."

Then he turned toward Shalini.

"Go to the warehouse and bring out every piece of rock you have stored there."

"Okay, Boss."

Without wasting any time, Shalini immediately gathered several members and began transporting every rock from the warehouse.

Large and small stones were quickly piled beside Earthy.

Seeing everything was ready, Earthy slowly stepped forward once more.

She gently raised both hands.

Rumble... The earth shook again. The countless rocks seemed to come alive.

One after another, they floated into the air before rapidly assembling together.

Soon, a gigantic stone wall began rising from the ground, completely surrounding Savage Wolf Shelter.

The wall stood nearly five meters tall and was far thicker than the previous defensive fence..

However, Earthy wasn’t finished yet.

The stone wall continued extending until it completely enclosed the Shelter, leaving only the front entrance unfinished.

Then, under everyone’s astonished gaze, the countless floating rocks at the entrance rapidly compressed together, gradually forming an enormous stone gate several meters thick.

Unlike an ordinary gate, it fitted seamlessly into the wall, making it appear as though it were simply another section of the fortification.

Only after it was completely formed did the lower portion slowly tilt forward, stretching across the moat and transforming into a broad stone bridge capable of allowing vehicles and people to pass.

A few moments later, the bridge slowly rose once again, perfectly sealing the entrance and becoming one with the wall.

Watching such an enormous defensive fortress take shape in just a few minutes, everyone present was left dumbfounded.

"This..."

"This is unbelievable..."

A few Survivors couldn’t help but cheer.

"We’re saved!"

"Those insects won’t be able to get in now!"

"Boss is amazing!"

Just as the cheers grew louder, Shalini shot everyone a cold glance.

The noisy crowd instantly fell silent.

One by one, they obediently straightened their backs, not daring to make another sound.

Looking at the completed stone wall, Vikram didn’t say anything.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward Steely.

"Steely, cover the outer layer of the wall with biological metal."

"Okay, Vik."

Steely immediately stepped forward.

He stretched out both hands, and countless metallic vines spread across the entire wall like living roots.

The vines continuously released silvery metallic liquid, which slowly fused with the stone surface.

Layer after layer, the rock wall became coated with a dense metallic shell.

Unlike ordinary steel plating, this biological metal bonded directly with the stone itself, forming a single structure instead of simply attaching to it.

Within minutes, the dull gray stone wall had transformed into a dark metallic fortress.

Vikram nodded slightly.

Now, even if the insects managed to chew through the outer metal layer, the thick stone beneath would still stop them for a long time.

After that, Vikram looked toward Stormy.

"Stormy, cover the outer wall with lightning."

Then he looked back at Steely.

"And you, create a biological conductor that can store Stormy’s lightning and release it whenever needed."

"Okay, Vik."

The two immediately began working together.

Stormy slowly raised one hand.

Crack! Crack!

Blue-white arcs of lightning continuously burst from his palm, spreading across the sky.

Instead of striking randomly, the lightning was guided toward the wall.

At the same time, Steely manipulated countless metallic vines, causing them to burrow throughout the entire wall.

The vines gradually evolved into a network of metallic roots hidden beneath the biological metal.

At regular intervals, Steely also created fist-sized biological energy nodes, embedding them inside the wall.

As Stormy’s lightning entered the metallic root network, the biological nodes rapidly absorbed and stored the electrical energy.

Soon, the entire wall became interconnected by an invisible electrical grid.

Under normal circumstances, the wall remained completely harmless.

However, once activated, every section of the biological metal would instantly become electrified.

Any creature attempting to climb or gnaw through the wall would immediately be struck by powerful currents from every direction.

Watching blue arcs occasionally flash across the dark metallic wall before disappearing again, everyone present couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

It was not just a defensive wall. It had become a gigantic electrified fortress.