Translated by: Shiroyukineko, Yunichan
Edited by: Krithika, Rango
TLCed by: Shiroyukineko
For the next three whole days, Yue Yang, Ye Kong and the others trained at the Ant Holes . They did not return to the Settlement Camp .
Yue Yang's purpose was not like the other mercenaries, who were looking for Fire Red Ant Eggs . His purpose was to train the team's beasts and the coordination . Yue Yang didn't summon any of his beasts to fight, his main priority was to protect everyone's safety while allowing them to train . At the same time, during Ye Kong's, Fatty Hai's and the others' training, Yue Yang had secretly cultivated his Yin Yang Twin Fish [Spherical Beheader], seeking a greater breakthrough .
Yue Bing trained together with Ye Kong, Fatty Hai and the Li Clan Brothers on the first day, but when Yue Yang saw that her Hundred Year Old Tree Defender's abilities were simply too powerful, he told her to train alone at a place a hundred meters away from Ye Kong and the others . He also told Ye Kong, Fatty Hai and the Li Clan Brothers to divide into two groups to train .
Ye Kong had a Herculean Rhinoceros Beetle which had a formidable defense, and a King Kong Demon Ape which had formidable attack power . He immediately became the main pillar of group .
He had improved by leaps and bounds, but it was a pity that the King Kong Demon Ape and the Herculean Rhinoceros Beetle were both still young beasts . They still couldn't display their maximum potential, otherwise they would definitely be extremely powerful .
Fatty Hai changed his lazy ways and followed Yue Yang's training plan, focusing on training his Iron-skinned Rhinoceros that he didn't really like .
Yue Yang knew that Fatty Hai's potential was actually not bad .
It's just that he was too lazy most of the time . He only liked eating and hated to train . In addition, he had a weak and cowardly disposition . This was why he ended up in his present state . If Fatty Hai could grit his teeth, bear the pain and cultivate hard, he could still become a little successful in the future .
As for the Li Clan Brothers who liked to keep silent most of the time, their martial art skills were gaining obvious improvements under the random pointers that Yue Yang gave them, as he couldn't stand looking at their inadequacies .
Although they weren't very talented, they were extremely hardworking .
In such cases, diligence could make up for lack of talent .
However, after they split into two groups, the Li Clan Brother's Wind Wolves were burnt to death by a Fire Red Ant Soldier's Flame when they were besieging a Fire Red Ant Soldier . It was all due to the Li Clan Brother's lack of control over the two beasts, hence they were extremely sad and disheartened . There was always a time limit to summon beasts . In order to quickly improve and stop being Yue Yang's burden, Ye Kong and the others had trained unceasingly . They would immediately initiate an attack when they spotted a Fire Red Ant foraging for food . Under exhaustion, the Li Clan Brothers could still force themselves to hold on, but their Wind Wolves couldn't, hence they died in the battle . Within the span of 3 days, Ye Kong and the others managed to kill 7 Fire Red Ants, including one gigantic Fire Red Giant Ant Soldier whose body was over 8 meters long .
Yue Bing had killed 6 Fire Red Ants on her own . Furthermore, she had finished them off very easily .
Accompanied by Yue Yang's advice and her own instincts, her control of the Hundred Year Old Tree Defender had become even more coordinated .
Suddenly, a sound wave from an SOS Scroll pleaded for help from somewhere deep in the Ant's Hole, "Golden Ant Eggs, we found Golden Ant Eggs! However, we were discovered by Ant Guards, and an Ant Wave had exploded inside the whole Ant's Nest now . We, a hundred or so mercenary soldiers, are surrounded inside . Anyone who can enter the Ant Hole to help, please help us . We will definitely reward you . We hope that you guys will come to the second layer of Ant's Nest to help us,"
The whole tunnel resounded with the echoes of their voices .
That type of SOS Scroll was the lowest grade SOS Scroll which was generally used by Mercenary Soldiers . Its area of broadcast wasn't very wide, only around 5 km wide . Usually, using sound waves to call for help could easily leak the user's position and attract many enemies . This would increase the danger to the user of the scroll, who was pleading for help . Hence, they were not used by most troops .
However, in Despair Abyss, it was very commonly used .
This was because the monsters there detected their prey using scent and heat . They were not very sensitive to noises, so they wouldn't seek for the source of the pleading voice .
Another thing was that the terrain there was extremely complex with many holes, pitfalls, cliffs and sudden depressions . Hence, using voice to call for help was much more effective than using fireworks, flash lights and so on .
"Bing-er, let's go!"
Hearing about the Ant Wave explosion, Yue Yang hurriedly brought Yue Bing and met up with Ye Kong and the others again, preparing to leave .
An Ant Wave explosion was an extremely scary thing .
There were around ten thousand or so Fire Red Ants in an Ant Nest . The map showed a few hundred Fire Red Ant Nests that had been located . Yue Yang reckoned that there was many more nests which remained undiscovered . The whole Ant Hole was filled with countless Fire Red Ants . Generally, when an intruder was found to have killed an Ant or broken a large number of Ant eggs, the whole colony of Fire Red Ants in the Ant Nest would move out together and blindly massacre every single intruder they found…
These Fire Red Ants all came from one Original Ant Queen . After thousands of years of continuous expansion and multiplication, the number of Ant Queens continued to increase, and that was how the Ant Hole of the present day came into being .
In reality, all the Ant Queens were either mother-daughter or sisters . Because they belonged to the same family, they could coexist in peace .
With regards to fighting opponents, they would help each other with all their strength .
Facing an ocean of Ants in the hostile terrain of the Ant Hole, let alone ordinary mercenary soldiers, even a Level 6 [Elder] wouldn't be able to escape alive .
"Quick, Fatty, quick!"
Ye Kong and the others had already started running towards Yue Yang . An Ant Wave was definitely not a joke .
Although the Golden Ant Egg was an enormous temptation, but between their own lives and the Golden Ant Egg, everyone would definitely choose their own lives . Yue Yang and the others had originally entered the hole for the sake of training, and not looking for eggs . They managed to escape from the hole in just a few minutes . However, just as they exited the hole, they saw a lot of mercenaries brandishing their weapons and summoning their beasts, were charging into the hole continuously .
The saying that "People die for wealth and birds die for food", was perfect to describe the current situation .
There were even more mercenaries who stayed on guard outside the hole .
They weren't willing to throw their lives away and enter the hole, but they were concerned about the situation .
"Brother, why don't you go and take a look? We will stay here outside . Don't worry, nothing will happen to us," Yue Bing hoped that Yue Yang could do as he liked instead of caring for her all the time . After so many trainings and experiences, she had already understood her brother's powerful strength . She had great confidence in her brother and she knew that her brother wasn't a hot-headed person . If he entered, even if he couldn't get the Golden Ant Egg, he would at least return safely . The little lady thought that her brother had strong martial art skills, as well as the aid of the Bloody Queen and the Barbarian Cow Shadow . There shouldn't be any problems for him to enter the Ant Hole alone .
"Yes, we will be alright . " Ye Kong also nodded towards Yue Yang . He, like Yue Bing, also hoped that Yue Yang could improve greatly . He was still the leader after all . No matter what happened, Yue Yang had always been the fastest to improve . This was the perfect time to improve, so of course they would encourage him to enter .
"If the Ant Wave burst out from the hole, I will wait for you at the Settlement Camp . " It was the first time in Fatty Hai's life that he said something other than bullshit .
"I'll come back quickly," Yue Yang had actually really wanted to see what the deeper parts of the Ant Holes look like .
Yue Yang left Hui Tai Lang outside . This was because, first, it could protect Yue Bing, and second, it wasn't very useful in front of a swarm of Ants .
Mercenaries who had gone deeper into the Ant Hole would bring back different kinds of ores at times . However, Yue Yang realized that the deeper he went, the weirder-looking the plants were . A lot of the fungi that he came across were actually precious herbs . In just three days, Yue Yang had picked at least 10 different kinds of mushroom that couldn't be found elsewhere .
Yue Yang did not hope for a Golden Ant Egg, because the mercenary soldier who had gotten the Golden Ant Egg would probably left using a teleportation scroll already . He couldn't possibly have stayed .
The people trapped inside had said it that way simply to attract more people to save them .
If the mercenary soldiers had not stolen their Golden Ant Egg, the Ant Colony wouldn't be so frenzied, and an Ant Wave wouldn't have occurred .
Yue Yang's main purpose was to explore the deeper layers of the Ant Hole, and in passing, check if there were any precious herbs around . According to Grandma Wu Teng's plant-related lecture, Yue Yang planned to concoct a pill that could help plant-type beasts evolve for Yue Bing's Hundred Year Old Tree Defender… The 'Green Spirit Pill' required 72 types of herbs, 5 of those were fungus . Yue Yang had only collected 3 types of fungus right now, he still needed the other 2… To Yue Yang, who had the [Nature's Heart] which made it possible to hide one's presence, the Ant Wave did not pose as a great danger . Fire Red Ants detect their enemies mainly using their sense of smell, Yue Yang was like an invisible person in front of them . Other than touching Yue Yang with their antennas or body, even if Yue Yang walked right before them, he wouldn't be found out .
Yue Yang followed a crowd of mercenary soldiers through the winding Ant Tunnel, running for around ten minutes .
Suddenly, they came into a wide clearing .
There was a space in the cave that was even larger than a football field appearing into view .
The mercenary soldiers gathered at the entrance, not daring to go into the wide clearing . This was because, no matter if it was ground or a cave, the whole place was infested with Fire Red Ants . There seemed to be more than ten thousands of them .
Let alone ordinary mercenary soldiers, even Yue Yang was frozen on the spot .
Even if they were only ants, if there were so many of them, it would be very scary .
Furthermore, in the Soaring Dragon Continent, the weakest beast was not ants… These Fire Red Ants were already Level 3 monsters when they finished incubation . The was even the larger Ant Soldiers that were already Level 4 monsters when they hatched, and the Ant Queen Guard that could breathe fire that were Level 5 when they hatched .
Although they were not elite monsters, with their numbers, they had an extremely formidable battle power .
Even if the mercenary soldiers were to force a battle and dispatch over ten thousand soldiers here, the result would probably be a total defeat and they would all be the Fire Red Ants' dinner .
"Pour Ant Water on yourselves! These Fire Red Ants are all fools, they would think that we are them so they will not discover us!" There was a brave Mercenary Troop Leader who suddenly took out a bottle of Ant Water and poured it over himself . Bringing along his troops, who were not afraid of risks and death, their purpose was not the reward, but the Golden Ant Egg .
"Those who have flying beasts, follow me . " There was also someone who had thought of an idea, and that was using flying beasts to advance forward .
"Those who are not going, please move away . Cowards, watch me count my money later!" There was an especially arrogant mercenary soldier who was pushing other soldiers to come out from the crowd . He brandished his axe and jumped out of the Ant Tunnel with a group of people . They had covered themselves with an Insect Repellant Liquid . Let alone Fire Red Ants, many other insect type organisms hated that kind of disgusting smell . In normal situations, insects would immediately avoid them, unwilling to attack such a smelly enemy .
There wasn't only one Ant Tunnel that leaded to the space clearing; there were a few dozens of them . Countless mercenaries who were willing to throw away their lives for the sake of wealth set out, causing disturbances amongst the swarm of Fire Red Ants .
From time to time, there would be mercenaries that was found out by the Fire Red Ants, needless to say they were immediately killed on the spot . However, there were many more people who managed to escape as they had poured vast amounts of the Ant Water and the Insect Repellant Liquid .
Yue Yang came out from the crowd soundlessly and followed closely behind these desperate mercenaries .
They passed through another Ant Tunnel below, and they arrived at a nest that was even larger than the space before . They realized that there were more Fire Red Ants here . Countless Fire Red Ants were violently moving and crawling, seeking their enemies everywhere . There were also the gigantic-bodied Ant Guards, who could breathe a long pillar of fire that danced in the air . There were layers of Fire Red Ants crawling on the ground, looking for the intruder that stole their Golden Ant Egg… Close to over a hundred mercenaries were standing on a platform at the side of a cliff, their teeths chattering with fright . They had sprayed a large amount of Insect Repellant Liquid and lighted up torches to protect themselves, keeping watch on top of that platform .
But it seemed that they wouldn't be able to hold on for too long . When the Insect Repellant Liquid's smell dissipated, they would definitely be torn into shreds by the Ant Colony .
The enormous Ant Colony surrounded the ground beneath them like crazy . Although Fire Red Ants didn't have intelligence, they had a natural instinct to not give up on their search easily . They continued to determinedly look for the 'invisible' intruder .
"Brothers, for money, let's charge with our lives!" Actually, most of the mercenary soldiers weren't there for the reward money, they were there for the Golden Ant Egg .
Some of the soldiers had thought to kill the group of mercenary soldiers on the platform and keep the Golden Ant Egg to themselves .
Pleading for help?
What they were doing right now was to pretend to help them, then they would lure the Ant Colony over to kill the mercenary soldiers on the platform, and then use the opportunity to steal the Golden Ant Egg away…
Yue Yang had seen it with his own eyes as a few Mercenary Troop Leaders colluded together, then threw an Insect Bait onto the platform . The Insect Bait attracted the Ant Colony even more, making them more frenzied than ever . The mercenary soldiers on the platform immediately cursed out loud . The small amount of mercenary soldiers who truly came to help the trapped soldiers started fighting with these selfish people furiously… The whole place was a mess .
The fresh blood flowing from the fight attracted the Ant Colony .
The Fire Red Ants were just like a tide of water, charging up towards them like a giant wave .
"Could it be that the Golden Ant Eggs was still here? They didn't teleport it out?" Yue Yang had a sharp eye, and saw that at the center of the group of mercenary soldiers, there were a few people who was carrying a large backpack . They were hiding their expressions, their faces looked complicated as they saw the situation turn even worse .
As regards to their response, Yue Yang's heart was again moved .
These fellows should have found things that were even more precious than Golden Ant Eggs . They were just using the Golden Ant Eggs as a cover .
The people who had returned using the teleportation scroll should have already brought back the best stuffs . If those that were left over here were Golden Ant Eggs, then what could the thing that was brought back be…? What other thing could be more precious than a Golden Ant Egg?
Curiosity bubbled up in Yue Yang's heart . Perhaps, he could do some negotiation with them .
That was because, there were still quite a few teleportation scrolls in his backpack…
Unlike the ordinary warriors, Yue Yang was almost like an invisible person, weaving through the Ant Colony leisurely . Even if he stamped on an Ant's back, he wouldn't alert the Ant Colony .
Under the dumbstruck gazes of the mercenary soldiers who couldn't believe what had happened, Yue Yang walked towards that platform and stopped around ten meters away . He stood on top of a large Ant Guard's back and followed the Ant Guard's movements, his body bobbing up and down . Everyone was struck speechless as they watched him . Yue Yang smiled as bright as the sun and asked, "Gentlemen, are you interested to talk for a while? Maybe we can do a little trade, but I don't know what kind of things you can give me as a barter item . "
On the platform, there was a man who looked seemed to be the leader, who said, "If you have teleportation scrolls with you, we are willing to buy them at a high price . Please just name a price . "
Yue Yang knew that if he didn't show them some capabilities, these people wouldn't be so scared that they would start to speak honestly .
He didn't answer, but pulled out the Hui Jin Magic Blade on his waist .
He imbued the blade madly with his innate qi, and purple flames ignited suddenly, exploding like a volcano .
The Hui Jin Magic Blade revolved and drew a circle under Yue Yang's control . After diligently cultivating his Twin Fish [Spherical Beheader] for three days, his skills had gotten better and more perfect . The giant circle drawn by his blade's purple flame sharply slashed across the space around Yue Yang, and those Fire Red Ants that were within the range of the circle was soundlessly cut in two . The Fire Red Ants which were originally resistant to fire had actually been charred into ashes by the purple flames…
The area within a radius of ten meters around Yue Yang immediately became an empty space .
It was a single slash that shocked the heaven and earth .
This, was one slash of Yue Yang's [Spherical Beheader]'s true power .
When they saw Yue Yang's hand which he revealed, all the mercenary soldiers including their leader were so frightened that their legs turned to jelly, and they couldn't help but nervously swallow one mouthful of saliva .
Horrifying!
In the situation where he had such frightful power without even summoning any beasts, how strong of a Ranker is this masked robber?
The leader on the platform wiped the cold sweat that trickled out and hurriedly showed a little more deference and respect . "We pay respects to you, esteemer Ranker . We are very happy and hopeful for assistance from a strong warrior like you . If you are willing to lead us out and leave the Ant Hole, we are willing to offer one Golden Ant Egg as repayment . " The mercenary soldiers on the platform quickly nodded, parroting his offer . To have a truly strong warrior lend a helping hand to them was better than hundreds or thousands of armies and horses . Their only worry was that they did not know what conditions the other party required from them in return .
��No, I am not interested in your Golden Ant Egg . " Yue Yang was not interested in Fire Red Ants, even if they were larvae that were Golden-ranked .
Ants are living things that wins by numbers . No matter how strong an individual ant was, it wouldn't be able to be truly strong alone .
When the man would looked like the leader heard Yue Yang's words, his expression changed a little . He looked eye to eye with his two comrades beside him, and then shouted in Yue Yang's direction . "Most respected strong warrior, we do not know what conditions of repayment you need . From what we have with us, the most precious thing would be the Golden Ant Eggs . But we only have three of them in total . We already promised to sell one of them to the Alliance Beast Shop . There are only two left . Sharing these fruits of our fresh blood with you is already the most that we can pay you . "
Yue Yang smiled serenely . "I want the thing that is more precious than the Golden Ant Eggs… . . "
On hearing this, the leader shuddered . His eyes showed disbelief, and then he immediately tried to gloss over his reaction and deny it . "No, we don't have such a thing on our bodies . Could the Ant Holes contain something that is even more precious than the Golden Ant Eggs? That is impossible . "
"Is it?" Yue Yang smiled, then he suddenly made a promise to the people on the platform . "Which one of you says what that precious treasure is the fastest, I will give him a Teleportation Scroll . "
"..." All the people immediately looked at each other .
Everybody wanted to say it, but nobody was willing to be a disgraceful traitor .
Yue Yang suddenly made a movement which entirely defeated the perseverance all the people had maintained at the bottom of their hearts .
He took out a Teleportation Scroll from his backpack .
They just needed to say it to be able to leave, to be able to live… Survival was just one word away . To say, or not to say?
"Hard-shelled Dragon Fruit," Just as Yue Yang took out the teleportation scrolls, a skinny mercenary soldier spoke up . His actions were extremely fast, not only had he said the name of the precious item, but he immediately jumped down the platform, afraid that he would be killed by his comrades after betraying them . He jumped agilely on a few Fire Red Ants backs, and finally jumped right in front of Yue Yang . He extended his hands and looked at Yue Yang desperately, "We found the legendary Hard-shelled Dragon Fruit . It is one of the most important ingredients needed to compound a Martial Spirit Pill… Please give me a teleportation scroll, I don't want to die, nor can I die . My family still needed me to come back alive… Please consider it on behalf of my elderly parents and my newborn daughter who is only three months old, Ranker, please give me a chance . I don't want anything, I only wish to be safely reunited with my family . Please honor your promise, you are an extremely strong Ranker whose words must also be honorable . Please have pity on me, I beg you, I beg you…"
"Very good, your initiative and honesty gave you the privilege to continue living," This was exactly the results that Yue Yang wanted . He handed that soldier a teleportation scroll . When that soldier received it, he immediately opened the scroll and bowed deeply towards Yue Yang emotionally before he left . Then, he quickly disappeared under the bright circle of light, teleported away .
"… " That Leader couldn't stop him, and the rest of the mercenary soldiers on the platform were extremely regretful .
The chance to live had already been presented right in front of them, but they had missed it just like that .
They knew that not everyone here could return alive . There would definitely be some people here who would be sacrificed in order to get others out .
Even they knew what the end would be, but none of them were willing to become that pitiful sacrificial lamb . Even if there was only a trace of hope, they all hoped that they themselves would be able to leave alive, and to live . Nobody was willing to die .
Yue yang took out a dozen or so scrolls and showed it towards the Leader on the platform, "Right now, you can make a choice . The first is you can die altogether with your comrades here . When you have all died, I can still take the things I want . Second is to accept my offer, and leave this place with the comrades that you have selected . As you would have gone away with the precious items, the Ant Colony and those mercenary soldiers eyeing for the precious items will disperse naturally . There would be more chances for the rest of the people left here to live . Third is to defeat me here, then all these teleportation scrolls would belong to you . "
Everybody looked at their leader, hoping that he would make a decision .
To choose one out of three, it was that simple .
But this was also the hardest choice to make in life …