TL: Etude
"Mighty Ant!" Ye Tian carefully read the introduction about the Mighty Ant.
In reality, the Mighty Ants were merely low-level beasts, yet they were a particularly terrifying species. Their strength could rival that of mid-level beasts, and they typically appeared in swarms, numbering in the tens of thousands. Even a Grand Martial Warrior would be besieged to death upon encountering the Mighty Ants.
"Mighty Ants undoubtedly possess an incredibly powerful innate strength. I knew from my past life that ants were very strong. Being beasts, Mighty Ants naturally have this ability. This ability is a talent. If I could replicate the talent of the Mighty Ants, my combat power would be boosted instantly!" Ye Tian was intrigued.
However, he was also very aware of the dangers of Mighty Ants. Once a type of beast formed a colony, it became a terrifying entity, especially if it was a colony of beasts with special talents. If not for the limitations of their bloodline talents, Mighty Ants would have long become humanity's nightmare.
"There are no Mighty Ants near the Linhai Base, otherwise the base would have been destroyed long ago. If I want to duplicate the ability of a Mighty Ant, I would have to go to a much more remote area, but that would be too dangerous!" Ye Tian frowned deeply.
Suddenly, Ye Tian thought of a solution—
He didn't necessarily have to go looking for Mighty Ants. If he could obtain a complete corpse of a Mighty Ant, he could still acquire its strength talent.
Black Market, The Martial Pavilion Shop.
They sold everything here, including the corpses of beasts. However, they usually sold beast meat, and rarely sold complete beast corpses, especially those of difficult-to-hunt beasts like Mighty Ants.
Ye Tian came here just to try his luck. After all, he had no idea where to find Mighty Ants, and going to a remote area alone to look for them would be too risky.
A female clerk came to assist Ye Tian.
"Sir Warrior, what would you like to purchase?" The clerk was very enthusiastic.
"I would like to buy a complete corpse of a Mighty Ant. Do you have any here at the Martial Pavilion?" Ye Tian asked.
"Mighty Ant?" The clerk was surprised.
Such a beast had never been sold before, because warriors who encountered Mighty Ants usually ran for their lives rather than tried to hunt the ants.
"Sir Warrior, let me check for you," the clerk hurriedly said.
Soon, the clerk returned with an apologetic look. "Sir Warrior, I'm really sorry, we don't have any Mighty Ants at the Martial Pavilion."
Ye Tian showed a disappointed expression, but he had already anticipated this outcome. He then said, "Does the Martial Pavilion have any information about Mighty Ants, or could you help me purchase a corpse of one? I'm willing to pay a high price!"
At that moment, the Martial Pavilion warrior walked over.
"Dear guest, I am Chen He, the steward of the Martial Pavilion. You wish to purchase the corpse of a Mighty Ant?" Steward Chen He asked.
"Yes," Ye Tian nodded.
Chen He smiled slightly, "I do know some information about Mighty Ants. Would you be interested?"
"Oh, what information? As long as I can get a complete corpse of a Mighty Ant, I'm very interested!" Ye Tian showed a look of interest.
"Linhai Base is preparing to establish a trade route with a medium-sized base. The distance between the two bases is 100 kilometers, and there happens to be a nest of Mighty Ants in between. Both bases are planning to deploy some warriors to clear out the beasts along the 100-kilometer route. The main force will be warriors from the medium-sized base. Although there are risks, the rewards are quite substantial. If you're willing to join this operation, obtaining a complete corpse of a Mighty Ant will be a simple matter," Chen He explained.
"Establishing a trade route!" Ye Tian was shocked.
In this era, it was the beasts that truly ruled the Earth. Humans were merely struggling to survive on the beasts' territory. And now, a small base and a medium-sized base dared to clear out beasts? Wasn't that too bold?
Didn't they fear provoking a terrifying beast, leading to heavy losses?
"The higher-ups of the bases must have considered the potential problems. I guess this area is relatively remote and doesn't have many powerful beasts, so the two bases have the courage to do this," Ye Tian thought.
But then he remembered the Lake of Death, which had more than one Apex-tier beasts. If the two bases dared to clear out the Lake of Death, the losses would be devastating.
"I'm willing to participate in this clearing operation!" Ye Tian agreed. His thinking was simple: whether or not the two bases' plan succeeded, it wouldn't interfere with his own plans.
As long as he participated in the beast-clearing operation, he would know the location of the Mighty Ant colony and might even be able to take advantage of the situation to duplicate the ants' talents. Why wouldn't he go for such a good opportunity?
"Here's the entrance token. Go to the Lin family in three days, and tasks will be assigned based on your abilities," Chen He handed Ye Tian a token, gave him some instructions, and then left.
"It seems that the Martial Pavilion is also involved in this plan; otherwise, this steward wouldn't be so concerned," Ye Tian thought to himself.
He was aware of the difficulty of this mission. Although the medium-sized base was the main force, Linhai Base was weak. Many warriors could die, but he was confident he wouldn't be one of them.
In terms of survival skills, he could even rival a Grand Martial Warrior. And if he gained the Might Ants' strength talent, he might even edge Grand Martial Warriors out.
Three days passed in a flash.
On this day, Ye Tian arrived at the area where the Lin family was located.
The Lin family was the undisputed overlord of Linhai Base. Compared to the Lin family, clans like the Mo family were much weaker.
Before becoming a warrior, Ye Tian thought that the Lin family only had one Grand Martial Warrior. But now, he knew the depth of the Lin family's strength.
They had five Grand Martial Warriors, one of whom was at the peak level, with a strength of 900,000 jin (catties), easily capable of killing ordinary Grand Martial Warriors in seconds. With such a Grand Martial Warrior anchoring the Lin family, other clans wouldn't dare rebel.
When Ye Tian arrived at the designated location, he saw that many warriors had already gathered. There were at least a hundred people, including elite warriors. However, he didn't see a single Grand Martial Warrior.
"Huh, I see some familiar faces!" Ye Tian was surprised.
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