TL: Etude
"Roar!" The leader of the fire-spitting lizards let out a deafening roar, prompting its minions to charge at Ye Tian. However, the lizard leader had underestimated him.
Ye Tian was an elite warrior. After activating his speed talent, his velocity was comparable to that of peak elite warriors. More importantly, his swordsmanship was formidable.
"Shadow Kill!" His bronze-level sword technique transformed into a blade of light that instantly severed the heads of two fire-spitting lizards.
Thud, thud, thud! One by one, the fire-spitting lizards fell as blades of light descended upon them. These low-level beasts couldn't even touch Ye Tian's clothes; they merely drained some of his energy.
If the number of fire-spitting lizards had been greater, Ye Tian would have been in trouble. But a mere thirty or so didn't concern him.
Seeing its minions falling one by one, the lizard leader grew anxious. It could no longer hold back; otherwise, it would end up a commander without an army.
When the lizard leader finally stood up and charged at Ye Tian, he got a clear view of its full appearance. It was eight meters long, with back spikes each measuring a meter and emanating a chilling aura. Judging by its aura, this was a genuine intermediate-level beast.
As the lizard leader came within ten meters of Ye Tian, he assessed its talents.
Species: Fire-Spitting Lizard
Bloodline Talent: Intermediate
Fire Talent: Basic
"Basic fire talent!" Ye Tian was surprised. While a lower-level fire talent could only double the attack power, a basic fire talent could triple it.
Beasts were generally stronger than warriors of the same level. If warriors didn't have elemental energy to boost them, they couldn't defeat beasts of the same level. However, beasts could also activate their bloodline talents for a temporary burst of combat power, potentially surpassing warriors.
This fire-spitting lizard leader was an intermediate-level beast with a basic fire talent, making its attack power exceed Ye Tian's.
"I can only wear it down," Ye Tian decided.
The lizard leader, possessing some intelligence, immediately used its fire talent to form a massive fireball that whizzed toward him.
Boom! The fireball exploded, transforming into countless waves of fire.
Under such an attack, Ye Tian inevitably took some damage. However, he ignored the fiery onslaught, not even bothering to activate his elemental energy shield.
The elemental energy of an elite warrior was potent enough to form a protective shield, but Ye Tian felt it was unnecessary. His shield wouldn't withstand these fire attacks, so he might as well conserve his energy.
Thus, he charged directly at the fire-spitting lizard leader.
"Shadow Kill!" His advanced-level Shadow Kill transformed into a dazzling blade of light that instantly sliced toward the fire-spitting lizard leader.
The tripled speed, combined with the speed of his bronze-level sword technique, made this strike incredibly fearsome. Had it been an ordinary elite warrior, they would have fallen under this single blow. However, the fire-spitting lizard's defense was much stronger than that of an elite warrior, and it collided head-on with Ye Tian's blade.
Boom! The lizard leader was pushed back several meters, a deep gash appearing on its forehead from which a large amount of blood flowed.
"50,000 jin of strength!" Ye Tian quickly assessed the lizard's strength. The lizard had a strength of 50,000 jin, and its fire attacks were equivalent to 150,000 jin of force.
Ye Tian's own strength was only 30,000 jin. With the amplification of his elemental energy, his effective strength was 60,000 jin. With the addition of his bronze-level Shadow Kill technique, his attack power was equivalent to 110,000 or 120,000 jin. Even so, his attack power still fell short of the fire-spitting lizard's.
He glanced at his body, covered in burns from the fire. It looked quite miserable. If not for his top-tier healing talent, he would have been doomed.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Tian's wounds healed, and he was back to full health. In contrast, the lizard leader's injuries didn't heal, and its condition continued to deteriorate.
Relying on his top-tier healing talent, Ye Tian attacked the lizard leader recklessly. Gradually, the lizard leader's injuries worsened, while Ye Tian remained unscathed.
Three minutes passed. Finally, the lizard leader helplessly collapsed on the ground, its life force dissipating. It died at the hands of Ye Tian, who was weaker than it.
In fact, even without his top-tier healing talent, Ye Tian still had a chance of winning. After all, he had a basic speed talent and could have dodged the lizard leader's attacks while occasionally ambushing it. However, Ye Tian chose not to do so, opting for a more direct approach to save time.
He then cleaned up the remaining fire-spitting lizards and turned his attention back to the corpse of the lizard leader. The blood of an intermediate-level beast was valuable, especially that of a fire-spitting lizard with fire talent. Its blood contained fire energy, which was highly effective for body tempering.
So, Ye Tian didn't waste any of this intermediate-level beast blood and collected it. The lizard was quite large, and he collected about fifty portions of intermediate-level beast blood. Just these fifty portions were worth several million, a significant gain.
After killing all the fire-spitting lizards, Ye Tian called Feng Lang and the others over. When they saw the corpses scattered around, especially the body of the lizard leader, they were utterly stunned.
"Ye Tian, you actually killed this intermediate-level beast?" Feng Lang was shocked.
He looked Ye Tian over carefully and found that although his clothes were torn, he was uninjured. Feng Lang immediately suspected that Ye Tian had some hidden cards, but he wasn't the type to pry into others' secrets, especially when it could offend them.
Ye Tian had no interest in the meat or hide of the intermediate-level beast, but Feng Lang and the others found them valuable. With Ye Tian's permission, they dismembered the lizard leader's corpse.
Over the next day, Ye Tian and Feng Lang's group nearly cleared out all the beasts in this area. After ensuring that there were no more dangerous creatures, Ye Tian suggested leaving.
When Feng Lang asked him why he wanted to leave, he was stunned by the answer.
"What? Ye Tian, you're going to the area where the Mighty Ants are?"