Species: Fire Ant Queen (Devourable)
Spirit Power: 1700 years
HP: 450/450
Strength: 110
Attack: 125
Defense: 106
Speed: 121
Although the Fire Ant Queen's spirit power was lower than Fang Chang's, her stats slightly surpassed what he had in his former form as a Man-Faced Demon Spider.
It was no surprise—she was the apex existence among thousands of Fire Ants, akin to royalty.
However, her true trump card wasn't her personal strength. It was her endless army of offspring swarming around her.
With a commanding screech, the Fire Ant Queen rallied her children.
The ants formed up in strategic formations, stronger ones in the vanguard and weaker ones in the rear.
Several Fire Ants with spirit power of 300-400 years led the charge, arranging themselves into phalanxes as they approached Fang Chang.
A typical thousand-year-old soul beast or a three-to-four-ring soul master might have been paralyzed with fear at this sight.
Even though Fire Ants were among the weakest creatures in the soul beast hierarchy individually, their overwhelming numbers often deterred even weaker ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
But today, they faced Fang Chang—a being with the unfair advantage of system buffs.
Fang Chang had already fought the Fire Ants multiple times and didn't fear them.
In his eyes, this was nothing more than a steady supply of snacks marching obediently to his mouth.
With a powerful leap, Fang Chang jumped into the densest cluster of Fire Ants.
The impact shattered the ground beneath him.
Raising his shield-like legs, he brought them down with devastating force, crushing a 300-year-old Fire Ant in one blow before promptly devouring it, completely ignoring the swarm's counterattacks.
His eight legs, sharp as scythes of death, cut through the ants mercilessly.
Each swing reaped multiple lives.
The Fire Ants fought back with fiery secretions, but their attacks could do little more than heat his armored carapace, making him look even more formidable.
Before long, the Fire Ants scattered, leaving a clear space around Fang Chang.
He looked up to see the Fire Ant Queen descending gracefully from her platform.
As a thousand-year soul beast, the Queen possessed a degree of intelligence. She quickly realized that her children alone could not deal with this intruder.
She would have to handle this herself.
With a sudden burst of speed, the Queen darted toward Fang Chang. Her large mandibles glinted dangerously as she aimed to clamp down on his waist.
Fang Chang instinctively raised one of his shield-like legs to block.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew as the mandibles bit into the shield leg.
Though the attack failed to pierce it, the leg now bore two deep grooves.
The Queen retreated a few steps, clicking her mandibles menacingly.
Her mandibles weren't exaggerated in size like her offspring's but were instead sleek and efficient, resembling a human forearm in length—clearly her primary weapon.
The two combatants circled each other, wary of their opponent's strength.
The Queen disappeared in a blur and reappeared on Fang Chang's flank. This time, her entire body ignited in flames, and her mandibles glowed with intense heat.
Fang Chang was ready for her.
With a quick sidestep, he dodged her fiery attack, narrowly avoiding the searing mandibles.
The Queen missed but quickly adjusted her position, lunging at Fang Chang again.
Fang Chang swung his left shield leg, smashing it down onto the Queen's head, forcing her mandibles to the ground.
With uncanny agility, he spun his body and mounted the Queen, pinning her beneath him.
Enraged, the Queen's flames burned even hotter, tongues of fire reaching nearly two meters high.
But Fang Chang was unfazed, thanks to his Fire Immunity.
He held his ground as the Queen thrashed wildly, her flames licking his body.
With all eight legs, Fang Chang drove his sharp limbs into the Queen's body, injecting her with paralyzing venom.
The Queen's struggles slowed as the venom took effect.
Her movements became lethargic, and her body eventually collapsed beneath him.
Seeing his chance, Fang Chang sank his fangs into the Queen's soft abdomen, tearing through her tough exoskeleton.
Black fluid oozed from the wound.
The Queen let out one last desperate shriek, but the venom quickly subdued her again.
The surrounding Fire Ants tried to rush in and rescue their Queen, but their attacks were too feeble to hinder Fang Chang.
Undeterred, Fang Chang continued feasting on the Queen, stripping her abdomen bare.
Despite the Queen's incredible vitality, even she could not survive such devastation.
Her defiant eyes glared at Fang Chang until the very end, as though vowing revenge in the afterlife.
But Fang Chang was indifferent.
After finishing her abdomen, he moved on to her chest and head, consuming her entirely.
Within half an hour, the massive Queen—larger than Fang Chang by two sizes—was reduced to nothing but fragments.
"What a bottomless stomach," Fang Chang thought to himself with pride.
The remaining Fire Ants, witnessing the demise of their Queen, lost all will to fight.
They scattered, vanishing into the tunnels.
The once-bustling chamber fell eerily silent.
Only the unhatched eggs, larvae, and pupae remained beneath the central platform.
Fang Chang, unwilling to let such a bounty go to waste, devoured them all.
After gorging himself, Fang Chang finally let out a satisfied burp.
Having cleared the room of all edible resources, there was no longer any reason to stay.
Fang Chang's gaze shifted to a wide tunnel in the northeast corner of the chamber.
A faint, fruity fragrance wafted from within, tickling his senses.
Reluctantly bidding farewell to the underground hive, Fang Chang ventured into the new tunnel.
The passage was long and winding, and the scent of fruit grew stronger the further he traveled.
Eventually, the tunnel sloped upward, leading Fang Chang back to the surface.
For the first time in hours, sunlight greeted Fang Chang's eyes.
He found himself in a circular valley, surrounded by towering trees with canopies that blotted out the sky.
Hanging from the branches were ripe, vibrant spiritual fruits, exuding a rich aura of energy.
Closer to the ground, fields of spiritual herbs spread as far as the eye could see, their medicinal fragrances intoxicating.
Fang Chang stood frozen in awe, staring at the treasures before him.
In his vision, a series of notifications popped up one after another.