bookcurios Chapter 106 Blood-Striped Ants
Chapter 106 Blood-Striped Ants
Chapter 106 Blood-Striped Ants
Situ Jiannan felt very depressed and frustrated.
We're all young people, and it's understandable that we're outspoken, but please be mindful of your boundaries. Don't drag others into your arguments, okay?
Frustrated, Situ Jiannan glared at Xiao Chong and Situ Mingyue with a dark expression before leaping down the hillside into the ant colony without a word.
Brother Jiannan is truly a chivalrous man. He can't bear to see others suffer even a moment more, and he couldn't wait to join the battle! Xiao Chong looked at Situ Jiannan's back and really didn't know what to say.
Since that's the case, let's not say anything more and go down together.
Xiao Chong glanced at the other three and politely gestured for them to proceed.
The three of them jumped down, leaving only the leader of the pioneering team standing there, unsure of what to do.
The man wandered around on the hillside for a long time, but finally felt embarrassed not to go down. He stomped his foot, gritted his teeth, and jumped down the hillside after him.
As soon as they joined the battle, the Blood-Striped Ants noticed the arrival of strangers and swarmed forward, surrounding them completely.
These blood-striped ants are quite different from ordinary ants. Their claws are thick and powerful, allowing them to leap more than a person's height and attack from the air.
Although Xiao Chong was only a martial apprentice, since he lit up the Sirius Destiny Star and was tempered by starlight, his physical strength and power were much stronger than those of ordinary martial apprentices. Therefore, he was able to cause considerable damage to these blood-patterned ants.
"Bang!" With a punch, Xiao Chong sent a blood-striped ant flying towards him flying away, carefully observing the situation on the field.
Liu Yun, sent by Hengshan, was at the peak of the martial arts realm, and dealing with the Blood-Veined Ants was a piece of cake for him. His weapon was a ghost-headed saber, and each strike accurately cleaved a Blood-Veined Ant.
Moreover, his strikes were extremely precise, almost always hitting the thinnest part of the Blood-Veined Ant's body. His strength was also just right, barely severing the ant in two at the waist without wasting a single ounce of effort.
This shows that, even among disciples of the same Martial Life Realm, those from top-tier noble families are indeed incomparable to disciples from ordinary families due to their lineage and other factors.
Compared to Liu Yun's ease and skill, Situ Jiannan was far less adept. Although he was also a martial arts practitioner, he had only recently entered the martial arts realm. Therefore, while he could protect himself from the blood-patterned ants, eliminating them often required considerable effort.
His longsword struck the back of the blood-striped ant, leaving only a dent, but not a fatal one. Only by finding an opportunity to pierce the ant's abdomen could he kill it in one fell swoop.
Fortunately, today, perhaps spurred on by Xiao Chong's words before the match, Situ Jiannan fought with great vigor and managed to kill and injure quite a few Blood-Patterned Ants.
As for Xu Kuo, who was the first to charge down, he had already plunged far into the ant swarm. Among them, Xu Kuo was the most powerful, having already broken through to the Warrior realm.
The Warrior Realm is the last of the three acquired realms. The next step is the first realm of the innate realm, the Martial Master Realm. Therefore, although he has only just reached the Warrior Realm, his combat power is much higher than Liu Yun's peak Martial Life Realm.
It's no wonder Xu Kuo was dissatisfied with Xiao Chong's position as leader. At this moment, Xu Kuo was practically a human crushing machine. Every punch and kick could turn a blood-striped ant into mincemeat, and blood and flesh flew everywhere he went.
However, Xiao Chong saw it differently. Although Xu Kuo appeared brave and invincible at this moment, he was nothing more than a rough and uncouth man.
It should be noted that even if the blood-striped ants are not strong, their sheer number makes them impossible to kill.
Don't even mention that you're just a warrior who has just entered the warrior realm. Even someone as skilled as Yin Changkong would be exhausted like a dead dog when facing an endless swarm of sand worms.
What is Yin Changkong's cultivation level? He's a veteran martial artist; he reached the Martial Master realm many years ago!
Therefore, Xiao Chong simply ignored Xu Kuo's slightly provocative behavior. The saying "there's no first in literature, but there's a second in martial arts" is just an inherent flaw among martial artists; they can easily be turned around by suffering a few losses.
Xiao Chong was more concerned about Yin Feng and Situ Mingyue. Their cultivation levels were not high to begin with, barely enough to protect themselves, and now they also had to help the dozen or so people they had rescued. Naturally, they were often in a state of chaos and danger.
Yin Feng was alright; as a man, he was stronger than Situ Mingyue in both physical strength and endurance.
Situ Mingyue's situation was much worse. Under the frenzied attacks of the blood-patterned ants, she occasionally let out a delicate cry. Even from a distance, Xiao Chong could see a fine layer of sweat beading on her face.
We should rescue these people who are surrounded first, otherwise, if the two of them are preoccupied with one thing and the other, something bad is bound to happen if this goes on for too long.
After quickly assessing the situation, Xiao Chong loudly reminded the two, "Yin Feng, you and Miss Mingyue don't need to linger in the fight. Protecting these people is the priority. Let's work together and lead them up the hillside."
"Okay!" Yin Feng and Situ Mingyue agreed and quickly joined Xiao Chong.
Soon, the three of them huddled together and caught up with the leader who had just jumped into the fray. Together, they led a dozen or so trapped people, fighting and retreating towards the hillside.
Unfortunately, there were just too many blood-patterned ants around them, and despite their efforts, they couldn't get very far.
Just as he was getting anxious, a loud laugh suddenly came from behind him, followed by a figure flying towards him. Xiao Chong turned around and saw Xu Kuo, who had fought his way back from the ant swarm.
Xu Kuo approached the group, his face full of arrogance, and said, "These blood-striped ants may look scary, but they're really nothing special. Just watch what I'm about to do!"
Without waiting for their reply, he turned and charged up the hillside.
As Xu Kuo moved swiftly, the blood-patterned ants along the way exploded, leaving a bloody path behind him, but it quickly closed up again.
A moment later, Xu Kuo charged back again, once again clearing a bloody path. This time, however, his breathing was slightly rapid.
But Xu Kuo did not rest for a moment, and immediately launched another round of attacks.
After going in and out three times, the blood-striped ants seemed to have become much smarter. They finally stopped fighting with this human-shaped road roller and gave way to a path leading to the hillside.
Looking at the path in front of him, Xu Kuo, while adjusting his slightly disordered breathing, said smugly, "Chief Xiao, the path is cleared. We can take these people away safely now."
Why does that "leader" sound so insincere? Are you trying to take credit for yourself, or are you mocking me?
Xiao Chong pointed to the dozen or so people who were surrounded, then looked at Xu Kuo and said with a half-smile, "They can naturally leave, but you can't. You have to stay and continue fighting the Blood-Striped Ants here."
Xu Kuo was taken aback and blurted out, "Then when can I leave?"
Xiao Chong then pointed to the sea of blood-veined ants behind him and calmly said, "Kill them all, and then you can leave."
"What?" Xu Kuo shouted, panting heavily, his breathing, which he had just managed to regulate, completely disordered.
Seeing Xiao Chong leading the pioneering team further and further away towards the hillside, Xu Kuo, having caught his breath, strode after them and asked, "Why must we kill all the Blood-Patterned Ants before we can leave?"
Xiao Chong asked expressionlessly, "What are we here for?"
Xu Kuo answered without hesitation, "Naturally, it's to rescue those in distress."
"Wouldn't that mean the rescue was in vain?"
"Of course not, it was agreed that the reward would be the spirit stones we collect."
Xiao Chong looked at Xu Kuo as if he were an idiot and said, "If we don't kill all these blood-striped ants, do you think these people can get the mined spirit stones?"
“No…I can’t…” Xu Kuo stammered.
"Then why don't you hurry up and kill the Blood-Striped Ants?" Xiao Chong said, looking at Xu Kuo with sympathy.
"Ah..." Xu Kuo cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
We need to give him another nudge, otherwise he'll lose motivation. Xiao Chong drawled, "Unless..."
"Unless what?" Xu Kuo asked hastily, thinking there was still a chance for things to turn around.
Xiao Chong paused for a moment, then continued, "Unless you don't want any reward this time and consider it all as helping out, then you can leave with them."
"What a joke! What's the point of risking so much to fight you guys to the death? Isn't it all because of the Yuan Stones? If it weren't for that, I'd rather stay home and cultivate!"
After a moment's thought, Xu Kuo scrambled to his feet and plunged back into the sea of blood-striped ants without looking back.
The allure of money is undeniably irresistible. It seems the eight-character mantra, "Appeal to their interests, motivate them with wealth," is the only true way to persuade people to contribute.
Watching Xu Kuo's energetic figure, Xiao Chong sighed inwardly and led the group to continue climbing up the hillside.
After sending all these people up the hillside, Xiao Chong did not linger. He led Yin Feng and Situ Mingyue back to the ant colony to join Liu Yun and the other two, who were still fighting fiercely in the ant colony.
By this time, Liu Yun and the others were already locked in a fierce battle with the Blood-Patterned Ants, their bodies surrounded by the ant corpses. Xu Kuo, in particular, unleashed his full power under the lure of the Yuan Stone, leaving behind a trail of carnage wherever he went.
These blood-striped ants appeared out of nowhere, layer upon layer, and no matter how many were killed, more would come. Their numbers showed no signs of decreasing.
The battle was extremely fierce from the very beginning, and the six of them did not get a moment's rest. As a result, after noon, they were all exhausted, especially Yin Feng and Situ Mingyue.
Yin Feng, having previously fought a similar battle with the sandworms, was barely able to hold on. However, Situ Mingyue, pampered since childhood, had never experienced anything like this before, and was therefore far more disheveled than Yin Feng.
Seeing that the two looked like they could collapse into the ant colony at any moment, Xiao Chong finally spoke up: "Miss Mingyue, you and Yin Feng should fight your way out and rest for a while. Come back down when you've recovered some strength."
Situ Mingyue was too exhausted to speak. After hearing this, she could only nod weakly and stumbled as she followed Yin Feng out to fight.
The team of six was already struggling to keep up with the demands of the operation, but now that two of them are gone, the remaining four are feeling an even greater pressure.