Chapter 333 - Huge Dragon Bones
Noticing the complex mix of emotions swirling across Meng Qi’s face, Han Wu chuckled.
“Don’t be too greedy,” he said to Meng Qi. “You’ve already gotten something far rarer. Your two Skills have mutated, something that has never before been recorded in our civilization’s history!”
Meng Qi sighed in resignation, knowing Han Wu was right. Turning to face the pit, he asked, “So... should I continue digging?”
“Yes!” exclaimed Han Wu and Leng Ning simultaneously. After unearthing dragon bones and a mutated Duraseed, the two were excited to see what other treasures were buried beneath the soil and were eager to continue digging.
Activating his new Imperial Yellow Jacket Skill, Meng Qi nodded and continued digging. After a long while, he finally reached the roots of the Iron Vine. He pulled the roots away, revealing a hole from which a dull light emanated.
Not daring to move any further, Meng Qi motioned for Leng Ning and Han Wu to have a look. Leng Ning activated Frost Gaze and peered down into the hole, where she found numerous eggs radiating heat. They had dug directly above the queen’s cavern!
Leng Ning suddenly pulled away from the hole, trembling. She had seen a massive heat signature at the end of the cluster of eggs.
“Guys... it seems we’ve dug a tunnel to the ceiling of the queen’s chamber!”
“What? This is great!” Meng Qi shouted with joy.
Startled, Han Wu hurriedly covered his mouth. “We’re in an ant nest! Are you trying to get us killed?” he hissed.
Vowing to himself that he wouldn’t lose his composure again, Meng Qi nodded. “What should we do now?”
Leng Ning sighed. “We need to move carefully. Let’s steal as many eggs as we can.”
“Sure!”
Worried about letting Meng Qi go on his own, Leng Ning turned to Han Wu. “You’re more dexterous than him. Why don’t you steal the eggs instead?”
Han Wu nodded, understanding her worry. He then took a section of the Iron Vine’s roots and used it as a rope to carefully shinny down.
He grabbed one of the numerous thumb-sized eggs that filled the chamber. Noting their softness, he carefully wrapped the eggs before passing them up.
The three worked as a team, managing to steal hundreds of eggs. They knew that if they could successfully transport the eggs back, they would earn several million credits—their first pot of gold as students.
However, Han Wu wasn’t satisfied. While transferring the eggs, he had sensed an even stronger dragon aura just behind the queen ant. Based on the strength of the aura, he was certain that it was a powerful treasure.
After he told them what he found, the two were deep in thought. With the queen ant right there in the chamber, a single misstep would mean the end of them. However, the treasure was likely more dragon bones, a very attractive prospect that would make them much stronger in the future.
“Well, we’re already here, so we might as well try,” Meng Qi said excitedly.
Leng Ning nodded. “We can slowly approach the back of the queen ant, but we need to be extremely careful.”
“No problem,” Meng Qi replied.
Han Wu nodded, acknowledging their determination, and gestured that he would follow Leng Ning’s lead. The three carefully moved behind the queen ant, using the faint light from the crystals around to get a look at its figure.
The queen’s abdomen was huge, measuring three to four meters long and containing numerous eggs. Since it was nurturing so much life, it required an immense amount of nutrients and was eating almost all the time.
The worker ants continued to stuff the queen’s mouth with fresh food. As Han Wu got a closer look, he realized with disgust that it was human flesh! It seemed a group of people had been previously captured, dismembered, and fed to the queen.
After a careful look around, Leng Ning noticed that there was only one entrance to the cave. If she could seal it, the soldier and worker ants would be unable to get inside to protect their queen.
“Um, Han Wu, where did you sense the treasure again?” Meng Qi asked in a whisper.
Han Wu tuned his senses, and his eyes were soon drawn to a white stone just beneath the queen. He realized that the stone was actually a huge dragon bone that had retained a powerful aura from when the dragon was alive.
“It’s... It’s just below the queen ant.”
Glancing beneath the queen ant, Meng Qi prepared to attack, a look of focus on his face. “Got it.”
Leng Ning took a long breath, waited for a soldier ant to exit the chamber, and then gave her orders. “I will seal the entrance. Meng Qi, protect me. Han Wu, deal with the remaining ants in the cave as quickly as you can.”
“No problem.”
“Alright.”
The two nodded and immediately got to work. Leng Ning used her new Ice Laser Skill to create a huge wall of ice to block the entrance. Meng Qi, in turn, activated the Golden Bell and Imperial Yellow Jacket to protect her.
After Han Wu temporarily increased their strength with Vigor, Leng Ning used Blizzard to freeze most of the soldier ants in the cave. The freezing winds swirled violently, heavily injuring the queen ant’s massive body.
The cold caused the queen’s abdomen to crack, and many of its eggs were killed. Han Wu ignored the queen ant and began to burn the remaining soldier ants that could still move. They lit up with black flames and instantly burned to death.
The trio swiftly dealt with the ants until only the queen remained. Meanwhile, a huge swarm of worker and soldier ants had gathered outside, trying to break the ice wall to get to their queen.
“Hurry up and get the treasure!” Leng Ning shouted with urgency.
Han Wu ignored the shivering queen ant and quickly excavated the dragon bone, but was surprised to find it was much bigger than he had expected. The bone was five meters long and one meter wide, and given its intense aura and great density, it was impossible to transport.
The dragon bone appeared to be undamaged, and its size suggested that the Great Dragon must have been massive. Unfortunately, they couldn’t take it with them, and to avoid losing out on such a treasure, they had no choice but to absorb its energy right there. However, the process would take too long, and Leng Ning was quickly reaching her limit.
With no other choice, Han Wu jumped onto the squealing queen’s back and aimed his dagger at her head. “Order your ants to stay outside, or I will kill you!”
“Han Wu, what are you doing?” Meng Qi exclaimed, utterly confused. “Your efforts are useless! It’s just an ant—it cannot understand you!”
While Han Wu knew that communicating with an insect was nearly impossible, he was certain that any being with a semblance of intelligence would understand that he was threatening its life.
However, unbeknownst to him, the queen ant was capable of transmitting its thoughts. Soon, a strange, young, and fragmented voice echoed in his mind, but he could understand what it was trying to say.
Please... spare... spare... me... my... children...
The queen ant was clearly begging for mercy for herself and her children. Han Wu agreed, but only on the condition that he become her master. With her life being threatened, the queen had no choice but to agree, and a faint thread soon connected him and the queen ant.
The thread not only supplied him with Faith Points, but it also transmitted the queen ant’s emotions—fear, anxiety, and anger. These various emotions proved that the queen ant was more intelligent compared to other life forms.
Han Wu was shocked. Could this be the dragon bone’s influence?
Meanwhile, seeing that the queen ant had quieted down, Meng Qi did as Han Wu requested and placed his hand on the dragon bone. As he slowly absorbed the energy within it, he received a large amount of Assist Points and soon achieved the rank of Superior Disciple.
Meng Qi also finally obtained a third Skill that he had long wished for: Dragon Armor.