Chapter 32: Collecting Some Interest
Luo Wen harbored a vivid impression of the desert ants. Their hook-shaped mandibles, spring-like leaps, and their feces-spraying attacks had left a mark on his memory. Even now, he occasionally recalled those encounters, each time grinding his teeth in frustration, bitter over the storm that had swept him away, leaving him stranded in an unknown place. Would he ever return to exact vengeance for the gut-wrenching ordeal?
Fate, however, worked in strange ways. To his surprise, he encountered the kin of those ants here in this foreign land, presenting him with a chance to collect some interest in advance.
Luo Wen was no longer the weak creature of the past. His body had grown significantly larger, and his armor was much tougher. He decided to use these culprits’ kin as practice dummies for the Luo-style insect combat technique, giving them a firsthand lesson.
These Yellow Earth Ants were about the same size as he had been back when he was just the size of a fingernail. Now, however, his body had grown to resemble a small egg.
He quickly charged at the nearest Yellow Earth Ant. On the way, he counted their numbers—seven in total—currently arranged in a tight formation as they cautiously advanced toward him.
Without hesitation, he launched into the opening move of the Luo-style insect combat technique.
As his massive burrowing limb smashed down on the lead ant, its comically small, round eyes, perched on its equally laughable head, froze in shock. Combined with its long, eyebrow-like antennae, the sight was absurdly amusing.
But Luo Wen showed no mercy for its dazed expression. His burrowing limb struck true, and he immediately followed up with a second move. His mandibles, though relatively small compared to his body, were colossal when measured against the Yellow Earth Ants. They resembled two enormous guillotine blades.
Against an opponent of similar size, the second move aimed to sever their legs, crippling their mobility before slowly wearing them down. But against these much smaller foes, such elaborate techniques were unnecessary. Luo Wen’s mandibles clamped down directly on the first ant’s thorax, and with a slight exertion of force, the stunned Yellow Earth Ant was torn into two.