Chapter 318

Chapter 318: Ant Tribe vs. Earth Dragon (Part Seven)

Something… is inside my body!!

Earth Dragon Jon shuddered violently as the searing agony within him forced his body to halt its rolling.

Was this the work of those two ants? No… The torment originated deeper, from his abdominal cavity where the ants had long ceased pursuit. Could other ants have infiltrated his body? Through nostrils or jaws? Yet how could such intrusion escape his notice?

As confusion gripped the beast, fresh waves of anguish erupted through his viscera.

"Aaaaargh!!"

The colossal creature collapsed, writhing against the earth in torment. Its entire gastric chamber felt shredded by invisible blades, the agony obliterating rational thought. Desperate, Earth Dragon Jon activated his Regeneration skill – pulverized flesh coalescing, cellular bonds reforming with unnatural speed. Internal organs regenerated faster than armored scales, yet destruction outpaced restoration.

Within the crimson labyrinth of the Earth Dragon’s body…

A gray ant stood triumphant upon quivering viscera, carapace smeared with rancid bile and fresh blood. The convulsing stomach walls trembled beneath her, regenerating even as she watched.

Darkling Stalker’s eyes gleamed with crimson ferocity, her mandibles twitching in disturbingly humanoid anticipation. As the organ neared full restoration, she raised segmented forelimbs. From surrounding shadows materialized dozens of ephemeral weapons – scythes, daggers, barbed chains – suspended in lethal array.

Her limbs slashed downward.

Shadow-forged armaments tore through renewed flesh like plasma beams, reducing the stomach to gory confetti. The renewed devastation elicited fresh bellows from the thrashing leviathan outside.

"Skree-skree!"

The ant warrior emitted chittering laughter, her unconverted vocal organs twisting mirth into eldritch insectoid screeches. She paused to savor the symphony of roars before preparing another assault… when thunderous vibrations shook the fleshy chamber above.

Darkling Stalker looked up.

A torrent of flames surged down the Earth Dragon’s esophagus at blinding speed, erupting violently upon reaching its terminus.

Dragon breath.

Had this Earth Dragon gone mad, unleashing its fiery breath internally?

As this realization flashed through her mind, Darkling Stalker barely managed to coalesce surrounding shadows into protective barriers before the inferno consumed her entirely.

Having slain multiple Earth Dragons yesterday and consumed copious amounts of their raw flesh, Darkling Stalker now stood at Class A, Level 22 – the highest ranking among the daughters save for Red Pupil.

Yet against Earth Dragon Jon’s formidable Level 50 Class A status, her current strength remained insufficient.

The shadowy shields conjured through "Shadow Manipulation" shattered within moments beneath the enhanced fury of Jon’s wrath-fueled breath.

Though the dragonfire’s intensity had been diffused by the Earth Dragon’s internal organs, the residual force still charred nearly a third of the gray ant’s form to cinders. Her left foreleg and both hind legs became immobilized.

While Darkling Stalker’s injuries appeared grievous, Earth Dragon Jon’s internal devastation proved far more catastrophic.

Despite their natural resistance, half of the dragon’s organs now smoldered as ash from its own indiscriminate attack, with remaining viscera sustaining severe damage.

Barely clinging to life, Earth Dragon Jon desperately activated "Regeneration" despite its critically depleted Magic Value. This meager reserve couldn’t possibly restore vital functions, let alone fully heal its wounds. The inevitable outcome loomed – watching its Health Value drain into nothingness as magic failed…

Hah…

The gray ant’s mandibles spread in a macabre grin, her typically impassive eyes blazing with fervor.

Such an ordinary demise lacked both beauty and cruelty – utterly unsatisfying.

With deliberate motion, Darkling Stalker drove her functional right foreleg through her own cranium. Thud—

Her Health Value plummeted to zero as she collapsed amidst the gory wreckage.

Yet moments later, the gray ant rose anew from the carnage, her charred limbs restored to pristine condition. The passive expenditure of Magic Value had triggered "Undying," reviving her with full restoration.

…Death…

So this was mortality’s embrace?

Not… unpleasant.

A shiver of exhilaration rippled through Darkling Stalker’s frame before she refocused on the ravaged internal landscape.

"Shadow Manipulation"

Channeling the skill at maximum capacity, countless shadows erupted from every direction, coalescing into a monstrous three-meter limb extending from her right foreleg.

Swish!

The shadow-blade sliced through pulsating flesh, cleaving Earth Dragon Jon’s abdomen open in a grotesque eruption of viscera.

The dragon’s drooping eyelids snapped wide as crimson and amber fluids gushed forth.

The pest remained undestroyed!

"ROARRRRR!!!!"

A thunderous "Dragon’s Roar" erupted from the mortally wounded beast, soundwaves rippling outward like tsunami forces. Yet the assault lasted mere heartbeats before ceasing abruptly.

Darkling Stalker, observing Jon’s final defiance, abandoned further torment.

Phasing through shadows to the dragon’s neck, she materialized and bisected the scaled column with her shadow-blade.

Earth Dragon Jon’s Health Value hit zero.

Thus fell the second of Five Dragons – Jon, following Kekui’s demise.

As the Earth Dragon perished, Darkling Stalker’s power surged dramatically, new abilities awakening within her.