Chapter 65
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 65: "Magical Soil"
Over the following days:
The goblin cubs matured. Some mined and expanded tunnels under Military Ant surveillance per the original plan, while others became daily rations for Worker Ants and Weak Ants.
The remaining goblins – excluding female goblins – were select males deemed fit for breeding future generations.
What embarrassed Lin Yu to the point of fury was their… dedication. While others worked 24/7 in the mines, these goblins maintained their own grueling schedule.
*Daytime indecency!*
Though the goblin pen was constructed, its walls remained unfinished. The activities were visible upon exiting the cave…
Red Pupil stayed silent, but Little Tear tilted her head curiously at Lin Yu.
"Mother, what are they doing?"
*Doing? How should I know?!*
*This subject is… too advanced for my age!*
*Play dumb! I am dumb!*
"I don’t know."
As Lin Yu spoke, Red Pupil glanced sideways at her.
"Does Sister know?"
"I’ve observed before; this is the goblins’ unique method of reproduction. After completion, the female goblins become pregnant."
"Pregnant? Like Mommy?"
"Different."
"Different."
After speaking simultaneously with Red Pupil, Lin Yu fell silent again.
"Mommy is special."
Red Pupil explained.
"Ah, I understand!"
Though it felt like an inadequate explanation, Little Tear appeared to have an epiphany.
These past days, Red Pupil and Little Tear departed early and returned late, continuously hunting monsters. As they ventured deeper northward, the number of monster corpses brought back daily increased significantly, with most monsters ranging between Class D and Class C.
Moreover, Red Pupil daily retrieved some critically injured high-level monsters for Lin Yu to deliver the final strike.
Through constant battles, the levels of Iron Armored Ants and Acid Ants steadily rose. With Red Pupil leading them, no ants perished during these days, and severe injuries were rare.
…
While the high-combat exploration team led by Red Pupil and Little Tear operated separately, the Military Ant exploration teams genuinely discovered plants edible for the ant colony during their hunts.
Most resembled wild vegetables, with a minority being mushrooms.
However, these wild vegetables and mushrooms yielded far less than Goblin grass.
Neither Lin Yu nor the goblins understood farming. Thus, they could only document locations of discovered edible plants while seeking new sources.
This situation remained unresolved until—
The D Qualification Worker Ants consumed massive amounts of goblin meat and ascended to Class D!
They acquired new skills.
Most obtained "Special Mucus," while a minority gained "Magical Soil."
/ "Special Mucus": Secretes Special Mucus that grants adhered objects durability, fireproofing, waterproofing, +2 Physical Resistance Ability, and +2 elemental magic resistance ability. Effects don’t stack.
/ "Magical Soil": Secretes unique mucus converting ordinary soil to Magical Soil. Plants grown here never die and grow faster. Requires regular watering with Ant saliva.
The former could reinforce underground nests and coat Exploration Team Ants. Activating this skill consumes half a Class D Worker Ant’s Magic Value but grants 2 Physical Resistance Ability and 2 elemental magic resistance ability.
Ants coated with Special Mucus gain temporary fire immunity until the mucus burns away. Applied mucus remains effective unless physically damaged.
The mucus quantity from half Magic Value suffices only for 2-3 Military Ants’ full-body coating. Larger specimens like Red Pupil’s Iron Armored Ant require multiple Worker Ants’ secretions.
Regarding "Magical Soil":
Worker Ants secrete mucus turning soil brown-red when sprayed. Tests using previously discovered edible plants showed Magical Soil doubled natural growth speed after one day-night cycle. Resulting plants grew larger and higher quality than wild counterparts.
However, Magical Soil requires regular Ant saliva irrigation. Different ant types’ saliva yields varied effects:
– Worker/Weak Ants: ~2x growth
– Military Ants: ~3x growth
– Iron Armored/Acid Ants: ~5x growth
Acid Ants occasionally accidentally taint saliva with acid while spraying, which corrodes Magical Soil and nullifies its effects.
Then came Lin Yu, the Queen Ant…
…"Go attend your duties. I’ll conduct the next test alone."
The guarding Military Ants obeyed and exited the cave—except one dissenter.
"For Mommy’s safety, she mustn’t remain alone during skill tests."
Red Pupil stated after ejecting the whimpering Little Tear from the cave.
Lin Yu’s prior suspicion materialized:
Absolute loyalty ≠ absolute obedience.
"…Fine…"
No! My drooling face can’t be seen by my daughter!
What even is this skill? Can saliva-watered vegetables truly be edible? This feels twisted!
Is "Magical Soil" exclusive to ants? Otherwise, why would ant saliva boost its effects? So bizarre!
"They’ve all gone far away, so Mom can start now."
"But you’re still here…"
"Mhm."
After responding, Lin Yu stopped hesitating and approached the small patch of Magical Soil.
Drool trickled down her mandibles before dripping onto the earth.
The moment the liquid fell, faint fluorescence emerged from the soil, its surface rippling like water.
Lin Yu then witnessed the wild vegetables planted in the soil suddenly begin growing at visible speed.
Within moments, they reached full maturity – the vegetable leaves grew broad and appeared fresher than before, while the mushrooms became conspicuously larger than previous specimens.
"The effect is so potent…"
Is this the power of a beautiful ant’s saliva? Truly… terrifying…
However, the enhancement from ant tribe secretions could only last briefly. Under normal circumstances, Magical Soil’s effect would be slightly over two-fold.
Currently, there were only about a dozen Class D Worker Ants possessing the "Magical Soil" skill.
Nevertheless, with the continuous expansion of Magical Soil areas, the ant tribe’s food supply should no longer be problematic.
