Chapter 395

Chapter 395: Swarm of Ants

That was the command issued after it gathered the information.

After the shrill cry, the Red Fire Ant swarm fell silent.

Then, numerous Red Fire Ants began to pour out of their nest, heading towards Ji Yang.

Among this group were several Combat-type Soldier Ants, clearly ready to block the intruder Ji Yang.

At the back of the nest, the queen ant lifted her massive body and glanced down at the Mine Spirit, her eyes showing a hint of anxiety.

Although most of the Red Fire Ants had low intelligence, the queen ant, with her high rank, possessed sufficient spirit intelligence.

Ji Yang’s invasion made her sense a crisis, a feeling arising from her sharp intuition.

However, the Mine Spirit had not yet reached perfection and needed more time to cultivate.

Once it reached perfection, she would devour it, which would surely enhance her own power, and the new Red Fire Ants she would birth would be even stronger. This was her goal as the queen ant.

In the mine, Ji Yang set down his iron pick and looked toward the tunnel beneath him.

The powerful primordial spirit energy allowed him to sense the situation ahead, and the noise coming from the tunnel told him that the number of Red Fire Ants this time would not be small.

However, this also meant he was getting closer to the Red Fire Ant nest; otherwise, the swarm wouldn’t mobilize in such a grand manner.

Instead of preparing a defense, Ji Yang quickly dug two more times while the Red Fire Ants had not yet appeared.

Just as Ji Yang absorbed the Light point from his recent excavation, countless Red Fire Ants rushed in.

Sensing the presence of this outsider, the Red Fire Ants quickly burrowed out of the tunnel and charged toward Ji Yang, intent on driving away or killing the invader.

Facing the attack from many Red Fire Ants, Ji Yang did not swing his iron pick in retaliation, nor did he adopt any defensive stance; instead, he continued to dig rapidly in the mine tunnel ahead.

However, when these Red Fire Ants launched their attack, coming within mere inches of Ji Yang, streams of sword energy emerged from various parts of his body.

Any Red Fire Ant that approached Ji Yang was slashed by the omnipresent sword energy.

In an instant, the charging Red Fire Ants turned into countless fragments.

At this point, Ji Yang unleashed his full power, enveloping himself in Thousands of Sword Energies. Any Red Fire Ant that came within a certain range would trigger an attack from the thousands of sword energies.

Though this approach consumed some magic energy, Ji Yang prioritized breaking through the mine tunnel over such concerns.

These Red Fire Ants were not his opponents, but wasting too much time on them could lead to unexpected changes.

Even though Ji Yang was protected by sword energy, the Red Fire Ants charged fearlessly towards him once they emerged from the tunnel.

However, even the strongest soldier ants in the swarm were no match for Ji Yang’s protective sword energy.

Before long, a vast number of Red Fire Ant corpses littered the ground where Ji Yang had passed, their broken bodies making a frightening sight.

Yet the Red Fire Ants were undeterred, their eyes glowing red as they charged at Ji Yang, clearly following a deadly command from the queen ant.

To the queen ant, both soldier ants and worker ants were just an insignificant part of the swarm.

Thus, Ji Yang continued to dig while facing the relentless attacks of countless Red Fire Ants, quickly exploring further into the mine.

At this point, Ji Yang was only about ten meters away from the Red Fire Ant nest—a distance he could cover in no time.

Sensing he was not far off, Ji Yang quickened his digging speed once again.

By then, the number of Red Fire Ants drilling out of the tunnel had significantly decreased, suggesting they were running low on reinforcements.

However, Ji Yang knew very well that although there were many Red Fire Ants attacking him just now, they accounted for less than one-tenth of the entire swarm; clearly, they were just the vanguard of the Red Fire Ants.

But now, they had already suffered considerable losses.

Taking advantage of the fewer disruptive Red Fire Ants, Ji Yang quickened his pace and dug several more meters.

This time, he didn’t even have time to absorb the White Light Points and Green Light Points he had unearthed, only pausing slightly for the Blue Light Points.

As Ji Yang dug through the earth, the Red Fire Ant swarm grew restless again.

Sensing that Ji Yang was not retreating but was instead getting closer, the massive body of the queen ant started to stir, and she let out a sharp shriek once more.

This time, the cry was much more anxious.

At this moment, not only the Red Fire Ants within the nest began to stir, but even the other Red Fire Ants that had already emerged displayed different reactions.

Outside in the mine, a few familiar cultivators were entangled with several Red Fire Ants.

Although the Red Fire Ants posed no life-threatening danger to them, their swift speed and venom at the end of their tails proved quite troublesome.

After facing the Red Fire Ants, the various cultivators had also compiled their own experiences.

First, they worked together to dig, so encountering the Red Fire Ants wouldn’t lead to unexpected attacks.

Second, upon encountering Red Fire Ants, they first protected their mining tools and then counterattacked.

Just as they seized an opportunity during a Red Fire Ant attack, preparing to use water attribute spells to slow them down, they were taken aback to see the Red Fire Ants that had been fiercely charging at them suddenly retreat.

This strange scene left them all in a daze.

“What’s going on? Why are all these Red Fire Ants running away?”

One person asked in confusion.

After all, they had never encountered this kind of situation before; most of the Red Fire Ants had low intelligence but possessed a unique way of survival.

Yet they hadn’t seen any Red Fire Ant flee in defeat before.

Even if one was severed in half, it would still release its venom and attempt one last attack.

The others shook their heads, indicating they were just as puzzled.

At this moment, an older cultivator among them pondered for a moment and slowly said,

“If I’m not mistaken, there must be a problem with the Red Fire Ant swarm. Without the queen ant’s command, these Red Fire Ants will only act according to their established orders.”

Upon hearing this, the others turned to him, and after listening to his explanation, they all nodded slightly; this was the only reasoning that made sense.

However, they were still curious about what exactly had gone wrong with the Red Fire Ant swarm.

Just as they voiced their questions, another person spoke up:

“Alright, fellow Daoists, it’s a good thing that these Red Fire Ants are retreating; why don’t we take this opportunity to mine more secret silver? What are we waiting for?”

Hearing this, everyone realized the situation and quickly began to mine.

What happened with the Red Fire Ant swarm had nothing to do with them, but the secret silver they were mining was closely related to their interests.

With the Red Fire Ants no longer causing disturbances, their mining efficiency would increase, and their haul would be greater.

This was concrete profit.