Chapter 126 – Bone-Devouring Ants

Chapter 126 – Bone-Devouring Ants

The reward for the virtuous was minimal, almost negligible. However, the punishment for the wicked was severe beyond measure.

Being barred from entering the main city meant being cut off from essential supplies, skill acquisition, and professional advancement. Unless they could find refuge in a wilderness outpost, survival would be a daunting challenge.

This divine decree wasn’t about preaching morality or virtue. It was designed to prevent ordinary people from being denied evolution or professional advancement due to their pre-apocalyptic status.

When the apocalypse descended, the divine voice had proclaimed that the gods’ transformation of this world was for the evolution of all humanity. The main city’s function was to provide the basic conditions for professional advancement and evolution. Here, all combatants stood equal before the opportunity for evolution. Anyone attempting to use the main city for personal domination would never gain divine approval.

In a way, this rule was the gods’ restriction against those who sought to rule the main city. According to the public opinion evaluation system, ordinary combatants could hardly influence more than a third of the city’s population. But rulers were different—their every word and action could alter others’ fates. Any tyrant would quickly find themselves exiled from the main city.

With this restriction in place, it became exceedingly difficult for leaders to exploit their subordinates’ spiritual energy or hinder ordinary people’s advancement. Attempting to control the combatant statues would affect all ordinary people and combatants, a taboo act. Exploiting spiritual energy would also be curbed. Without a fair system and justifiable reasons, such actions would inevitably provoke widespread resentment.

Cheng Yang was well aware of these changes in the main city. This was one reason he was certain Yuan Jianze couldn’t dominate Xiangcheng City’s main city.

At the moment, Cheng Yang wasn’t overly concerned with these matters. The public opinion evaluation system only applied to the main city, not wilderness outposts. His primary goal was to capitalize on this wave of evolution to complete the special mission he had just accepted.

After this evolution, the spawn rate of demonic beasts within a one-kilometer radius of Luofeng Village would decrease further. This wasn’t unique to Luofeng Village—even unoccupied territory altars would see reduced demonic beast spawn rates.

This change would inevitably lead to a further decline in the spiritual energy gained daily by territories. For other outposts, this would be the only way to acquire spiritual energy before upgrading to a Level 3 Village. It was clear that once combatants from other main cities ventured out to occupy territories, their upgrade speed would be excruciatingly slow.

The newly spawned demonic beasts within this range wouldn’t include any mid-tier first-order creatures, so Cheng Yang paid them no mind. The territory guards would handle them.

Once he ventured beyond the one-kilometer radius, he entered the area where Luofeng Village’s combatants were active. This area now extended over ten kilometers deep, with Luofeng Village combatants frequently operating even in parts of Xiangcheng City’s main city.

Across this 300-square-kilometer land, only a few thousand combatants were active. It was impossible to eliminate every demonic beast as soon as it appeared. Even divided into numerous squads, each responsible for a specific direction, maximum efficiency in eliminating these beasts was unattainable.

Thus, Cheng Yang inevitably encountered clusters of over a hundred demonic beasts along the way. These became his warm-up, easily dispatched with a few rounds of ice spikes.

Cheng Yang’s Ice Spike skill had now reached Level 2, increasing its damage by 5% and expanding its area of effect by one meter. A single Ice Spike could cover over ten square meters. While it couldn’t instantly kill mid-tier first-order demonic beasts, two rounds were enough to deplete their health.

Such battles were effortless for Cheng Yang. His defense had long reached 12 points, and with the Frost Shield’s enhancement, even large groups of mid-tier first-order demonic beasts struggled to harm him.

After nearly three hours of leisurely combat, Cheng Yang left the area where Luofeng Village’s combatants were active and ventured into uncharted wilderness.

Undoubtedly, to gather a thousand mid-tier first-order demonic beasts, Cheng Yang would have to explore new territories.

Cheng Yang didn’t know what this place had been before—perhaps a village or a factory. But it didn’t matter anymore. All that remained was dense jungle and the myriad demonic beasts that thrived within it.

This was a forbidden zone for humans. Only the strong could enter and survive. As the distance from the main city increased, so did the likelihood of encountering high-tier first-order demonic beasts in these hordes.

Previously, only hordes nearing or exceeding a thousand demonic beasts might contain a high-tier first-order creature. But beyond this area, any horde exceeding 300 could harbor such a threat. Fortunately, apart from the White-headed Eagle leader he had slain and the giant rats encountered through the portal, Cheng Yang hadn’t faced any peak-tier first-order creatures. Otherwise, the battles might not have been so easy.

Untouched by humans, this jungle had taken on the appearance of a primeval forest. Thick vines as wide as a child’s arm twisted between massive trees, and the ground was carpeted with a thick layer of fallen leaves. Cheng Yang couldn’t help but wonder—since the apocalypse hadn’t yet seen a full autumn, where had all these leaves come from?

The gods’ rules wouldn’t change just because Cheng Yang complained. All he could do was accept the reality.

“Hiss…” A strange sound came from above. Without looking up, Cheng Yang sidestepped and fired an ice sphere. A heavy thud followed as a massive object hit the ground.

It was a giant snake, easily the size of a python. Hidden in the jungle’s thick foliage, such creatures were nearly invisible to combatants. If not for the snake’s habit of flicking its tongue, Cheng Yang might not have noticed it.

This was another mid-tier first-order demonic beast, bringing Cheng Yang’s kill count to 190. Still, he was far from his goal of a thousand.

“A little thing like you dares attack me? You’ve got a death wish,” Cheng Yang muttered before continuing forward.

Cheng Yang wondered if he should acquire a sharper weapon. His iron sword’s durability dropped too quickly when cutting through these thick vines. While repairing ordinary equipment didn’t cost much spiritual energy, he couldn’t possibly carry dozens of weapons every time he ventured out.

Suddenly, Cheng Yang paused, listening intently. From the left front came a rustling sound, chaotic and irregular—clearly not the wind or a lone demonic beast.

“I hope this is a large group of demonic beasts,” Cheng Yang murmured. As he spoke, he darted through the undergrowth, slashing through vines as he advanced.

In just over 300 meters, Cheng Yang encountered more than ten solitary demonic beasts, all swiftly dispatched.

Then, Cheng Yang halted. The sounds ahead were clear now—the demonic beasts were no more than fifty meters away.

Moving stealthily, Cheng Yang finally caught sight of the creatures. But upon seeing them, he hesitated to reveal himself.

These creatures weren’t terrifying—in fact, they were somewhat cute. They were ants. But not ordinary ants. These were demonic beasts known as Bone-Devouring Ants, each about the size of an adult’s fist.

Individually, these ants were among the weakest demonic beasts. Cheng Yang recalled their attributes: a pitiful attack power of 2 and a mere 10 health points. Even a moderately strong adult could easily kill one. They were undoubtedly one of the weakest demonic beasts.

But in large numbers, Bone-Devouring Ants became an overwhelming force, arguably the most powerful demonic horde.

The reason lay in their racial talent. While first-order demonic beasts rarely possessed talents, Bone-Devouring Ants had one—Armor Penetration. This talent, common among their kind, became terrifying when applied to such small, numerous creatures.

Armor Penetration: Ignores the target’s defense, dealing 1 point of health damage per attack. Damage increases by 1 point for each minor tier advancement.

In a one-on-one battle between powerful beings, this talent was negligible. But facing a swarm of Bone-Devouring Ants, one had to consider how many ants would attack simultaneously. At minimum, this number would be around 100. Thus, if Cheng Yang attempted to eliminate this swarm, he would face a staggering 100 points of health loss per second.

With less than 200 health points, Cheng Yang would be dead in two seconds. The risk was too high, explaining his reluctance to engage.

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