Chapter 1231: Chapter 1231: Explosive Ferocious Ant
Aurora walked to the side, but she was quietly looking Zen over from head to toe.
It wasn't just her. The other warriors of the Demon Night, such as Vivian, were also reconsidering Zen. He was not quite what they had expected.
However, there was a hint more than curiosity in Aurora's eyes.
He said that he would kill Elena within three years. She thought this fellow was truly interesting! However, she was still mystified as to how he would manage to reach this step. She wanted to ask Amber about it when she had more time.
After chatting for a while, Amber had calmed down and her heart took up a more normal rhythm.
At the very least, her decision to enter the Illusion Battlefield had proven correct.
Next, Aurora once again took charge of the group and they all stepped on the plate at the end of the tree branch.
When the scribbled golden words needed to break the spell, once more appeared under everyone's feet, they began to ascend yet again. Not long after, they arrived at the eighth branch of the Sacred Ailanthus.
As Zen landed on the eighth tree branch, he immediately saw that it was filled with giant ants!
There were a lot of tall spikes on the bodies of these vicious ants. Their shells were red, and there were flames dancing in their slightly translucent bellies, making them look like big lanterns. If it weren't so dangerous, it would have been a comical scene to witness.
“The Explosive Ferocious Ant. Once each of these ants are killed, there will be a violent explosion. It would be best for everyone to spread out a bit,” Aurora ordered. She had wandered through the Sacred Ailanthus three times before, so she naturally knew every single one of these vicious creatures like the back of her hand. The others all heeded her instruction and spread out cautiously.
Previously, when Zen, Vivian, and the others had rushed after them all the way here, Aurora had killed off all of the vicious beasts in advance. Now, they were going to have to kill them together, all the way up from the eighth tree branch.
“However, the defensive capabilities of these Explosive Ferocious Ants aren't strong. If you are careful when killing them, you can pass through! Just remember the explosions that follow!” As she spoke, she once again held up the black tree in her hand. Immediately, the leaves on the tree began to fall off, turning into a rain of leaves that swept towards the ants!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each leaf was comparable to a concealed weapon. They seemed harmless enough at first, but then they began to cut into anything in their path.
The fallen leaves seemed to float freely, but under Aurora's control, they were targeted in their approach and exceptionally sharp!
It was almost impossible to avoid the falling leaves as they descended on the Explosive Ferocious Ants. They easily cut into the ants' bodies. The carapace of a nearby Explosive Ferocious Ant was soon riddled with holes from the cutting swarm!
As the two feelers on the head of the Explosive Ferocious Ant began shaking crazily, the flames in its stomach also became brighter. Its six legs crawled crazily along the ground as it charged straight at Aurora! ℟αꞐÓᛒĘ𝘚
“Watch out for this ant!”
Just as Aurora finished speaking, she rapidly retreated. In the instant that she retreated, the light in the Explosive Ferocious Ant's belly had already flickered and reached an incandescence which exceeded the natural limits!
Boom!
Following the sound of the intense explosion, a powerful shockwave spread out in a flash of fire!
The smell of charred flesh filled the air, and a mushroom cloud expanded to a diameter of several hundred feet, which slowly rose up.
The ignition power of this Explosive Ferocious Ant was truly terrifying. If an ordinary martial artist did not know that the ant would explode, they would be blasted into smithereens and immediately reduced to ashes.
Even though Zen's body was extremely tough and fortified, he would still have suffered severe injuries if he had been dragged into this!
However, the Explosive Ferocious Ant itself was not difficult to deal with. They could easily be cut down, or killed with bow and arrow.
After killing one of the Explosive Ferocious Ants, Aurora turned back. Her eyes fixed on Zen as she smiled and said to all of them, “That's it. It won't be difficult to deal with them, as long as you attack them carefully. Keep your eyes open and watch for any that try to sneak closer.”
What she had just done was merely a demonstration for them.
However, even after Aurora had shown the way to kill the ants, Amber, Vivian, and the rest of the warriors of the Demon Night all looked at Zen.
'What are they all looking at me for?'
Zen blinked his eyes rapidly in confusion as he thought about their strange behavior, but in his heart he knew what they were waiting for.
He realized that they wanted to watch him take action, and see how powerful he was.
“I'll give it a try then!”
Zen smiled as he leaped up and immediately rushed forward. However, he did not attack when he brushed past the nearest Explosive Ferocious Ant. Instead, he gently tapped the Explosive Ferocious Ant on its back with the tip of his foot and charged forward once again, with his clothes fluttering in the wind!
Being stepped on by Zen, the first Explosive Ferocious Ant crawled at an extremely fast speed and chased after him.
But Zen ignored it and continued running forward!
Tap!
With a flip, he brushed close by another Explosive Ferocious Ant.
Thus, there were two Explosive Ferocious Ants now chasing after Zen. The other members of the group grew uncomfortable at the sight of Zen being chased after by these dangerous creatures. If one of them exploded....
“What is Zen doing?”
“He wants to gather the Explosive Ferocious Ants together!”
“He must be crazy!”
Witnessing this scene, the warriors of the Demon Night couldn't help being worried about him. It seemed like a suicide mission that Zen was embarking on.
Although the Explosive Ferocious Ant itself was not a powerful foe, its explosive power was extremely terrifying. No matter who was fighting against the ants, they would have to be cautious when dealing with them.
Therefore, the only way to pass through the eighth tree branch was an arduous task which would exhaust one's strength. One had to lure the Explosive Ferocious Ants aside and kill them one by one.
However, watching Zen brazenly charge into the group of ants, Vivian and the others' hearts did indeed lurch, and they almost rushed after him.
However, a faint smile was growing on Amber's face!
Strictly speaking, she hadn't had much interaction with Zen before. However, back in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the various incidents which Zen had featured in, had also been spread in detail from the Tower of Sin. She knew that this was Zen's usual way of doing things. If he was to follow the rules, he would not be 'Zen'. He could never wait inertly for someone else to take action, Zen always rushed in and his bravery always carried the day.
Zen didn't stop at all as he jogged past them, and the number of Explosive Ferocious Ants following behind him grew in number until it was a lengthy train of ants that covered the ground!
“There are so many Explosive Ferocious Ants. If they were to all explode together, how powerful would the explosion be?”
“Isn't he afraid of being blown up and dying? He would lose a lot of Illusion Points if that happened!”
Aurora was staring curiously at Zen's actions. Hearing their discussions, her face changed as if an idea had suddenly occurred to her. She then said, “Back off! Everyone, back off! Stay as close to the main trunk of the Sacred Ailanthus as possible!” She seemed to know what was coming.
Now, everyone could see that Zen was planning to lure these Explosive Ferocious Ants to gather together.
The might of a single Explosive Ferocious Ant's terminal combustion had already been so astonishing to behold. How shocking would it be if hundreds of ants, tightly packed together, all exploded at the same time?
Whoosh!
As Zen rushed forward, a black mass of Explosive Ferocious Ants had already gathered behind him.
“Now is the time!”
He suddenly turned and rushed forward, grabbing an Explosive Ferocious Ant in front of him.
This Explosive Ferocious Ant was ten feet long, much longer than Zen was. Furthermore, the ant itself possessed immense strength. Even a tiny, grain-sized Explosive Ferocious Ant could lift something that was ten times heavier than itself!
However, as Zen grabbed the Explosive Ferocious Ant, the ant opened the two pincers next to its mouth and viciously launched towards Zen!
In one smooth motion, Zen grabbed one of the pincers, and with a surging force, he twisted the head and then ripped the Explosive Ferocious Ant's head off.
The moment its head was torn off, Zen's other hand grabbed the abdomen of the ant and hurled it backwards among the other ants.
This Explosive Ferocious Ant was actually a very strange creature. Ever since it was born, it had been constantly exhausting its own power to stabilize the explosive flames in its stomach, carefully preventing them from exploding. It was like being born with a ticking bomb inside it. If it was seriously injured or dying, it was then unable to stabilize the explosive flames! After the explosive flame lost its binding, it naturally caused a violent explosion!
Zen had already wrenched off the head of this Explosive Ferocious Ant, so naturally, the explosive flames on its abdomen had begun to lose their bindings. While the ant was still flying through the air, the explosive flames in its abdomen grew brighter and brighter, until they were ready to...
Crack!
The abdomen landed right in the middle of the group of Explosive Ferocious Ants chasing after Zen where it rolled on the ground!
Accompanied by a flash of incandescent light…
Boom!
The sound of a huge explosion echoed out, leaving everyone's ears ringing and hurling them to the ground in the ensuing shortwave.
The Explosive Ferocious Ants next to the abdomen did not dodge in time, and were naturally caught by the deadly explosions. Hence, the explosive flames in their abdomens exploded once again, slaying more Explosive Ferocious Ants.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Explosive Ferocious Ants exploded one by one, creating a destructive chain reaction.
When tens of the Explosive Ferocious Ants exploded at the same time, another few hundred ants were detonated.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions resounded in everyone's ears. The strength of the explosions far exceeded their expectations and the ground even shook under the violence!
A huge mushroom cloud slowly rose from the ground, and they could see very little beyond the billowing clouds of dust and spent chemicals!
Accompanying the explosion was an extremely powerful shock wave that spread out in all directions like a flood.
Even the Sacred Ailanthus, which was as big as a mountain, was shaking gently!
Zen maintained a careful distance from the place where the explosion had occurred. Both of his legs remained fixed in the ground, like nails had firmly nailed him in place, while he had a firm look on his angular face, as he bore the brunt of the shock wave.
Fortunately, Aurora had asked everyone to retreat to the main trunk of the Sacred Ailanthus behind them from the start.
When the shock waves spread out, it was as if there were giant invisible hands pressing everyone down to the ground and even tightly into the tree trunk, preventing them from moving at all. It almost felt as if the air was being crushed from out of their lungs by the intense pressure.
If they had still been standing foolishly on the eighth tree branch, they would have been launched headfirst towards the main trunk of the Sacred Ailanthus by the impact of the shock wave.
In that case, even if somehow, they didn't die; they would at the least have been severely injured!