124: Chapter 124 Candle Demon Dragon Lizard

Now it seems that an active volcano is hidden here, which is no wonder the outside is arid all year round, forming the Wild Sand Realm.

The Hidden-Armor Ant-Man flew back in large numbers, their antennae twitching rapidly to gather information, and finally, they reported the intelligence scouted from ahead to Gu Han.

Ahead was a massive multi-structured karst cave, and in each cave, there were quite a few colossal beasts.

Those creatures were covered in thick, crimson scales with a row of barbs on their backs, looking somewhat like the Flame Gluttons depicted in the clan's stone carvings.

Gu Han recalled that previously, the Divine Kingdom once had a final race of natural enemies: the Flame Gluttons.

Because of that defensive arena battle, along with the Volcanic Zone and the Flame Glutton race, everything was wiped out, and the Ant-men had simply not had time to overcome this weakness.

This place was too unfriendly for the Ant-men.

Although the Ant-men had been strengthened by magic patterns and had a certain resistance to high temperatures, the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man could not handle it.

They were amphibious by nature, and in this karst cave filled with sulfur and high heat, they were simply being unilaterally countered.

Gu Han swept his gaze over the troops behind him.

Many of the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man's black shells had already been roasted to a reddish hue, and they were waving their fists irritably.

He did not have any impassioned pre-battle mobilization; he simply raised his right hand, pressed two fingers together, and waved them forward coldly.

"Kill."

The army of eighty million Ant-men surged into the karst cave like a breached black torrent.

The Ant-man Race was Gu Han's greatest reliance; very few intelligent races could achieve absolute obedience and fearless bravery like the Ant-men.

The commotion was too great, and the Candle-Demon Dragon Lizards inside the karst cave were instantly awakened.

A Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard over fifteen meters long stood up on its hind legs, opened its blood-red maw, and let out a deafening roar.

"Roar—!"

Rolling waves of heat rushed toward him, and Gu Han hurriedly rode the Earth Rampager to retreat a bit.

He tapped on the scanning function of his smart assistant.

The beam of light swept over the colossal beast ahead.

[Target confirmed as: Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard (Cataclysmic Species), estimated strength: approaching Level 7 Transcendent.]

A Cataclysmic Species! Strength approaching Level 7 Transcendent.

Gu Han was not alarmed but delighted; this thing indeed had the appearance of a sub-dragon, and if he could capture a few live ones to take back for experiments, that would be wonderful.

The first to launch an attack were the Hidden-Armor Ant-Man.

Tens of thousands of Hidden-Armor Ant-Man gathered in mid-air, weaving ten thousand bolts of lightning into a massive electric net that struck down from above.

Crackle, crackle! The lightning faded away.

That Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard only shook its head, and not even a scorch mark was left on its crimson scales.

The previously invincible lightning paralysis had completely failed in the face of its freakishly thick skin.

Seeing this, the Hidden-Armor Ant-Man immediately changed tactics, swooping toward the Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard like a black cloud, attempting to burrow into its body through its seven orifices.

The Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard was enraged; it took a deep breath, its chest bulging high, and then exhaled.

A wave of scorching hot air swept across the mid-air.

The tens of thousands of Hidden-Armor Ant-Man charging in the front were directly blown away; some even exploded in mid-air, turning into charcoal filling the sky, and many of the Hidden-Armor Ant-Man who had burrowed into the orifices were scalded to death.

The sounds of battle here were loud, and it was as if a hornet's nest had been poked inside the karst cave.

From other chambers deep within the karst cave, roars echoed one after another.

The ground began to tremble.

One after another, Candle-Demon Dragon Lizards crawled out from all directions, joining the melee!

The scene instantly turned into a chaotic mess.

In a melee of this level, any intricate tactical command became futile.

They could only rely on their own performance.

The Shield-Armored Ant-Men reacted immediately, stacking themselves by the hundreds and thousands to form massive black shield walls, blocking the paths of the other charging Dragon Lizards.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The massive sounds of impact echoed within the karst cave. The shield walls were dented and shattered, and a large number of Shield-Armored Ant-Men were scattered.

But the few seconds bought were enough.

The Black-Armored Ant-men did not have attack methods capable of breaking through defenses, so they very consciously served as support and bait.

Some Black-Armored Ant-men grabbed the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man, allowing the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man to throw punches from a higher position.

Heavy punches were repeatedly smashed against the same spot.

With a sharp cracking sound, the thick scales finally could not withstand this terrifying force and were forcibly smashed open, creating a crack.

The Hidden-Armor Ant-Man, who had been circling nearby, seized the opportunity and frantically burrowed into the Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard's body through that crack.

The Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard twisted its body frantically, attempting to shake off the insects inside, but the Hidden-Armor Ant-Man that had burrowed into its flesh immediately released lightning at maximum power.

Zzzzt!

The current erupting from within instantly paralyzed the Dragon Lizard's nerves.

Its massive body stiffened for a moment and then crashed to the ground; the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man swarmed up and smashed fiercely at its head.

"Well done, that's it." Gu Han watched this scene from afar, feeling slightly relieved.

It was just that this second Transcendent Trait, "Dissatisfied with Status Quo," still had not shown any movement up to now.

How on earth was this trait triggered? Was this kind of battle not enough?

Gu Han gritted his teeth and stopped worrying about it.

After paying a painful price, the Ant-men had also figured out this efficient combo tactic.

Shield-Armored for pressure resistance, Black-Armored for harassment, Shrimp-men for breaking defenses, and Hidden-Armor for entering the body to discharge electricity.

The entire karst cave turned into a massive meat grinder.

Every second, hundreds or thousands of Ant-men died.

Every tail swipe and every breath attack of the Dragon Lizards could take away large swathes of black lives.

Especially the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man.

They were already countered by the high heat; after throwing several heavy punches in succession, the water in their bodies was completely evaporated, and they died while continuing to punch.

Gu Han watched with an expressionless face.

This was war.

Time passed minute by minute, and more and more Candle-Demon Dragon Lizards fell, from one, to ten, and then to a hundred.

The roaring sounds inside the karst cave gradually weakened.

Two hours later.

The last Candle-Demon Dragon Lizard still struggling was pinned to the ground by hundreds of Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man, who forcibly smashed its limbs, causing it to let out a whimpering cry.

This battle finally came to an end.

Gu Han opened the smart assistant panel, glanced at the battle damage report, and his eyelids twitched violently.

Hidden-Armor Ant-Man, ten million casualties.

Black-Armored Ant-men, one million casualties.

Shield-Armored Ant-Men, eight hundred thousand casualties.

What pained him the most were the Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man; a full one million two hundred thousand were gone! And most of them were not killed by attacks, but were literally scalded to death by the high heat of this godforsaken place.

The price was too high.

However, the harvest was also astonishing.

The ground was covered in the corpses of Candle-Demon Dragon Lizards, over a thousand of them.

Most importantly, there were three survivors whose limbs had been smashed.

"Drag these three live ones back." Gu Han pointed at those three lucky ones and turned to instruct the Black-Armored Ant-men behind him.

He glanced into the depths of the karst cave.

He could not go any deeper. The Ant-Fist Shrimp-Man's endurance had reached its limit, and if they went any further, they would likely be wiped out.

"Retreat, take the corpses, and return to the Divine Kingdom."

Gu Han waved his hand, preparing to end this trip to the Wild Sand Realm.

Just at that moment, the Wild King hurried back from the depths; it ran to Gu Han, holding a fist-sized stone in its hands.

The Wild King told him that it had found this while searching the depths for any remaining survivors, and thinking it was the same type of crystal it had eaten last time, it had brought it back.

The stone was entirely crimson, with golden veins covering its surface, as if magma were flowing inside, and it emitted astonishing heat.

Gu Han was stunned for a moment; he reached out to touch it, and the moment his fingertips brushed the surface of the stone, a heart-piercing burning sensation instantly struck him.

"What is this?"

He opened the smart assistant to scan it.