Trade

"Damn it! We're under attack!"

Seeing several Dungeon Sand Ants charging at them, Xi Ye's expression changed as he roared.

Nan Qi and Mo Li's expressions also shifted slightly.

Without any hesitation, they attacked immediately.

Fireballs and arrows shot out, killing two Dungeon Sand Ants. Xi Ye swung his longsword as well, splitting one Dungeon Sand Ant's head in half.

However, Dungeon Sand Ants continued to rush toward the three catfolk warriors, shrieking as they came.

An intense battle broke out between both sides.

Lu Yuan had been following behind Xi Ye's group when he suddenly heard a loud boom.

He looked ahead in confusion.

What happened?

He quickly continued running forward.

Before long, he saw a deep pit in the floor of the passage.

Then Lu Yuan heard Xi Ye's furious roar, the shrieks of Dungeon Sand Ants, and the sounds of battle.

This pit, these sounds...

"A Dungeon Sand Ant nest?!"

Lu Yuan's expression changed drastically.

Yesterday, Lu Yuan had read Sandstone City's Ferocious Beast Guide, so he naturally knew about Dungeon Sand Ants.

If one encountered a small group of Dungeon Sand Ants in the dungeon passages, it was fine to kill them if they could be defeated.

But if one encountered a Dungeon Sand Ant nest, the guide's author had only offered two words.

Run away.

If one entered a Dungeon Sand Ant nest, they would be treated as an intruder, and every sand ant would swarm over to attack.

If one wasn't enough, then ten would come. If ten weren't enough, then a hundred would come.

They would not stop until the intruder was dead.

One had to know that a single Dungeon Sand Ant nest contained tens of thousands of sand ants.

They would swarm you in overwhelming numbers. No matter how strong you were, once your spiritual energy ran dry, you would not be able to hold on.

Gene Warriors could grow tired too.

Moreover, besides ordinary worker ants, there were also elite soldier ants.

If it was a massive nest, there might even be leader-level ants!

Forget leader-level Dungeon Sand Ants. If a group of elite soldier ants surrounded you, would you survive?

Although Lu Yuan's defense was fairly strong now, he still would not be able to withstand elite soldier ants.

Elite soldier ants were not like Black-Striped Graystone Beetles. The Black-Striped Graystone Beetles' Tempering Level was lower to begin with.

The moment Lu Yuan had read that information, he had decided that he would never risk his life by entering a Dungeon Sand Ant nest.

Who would have thought he would run into one here?

Lu Yuan immediately felt like retreating.

But... listening to the sounds of battle beneath the pit, Lu Yuan's expression kept changing as he hesitated.

I did use a Defense Amplification Potion that cost 10,000 a bottle... Am I really going to leave without gaining anything at all?

That was 10,000!

But risking being swarmed by Dungeon Sand Ants over 10,000 did not seem worth it either...

Lu Yuan's heart was conflicted, yet his feet moved on their own as he cautiously approached the pit.

"Mm... I'll just take a look. With my defensive ability, ordinary worker ants can't break through my defense at all. As long as I'm not surrounded by elite soldier ants or worker ants with especially high Tempering Levels, I shouldn't be in any danger. At the very least, I should watch those three Hunters die with my own eyes. Of course, it would be even better if they dropped something valuable."

Lu Yuan kept comforting himself internally.

Before long, he reached the edge of the pit.

Lu Yuan lowered his head and looked down.

He saw a pit roughly five meters deep.

There were two pitch-black passages on either side of it.

Dungeon Sand Ants continuously rushed out of the passages, attacking the three catfolk Hunters in the center of the pit.

The three catfolk Hunters were quite strong.

Especially since they had taken potions, and the effects had not yet worn off. Naturally, they were even stronger than usual.

Every Dungeon Sand Ant that attacked them was killed.

The ground was already covered in a thick layer of Dungeon Sand Ant corpses, numbering more than twenty.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow as he watched.

If this continued, once there were enough Dungeon Sand Ant corpses, they might even block the passages, right?

"Then wouldn't those three catfolk Hunters be able to escape?... No, wait, I'm still here. Wouldn't that mean I could catch them?!"

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. That did not seem too bad either.

Xi Ye and the other two catfolk also noticed the growing number of corpses.

Xi Ye's eyes lit up, and a trace of delight appeared on his face.

"Let's use the sand ant corpses to block the passages!"

"Good idea!"

Nan Qi's eyes brightened. "Xi Ye! You do it. You're the strongest! The two of us will support you!"

Xi Ye: "..."

His lips twitched, but he had no way to refute that.

Just then, the Dungeon Sand Ants noticed it as well.

Several Dungeon Sand Ants did not pounce on the three catfolk Hunters. Instead, they picked up the corpses of the dead Dungeon Sand Ants and carried them back into the passages.

The Dungeon Sand Ant corpses that had covered the ground were quickly cleared away.

Xi Ye and the other two immediately looked grim.

Nan Qi cursed, "Have these ants become spirits or something?! Their intelligence is so high!"

Molly looked at the Dungeon Sand Ants continuously rushing out, her face pale.

"What do we do?! At this rate, we'll be worn to death sooner or later!"

Xi Ye's expression darkened. He casually killed a Dungeon Sand Ant and felt his spiritual energy rapidly draining again.

Suddenly, Xi Ye remembered something, and his expression changed.

"Right, where's that human?!"

The other two froze. They raised their heads at the same time and looked toward the top of the pit.

Then they saw Lu Yuan crouching at the edge of the pit, silently watching them.

Seeing them look over, Lu Yuan waved at them with a smile.

"My three catfolk friends, hello. With speed as slow as a turtle's, I didn't expect I'd be able to catch up to you again."

The three catfolk Hunters: "..."

Seeing the smile on Lu Yuan's face, they nearly ground their teeth to pieces.

Nan Qi in particular, who had mocked Lu Yuan with those very words earlier, was gnashing his teeth now, wishing he could throw a Fireball at Lu Yuan.

In the end, he hurled the Fireball at a Dungeon Sand Ant that was about to reach him.

He spoke coldly.

"Human! We really did have bad luck and ran into an ant nest! What's the point of standing there and watching?!"

Lu Yuan smiled. "Who said I'm only watching? I'm waiting for you to die so I can go down and pick up what you drop."

Hearing this, the three catfolk's teeth clenched with audible cracks.

Molly cast Lu Yuan a cold glance.

"I hope you don't end up dying in the Dungeon Sand Ants' jaws!"

"Thank you for your concern, beautiful, but you're a good person. We're not meant to be."

"Bastard!"

Nan Qi and Molly were both furious.

"Human! How about we make a deal!"

At that moment, Xi Ye, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

Lu Yuan froze for a moment and looked at Xi Ye in confusion.

"What could we possibly trade?"

"Let us leave without attacking us. We're willing to give you spirit crystals!"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Give me spirit crystals?"

"Yes! To be honest, we only entered not long ago this time and haven't gained anything at all. Even if we die, you'll only get fewer than a hundred spirit crystals and a dozen or so materials."

Lu Yuan's expression stiffened immediately.

A dozen materials?!

What the hell, are they trying to fob me off like a beggar?!

The potion he used had cost 10,000!

Wouldn't that mean he was taking a loss?

Seeing Lu Yuan remain silent, Xi Ye's eyes lit up.

There's a chance! This human seems to be short on spirit crystals?

He struck while the iron was hot.

"If you let us out and don't attack us, each of us can give you 1,000 spirit crystals!"

"1,000 spirit crystals per person?"

Lu Yuan looked at Xi Ye and repeated the offer.

One thousand each meant three thousand for all three.

He would have to kill over a thousand ferocious beasts in the Sandstone Dungeon to earn that much.

That would take him ages.

Damn it! I'm so tempted!

"Yes! 1,000 per person! What do you say?"

Xi Ye killed a Dungeon Sand Ant with a swing of his sword as he spoke.

Lu Yuan fell silent.

Xi Ye said nothing. Molly and Nan Qi also said nothing, silently killing the Dungeon Sand Ants that kept appearing.

It had to be said that there were more and more Dungeon Sand Ants, and the pressure on them was growing heavier.

And... ordinary potions only lasted twenty minutes at most.

The effects were already close to ending.

For a time, Xi Ye and the other two were frantic with worry.

Then Lu Yuan smiled and spoke.

"Your proposal is tempting... but I refuse!"

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Xi Ye and the other two all changed expressions.

"Why?!"

"Who knows whether you're lying? Maybe you've gained quite a bit this time. And what if I let you out, and you just keep running away? Then I'd have to keep chasing you? Most importantly..."

Lu Yuan smiled, a cold glint in his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

"You three bastards have tried to kill me twice in a row! If I don't kill you at least once, I won't be able to calm down!"

I, Lu, may be short on money, but I damn well want to kill you three bastards even more!

Every time I enter, you people come after me.

Is it easy for me?!

I'll kill you once and see if you dare try it again next time!

Though he said that, Lu Yuan's heart still ached faintly.

That was 3,000 spirit crystals!

If he got them, it would be a huge sum of money!