Bitter Battle

Looking at the mutated Thousand Jun Ant Emperor before him, Ye Lei's face darkened.

"Damn it! It actually mutated. This is going to be difficult."

As he thought, Ye Lei suddenly remembered that there was someone behind him.

At that moment, Han Nuan raised a hand and poked Ye Lei, asking:

"What do we do now, Ye Lei?"

Ye Lei steadied his breathing and turned to Han Nuan.

"I'll stall for time in a moment. Find an opportunity to run. Run as far as you can. This battle will affect a wide area—you won't be able to withstand it!"

"But I..."

"No buts. Get ready. When I count to one, run in the opposite direction immediately. Don't look back!"

Seeing Ye Lei's grave expression, Han Nuan knew she could not say anything more at a time like this. She patted Ye Lei's head and nodded in response.

Ye Lei continued channeling Soul Power to maintain his Second Soul Skill.

Thirty seconds later.

Ye Lei dismissed his Second Soul Skill and charged toward the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor, shouting at the same time:

"Han Nuan, run!"

Hearing this, Han Nuan spread her Phoenix Wings and flew in the opposite direction, repeatedly turning back to look at Ye Lei.

Ye Lei stared at the mutated Thousand Jun Ant Emperor ahead, his eyes filled with ferocity as the Human-Faced Spider Emperor Leg Bone appeared on his left leg.

"Human-Faced Spider Emperor Leg Bone skill, Spider Emperor Purple Emperor Ray Slash!"

The moment he finished speaking, Ye Lei swiftly kicked with his left leg, sending two enormous purple light slashes flying toward the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor.

The Thousand Jun Ant Emperor merely raised its massive pincers and blocked Ye Lei's attack. In return, it spat several fireballs at him.

Ye Lei hurriedly dodged aside.

Switching Martial Souls, he used Blue Silver Grass to frantically restrain the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor.

At that moment, the Soul Beast Detector on his left hand rang at the most inopportune time:

Scan complete. Thousand Jun Ant Emperor has mutated and possesses Earth Fire. Defense increased. Attack Skill: Thousand Jun Flame Break. Defense Skill: Flame Armor.

In that case, you'll become the Flame Lord's third soul ring. Ye Lei thought. His Flame Lord Martial Soul possessed both fire and earth attributes, while an unmutated Thousand Jun Ant Emperor possessed no attributes at all. It was purely a strength-type soul beast, and killing it would most likely yield a Defense-type Soul Skill. But now that the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor had mutated and gained a Fire Attribute enhancement, its soul ring would not only strengthen his Martial Soul, but would no longer grant a Defense-type Soul Skill. Instead, it would grant a fire-attribute attack soul skill.

The Thousand Jun Ant Emperor relentlessly attacked Ye Lei. In contrast, Ye Lei did not rush to counterattack, instead continuously dodging.

Ye Lei spotted an opening in the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor's attacks and immediately used Blue Silver Grass to firmly pin it to the ground. He then leaped up swiftly, gathering power in midair.

"Ah~~~ Fifth Soul Skill, Blue Silver Overlord Spear!"

Blue light flashed wildly from Ye Lei's hands as a blue-silver spear condensed between them. Ye Lei gripped it tightly in his right hand, spun once in midair to borrow momentum, and hurled it at the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor. His hands did not stop moving as he clenched his left fist and shouted:

"Fourth Soul Skill, Blue Silver Spike Array!"

A great number of Blue Silver Grass spikes burst from the ground around the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor, all shooting toward it. Seeing this, the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor let out a roar toward the sky. At once, crimson armor plates slowly emerged over its body, attaching themselves to it and forming a suit of armor.

Ye Lei instantly understood. This was the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor's defensive skill mentioned by the Soul Beast Detector: Flame Armor!

The Blue Silver Overlord Spear Ye Lei had thrown earlier was still spinning at high speed against the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor's Flame Armor, yet it had not caused any damage at all. When the Blue Silver Grass spikes struck the Flame Armor, they all shattered. This showed just how powerful Flame Armor's defense was!

This was going to be a bitter battle...