Paralysis Toxin

The Iron-Toothed Locust Legion truly resembled a mudslide, rolling forward.

The few valleys where Wang Wu was located lasted less than five minutes before they were gnawed clean. Who knew how many Sprites had died.

But they came quickly and left quickly. The main force of the Iron-Toothed Locust Legion soon passed through.

All that remained were bare hillsides, along with some stragglers—injured or lost Iron-Toothed Locusts.

For example, after the roughly fifty Iron-Toothed Locusts in that rock crevice had eaten the Little Red Bird, they single-mindedly continued gnawing on Wang Wu. They did not care that the main army outside had already moved on.

With how foolish they looked, it was hard to imagine that their race could actually produce a Great Demon!

Wang Wu endured.

Over five minutes, he had lost less than 30 Health Points, not even enough to offset the recovery from his level 5 Self-Healing Talent.

After another ten-odd minutes passed, Wang Wu's Health Points had still not dropped by 50. His 15 points of Base Defense gave him an enormous advantage.

Watching sunlight fill the sky outside once more while the place lay as silent as a ghost realm, Wang Wu hesitated, but still did not rush to act. Wait a little longer. Just a little longer.

At the speed of the Iron-Toothed Locust army, its vanguard should have been at least thirty li away by now.

In any case, he was in no hurry and faced no danger to his life. There was no need to take a risk.

Thus, with tremendous patience, Wang Wu waited another fifteen minutes or so. This time, he felt that it should be about right.

Even the tail of the Iron-Toothed Locust Legion should be at least thirty li away. Since the nearby native Great Demons had not intervened, then either they could not defeat it, or they simply did not care.

In short, he had inspected everything that needed inspecting. It was time to make his move.

But just as that thought arose in Wang Wu's mind, a strange rustling sound came from the valley outside, like the vibration of metal blades, rhythmic and measured.

Immediately afterward, a giant Iron-Toothed Locust at least twenty centimeters long, with both wings golden in color, crawled into the rock crevice.

Damn!

Why was there still one more?

Was this the locust captain responsible for cleaning up stragglers and deserters?

Or had he been exposed?

For a moment, Wang Wu did not know what to do with his hands and feet.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

The Golden-Winged Iron-Toothed Locust flew about above Wang Wu. He had no idea whether they were communicating or what, but in the next second, it actually joined the attack.

"You have been attacked by an Iron-Toothed Locust Guard."

"You suffered 100 points of cutting damage. Due to your 15 points of defense, you ultimately suffered 55 points of damage."

--

Damn, that hurt!

I can't take this anymore!

Wang Wu let out a low roar and slammed the Golden-Winged Locust beneath one claw. Only then did he realize that this thing weighed at least two pounds. It felt less like pinning down a Sprite and more like pinning down a chunk of steel—a chunk of steel that could explode at any moment.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

The Golden-Winged Locust frantically vibrated its wings as though it had activated a cutting chainsaw, instantly slicing Wang Wu's claw into a bloody mess!

At the same time, its strange mouth sprayed out a stream of dark green fluid. But unfortunately for it, its face was pressed to the ground, so it could not reach Wang Wu at all.

Even so, it scared him badly. That was obviously some kind of venom. He had been in level 6 Stealth just moments ago, so the Golden-Winged Locust had mistaken him for a corpse and instinctively tried to cut him up and eat him. That was why it had not sprayed venom immediately.

Otherwise, the consequences would have been impossible to predict!

At this moment, the Golden-Winged Locust desperately tried to take flight. Its strength was comparable to that of a sturdy seven- or eight-year-old bear child.

Wang Wu had nearly failed to hold it down.

If this fellow managed to fly up again and escape into open ground, then spat down a mouthful of venom, how could that possibly be allowed?

So Wang Wu's eyes turned red. He ignored the more than fifty Iron-Toothed Locusts that were attacking like madmen, and he ignored the bloody, bone-piercing pain in his claw.

One claw pinned it down with all his might, while the other smashed down viciously. With a bang, it sounded as though he had struck steel!

With 12 points of strength, even his full-force blow only dented the Golden-Winged Locust slightly and broke one of its large golden legs.

But it did not matter. If one strike was not enough, there was a second, then a third!

Wang Wu looked like a madman, slapping it more than twenty times in one breath, until he smashed green shit out of the Golden-Winged Locust.

Both his claws had become bloody pulp, and his Health Points had even fallen below 80—all caused by this Golden-Winged Locust.

It truly made Wang Wu's heart pound in terror.

This was only because they were inside a rock crevice and the Golden-Winged Locust had been careless. Otherwise, in open terrain, with its defense, attack power, and ability to fly, it was still unknown who would emerge victorious.

Only then did he begin cleaning up the Iron-Toothed Locusts that had gone mad. He was not worried they would flee, because they simply would not.

Every single one went down with one swipe of his claw.

The battle ended quickly. Without another word, Wang Wu grabbed the Golden-Winged Locust and began wolfing it down.

But what he never expected was that this thing tasted awful. He had eaten less than a third when the bitterness numbed his tongue. Then, in only a few seconds, his entire face—and even his whole body—went numb.

Damn it, it's poisonous!

Fortunately, the toxin only caused paralysis and did not reduce his Health Points too severely.

Wang Wu lay paralyzed on the spot for a full half hour before gradually regaining sensation.

Then his entire body began to ache fiercely, as though pricked by needles.

Only then did several lines of information sneak out furtively.

"You consumed a special toxic substance. You have been poisoned. Your body is in a highly paralyzed state. You have been forcibly deducted 50 Health Points."

"Due to your level 5 Self-Healing Talent, your body has gained a slight ability to adapt to this toxin. You gained 1 point of Paralysis Toxin Resistance. Current: (1/25)"

"You consumed special essence food. You gained 50 Spiritual Energy, 300 Satiety, and 2% Growth Rate."

--

"Damn! That's incredible!"

Wang Wu was greatly shaken. Looking at the roughly two-thirds of the Golden-Winged Locust's corpse that remained, his gaze instantly became resolute.

Eat!

Numb!

Awesome!

More than half an hour later, Wang Wu recovered once again from the piercing pain of full-body paralysis. Though the pain had twisted his entire face, it still could not conceal the excitement in his little eyes.

This was amazing!

Another 50 Spiritual Energy, 300 Satiety, and 2% Growth Rate.

As well as 1 point of Paralysis Toxin Resistance.

His total Spiritual Energy reserve had already reached 119 points.

Without another word, he spent 100 Spiritual Energy to upgrade his level 5 Self-Healing Talent to level 6.

The level 6 Self-Healing effect was better and more adaptable.

First was Rapid Self-Healing. It would trigger whenever his Health Points fell by more than half. It had no cooldown for the time being; based on his experience from last winter, triggering it five or six times in a row would not be a problem.

Its specific effect was that, over 10 minutes, it could rapidly restore 100 Health Points by consuming 200 Satiety.

Next was Moderate Self-Healing, which could trigger when his Health Points dropped by one quarter.

Over 60 minutes, it could restore 50 Health Points by consuming 100 Satiety.

Last came Slow Self-Healing, which could trigger when his Health Points dropped by one fifth.

Over six hours, every 1 point of Satiety consumed could slowly restore 1 Health Point, continuing until he was fully healed.

Very good.

There was nothing more to say. Wang Wu immediately launched an attack on the final third of the Golden-Winged Locust's corpse. It was worth mentioning that while its wings had been hard as iron when it was alive, after death they could actually be eaten. They were like soft cartilage—crunchy and satisfying.

This time, he was not paralyzed all over. Instead, about four-fifths of his body was paralyzed. Clearly, his 2 points of Paralysis Toxin Resistance had taken effect, along with his level 6 Self-Healing Talent.

After twenty-odd minutes, the paralysis faded, leaving only stinging pain. Wang Wu once again gained 50 Spiritual Energy, 300 Satiety, 2% Growth Rate, and 1 point of Paralysis Toxin Resistance.

At this point, his Paralysis Toxin Resistance had reached 3 points, while his total Spiritual Energy reserve had reached 69 points.

This really was a treasure trove!

Wang Wu was very grateful, but at the same time, he roughly understood why the Iron-Toothed Locust Legion could swagger through this area while the nearby Great Demons did not interfere.

The Paralysis Toxin was simply too overpowered.

One or two were manageable, but if Golden-Winged Locusts filled the sky and blotted out the sun, one bite would directly paralyze the entire body, leaving their prey to be slaughtered at will.