Beheading Operation!
The Lingyun City.
Luo Jun stood atop the city wall, hammer in hand. A few meters in front of him was a pale blue, semi-transparent protective shield. Below the wall, swarms of Soldier Ant were taking turns spewing fire, constantly weakening the shield's energy.
More than twenty minutes have passed since the attack began, and the shield can only hold for another half hour at most.
Standing with Luo Jun were the guards protecting the city wall and the hunters who had come to help. They stared at the ant-like swarm below the wall, gripping their weapons tightly, ready for battle.
"Are you ready?" Luo Jun asked loudly.
"Oh!" the soldiers and hunters answered in unison.
Luo Jun nodded, reached out and pulled out a Signal Flare, pulled the fuse, and with a whoosh, it soared into the sky, exploded with a bang, scattering a large number of light spots that were particularly conspicuous in the darkness.
This is the agreed-upon signal.
The protective shield of Lingyun City is two-way; once it's open, monsters outside can't get in, and people inside can't get out. To send out a decapitation strike team, the shield must be opened. However, it can't be open for too long, otherwise, ants crawling up the city walls will be a minor issue, but a volley from the cannons would be a real problem.
Therefore, once the decapitation team arrives at the designated location, they will first explain the plan to the soldiers and, after confirming that everything is ready, release Signal Flare to notify Ling Yi.
Luo Jun arrived at the city wall, first went home to get his hammer, which delayed him slightly. He was the third to send the signal. Less than a minute after him, the fourth Signal Flare flare went into the air, and two minutes later, the fifth signal lit up. By then, all five teams were in position!
A short while later, a burst of Fireworks exploded in the sky above the Hunter Guild in the center of Lingyun City.
This is a signal that the protective shield is about to be closed!
Luo Jun immediately took out a talisman and stuck it on his body. Instantly, his figure began to Blur, and within a few seconds, he became completely transparent.
This Rare-level Invisibility Talisman not only conceals the wearer's form but also blocks smells and sounds, and has been tested to be able to fool even ants.
The Invisibility Talisman had just taken effect when the blue pillar of light above the guild disappeared, and the huge light barrier collapsed. The ants that had been taking turns breathing fire suddenly lost their target, seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then rushed towards the city wall!
"Stop them!" shouted the guards and hunters on the city wall, drawing their weapons and driving back the ants that were climbing up.
This combat didn't last long; after only ten seconds, the blue light flashed again, the shield restarted, and the Soldier Ant that hadn't had time to rush onto the city wall were kept outside.
"If we keep using this tactic of trapping and beating the dog, it doesn't seem so bad..." Luo Jun, who had already arrived outside the city, looked back at the guards and hunters on the city wall who were surrounding and killing the Soldier Ant.
However, these ants seem to be quite clever. It's fine once or twice, but they might not fall for it if they keep doing it. It's safer to just behead them!
With that thought in mind, he took advantage of the Invisibility Talisman to slip through the ant swarm and head towards the fortress.
Since the protective shield was created, those cannons have stopped firing. Under the cover of night, Luo Jun, who had been standing on the city wall, had not seen the location of the cannons. Now he could only advance according to the directions given by the guards.
After sneaking for about two kilometers in the darkness, Luo Jun discovered the legendary Cannon Ant behind a mound of earth.
Good heavens, is that really an ant?
Luo Jun was completely shocked by the scene before him.
This was a gigantic insect-like Insectoid Monster, resembling a spider. Even lying on the ground, it was as tall as a five- or six-story building. Its enormous abdomen resembled a small mountain, covered with a segmented, thick carapace. Unlike a spider, this monster also had a huge head. Two antennae on its head, like the Long Whip of a longhorn beetle, swung freely behind its head. Its two fangs, like two curved telephone poles, crackled and popped as they moved with its mouthparts.
Even disregarding its fireball ability, its size alone suggests it's no pushover.
Luo Jun tightened his grip on the hammer, stealthily trying to approach the giant Cannon Ant. But as soon as he got close, he felt as if he had bumped into something... It felt like walking through a forest and knocking over a spider web...
"Oh no!"
A sudden sense of danger arose in Luo Jun's heart, and he immediately jumped to the side. Then, a burst of intense flames sprayed onto the spot where he had just been standing!
Really!
The firelight stood out starkly in the darkness, and the music could be seen as sparks spreading outwards in thin, thread-like shapes, like burning nylon threads.
That was what I had just touched—the ant's Tactile Sense warning!
Just as Luo Jun dodged, it was as if he had suddenly disturbed an ant nest. A large swarm of Violetgold War Ant suddenly emerged from the mound of earth in front of the giant insect. A rough count revealed that there were probably more than twenty of them, and they looked densely packed from a distance.
Are these the Cannon Ant ' guards?
It turned out that it wasn't a mound of dirt, but a makeshift anthill that the ants had temporarily built!
Luo Jun felt a chill run down his spine. He had experienced the Violetgold War Ant before, and they weren't all that special, but so many at once was troublesome...
As soon as the Violetgold War Ant appeared, they locked onto Luo Jun's direction and split into two teams. One team formed a formation and fired fireballs in unison, while the other team rushed over to try to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Luo Jun was taken aback, thinking to himself, "I haven't deactivated my invisibility yet, how did they find me...?"
Then he moved his nose and noticed an unusual smell on his body...
It was the silk thread that got stuck to my body; it had ant pheromones on it!
These bugs were indeed difficult to deal with. Realizing that his disguise had failed, Luo Jun simply revealed himself and stopped getting entangled with these Violetgold War Ant. He leaped up, dodging the barrage of fireballs, and swung his hammer at the head of the giant Cannon Ant.
But just as he jumped halfway, the sound of flapping wings came from the side. Luo Jun caught a glimpse of a huge black shadow flying through the air. Realizing something was wrong, Luo Jun quickly stopped his attack and swung his hammer to the side, while simultaneously gathering his energy to increase the weight of the hammer!
Because the hammer felt light as a feather when it was swung, it suddenly became heavy once it gained speed. The inertia of this nearly two-ton weight easily deflected Luo Jun's more than 100 pounds, allowing him to dodge the swooping Flying Insects with a sideways movement!
This is a skill that Luo Jun has learned in the wild these past few days. Relying on the unique function of the River-Sinking Stone Hammer, he can change his direction of movement in mid-air and even create a flight-like effect to some extent!
This is also the source of his confidence to leap into the air and attack, breaking free from the ground!
Luo Jun dodged the attack and landed on a nearby tree. Before he could even get his footing, another pillar of fire came hurtling towards him!
Luo Jun hurriedly dodged. This was a fireball spewed out by the turret insect. It didn't need such a powerful fireball to deal with a single enemy, but to the insect, even a thin tongue of fire was a huge pillar of fire to Luo Jun!
The tree was instantly ignited, resembling a giant torch. Luo Jun had just landed when the sound of flapping wings approached again. By the firelight, he finally saw the Flying Insects that had just attacked him.
It was a giant insect, even larger than the Violetgold War Ant. Its ant-like features were almost completely obscured; its shape resembled a slender version of a giant stag beetle. Its fiery red body was adorned with black stripes, giving it an eerie and dangerous beauty. Its enormous head bared two sharp mandibles, and its two elytra on its back were raised to the sides, unfurling their long, thin Membrane Wings. Vibrating rapidly, they moved faster than ordinary Flying Ant!
Another new species I've never seen before. Just how many variations of ants are there...?
Luo Jun jumped to the side, dodging the attack of the Red Stag Beetle. Just as he was about to counterattack, more than ten Violetgold War Ant rushed up. Luo Jun swung his hammer and smashed two to death, but more surrounded him, accompanied by a second round of fireballs!
Seeing this, Luo Jun slid under a Violetgold War Ant, using its massive body to block the explosion. Then, he smashed it through from bottom to top with his hammer, and with the momentum of the hammer, he flew up through the giant ant's body.
But as soon as it peeked out, the Red Stag Beetle swooped down again. Unlike other ants, it didn't seem to breathe fire; it just used its mandibles to launch a physical attack!
You like head-on confrontations, huh? Well, I'll go head-to-head with you!
Seeing the monster charging towards him, Luo Jun neither dodged nor evaded, but instead met it head-on with a volley of hammer blows!
Bang!
With a loud bang, Luo Jun felt a buzzing in his head, a sharp pain in his hand, and was sent flying backward!
The giant stag beetle was stopped in mid-air by his attack, as if it had come to an abrupt halt!
Luo Jun's back slammed into a large tree, bringing him to a stop. He managed to keep the hammer in his hand, but his hand and entire arm were numb.
So strong, so tough! This thing is not even in the same league as the Violetgold War Ant. In the past month in the Savage Wilderness, this is the first time he has seen a monster that can withstand the River-Sinking Stone Hammer!
Just then, a dark shadow spun down from the sky and landed with a thud in the ground in front of him.
Luo Jun took a look and realized it was one of the large mandibles of the Red Stag Beetle.
Looking up, the large insect spun around in the air a few times before landing unsteadily on the mound of earth in front of the Cannon Ant.
It seems it wasn't feeling well after that blow!
Luo Jun felt more confident, but before he could catch his breath, the swarm of Violetgold War Ant charged up again, making Luo Jun's scalp tingle.
This shows the difference between him and someone who has reached the state of the Heart Refining Realm.
Lacking ability and possessing only brute force, no matter how powerful one is, one is only suitable for one-on-one combat. When encountering numerous monsters of comparable strength, one lacks the means to deal with them, and is constantly hampered in battle.
If I had known this would happen, I would have saved up more dice rolls...
No... there's still a chance!
Luo Jun activated the Dice of Heavenly Secrets panel and looked at the 400 chips on it. He had originally planned to save up several times to exchange for a Big Lucky Bag, but now that the situation was urgent, he decided to try his luck with a Small Lucky Bag!
Ideally, I'd like to draw an item that increases the number of rolls. Given the current level of crisis, a few rolls might be enough to level up, allowing me to refresh everything!
As the chips disappeared, a six-sided die appeared in front of Luo Jun.
Name: Misprinted Dice
Grade: Excellent (Green)
Effect: Consumable. When rolling a die, you can choose to replace the Black Die with this die.
Available uses: 1/1
Note: Oops, I grabbed the wrong dice... Oh well, I'll just make the best of it!
What does this mean? Replacing the black ten-sided die with a six-sided die? What's the point?
Upon closer inspection, Luo Jun discovered the key.
This six-sided die has six sides: zero, five, six, seven, eight, and nine.
The Black Die represents the tens digit of the number. Replacing it with the tens digit means that you will either roll a single digit or roll a number greater than fifty!
For most events, while the success rate increases, it also makes it easier to throw Great Failure.
It's a pretty useful tool, but...
Watching the swarm of war ants maintain their charging posture even while slowed down, Luo Jun sighed. There was no point in trying now...
In the end, you still have to rely on yourself!
Helplessly putting away the Misprinted Dice, Luo Jun released his numb right hand, and the hammer clattered to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He flicked his right hand, opened the Hundred Treasure Box, took out the Elemental Construct Box, and nimbly opened the lid with his left hand, taking out a few chess pieces and scattering them!
Two Entangling Turret took root and spread out, instantly binding the charging Violetgold War Ant. At the same time, five Flame Turret fired fireballs one after another, which exploded in the ant swarm.
To be honest, although the Elemental Construct Box is Legendary Treasure Item, as the description says, it was created as a toy. Its main feature is that it is fully functional. In terms of the effect of individual pieces, apart from the strongest Earth Construct, the others are all rather average. They are more than enough to deal with ordinary Soldier Ant, but now they are facing Violetgold War Ant, which are not so easy to kill!
But Luo Jun didn't intend to kill the War Ants with such methods; he just wanted to buy them some time.
A cloud of warm mist rose up, and the numbness in Luo Jun's right hand quickly subsided. At the same time, he also paid attention to the movements of all the ants.
The Violetgold War Ant was held back by the trap, the Red Stag Beetle was still resting, and as for the giant Cannon Ant, Luo Jun could also see that its fire attack power was very strong, but it was too cumbersome. Judging from the fact that it needed the protection of other ants, its own Combat Power was not strong.
My thoughts are becoming clearer... First, the first goal is...
Just as Luo Jun was analyzing the situation, the Violetgold War Ant broke free from the vines, destroyed the Flame Turret, and charged towards him.
Only two Violetgold War Ant were killed by the explosion; these insects have incredibly high fire resistance!
With a mental grumble, Luo Jun put away all the mechanisms, took out a chess piece and held it in his palm. Using his recovered right arm, he lifted the hammer and leaped into the air!
The Violetgold War Ant on the ground lost their target, raised their heads, and fired a barrage of fireballs.
Luo Jun swung his hammer, changed direction mid-air, and while dodging, charged towards the giant Cannon Ant.
The Cannon Ant's segmented abdomen twitched, a yellow light shone from the crevices, and it opened its mouth to spew out a tongue of fire!
The man followed the hammer, changed direction again, flew into the sky while dodging the flames, then changed direction again and descended from the sky, holding the hammer with both hands, gathering all his strength to smash it down on the Cannon Ant's head!
This Cannon Ant is too clumsy to dodge, and its fire-breathing ability needs a short cooldown. The only thing that can save it now is...
Buzz!
With a flapping sound of wings, the Bloodscarab, whose mandible had just been smashed in half by Luo Jun, charged forward!
This guy's recovered too...
Just as the man and the insect were about to collide in mid-air, Luo Jun suddenly flicked his hand and threw out a chess piece, which landed right on the Insectoid Monster's head!
Almost instantly, a bright yellow light appeared, and a sculpture of a shield-wielding knight sprouted from the stag beetle's head. At the same time, a semi-transparent spherical shield appeared out of thin air, perfectly enveloping it!
It's Earth Construct! Luo Jun inserted the Earth Construct onto the top of the Bloodscarab's head!
After these days of familiarization, Luo Jun has become increasingly proficient in using the Elemental Construct Box. He discovered that this thing can not only be placed on the ground, but also on large trees, boulders, rock walls, and even on some huge animals, provided that the landing point of the mechanism is solid enough and has sufficient mass.
Luo Jun didn't know the specific standard, but he had tried it. He couldn't install the mechanism on his body; otherwise, carrying a Earth Construct around would turn him into a mobile fortress.
This stag Insectoid Monster meets the requirements in terms of both strength and size!
The moment the Earth Construct was activated, the Bloodscarab seemed to be startled, its sprinting momentum slowing down for a moment. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Luo Jun mustered all his strength and threw the hammer at the yellow light!
The reason for not using a hammer to smash it down is to prevent the owner from triggering the barrier's recognition function and passing through it directly.
What he needs is striking power!
Bang!
The immense impact caused the Earth Barrier to tremble, and like a marble, it sent the yellow ball of light, which was over ten meters in diameter, flying away!
The stag beetle frantically flapped its wings, but it couldn't steady itself at all and could only plummet downwards!
The Earth Barrier can block out all harmful things, including but not limited to water, poisonous gas, and lasers. However, harmless air and light can pass through it, preventing the space inside the barrier from becoming suffocatingly dark.
However, it is clear that the wind pressure generated by the stag beetle flapping its wings, enough to allow a behemoth weighing several tons to fly freely, is no longer within the realm of harmlessness!
The wind pressure couldn't reach outside the barrier, and the internal and external forces were balanced, causing the stag beetle to lose its ability to fly. It could only fall to the ground, bounce a few times like a ball, and then roll away with a gurgling sound.
Looking at Luo Jun, he had calculated the angle of the attack, caught the rebounding flying hammer, and was carried to a higher altitude. Then, he controlled his weight to bounce back down and smash it straight into the Cannon Ant's head!
Just then, the Cannon Ant ant suddenly raised its head, and a ball of fire emerged from the depths of its open mouth!
And what about that cooling effect? Was it just an act?
Dodge? Too late. If you were to use dice to calculate, it would be at least a 90-point difficulty!
As Luo Jun descended, he glanced at the stag beetle writhing and struggling within the Earth Barrier, attempting to destroy the Earth Construct, and the numerous Violetgold War Ant that had come to its rescue...
Such a great opportunity is hard to come by again!
Luo Jun steeled his resolve and decided to go all in!
"This incident, smash that son of a bitch to death!"
"Even without dice, I hereby declare that I will definitely succeed!"
Boom!
An unprecedentedly intense and incredibly thick pillar of fire shot into the sky, engulfing Luo Jun!
But then, a deafening roar erupted. The massive Cannon Ant abruptly ducked, its upward-spraying pillar of fire changing direction, sweeping across the Violetgold War Ant rushing to its aid. These monsters, with their extremely high fire resistance, couldn't withstand the intense flames unleashed and were instantly reduced to ashes...
One long chapter today, more tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)