This spell’s defense power was astonishingly high, but it’d cost him a whole 800,000 Magic Power Points!
800,000!
A whole 800,000!
That was a freaking 8,000,000 gold coins!
,000,000 gold coins... All gone, just like that!
Meng Lei’s heart ached so badly from the loss that his expression had pretty much become altered beyond recognition. “I’m going to use your inconsequential life to make up for this empty space freed up after you made me suffer a loss of 8,000,000 gold coins for nothing!”
Boom!
He had only just spoken when a crackling sound rang out. A lightning bolt as thick as a water barrel hurtled down from the heavens and viciously struck the Double-Legged Flying Dragon. His plumes frizzed up explosively at once, turning him into a “Double-Legged Hedgehog”!
Violent electric currents flowed about him freely and produced crackling sounds of explosions. The Double-Legged Flying Dragon King was also pretty tough and hardy. Not only did he not suffer any injuries, but he also became even angrier.
“Die!”
He flapped his wings, which produced a tornado that reached into the skies, and charged toward Meng Lei again. However, yet another lightning bolt struck him right in the head.
Crackle!
“Damn!”
The Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s eyes were blood red. He let out roar after roar, but the only thing that responded to him was still a lightning bolt as thick as a water barrel.
Crackle!
“That bastard!”
Crackle!
“You’re driving me up the wall...!”
Crackle!
Like the rivers that flowed endlessly, yet also like the Yellow River beyond one’s control in a flood, lightning bolts as thick as water barrels came one after the other. They came crashing down madly and endlessly.
No matter how strong the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s body was, he wasn’t going to be able to withstand these many hits. Gradually, his flesh began to split into bloody wounds from the lightning bolts, and he became charred black all over. Which part of him still retained even a little of his mighty momentum from just now?
“This...”
The mouths of all the soldiers on top of the city walls fell agape, and all of them turned into stone. Never would anyone have expected something like that to happen.
They had initially thought that even if Meng Lei survived the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s attack, he would also suffer grave injuries.
They had also thought that the odds were definitely not in his favor, but it was the complete opposite now instead.
Not only was Meng Lei completely alright, but he was instead beating the Flying Dragon King into a pulp!
Had he really only broken through to the Great Ninth-Grade Magician level just a while ago?
He was already that ferocious when he had just broken through?
“Thunder-elemental! He’s actually even a thunder-elemental Great Magician!”
Marquis Gould held a completely distrustful attitude toward his life now. It was already flabbergasting enough when Meng Lei had exhibited his double earth-elemental and fire-elemental magic talent just now.
Who would have thought that he actually had thunder-elemental magic talent, too?!
Earth, fire, and thunder! Three types of elements!
A triple-elemental Great Ninth-Grade Magician!
“Surely even the Dragon God’s illegitimate child wouldn’t be as much of a mutant as him, right?”
Chapter 97: Severing A Wing, Earning Another 30 Million Gold Coins
Pin-drop silence reigned atop the city walls.
The Flying Dragon Troops were as quiet as mice.
Everyone watched helplessly as Meng Lei beat the living daylights out of the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King, finding the fact impossible to accept.
That was the great, mighty Flying Dragon King, a noble Duke of the kingdom, and a strong, powerful ninth-grade expert... When had he ever had the living daylights beaten out of him like that?
Shock!
Confusion!
Disbelief!
Yet, no matter what, it couldn’t change the fact that the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King was being beaten into a pulp. Lightning bolts as thick as water barrels continued to crash down upon him, the interval between each lightning bolt never going past a second. The Double-Legged Flying Dragon King didn’t even have time to catch his breath. Who was going to be beaten into a pulp, if not him?
“That guy sure is unlucky!”
Ol’ Amos felt rather sympathetic toward the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King now. If he’d been facing a typical Great Ninth-Grade Magician, he definitely wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state.
Unfortunately, the one he’d run into was Meng Lei—a monster that could do insta-release ninth-grade spells.
How was he going to win?
Even if Meng Lei didn’t instantly release eighth-grade or ninth-grade spells, just that Seventh-Grade Spell, Thunder Light alone was already enough to beat him up to the point where he had no means of retaliation.
Win?
The concept didn’t even exist!
“Meng Lei!” Ol’ Amos shook his head lightly. “Killing him brings you no boons. Instead, it’ll even cause you a whole lot of unnecessary trouble. Just let him off.”
Meng Lei considered for a brief moment and then nodded slowly.
Indeed, that was true. The Double-Legged Flying Dragon King was one of Fire Dragon Kingdom’s Dukes, after all. It wasn’t difficult to kill him, but the series of consequences that would bring was something that the current him couldn’t bear.
It went back to the same old thing—before one possessed enough strength, if they must hide and lay low, then they must hide and lay low. If they must mature like a coward, then they still have to mature like a coward.
“Fine! I’ll spare that old dog’s life!”
Meng Lei took up Ol’ Amos’ suggestion. He stopped casting Thunder Light and released the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King.
“You lowly piece of trash! Die!”
After he was freed, not only was the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King not grateful, but he even returned kindness with animosity instead. He charged toward Meng Lei at lightning-quick speed.
However, he had only just flown right up to Meng Lei when a lightning blade shot down from the heavens and slashed across his left wing in a split second, severing it at the base!
Splurt!
The wing left his body, and dragon blood spurted about. Intense, unbearable pain assaulted the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s senses, and he let out a shrill, tragic cry before plummeting straight toward the ground.
“You may live on, but not without punishment. This spatial ring of yours is now mine. I’ll take it as compensation for all of you affronting me!”
Meng Lei’s voice was aloof and distant. He grabbed the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s severed wing and removed the spatial ring on it. Then, he tossed the wing aside casually, as though he was discarding rubbish.
The whole place fell into dead silence.
This sight filled everyone with fear and trepidation. Severing the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s wing with a casual wave? Wasn’t he a little too savage? That was the great Double-Legged Flying Dragon King, after all!
“That fellow...”
Marquis Gould narrowed his eyes, a hint of graveness flashing across the bottom of his eyes. Since Meng Lei could beat the living daylights out of the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King, then didn’t that mean that he could also do the same to him?
He was already that powerful when he had only just broken through?
“From this point onward, yet another person stronger than me has come into being... Sigh!”
Marquis Gould’s emotions were rather complex. With a wave, he ordered, “Bring a few light-elemental Magicians over here to follow me and check on Duke Nicolas’ injuries.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Elsewhere, Meng Lei had already kept the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s spatial ring. He then landed on the ground and began to collect the Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants’ magic cores as though he was the only person present.
When one’s cultivation reached a realm like his, their spiritual power could physically manifest and perfectly interfere with reality. Thus, retrieving items via telekinesis was no problem for them.
As he passed through the area, all the magic cores within several hundred meters of him disappeared, leaving behind not even a single one...
“T-the devil has come?”
“Run...!”
Upon the sight of Meng Lei coming over, all the Double-Legged Flying Dragons looked as though they had just seen a ghost. They flew away in a panic, terribly afraid that Meng Lei would strike them to death with a lightning bolt should they be even a step too slow.
The sight of Meng Lei beating the living daylights out of the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King just now had left an exceptionally deep impression on them and terribly frightened them. For a very long time to come, they probably wouldn’t be able to rid themselves of that fear.
“Duke Nicolas, are you alright?”
“Hurry! Treat Duke Nicolas’ injuries!”
Thanks to the few light-elemental Magicians’ efforts, the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King’s severed wing was successfully reattached, and his other wounds also fully healed. However, this time round, he didn’t charge toward Meng Lei anymore.
He had been badly frightened.
Since that lightning blade could sever his left wing so easily, then it definitely could sever his head just as easily. If he charged forward again, who was to say that the lightning blade wouldn’t land on his head this time?
If he didn’t want to die, then he had no choice but to wuss out.
“Marquis Gould, who’s that guy?”
“I don’t know, either!”
“You don’t know? Isn’t he someone from your frontier troops?”
“No, he isn’t.”
Marquis Gould shook his head lightly. Then, he recounted what he knew of Meng Lei, which made the Double-Legged Flying Dragon King break into a huge frown.
Identity unknown?
Just broken through to ninth-grade?
And even knows Dragon-Language Magic?
“I don’t care who you are, but I will have my revenge for sure!”
...
Meng Lei was highly efficient. He had already collected all the magic cores in the area within a dozen kilometers in under ten minutes. What disappointed him, however, was that he had only collected a total of 28,743 magic cores.
It doesn’t even come up to 30,000,000 gold coins?
Meng Lei’s brows furrowed tightly, and he looked at the Flying Dragon Troops extremely hostilely.
If that bunch of idiots hadn’t eaten some of them, it would’ve passed the 30,000,000-mark for sure!
That’s 30,000,000 gold coins, you know! 30,000,000!
You bastards, since you’ve eaten a few million of my gold coins, you can say that there’s a feud between us now. If I get a chance to in the future, I’ll definitely take all of you out in one go and then gouge out all of your magic cores as compensation!
After glowering at the Flying Dragon Troops, Meng Lei decided to leave. At that point, Marquis Gould strode forward and called out, “Lord Magician, please wait a moment!”
Meng Lei wasn’t very fond of the frontier troops, so he couldn’t be bothered to even pay him any heed. He steered the magic carpet and rushed up into the sky.
“My lord, that fellow is simply too full of himself!” barked an indignant attendant.
“Hmph!”
Marquis Gould snorted, his countenance displeased and sinister.
...
After leaving the Great Dragon Blood Wall, Meng Lei didn’t return to the valley where the villagers were temporarily staying at. Instead, he was rather troubled over another issue—why must he wait for the ant tide to charge out of the Magical Beast Forest and then passively defend against them? Why not take the initiative to launch an attack and invade them instead?
As the saying went, “Nothing good comes without risk”.
Besides, he had the magic carpet, so what could the ant tide do to him?
The moment he thought of that, Meng Lei felt like everything had become clear at once, and he promptly charged into the Magical Beast Forest.
“Ol’ President, the ant tide has devoured all the Magical Beasts in the forest. Doesn’t that mean that there won’t be any more Magical Beasts in the forest for a very long time to come?”
Meng Lei chatted idly with Ol’ Amos while flying on the magic carpet. The old man had seen a lot of the world and was very knowledgeable, so he had learned a lot through his chats with him.
“That’s not the case!” Ol’ Amos gave him an odd smile and said, “In truth, after every ant tide, not only would the Magical Beasts in the forest not disappear, but they would even increase in numbers. They would reoccupy every corner of the Magical Beast Forest and turn the forest back into their paradise.”
“Uh...” Meng Lei looked dumbfounded. “Increase in numbers? How can that be? Didn’t you say that the ant tide would eat all the Magical Beasts? Why would their numbers increase? Did they all go into hiding? But that shouldn’t be! The ant tide is everywhere, so where can they even hide?”
“They didn’t go into hiding and have certainly been devoured by the ant tide. However, after the ant tide, more Magical Beasts will indeed appear in the forest.
“As for the reason, that’s a secret. A secret that belongs to the Magical Beasts!” A smiling Ol’ Amos twisted his beard and decided to keep Meng Lei in suspense.
“A secret?”
Meng Lei was taken aback.
“Yes, a secret! One that you’ll only be qualified to know when you’ve broken through to Saint Domain. When the time comes, you’ll realize that this world is very big and that what you know... is only very little!”
Chapter 98: Dragon-Language Magic, An Abnormal Ant Tide
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A secret that he’d only be qualified to know when he broke through to Saint Domain?
Meng Lei rolled his eyes, dissatisfied with Ol’ Amos’ explanation. However, he didn’t press on. Although 1 billion gold coins was an astronomical sum of money, it wasn’t entirely out of reach.
Meng Lei believed that he’d definitely be able to save up 1 billion gold coins, break through the ninth-grade boundary, and become an existence that stood far above all others.
The Saint Domain realm was just a matter of time.
Meng Lei sped the whole way and returned to the Magical Beast Forest again. He didn’t see any traces of the ant tide in the outer boundaries, but as he went deeper into the forest, the ant tide gradually began to show up.
The scale became larger and larger, and their numbers became bigger and bigger.
In the beginning, it was just a small group of stragglers and wandering soldiers, but in the end, they had turned into a large spread of red torrents.
Like a breached dam, the ant tide barged about everywhere in the Magical Beast Forest. They spread to every nook and cranny of the forest. Everywhere they passed by, they left behind only ghastly white bones and a floor full of blood.
“Hiss, hiss!”
A huge python over 30 meters long and as thick as a water barrel curled into an S-shape and fled at high speed in the woods. Behind it was a deluge of red torrents surging toward it.
Meng Lei found the python—a Thorn Python—very familiar to the eye. The first Magical Beast that he had encountered back when he had first entered the Magical Beast Forest was exactly a Thorn Python, a snake-species Second-Grade Magical Beast.
He could clearly remember that the Thorn Python had attacked him back then. If he hadn’t run fast enough, he would have long since been killed by it.
How things had changed with time, and how people had changed, despite the environment remaining the same...
“Hiss, hiss!”
The Thorn Python fled desperately, but it was ultimately still just a Second-Grade Magical Beast. The ant tide caught up to it in no time. A shrill, tragic cry rang out and then faded away very quickly.
The ant tide continued to advance, but the Thorn Python was gone forever. The Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants had split it among themselves, leaving behind not even a bit of the python.
“That’s really crazy!” After witnessing this scene, Meng Lei’s hair couldn’t help but stand on end. “Scenes like this are probably taking place everywhere in the entire Magical Beast Forest.”
“That’s what it’s like when an ant tide erupts.”
Ol’ Amos nodded with a sigh. “And this is just within the Magical Beast Forest where the ones being devoured are only Magical Beasts, too. If the ant tide invades the human kingdoms... Now, that’s what you’d call tragic!
“I had once witnessed with my own eyes the ant tide cleanly devouring more than a billion people. Overnight, more than a billion people went missing, and the whole place within a radius of 5,000 kilometers turned straight into a ghost town. It was practically unbearable to look at.
“That is what a true catastrophe in the human world is. Despite how so many years have already passed, whenever I think back to it, it still makes my hair stand on end, and I still remember it as though it had only happened yesterday.”
Meng Lei couldn’t help but gasp chills running down his spine.
More than a billion people gone in just a night?
“There’s nothing more terrifying about the ant tide than that!”
Ol’ Amos said gravely, “They’ll eat everything that can be eaten, be it Magical Beasts or humans. As long as it can be eaten, they won’t let anything off!
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