Chapter 52: Curse
Breaking through the Death Forest was a necessity. The white amber that Su Xiao possessed was insufficient to allow thousands of insectoids to enter the trial zone.
In Su Xiao's view, the death force within the Death Forest was by no means infinite. It was not a danger zone established by the Void Tree but had existed there originally; otherwise, it could not have been traversed using the white amber left behind by the ancient elves.
Using Demon Beasts to consume the death force was not a wise choice. Su Xiao planned to select an insectoid with mid-to-low defense but weak in other abilities. The weaker the overall combat capability of such insectoids, the lower the cultivation cost.
From this perspective, nothing seemed more suitable than Worker Scorpions. Each Worker Scorpion cost 1 point of Bio Energy, had excellent defense, mid-to-low mobility, and extremely weak attack power.
With everything prepared, Su Xiao used Jila to gather the Demon Beasts. He left 150,000 Demon Beasts to defend the base camp and sent the remaining 150,000 charging out, targeting the rear of the Wasp Nest faction.
The Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, let out a roar, flew to Su Xiao's front, prostrated itself on the ground, and pressed its head flat against the earth. Even so, its head was still massive.
One by one, Demon Beasts rushed forward, using their bodies to form a staircase. Su Xiao walked up this staircase and onto the back of the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos.
Amu stayed behind at the insect nest to guard it, Baha conducted high-altitude reconnaissance, and Bubu Wang followed Su Xiao, exceptionally cheerful on Barbatos's back, even donning its beloved flight goggles.
Barbatos roared again, spread its wings, and took off. The wind whistled past Su Xiao's ears as he looked down. Countless Demon Beasts were running swiftly across the ground, gradually forming a defensive line.
The insect nest began mass-producing, cultivating Worker Scorpions at a rate of nearly 30,000 per minute. The Worker Scorpions' rank was too low, making it simple for the seventh-rank nest to breed them.
Worker Scorpions surged out of the nest one after another. Under the protection of the Demon Beasts, they gradually formed a torrent, charging toward the direction of the Death Forest.
As soon as Su Xiao's forces moved, the Wasp Nest faction detected it, causing them to grow anxious. The insectoids rarely took the initiative to attack, and now they were nearly emptying their nest, making the Wasp Nest faction break out in a cold sweat.
Not only the Wasp Nest faction but also the Dia Tribe became vigilant. Soon, hundreds of thousands of natives formed a defensive line at the edge of their territory.
Inside a stone house in the Dia Tribe's Great Gathering Place, over a dozen contractors were watching a projection on the wall. Their expressions varied—some were troubled, others full of confusion.
"What is this madman doing? That direction is... the Death Forest?"
"It seems he wants to... reduce the number of insectoids."
Mu Xiao spoke, and the few people around her looked at her with strange expressions, as if to say, "It's a pity she's so strong, but her brain doesn't work well."
"In this trial world, that madman is almost turning it into a war world. The Void Tree will definitely restrict him."
Hearing Mu Xiao's words, the people around her awkwardly averted their gazes. Clearly, their thinking wasn't flexible enough.
"We can only let him have it."
Naji Jia suddenly said this. He had already judged that Su Xiao intended to forcefully break through the Death Forest.
In Naji Jia's view, if he had the insectoids, he would do the same. First, break through the Death Forest, then let the combat insectoids swarm into the trial zone. If restricted by the Void Tree, he would bring a certain number of combat insectoids into the trial zone, replacing each one that died to maintain peak combat power, eventually clearing out all the contractors in the trial zone.
Five kilometers from the Death Forest, the insectoid army had already arrived. The Demon Beasts successfully formed a defensive line, and beside them, the Worker Scorpion tide surged past.
The defensive line formed by the Demon Beast troops separated the Wasp Nest faction's territory from the Worker Scorpion tide. Meanwhile, the base camp's insect nest continued to cultivate Worker Scorpions endlessly.
When the number of Worker Scorpions reached 1.6 million, Su Xiao received a notification. This was due to the insectoid population approaching 2 million.
Rumble...
The ground trembled. Standing on Barbatos's back, Su Xiao saw the Death Forest ahead.
Without needing Su Xiao's command, Worker Scorpions charged into the Death Forest one after another.
Affected by the death force, everything in the Death Forest was gray. The withered pine trees inside were sparsely scattered.
When the first Worker Scorpion entered the Death Forest, its carapace cracked extensively, quickly turning gray like a cement sculpture.
With a crack, the Worker Scorpion's body exploded, scattering into large gray dust particles. The next instant, hundreds of Worker Scorpions rushed into the Death Forest.
It was as if an invisible light membrane existed. Any Worker Scorpion that crossed this membrane exploded into gray dust and dissipated into the air.
Bang, bang, bang...
A series of dull explosions echoed. Tens of thousands of Worker Scorpions perished at the edge of the Death Forest. Just then, one Worker Scorpion managed to advance several meters before turning into gray dust.
The Worker Scorpions surged like a tide, endlessly pouring into the Death Forest. The Death Forest, which had left contractors helpless, was now breached by three meters.
Eerie? Horrifying? Deadly? As long as one was strong enough or numerous enough, anything could be broken through one day.
The Worker Scorpions charged forward as if mad. For every one that died, the base camp's insect nest cultivated another. For a time, the area between the nest and the Death Forest nearly became a turbulent "river" of Worker Scorpions.
The death toll of Worker Scorpions kept rising: 100,000, 300,000, 500,000. After reaching 500,000, the Death Forest was breached by 107 meters. Within this area, the death force had completely dissipated.
In the stone house of the Great Gathering Place, over a dozen contractors watched the scene in the projection. No one spoke anymore. The silence in the stone house was suffocating.
The gray-white death force rapidly dissipated. The Worker Scorpions had already charged far ahead. Amid the earth-shaking advance, the death toll of Worker Scorpions exceeded 800,000.
As the death toll increased, the eerie feeling within the Death Forest grew fainter. When the Worker Scorpions' death count reached 1.7 million...
Crack~
A crisp sound came from somewhere, as if something was about to collapse. A few minutes later, with a loud crash, the area above the Death Forest shattered like a mirror.
Several stone slabs appeared in midair, covered in patterns. Each slab had a groove in its center. Clearly, the Death Forest was a "puzzle" set by the ancient elves, waiting for someone to solve it.
The death force completely dissipated. Worker Scorpions ran through the Death Forest in all directions to ensure no residual death force remained.
In total, 2.17 million Worker Scorpions died, and the Death Forest was forcibly broken through.
[Notification: You have destroyed the "Secret of the Ancient Elves," becoming an "Impudent One." You will be cursed by the ancient elves. Curse duration: 5 seconds.]
Gray mist appeared all over Su Xiao's body, but he felt nothing.
[Warning: Due to the ancient elf curse, your Soul Strength will be permanently reduced by 10 points.]
[Because the Hunter's Soul Strength is too high, exceeding the curse caster's by 1.86 times, this curse is ineffective.]
[Warning: You have been cursed as an "Impudent One" by the ancient elf remnant soul. Your Charm Attribute will be permanently reduced by 20 points.]
Seeing this notification, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected such good fortune. His Charm Attribute couldn't drop no matter what.
[Because the Hunter's Charm Attribute is too low, this curse is ineffective.]
Clearly, the pie-in-the-sky scenario didn't exist. Su Xiao's 0.2-point Charm Attribute directly ignored the ancient elf's curse. The benefit of low charm was now evident—there was no fear of charm reduction.
"Oww!"
A resentful howl rang out, the sound like a sharp tool scraping against glass.
A translucent figure appeared in the sky—the ancient elf remnant soul. Perhaps out of unwillingness, its howl was mournful and intense.
Whoosh. Barbatos beneath Su Xiao's feet exhaled dragonflame. Magma-colored demonic flames enveloped the ancient elf remnant soul.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, meaning, "Barbatos, turn up the heat."
At this moment, Bubu Wang was hiding behind Su Xiao's legs. The thing it feared most had appeared. Anything related to ghosts made it a bit scared.
As Su Xiao's follower, Bubu's command was also the highest directive for Barbatos. Its dragon eyes sparked with embers, and its demonic flames grew fiercer.
"I will surely... curse you."
The ancient elf remnant soul left these words before dissipating in the flames. The Death Forest was completely broken through.