Chapter 176: Bloodthirsty Ants

After resting for some time and filling their stomachs, the refugees made their way toward the Aila Mountain Pass, their hope restored. Yang Ling had not given them very much, but it was enough to last them ten days if they planned well. The tribesman sent to notify Casey had already set off. As long as they found a way to hunt along the way to replenish their energy, they would be able to last until the soldiers at the outpost at the Aila Mountain Pass could help.

Seeing his tribesmen leave full of hope, the white bearded old man, whose name was Lubnick, became more at ease. He and a few of his tribesmen guided Yang Ling and his group to the forest of Arrow Bamboo. They passed through a wide span of hills, and crossed through a lush maple forest. They got further and further away.

The refugees had been living in a valley far away, and had decided to take the risk and move after learning that the Magical Beast Territory beside the Terras Forest was welcoming aboriginal tribes to live there. With no food to last through the winter, staying where they were would surely lead to their deaths. There was no way that they could last through the harsh winter. Even though the journey to the Magical Beast Territory was long and arduous, it was their only way.

Along the way, Lubnick led his tribesmen through various trials, journeying for a full two weeks across the snowy Wilderness of Siberia. As the only elder in his tribe, even though he had been frequently encouraging his exhausted tribesmen, he was more worried than anyone about the future of the tribe.

He was convinced that in the harsh winter and the heavy snow, in the Wilderness of Siberia that spanned thousands of miles, the faraway, rich Magical Beast Territory was the only hope for the survival of his tribesmen.

A few days prior, when they had passed a valley, a few of his tribesmen had gone hunting and discovered the forest of Arrow Bamboo. If it had been any normal day, the tribesmen would have been overjoyed. After all, they would be able to make sharp arrows with premium Arrow Bamboos; With powerful bows, their hunting efficiency would increase drastically, and the sources of food for the tribe would become wider.

But with their still-weaning babies, their elderly on crutches and nearing collapse, and with their virtually non-existent rations, Lubnick knew that the tribesmen had no time or energy to harvest the Arrow Bamboo. He called his tribesmen to continue on their journey after marking the bamboo’s location on their map. He did not expect the marking to be useful after having encountered Yang Ling and his group.

Riding on their speedy warhorses, the group managed to arrive at the valley marked on the map in just over a day.

“Sir, the forest of Arrow Bamboo is in the valley before you, but…” After having rushed over to the entrance of the valley while braving the heavy snow, Lubnick hesitated, clenching his teeth when he saw Yang Ling’s expression. “According to the tribesmen that went into the valley to hunt that day, there are many terrifying Bloodthirsty Ants in the forest of Arrow Bamboo. We might not be able to harvest them on a large scale without doing something about them.”

Lubnick’s face was red. On top of his awkwardness, he felt a sense of unease in his heart. After all, he had not explained the situation clearly to Yang Ling, and he felt a little guilty.

Yang Ling also seemed to have a strong relationship with General Casey at the Aila Mountain Pass. If he were to become angry that he would be unable to harvest as much Arrow Bamboo as he wanted, it might not bode well for his tribesmen. They might not receive aid from the outpost at the Aila Mountain Pass, and instead get chased away by them.

Bloodthirsty Ants?

Lubnick was filled with worry, but Yang Ling did not erupt in anger like he had expected. Instead, Yang Ling was hunting through the memories of the Horned Bee Beasts and Evil Eyes to see if he could learn anything involving the Bloodthirsty Ants. But he didn’t find any clues even after searching for some time.

But Orlando, who could see Yang Ling’s confusion, did know some things about Bloodthirsty Ants. “Young Master, Bloodthirsty Ants are wild beasts that live in groups, usually on Anacardias or Arrow Bamboo. They appear in hordes. Even though they are not Magical Beasts, they are extremely troublesome!”

A few years previous, he had followed the Dogmen warriors and Foxmen Spellcasters in his tribe to hunt and they came across a group of Bloodthirsty Ants. Luckily for them, their scouts had an exceptional sense of smell and reported back to them in time. The group hid themselves and averted a confrontation. If they had not been able to hide, they would have ended up in the stomachs of the ants, their corpses unrecognizable.

Orlando was cautious, while Fatso Hans paid no heed to the situation. He said loudly, “Oh Yiblis, what are we afraid of? My Green-skinned Condor loves devouring ants. All it needs to do is spew a few mouthfuls of acid and it will kill all of them!”

The ignorant know no fear! Or perhaps it could be said that he had an exaggerated opinion of his abilities!

Fatso summoned his Green-skinned Condor, boasting as he commanded it to fly around in front of Yang Ling. Over this period of time, he had eaten many of the roasted chickens and Jiao Hwa pheasants Yang Ling had meticulously prepared, under the name of teaching Yang Ling summoning magic, fully fueling his pride.

After pouting nonchalantly, Lia said, “Damn Fatso, you nearly wet your pants when you saw a few Snow Wolves, don’t talk so much if you don’t have the ability, or a large horde of Bloodthirsty Ants would bite your butt off!”

Fatso blushed, no matter how thick his skin was. At the same time, remembering how he haggard he had looked when he encountered the wolves, Halalei, Lobina and the rest laughed loudly. Even Yuna could not help but break into laughter.

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Yang Ling already had a preliminary plan in his heart. Seeing Lia and Fatso argue with each other, Yang Ling shook his head and said, “It’s already late, let’s set up camp here for the night and go have a look tomorrow!”

“Yes, it’s better to be cautious!” the knight Halalei agreed, and jumped from his Siberian Pegasus to set up the tents on a dry, empty field. With Orlando and Maputo’s help, they soon set up all the tents, including one for Lubnick and his men.

After eating their fill, the troops that had been journeying all day slipped deep into slumber. Lubnick and the rest of his tribesmen were no exception, each one sleeping deeper than the last. Since they had moved from the valley of their tribe, they had always camped out in the open. They had not had anything delicious to eat, nor did they sleep soundly at night.

Long before dawn, after confirming that the soldiers were all in deep sleep, Yang Ling slipped from his tent. He had not made it very far when he noticed that Yuna, who was dressed in white, had been waiting for him at the entrance of the valley.

“Brother Yang, the Bloodthirsty Ants are not as simple to deal with as you think. Let me go with you!” Holding onto her magical staff, Yuna stared at Yang Ling who was prepared to take the risk alone.

She had already guessed Yang Ling’s intentions back when Yang Ling had told them to set up camp. Lia, Fatso and the rest were overconfident about their abilities when in fact they were rather weak. Orlando had decent abilities, but was not fit for such a heavy responsibility. In such a situation, Yang Ling had to act personally if they were going to kill off Bloodthirsty Ants and harvest Arrow Bamboo quickly.

In order to hide his identity and abilities, and in order to reach Montson as fast as possible, Yuna had predicted that Yang Ling would take action in the night. To prevent any accidents from happening to Yang Ling after his forces were spread thin, she had long been waiting at the entrance of the valley. As expected, Yang Ling had made his way out secretly after the night had set in.

Looking at the intelligent Yuna insistent on tagging along, Yang Ling did not reject her help. As a precaution, he summoned his army of Horned Bee Beasts, spiders and bats, stepping into the sinister looking valley under the protection of his Magical Beast army.

The valley was thick with lush greenery, with rocks strewn everywhere on the ground. Even though the offensive powers of the Evil Eyes and Withered Tree Warriors were strong, it was clear that they are not suited for battle in that terrain. On the contrary, the speedy Horned Bee Beasts, spiders and bats would have an easier time working with each other on the mountainous terrain.

In such a complicated environment, high-level Magical Beasts might not be as effective as low-level Magical Beasts!

Yang Ling had become more confident about his ideas, and had searched for ways to deal with the various terrains he might encounter. As he gained a deeper understanding of the Soul of the Wild Beasts, his control over the Magical Beast army got smoother. He believed that he would be able to understand the ripples of mental energy the Magical Beasts were actively sending him someday, given just a little more effort. He would be able to gain a further understanding of their instincts and reactions when they were exposed to different surroundings.

Even though heavy snow was falling, the moonlight was still bright. Even Yuna was able to clearly see their surroundings. Of course, Yang Ling, whose vision was greatly boosted, had no problems.

Deep in the valley was indeed a lush forest of Arrow Bamboo, almost every stalk reaching four meters tall, the sections of their stalks nearly half a meter long. The bamboo were dark green, and upon closer inspection, one could see that they were covered in vertical spikes.

As a precaution, Yang Ling sat cross-legged in an empty field a dozen steps from the forest of Arrow Bamboo. He instructed the Tarantula King to lead the spider army in laying an ambush underground, then sent a team of Horned Bee Beasts to scout the inside of the forest of Arrow Bamboo.

He had a shock when he saw the situation inside!

There were beehive-like ant nests all around the bamboo forest. Red, thumb-sized ants were streaming in and out of their nests endlessly. Some of the ants were clearing the snow off the nest, some returning with caterpillars in their mouths, some were even pacing back and forth, as if they were scouts on night patrol.

The bamboo forest was large, having an area of maybe five miles. No one really knows how many Arrow Bamboo were in this forest, nor just how many Bloodthirsty Ants there were. After a moment’s consideration, Yang Ling took a dozen steps back and sat down again, summoning the Unicorn and Evil Eye army. He planned to draw the ants out and massacre them.

After the preparations were complete, he sent out two hundred Horned Bee Beasts to act as bait, splitting them into ten groups and allowing them to attack the ant nests situated near the roots of the bamboo. Soon, the alerted Bloodthirsty Ants swarmed out like a red, devouring tide.

“Brother Yang, quick, get your Magical Beasts to take action. It will be too late if you do not act now!”

Looking at the sea of Bloodthirsty Ants, Yuna felt her scalp numb, and she nervously clutched her staff. She wanted to launch a scorching fireball and burn all of the ants to ash.

“No, Yuna, wait a little longer!”

Yang Ling produced a handful of Wizard Amulets from his Space Ring, and did not move. He prepared to deal a fatal blow to the hordes of ants only at the perfect moment.