"The power of Bixi at Level X has become much more appealing to the eye after upgrading to Longbo's power at Level XX, of course, it would look even better if it could upgrade to Level XXX. Unfortunately, there aren't enough monsters in the large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talanoli."

Zhang Yanhang estimated that, for a long time to come, he likely wouldn't be able to upgrade Longbo's power to a Talent of Level XXX.

After all, if all goes as expected, after clearing the large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano, he should be heading to the sewer waste transmission channel opposite Raccoon City to clear monsters in that area.

As for finding new areas of Crimson Iron Ore Veins and clearing them, that was still a long way off, and he had no such plans at present.

"Now out of the eleven skills on the entire skill list, ten have been upgraded to the un-upgradable LV.MAX, with only Alchemy still upgradable."

To this, Zhang Yanhang's only thought was that skill lists full of LV.MAX certainly looked much more pleasing to the eye.

"Besides Alchemy, all other skills have been upgraded to their max, the Profession Level is maxed out, and the Cultivation Technique Level is also maxed out. I am probably the peak of Peak Third Tier, although it's only been less than a day since I advanced to Third Tier..."

Of course, Zhang Yanhang felt that he had no connection to those incredible ranks like the half-step Great Perfection at the peak of Third Tier, the sub-transcendence, and so on. He just wanted to advance in rank quickly, as there really was nothing else to strive for when everything else was maxed out.

Anyway, he would never do something like accumulating power deliberately without advancing in rank, who does that?

For power systems where the difference between ranks was small, holding back might make some sense, but for the Awakener power system, where the difference between ranks was at least tenfold or more, it just wasn't necessary. After all, the increase in power he experienced after advancing to Third Tier showed that no matter how much one might suppress their level at a low rank, it couldn't compare to the normal growth at a high rank.

"Now that I've reviewed the data panel, I really feel like there's nothing else to resolve. Next, I should just continue to clear the remaining hundred square kilometers inside the large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talanoli."

Zhang Yanhang felt that his efficiency clearing this part of the area should be very high. After all, even though the area was a hundred square kilometers, it contained only a total of 563 monsters, averaging less than six monsters per square kilometer, while the monster density in the Central Region he had previously cleared was about twenty times that.

Therefore, it should be much faster than the ordinary efficiency of clearing one square kilometer in twenty seconds. At the very least, it should be reduced to fifteen seconds per square kilometer, or even ten seconds per square kilometer to be more reasonable.

"In that case, let's hurry up and hunt monsters..." Zhang Yanhang said while teleporting back to the transmission channel connecting the Central Region and the inner area.

...

October 30, Friday, five days after the Double Ninth Festival, still Zhang Yanhang's first day in the Ashen World, 2:35 AM, Ashen World, Crimson Iron Ore Vein, large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano, inner area.

Facing the last few dozen Crimson Iron Hell Ants gathering in the area of the large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano, Zhang Yanhang didn't hesitate to raise his Six Roots Pure Soul Passage Spear and open fire.

[Successfully killed a Third Tier Two-star Monster 'Crimson Iron Hell Ant (Ordinary)' ×1, Soul points +600.]

[Successfully killed a Third Tier Two-star Monster 'Crimson Iron Hell Ant (Ordinary)' ×1, Soul points +600.]

[Successfully killed a Third Tier Two-star Monster 'Crimson Iron Hell Ant (Ordinary)' ×1, Soul points +600.]

...

Zhang Yanhang had been clearing for fifteen minutes now, and indeed, the overall efficiency was as he had estimated, much faster than when clearing the Central Region. In just fifteen minutes, he had almost wiped out all the large Crimson Iron Ants in the large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talanoli, except for the Crimson Iron Prince Ants and the Crimson Iron Queen Ants.

If one were to calculate the average efficiency, it was actually much faster than the estimated fifteen seconds per square kilometer, approximately taking only about twelve or thirteen seconds per square kilometer.

After wiping out this group of Crimson Iron Hell Ants in front of him, Zhang Yanhang had almost cleared another sixty-five square kilometers. However, he had not encountered any Crimson Iron Prince Ants yet. According to his previous scanning results, the Crimson Iron Prince Ants should be gathered in the innermost, near the core area.

To put it more simply, the last ten square kilometers of the inner area that Zhang Yanhang was about to clear would not have any other monsters, only clusters of Crimson Iron Prince Ants.

"Completing the fourth stage of the clearing plan is indeed going very smoothly. My current stage clearing progress has now reached 86.7%, with only 13.3% left to clear, but this 13.3% is also the most critical part."

If one were to calculate the overall progress of the large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano clearing plan, it had reached 94.6%, with only 5.4% left to clear, roughly one-twentieth.

"Based on the current progress, I should be able to clear the entire large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano before 3 AM. Of course, if I decide to open a treasure box after killing the Crimson Iron Prince Ants, then I might not be able to finish before 3 AM."

But fortunately, unless something unexpected happens, Zhang Yanhang probably won't open any treasure boxes midway through, as he always likes to open them all together after killing the Lord Monster.

After waiting on the spot for several seconds, the Crimson Iron Hell Ants he had just killed began to drop treasure boxes one after another. There were a total of seven, all from the Crimson Iron Hell Ants, so all were dark purple quality Drop treasure boxes. Zhang Yanhang immediately went forward to pick them up and put them into his Waist Bag.

...

October 30, Friday, five days after the Double Ninth Festival, still Zhang Yanhang's first day in the Ashen World, 2:36 AM, Ashen World, Crimson Iron Ore Vein, large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano, inner area, latter half.

Upon entering the last less than ten square kilometers of the inner area, Zhang Yanhang finally encountered the Crimson Iron Prince Ants. Compared to the previously encountered Third Tier Two-star Crimson Iron Hell Ants, these Third Tier Four-star Crimson Iron Prince Ants were significantly larger, not just by a fraction.

If the previous Crimson Iron Hell Ants were merely of the size of regular elephants, these Third Tier Four-star Crimson Iron Prince Ants had already reached the size of heavy trucks - the kind that haul shipping containers, and enhanced heavy trucks that can carry two containers at that.

Compared to the previous Crimson Iron Flame Ants or Crimson Iron Hell Ants, Zhang Yanhang could feel a more surging and more violent Flame Power in their slender abdomens. No surprises here, these Crimson Iron Prince Ants were probably going to self-destruct too, but an even more supercharged version of it. The power was definitely strong enough.

Although he was about to witness ,Zhang Yanhang still decided to first take a look at their attribute list. After all, there were only two hundred of them, if he killed them too quickly, he wouldn't be able to see it anymore.

[Crimson Iron Prince Ant (Elite)]

[Level: Third Tier Three-star]

[Talent: 1. Mystic Steed Power. 2. Large Crimson Iron Ant (Prince Ant).]

[Mystic Steed Power: When launching an attack, there is a 2.1% chance to trigger an extra attack effect. Strength +30%.]

[Large Crimson Iron Ant (Prince Ant): Developed from Crimson Iron Flame Ants and Crimson Iron Hell Ants, these are male Large Crimson Iron Ants with full reproductive capabilities and have also reached the fully developed stage. In their growth process, they often consume a large amount of Crimson Iron Ore and absorb its nutrients to forge their hard exoskeleton and wings.

As the Prince Ants of the entire Talano Crimson Iron Ant Nest, developed to a level only second to the Crimson Iron Queen Ant, they are made up of strong Crimson Iron Ants that stand out from the rest. They often far surpass their kin in terms of digestive efficiency and use this advantage to consume a large amount of Crimson Iron Ore to strengthen themselves.

As the fifth defensive line guarding the Crimson Iron Ant Nest and also the last line of defense, the Crimson Iron Prince Ants are not burdened with any reproductive tasks. Most of the time, their only responsibility is to mate with the Lord Monster Crimson Iron Queen Ant to produce more Large Crimson Iron Ants. Only when the entire nest is facing the crisis of destruction will they take on the responsibility of protecting the Crimson Iron Queen Ant.

With the enhancement in developmental level combined with the constant consumption of Refined Crimson Marrow, the Crimson Iron Prince Ants have gradually mastered the power of flames during the growth process and have become extremely proficient in using Flame Power. This allows them to wield greater power than the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants and Crimson Iron Hell Ants when battling enemies with Flame Power.

However, even though the Crimson Iron Prince Ants are fully developed and their digestive capabilities far exceed those of the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants and Crimson Iron Hell Ants, there is still a part of energy from the Refined Crimson Marrow that they're unable to digest. They often accumulate this energy within their bodies following their previous habits, to protect the Lord Monster Crimson Iron Queen Ant.]

[Life Value: 1950/1950]

[Energy Value: 1525/1525]

[Strength: 70]

[Agility: 60]

[Constitution: 65]

[Intelligence: 61]

Charm: 18

Skills: 1. Hellfire Fireball. 2. Bursting Flame Cross Fire. 3. Bursting Flame Beam. 4. Flame Demon Body. 5. Flame Demon Burning Body Explosion.

"As expected of a Third Tier Three-star Elite Monster, with such an Attribute value, it's probably much higher than that of Demon Pig Peppa in its normal state. Demon Pig Peppa only has its Burst Seed to rely on; otherwise, if it were in the Crimson Iron Ant Nest of Tarano, it probably couldn't even defeat a Crimson Iron Prince Ant."

Of course, since Zhang Yanhang had never checked the Attribute list of Demon Pig Peppa, he actually didn't know the exact Attribute values of Demon Pig Peppa in its normal state or after Burst Seed. He could only roughly estimate based on what happened in combat, but with his extensive combat experience, even an estimate would be pretty close to the mark.

"This Crimson Iron Prince Ant, although possessing high Strength of seventy points, suffers slightly in Agility due to its large body size, only scoring sixty points.

It's only relatively worse in Agility, though. After all, it is a Third Tier Monster, and even if it isn't specialized in speed, compared to a real heavy-duty truck, it can easily crush it, reaching several times the speed of a heavy-duty truck."

According to Zhang Yanhang's experience, this sixty points in the Agility attribute could allow the Crimson Iron Prince Ant's Movement Speed to reach over four hundred kilometers per hour. That's much faster than the world's fastest bird in the Main World, which can fly at 418 km/h—the Military Frigatebird—basically matching the speed of the fastest supercars on Earth.

The combination of a heavy-duty truck's body and a supercar's speed, as well as its own weight, which is at least tens of tons—comparable to a main battle tank—made this a tough situation.

If you asked Zhang Yanhang why he suddenly cared about this, it was mainly because all the surrounding Crimson Iron Hell Ants were using this hypercar speed of over four hundred kilometers per hour to ram into him.

Although this simple type of Physical Attack seemed somewhat delicate and powerless in front of Zhang Yanhang, who had just enhanced his defensive power, these Crimson Iron Prince Ants often exploded into Self-destruction the moment they charged over.

Amid deafening explosions, the violent Flame Power continuously buffeted the relatively narrow passage.

Although most of the flame energy acted on Zhang Yanhang's Energy Shield, since the Crimson Iron Prince Ants were oversized, a considerable portion of the flames still scattered, continuously blasting the surrounding Crimson Iron Ore layers, charring the nearby rock layers, with large chunks of debris constantly falling off.

For the Crimson Iron Destruction Ants, which relied on their claw-shaped mouthparts to destroy the Crimson Iron Ore and even learned special Skills for it, faced with a Crimson Iron Prince Ant of Peak Third Tier and Four Stars, the ore seemed as brittle as a crispy wafer cookie—easily shattered by just the aftereffects of the flames, shedding a great amount of Crimson Iron Ore.

Because they lacked any Charge Skills or Impact Skills or even any close-combat Skills, while the Crimson Iron Hell Ants did make an impressive entrance, sweeping along violent air currents like an armored combat vehicle, when they actually hit the Energy Shield, they couldn't even create a ripple or a wave.

It can't be helped, such attacks can only be considered Normal attacks. Without any bonus, indeed, they are pretty weak. If the Crimson Iron Prince Ant's ramming had a higher chance to trigger an extra attack with a higher Attack Multiplier, there might be a chance, but if it's purely a Normal Attack, Zhang Yanhang could let them ram for a year and it wouldn't make any difference.

After all, no damage is no damage; this isn't some online game where you can forcibly deduct a bit of HP even if the defense isn't broken.

As for the extra attack, though the Crimson Iron Prince Ant indeed possesses Third Tier Four-star strength, its Talent is still just a C-level Mystic Steed Power, with a pitiful extra attack trigger chance of 2.1%—almost once in fifty tries. But these Crimson Iron Hell Ants would instead opt for self-destruction right after charging, never leaving themselves a chance to trigger an extra attack.

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