I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 477: Demonized Worker Ant

Song Jian had been walking within the Protection Black Mist for over an hour. Only then did the dense mist began to fade away. The mist blanketed a vast area, blocking all detection methods and withheld powerful monsters. Without the Concealment Ring, it was impossible for Song Jian to escape this area based on his strength alone.

“Finally made it out!” Song Jian looked back anxiously at the swirling black mist. He would never have ventured into this region if not for this epic mission. It was far too dangerous.

All the other players, who had accepted the same mission, had perished within the black mist. Their greed had caused the Concealment Ring to malfunction. However, this area was simply too dangerous for players of their level.

Song Jian looked at the Concealment Ring and was surprised to notice another vertical scrape mark on it. The ring could only withstand another use.

“Damn it, I knew that old Beastman Hacus was too kind. This ring actually has a usage limit!” Song Jian instantly became discontent.

In fact, the ring gifted by Hacus to Song Jian was already exceptional. The Concealment Rings granted to other players could only be used once. Any anomaly would cause the ring to shatter, rendering it useless.

After exiting the black mist and crossing a field, Song Jian finally saw a wide tarred road. However, the road was now covered in wild grass. If not for the abandoned cars left on the road, Song Jian might not have even noticed its existence.

The nest of the Demonized Ant Group was near this road. By following this road, he was bound to encounter the Demonized Ants.

Looking at the rusting scrapped cars, Song Jian lost all interest in scavenging for supplies.

Generally, it was quite challenging to find supplies in the wilderness. Most materials had decayed under the exposure to the elements. Even equipment would have rusted and rotted from the weather, quickly becoming similar to these scrapped cars.

But, out here, materials like herbs were incredibly abundant. As long as plants could grow, herbs were sure to be present. The higher level the area, the higher the quality of herbs that could be found. Along the journey, Song Jian gathered quite a number of herbs of blue-green quality. Although not very valuable, they were ideal for creating potions.

What Song Jian found puzzling was the fact that he didn’t encounter a single monster along his journey. It was widely known that even within Doomsday City, monsters ruled. The wilderness, being the natural Gathering Area of monsters, felt almost desolate.

Only when Song Jian saw a wolf-sized ant dragging a monster ten times its size, did he realize that this entire area was claimed by the Demonized Ants. No other monsters could survive in their territory. Any that did dare enter were like the monster dragged by the ant, ending up as ant food.

Finally running into a Demonized Worker Ant, Song Jian quickly whipped out his hand crossbow, shooting the ant.

Despite being weakened by 80%, the crossbow bolt should still be sufficient to distract the ant.

Flamed bolts shot towards the Demonized Worker Ant. The bolt was deflected, leaving behind a white mark on the thick ant shell.

Watching as a “-1” damage popped up above the ant, Song Jian was stunned. It actually didn’t pierce the ant’s defense?

This was merely a level 25 ordinary monster, there was no way Song Jian, even after reducing his damage by 80%, couldn’t breach its defense!

Upon being attacked, the Demonized Worker Ant immediately flared up in anger. It dropped the food it was carrying and charged at Song Jian.

“It’s so fast!” Song Jian thought to himself. He quickly summoned the Crimson Fire Heart Ape Sword and slashed towards the ant’s head.

Clang!

Song Jian felt a vibration within his arm as the Crimson Fire Heart Ape Sword chipped off a large chunk of shell from the ant’s head. Despite being a normal attack, Song Jian’s attack was as potent as a two-hit attack from other players. Two instances of nearly 200-point damage floated up from the ant’s head.

The Demonized Worker Ant had incredible defense, matching even level 30 monsters. Hitting it also caused a small counter shock. Over time, it would accelerate stamina consumption.

The injured Demonized Worker Ant became even more aggressive, its robust jaws jittering, making a clashing sound.

Song Jian stared at the serrated jaws of the Demonized Worker Ant, his expression changed. He really didn’t want to directly experience the sensation of being clamped by those jaws.

Sword Finger!

Song Jian raised his left hand, a silvery Sword Qi shot forward, hitting the ant’s forehead. This sudden strike flopped the ant over. By the time it managed to struggle back to its feet, an ominous red long sword was already hurtling towards it from mid-air.

The Demonized Worker Ant might have had a high defense, but it was still just a level 25 monster. When Song Jian got serious, a few sword techniques were all it took to slice this food hauling ant into two halves.

Staring at the Demonized Worker Ant, its health had depleted, its body was sliced into two halves, but it was still twitching its antennae and jaws. Song Jian couldn’t help but marvel, “These giant ants are quite resilient. Are they even able to move after their health is fully depleted?”

Suddenly, a cluster of black flame engulfed the ant, fiercely burning. In no time, the ant was cleanly burned up to ash, leaving behind a palm-sized shell that shone with a black metallic luster.

Upon killing the Demonized Worker Ant, no items were dropped. Initially, Song Jian felt a little disappointed but upon seeing the ant shell left behind after being burnt to ash by the demonic flame, his face lit up with excitement once more.

“Fine Quality Demonized Ant Shell (Blue Grade), Material, Usage Effect: Can be used to create ‘Demonized Worker Ant Set’. When constructing, there is a chance to increase the gear quality by one grade! Usage requirements: Forge Art Level 5.”

“Demonized Worker Ant Set? Has a chance to increase grade by one? Doesn’t this mean that I could create a silver-grade Demonized Worker Ant Set?” thought Song Jian.

One must know, an individual silver-grade piece of gear cannot compare to the attributes of a gold-grade gear. However, a complete set of silver-grade gear is much stronger than several pieces of gold-grade gear.

If Song Jian could truly create a silver-grade Demonized Worker Set, his strength would surely skyrocket. However, to construct the set, he would need the corresponding blueprints. Plus, this small ant shell wasn’t enough to complete a set.

Song Jian stashed the blue-grade material into his bag, took a final look at the ant’s prey lying by the side of the road, and continued on his journey along the main road.

…