I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 204 - 202: Xi Yuan Tournament (Part 28)

Inside the cave, two teams occupied each side, neither speaking, but their looks toward each other were far from friendly.

An Qing’s hand slowly caressed the great sword, an apparently unintended move that set off Cui Tianxiao’s sensitive nerves.

"The one named An, if you want to fight, step forward openly! If the match didn’t satisfy you, I’ll spar with you a few more moves!"

"Fight, then fight, who’s afraid of you!"

"Bring it on!"

"Do it!"

On the surface, neither backed down, but inside, both were nervous as hell.

Cui Tianxiao worried that Chu Yunyi might have set up a talisman array in the cave; if Team Tianyi doesn’t play fair, they could capture them all at once.

An Qing also worried that the Defiance Quelling Team would act against them; after all, they had already battled Red Fierce Ants, their Primordial Spirit exhausted. If the other team wanted to take advantage, their chances were slim. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Though their positions differed, they shared a common thought: Despite their fears, they could not show weakness. Verbal sparring came first, observing the opponent’s team reaction along the way.

Thankfully, both captains stepped in, preventing a meaningless war of words.

Ye Qingting politely greeted Chu Yunyi, "Captain Chu, we meet again!"

Chu Yunyi replied more politely than Ye Qingting, "Heh. Captain Ye, looking good."

Chu Yunyi’s sarcasm was evident, making Ye Qingting uncomfortable and touch his nose.

"Cousin, I was wrong. Let’s just call it off, how about we call each other captain after we leave here?"

Chu Yunyi smiled, agreeing.

Qi Ming, watching the ant swarm regroup below Stone Peak and persistently climb upward, grew frustrated, "Brother Chu, how long have you been trapped here?"

"Six hours and seventeen minutes."

Hearing this response, the Defiance Quelling Team all showed serious expressions. This group of Red Fierce Ants, managing to trap last season’s champion Team Tianyi for over six hours, truly impressed them.

Ye Qingting: "Cousin, since both our teams are surrounded by the Red Fierce Ants, why not join forces and find a way out?"

Chu Yunyi nodded, "I had the same thought."

With both captains reaching consensus, Cui Tianxiao finally felt relieved, sitting down unreservedly and stretching his legs to relax.

"This is killing me. Why are these damned ants never-ending? Is their mom doing nothing but having more babies all day?"

With four more people, the cave space became clearly crowded, and Cui Tianxiao’s long legs nearly touched Lin Caier.

"Ugh—, it stinks! Get away, you sissy!" The strong smell of blood made Lin Caier feel nauseous.

Team Tianyi was air-dropped into the cave due to the Wind Rolling Dust Formation, so while they also had bloodstains, they were splattered.

Meanwhile, the Defiance Quelling Team fought their way up from the bloodbath, their clothes soaked with filthy blood, boots and belts smeared with innards’ remnants, producing a truly unbearable stench.

Lin Caier’s complaints were less than a fart to Cui Tianxiao. He glared at her, took off his boots, and poured out half a shoe of blood water right by her feet.

Lin Caier screamed, hiding behind An Qing, glaring at Cui Tianxiao.

Li Xing’s eyes followed the three Flying Fierce Ants she deliberately spared, with no abnormalities observed until now.

"Brother Chu, why didn’t you let me kill all the Flying Fierce Ants?"

Chu Yunyi, also watching the remaining Flying Fierce Ants, noted that Li Xing’s fire attack was fierce. Those three kept their lives, but their wings were scorched to curls, and they struggled to fly, let alone fly quickly.

"We had killed all the Flying Fierce Ants once. If they go extinct, the Big Red Fierce Ants below will randomly undergo fast transformation, molting within ten minutes to become new Flying Fierce Ants, doubling in number."

Li Xing was shocked, such a thing exists?

The more they killed, the more of them appeared, anyone would be overwhelmed, no wonder even as strong a team as Tianyi could do nothing about them.

Ye Qingting pointed to a general ant and asked Chu Yunyi, "Are those big-headed Red Fierce Ants the leaders of the swarm? Killing them will throw their ranks into chaos."

Jiang Yuesheng scoffed, speaking mockingly, "You think we are so stupid we didn’t consider that? The General Fierce Ants, like the Flying Fierce Ants, quickly reproduce after each wiped-out batch, with bigger heads and higher intelligence. Unless you can wipe out all the Red Fierce Ants below, don’t think the ant army will lose its leaders."

Suddenly, Li Xing frowned, "Uh-oh!"

Ye Qingting followed Li Xing’s gaze, seeing the three Flying Fierce Ants that had been hovering, suddenly stop flapping and plummet into the Big Red Fierce Ants on the ground. The Big Reds lunged and tore the flyers to pieces, swallowing them.

Startled by the Flying Fierce Ants’ bizarre behavior, Ye Qingting exclaimed, "Did they... commit suicide?"

Li Xing pointed at a commanding General Fierce Ant in the crowd, answering, "It’s not suicide, it’s carrying out the General Fierce Ant’s order."

The General Fierce Ants are mid-level Star Beasts that, compared to most mid-level Star Beasts, lack the ability to use Elemental Power or have suitable fangs for attacks but possess significant intelligence.

Strategy in battle depends on brains and many subordinates, making them tougher than high-level Star Beasts.

Chu Yunyi: "Looks like controlling the Flying Fierce Ant numbers isn’t going to work. As long as the General Fierce Ant feels undermanned, it’ll order the Flying Fierce Ants to self-destruct and quickly transform to gain an adequate air force."

Li Xing nodded, acknowledging the truth.

"Brother Chu, try not to kill the General Fierce Ants, only cut off their antennae, and see the result."

Chu Yunyi sighed, "I’ve tried, the antennae are the fatal part of the General Fierce Ant. Cut the antennae, and they die. This method won’t work."

This is tricky, and Li Xing, for the moment, had no good solution, sat down like Cui Tianxiao, rested his chin on his hands, and pondered.

At this time, the newly emerged Flying Fierce Ants, under the General Fierce Ants’ directives, buzzed toward the cave, launching an attack. Ground forces also climbed up to two-thirds of Stone Peak, Chu Yunyi rubbed his brow and signaled Jiang Yuesheng and An Qing to ready for a new round of battle.

An Qing’s arms could barely lift as he watched Cui Tianxiao sprawled out resting, feeling annoyed:

"Captain, since we’re all allied now, it’s everyone’s duty to defend the cave. I see that Team Defiance Quelling’s members are in good shape, and they have an archer skilled in long-range attacks, why not let them handle this round of defense?"

Cui Tianxiao, mentioned by An Qing, flared up in anger, took the Thunderbolt Bow, walked to the cave’s mouth, and intentionally bumped into An Qing as he passed.

"Huh, look at you, don’t judge me by your own petty standards. Our Defiance Quelling Team always wins people over with virtue, even without a reminder, we’re ready to tackle this wave first. Step aside and watch how I deal with the Red Fierce Ants!"

Ye Qingting also blocked in front of Chu Yunyi, saying, "Cousin, you take a break first, we’ll handle this."

Chu Yunyi indeed felt exhausted, with his temples throbbing painfully. The Defiance Quelling Team volunteering to take charge of the defense was a welcome sight.

"Qingting, I’ll leave it to you then. We’ll switch in two hours."

"You rest first, switch with me whenever you’re ready." Chu Yunyi looked unwell, Ye Qingting worried about issues with his Spirit Sea again.

On the other side, Qi Ming also swapped out Jiang Yuesheng, and apart from Li Xing, the Defiance Quelling Team stood at the cave’s mouth attacking the Red Fierce Ant swarm.

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