Chapter 140: The Hunt (Part II)

"I'll be leaving first then."

Li Ju rode out of the territory alone on horseback.

Knowing Li Ju's formidable strength, Rama had not sent anyone to accompany or protect him. After all, if everyone in their entire territory were to be added together, they still wouldn't match Li Ju in combat prowess. If someone were really sent along with him, in the event of danger, it was hard to say who would be protecting whom.

After riding into the forest, Li Ju dismounted and gave the horse a slap on the rump, letting it run freely through the trees. Shortly after, a gust of wind swept through the woods, and a massive dark shadow descended from the sky to the ground.

With a single bound, Li Ju leaped onto the back of the Armored Golden Dragon and, commanding the beast, vanished into the distant horizon.

The Rhinoceros Count was also a veteran count within the Sea Serpent Kingdom, with a family lineage tracing back even further than the Iron Gold family. However, the Water Demon Rhinoceros lair controlled by the Rhinoceros Count was merely a level-43 count-tier creature lair, and its combat strength was far inferior to the Armored Golden Dragon of the Iron Gold family.

Consequently, even though the Rhinoceros Count's lineage was older, his status in the Sea Serpent Kingdom was no different from that of an ordinary count, falling far short of a top-tier count like Earl Iron Gold, whose status rivaled that of ordinary marquesses.

Of course, even if the Rhinoceros Count's strength was inferior to Earl Iron Gold's, he was still not someone Li Ju—whose viscount-tier strength had only just been attained in this world—could afford to provoke. However, Li Ju's target this time was not the Rhinoceros Count, but merely an ordinary knight noble under the Rhinoceros Count's command.

Knight Oufra's territory was located at the edge of the Rhinoceros Count's domain, separated from Li Ju's territory by one viscount domain and two baron domains. If one traveled by land, the distance was truly not close; but if one took the unobstructed aerial route at the speed of the Armored Golden Dragon, it would only take a few hours to arrive.

At midday, Li Ju, who had set out from his own territory in the morning, reached his destination.

"How truly poor."

Looking down from the sky at Knight Oufra's territory, Li Ju could not help but sigh with emotion.

If the villages in Li Ju's territory still retained the appearance a village ought to have, then calling the villages in Knight Oufra's territory a beggar's den would be flattering them.

At the very least, a beggar's den would have some sort of shanty to keep out the wind and rain, whereas the villages in Knight Oufra's territory didn't even have shanties—only dirt pits covered with broken wooden planks.

After all, Li Ju's knightly territory had been specially chosen as a prosperous one by Earl Iron Gold, whereas Knight Oufra was a noble knight unvalued by the Rhinoceros Count, so his territory was naturally quite impoverished.

As the Armored Golden Dragon circled continuously in the air, Li Ju instantly locked onto Knight Oufra's residence. Indeed, across such a vast territory, there was only a single decent building of this sort, making it hard not to notice.

"The crux of the matter lies in the fierce ant lair..."

To seize the core of a lair, the first step is to kill the lair's master. Once the master dies, the lair transforms into an unowned wild state, at which point the lair core will appear within it.

Once the lair is ownerless, anyone can enter to refine its core. Of course, one must first clear out the horde of feral lair creatures before gaining entry.

Although Knight Oufra's strength was not worth mentioning to Li Ju, this was ultimately someone else's turf, and Knight Oufra had powerful backers behind him. Once Li Ju began his operation, it was best to achieve his objective at the fastest possible speed, lest delays bring complications.

"I shall begin my move at midnight."

Having circled around Knight Oufra's territory without finding the location of the lair, Li Ju had to temporarily set aside thoughts of finding it and wait patiently for nightfall to facilitate his actions.

Night.

Inside the only villa in Knight Oufra's territory, a plump, round-bodied man sat upon a large bed, embracing a scantily clad woman with each arm, his greasy hands wandering wantlessly over their bodies.

Bang!

Suddenly, the roof shattered, and a dark shadow descended from above.

"Who goes there!"

Knight Oufra sprang up in alarm, snatching a longsword from beside the bed and slashing straight toward the dark shadow.

Fatty though he was, he was still a knight-tier powerhouse blessed by the power of his lair!

Clang!

The fine-iron longsword shattered violently. A hand reached through the broken blade, grabbed Knight Oufra by the neck, and lifted him up as if he were a mere piglet.

The two women on Knight Oufra's bed hadn't even had time to react before they suddenly began foaming at the mouth and passed out on the mattress.

"Where have you placed your fierce ant lair?"

Knight Oufra caught sight of a pair of deep, pitch-black eyes, and the expression on his face gradually grew dull.

"In the basement of my house,"

Knight Oufra spoke as if he had lost his self-awareness.

Bang.

His skull shattered.

Li Ju struck directly downward at the floor with a fist.

Boom!

The ground was blasted into a deep crater, revealing the scene beneath the house.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

It sounded like the friction of creatures brushing shoulders as they moved.

Li Ju cast his gaze down into the pit; the dark, lightless environment of the underground cavern could not obstruct his probing sight.

He saw fierce ants, each half a meter tall with a massive spike protruding from its forehead, constantly moving about within the dark cavity.

Suddenly, all of them raised their heads and looked up at Li Ju.

Swish!

One dark figure after another rushed upward toward Li Ju in the light with extreme speed.

Whoosh!

Li Ju let out a sharp breath, and a violent gale surged forth, instantly blowing the charging dark figures into disarray.

Gale Breath!

This was a technique Li Ju had learned from a viscount-tier swordsmanship manual.

Bang!

A pure white flame flashed, and the ants that had been blown down immediately turned into a pile of ashes.

With a single leap, Li Ju landed at the bottom of the pit and charged by instinct toward the location of the fierce ant lair. Along the way, dense swarms of fierce ants attempting to block his advance were all reduced to ash by the pure white flames.

After Knight Oufra's death, these fierce ants, having reverted to a wild state, possessed as their primary survival instinct the urge to protect the safety of their lair, and thus they fought desperately to kill the intruder.

Having lost count of how many fierce ants he had slain, Li Ju finally penetrated into the depths of the fierce ant lair. There, a grayish-black gemstone floated at the very center of the lair, emanating a soft glow, with an ant-shaped pattern engraved right at its heart.

"The lair core."

Li Ju gripped the gemstone in his hand.

Hum.

The lair core suddenly burst forth with a surge of energy, attempting to break free from his palm; however, this force was easily suppressed and smoothed out by Li Ju.

"It's time to leave."

Li Ju glanced once at the fierce ant lair and vanished with a flash.

The method of sealing a lair into its core for easy transport can only be used once per lair, and this fierce ant core's single opportunity had clearly already been utilized by Knight Oufra. Therefore, even if Li Ju took the lair core away, the physical lair itself could only be left behind here.

However, Li Ju's original purpose was merely to take the fierce ant lair core so it could be devoured by his own armored ant lair, so he didn't need to concern himself too much with the physical lair itself.

Once the fierce ant lair core was completely devoured by the armored ant lair, this lair would automatically perish.