Chapter 166

Cut to pieces, routine soul-searching and body search—Nagris sighed helplessly: "The Chaos Temple sends out nothing but these minor players? Are they really trying to create chaos? This level? Crush them with a pinch—how could they cause chaos?"

No one paid it any mind; the little angel swung a stick, chasing the insects—smack, one; smack, another.

The little zombie sprinted around the field, stomping on every insect it saw—one stomp, one; one stomp, one.

The insects had no interest in them, but the little angel was surprisingly "tasty"—until it summoned holy light, after which the insects lost all appetite for it.

A voice drifted in from nowhere: "Probably not minor players. If other adventurers were in this vast insect infestation, finding the target, fighting through, and escaping unscathed would be impossible—but Young Master Ang just taps his feet, and the bones on the ground tell him everything. Maybe we're just too strong."

"Makes sense—we're too strong. Forget it, let's see what we've got. A torn sack, some junk jewelry inside, one space ring—hey, unlocked? Let me rummage. Torn sack, torn sack, torn sack—three bags, all filled with junk jewelry. Why does this insect warrior collect so much trash?"

Nagris sneered: "From a person's belongings, you can roughly gauge their level. The torn-robed sorceress dropped a space mage's journal—content so bizarre even Nagris couldn't understand it, yet her power was terrifying."

Someone covered in luxury items, or who only collects jewelry, is almost certainly a nouveau riche.

Ang's retrieved memories confirmed Nagris's guess.

"Ssshh—age twenty-three, commoner, worshipped Hemoelthos for three years, became an insect warrior only two months ago, yet wiped out the thousand-year-old Black Mountain Duchy. They're minor players—but what created them? Humans and elves are in trouble."

A commoner who just gained the ability to command swarms of insects after two months as a warrior naturally wouldn't have grand ambitions.

Ang slid into the pit. Perfect—the statue holding the hammer had corroded to its base and snapped; the Earth Hammer, wrapped in a holy shroud, clanged to the ground.

Ang picked it up, lifted the shroud—CLANG! The Earth Hammer suddenly became impossibly heavy, exceeding Ang's capacity—he lost grip, and it crashed back down.

"Oh no, this is trouble!" Nagris cried out, a step too late.

"Now what? How do we re-wrap it? The seal on top is an Earth seal—similar in principle to the Demon Earth Stele. It enhances its earth-destroying power, but binds it to the land. Unless we can rip up a vast stretch of ground, we won't lift it."

Ang didn't believe it. He reached up to lift it—nearly pulled his lumbar disc out—the Earth Hammer didn't budge.

Luo Ge didn't believe it either. He reached up, stretching his form until it nearly scattered—the hammer didn't move an inch.

Ang stepped back before the Earth Hammer, twisted his waist, kicked his legs, adjusted his joints to optimal position, then widened his stance, gripped the handle tightly, and pulled with all his might.

Creak, creak—clearly, Ang's joints groaned; soul flames surged around his body.

The Earth Hammer moved—lifted half a finger's width—then froze again.

"%#…@##*@……" A deep, ancient, muffled draconic tongue roared from Ang's soul.

The golden dragon scale lodged in his ribs melted like wax, seeping into his bones, staining a large portion of his ribs gold.

Then suddenly, golden scales burst from his ribs, rolling outward in all directions, transforming Ang into a three-meter-tall golden giant with a dragon's head, horns, scales, and human form.

The immovable Earth Hammer was forcibly raised overhead by the golden dragon giant.

Nagris was stunned. Even when Ang transformed into Bone-Lock, he hadn't been startled. Even when Ang became Bruceck, he hadn't been startled—because Bruceck's scales were originally his own trick.

But now he was terrified—because Ang hadn't transformed into Bruceck—he—

"Dragon God Transformation? Dragon God Transformation? How could this happen? How? Impossible—he has no dragon bloodline!" Nagris muttered like a startled bird.

The golden dragon giant holding the Earth Hammer paused for seconds, then swung it down with full force—where the hammer struck, the earth softened like a lake's surface, rippling outward in concentric waves.

The fragile beetles met their doom. Their individual bodies were inherently weak; their strength lay in numbers. The earth's ripples struck them like walls—SMACK! turning them into insect pulp.

The Earth Hammer was said to reduce a ten-meter radius to dust—but Ang's strike sent ripples spreading thirty to forty meters. Everything in their path—soil, stone—shattered into powder and settled. The entire temple sank one level.

The pillars, severed from their foundations, now stood alone supporting the roof. Only the temple's construction quality kept it from collapsing.

Amid the swirling dust, the golden dragon giant slowly shrank back into Ang's form. Carefully counted—he held the transformation for fifteen seconds, longer than when he became Bone-Lock.

Nagris had no interest in anything else. It flew over, its tiny claws pinching and prodding Ang's bones, then his ribs, frantically asking: "What did you do? How did you do it? Where's the scale? Where's the scale?"

Ang looked down and realized—the scale from Bruceck, lodged in his ribs, was gone. The area of his ribs now glowed faintly, as if dyed by the scale. Clearly, the scale had fused into his bones.

"How did you do it? Dragon God Transformation? Why can you do Dragon God Transformation? What did you do? Speak! Speak!" Nagris shook Ang so hard his bones clattered.

"I didn't do anything. I used Ultimate Transformation, it moved. I looked—and saw a copper-colored man with dragon horns." Ang spoke slowly, word by word.

"It" referred to the scale. When Ang used Ultimate Transformation to become Bone-Lock, the scale showed him the golden dragon giant—or rather, the copper dragon giant—and a phrase of draconic tongue appeared in his mind.

Ang understood draconic tongue—he'd learned it while raising young dragons. He repeated it aloud, and for some reason, he became the copper dragon giant.

Ang's explanation didn't satisfy Nagris's confusion. It scratched its head, tugged its horns: Dragon God Transformation—the legendary form said to revert one to the Dragon God, a goal dragonkind had pursued for millennia and never achieved—now suddenly before its eyes.

Though Nagris still couldn't confirm whether the copper dragon giant was truly the Dragon God, it matched the ancestral image in dragon bloodlines exactly.

But something troubled Nagris: Ang had held the transformation for fifteen seconds. When he became Bone-Lock, he lasted only ten. Did that mean Bone-Lock was stronger than the legendary Dragon God?

Impossible. Something must be wrong.

At that moment, dust swirled in the distance. Amid the gray haze, the little angel flapped its wings and rose into the air, its wingbeats stirring up ground dust.

The little zombie also crawled out nearby, covered in dust, yelling "Aoooo!" at the little angel.

The little angel immediately flew over, circling the zombie, adjusting its flight angle, kicking up dust directly into the zombie's face.

"Aoooo!" The zombie angrily pointed at it.

"Aoooo!" The little angel flew higher, continuing to kick up dust.

As the two little ones played, all the dust on the ground was stirred up, revealing some golden objects.

Nagris glanced over briefly, muttering: "We've struck gold—we've found a treasure vault. How did you do it? Any other details? You have no dragon bloodline—just one scale from Bruceck—and you achieved Dragon God Transformation? Wait, it's not Dragon God Transformation—you used Ultimate Transformation to become the Dragon God. Is that logical? Shouldn't you have become Bruceck?"

Even a full basement of gold couldn't hold Nagris's attention now.

CLANG! A figure smashed through the ceiling and fell in. Mid-air, they swung their hand upward, slicing through something, then flipped gracefully just before hitting the ground, landing firmly on their feet.

Before they'd even steadied, another CLANG—the roof shattered again, another figure fell in. Halfway down, the figure froze, caught on something, hanging suspended in midair.

"Help me, Lily! I'm stuck!" the dangling figure cried urgently.

Lily, who'd just landed, sighed helplessly, covered her nose and mouth, and threw two iron discs backward—cutting the rope holding the figure.

"I told you not to follow. You're just in the way."

"No. This is too dangerous—I won't let you go alone. If you die, I die with you."

"I don't want to die with you. I'm getting the Earth Hammer, going back to claim the reward, then buying tons of food."

"Fine, fine—we'll go back together. If danger comes, let the insects eat me—you run."

"You're insane."

"Yes, I'm insane. You're my insanity. Without you, I'd be sick."

From the moment they crashed in, the little angel and zombie had stopped playing—but the dust they'd kicked up meant neither noticed anyone else in the room.

From their conversation, Nagris learned they were bounty hunters. Someone had posted a bounty on the Earth Hammer: whoever retrieved it would receive one million magic crystals.

Many turned pale at the idea of entering the insect infestation's heart to retrieve the hammer—but these two hunters had a special skill: they had flying wings, and they were dual-seaters.

One carried the other over the Black Mountain Royal Court, jumped from the air, deployed their parachute, and landed precisely on the court.

Additionally, they carried insect-repelling powder—sprayed on their bodies, it ensured no insects would approach for a short time.

"Insect-repelling powder? There's such a thing? Humans have many ways to deal with insects." Nagris muttered, then poked Ang: "Hammer—hide it fast."

After the transformation ended, Ang couldn't lift the hammer again—but with all his strength, he could raise it slightly. That slight lift was enough to slip the shroud underneath, wrap it up, and quietly retreat to the corner, dragging the hammer.

The little zombie and little angel also quietly slipped away and hid.

The two bounty hunters searched the room for a long time, naturally found nothing—only the treasure vault.

"What now? Can't find the hammer, and the insect-repelling powder's almost gone."

"Go. Take one gold brick each—enough to buy plenty of food." Lily declared firmly.

"I really want to take all these gold bricks," the neurotic man muttered reluctantly.

"Don't be greedy. Too heavy—the wings won't fly. Grab one more for Xiao Ai and the others."

They grabbed another handful, climbed to the roof, lit a fire-tinder, cupped it in their hands, then released and re-cupped it.

Soon, two flying wings flew low overhead. They reached down, grabbed the dangling ropes, and flew away.

"Knows when to cut losses, not greedy—but too careless. We had so many people here and none of us noticed." Nagris grumbled.

Luo Ge appeared, waving a bag.

"Insect-repelling powder? How did you get that?" Nagris asked in surprise.

Luo Ge sneered: "Too weak. I could've stripped their underwear and they wouldn't have noticed."

"Study it later. Let's leave and claim the bounty." Nagris exclaimed excitedly.

"Bounty?"

"Didn't those two just say? Earth Hammer—one million magic crystals. We take the fake hammer and claim the reward."

"But Anthony said to put it back." Ang shook his head.

"Ugh, fine, fine. But leaving it here won't last long. With this situation, other bounty hunters will come for the hammer. What if we leave and someone else takes the fake? What if they don't even turn it in? Ask Anthony again—explain the situation. He'll probably change his mind."

Ang contacted Anthony through soul-link. Soon he said: "He agrees. Claim the bounty."

Nagris looked smug, as if expecting it, and scoffed: "Of course he agrees. That guy needs the fake hammer to appear—not to vanish. If someone actually took the fake and hid it, his whole plan collapses."

They gathered the treasure from the vault, left the court, and headed downhill. To avoid attention, the little angel removed its wings, the little zombie retracted its soul armor, Ang put on a straw hat, returned the copper dragon to the Palace of Rest, and projected its image onto himself via thought.

"Insect-repelling powder really works—spray it on, and insects stay far away." Along the way, they confirmed its effectiveness, stored the remainder, and planned to analyze its main components later.

The Black Mountain Duchy was a tiny nation. From Black Stone Mountain, you could see the entire country at a glance. To the northeast lay a city called East City; to the southwest, another called West City.

East City had fallen. Only West City still held out. From the mountain, they saw West City covered by a semi-transparent protective barrier, enveloping the entire town.

Occasionally, small groups of insects crashed into the barrier—SMACK, SMACK, SMACK—shattered into pulp.

South of West City, countless large sacks piled beside the road, filled with pungent insect-repelling powder. Nearby, bonfires burned; people periodically tossed powder into them, releasing smoke that drove insects back dozens of meters.

With these sacks and fires, humans carved out safe zones, linking them into a lifeline. People fled here along it; supply caravans passed through, delivering goods into the city.

Ang and the others blended into the fleeing crowd, approaching the city gate.

Guards were searching meticulously, slapping everyone's clothing to prevent insects from being smuggled in.

A one-eyed soldier first searched Ang, found nothing—everything was stored in the Palace of Rest. He grumbled under his breath: "Broke bastard."

Then his gaze shifted to the little angel—his single eye suddenly brightened.