Chapter 107: Seventh Pit

Chapter 107: Seventh Pit Soon, the second Mineral Soldier Ant squad followed the scent trail left by the first squad and hustled over... Just like the first Mineral Soldier Ant squad, once they got within range of the mineral fragrance, they went completely mindless, tumbling into the sand pit one after another... [Spiritual Essence +1.8] [Spiritual Essence +1.8] [Spiritual Essence +1.8] ... Before long, dozens of severed Mineral Soldier Ant limbs were tossed out. "The luring plan works like a charm!" Carlos could finally relax—there were no problems with the luring strategy. The arrival of the second Mineral Soldier Ant squad meant that at this position, they were indeed beyond the Ant Queen’s communication range inside the nest. Otherwise, knowing that a Mineral Soldier Ant squad had been wiped out, the Queen would either send out a massive Mineral Soldier Ant force or wouldn’t send any Mineral Soldier Ants to their deaths at all. The whole point of using this luring method was to prevent the Queen from sensing anything wrong and escaping before clearing out the outermost Mineral Soldier Ants. After all, the Mineral Ant nest was huge, with way too many exits, and contained thousands of Mineral Soldier Ants. These countless Mineral Soldier Ants not only handled hunting duties but also served as outer protection and early warning systems. Once the Queen learned ahead of time about powerful enemy attacks, she would immediately make a quick getaway under Mineral Soldier Ant Guard protection. At that point, tracking her down again would be a real headache for Carlos. "Next spot..." Crimson-gold wing bones flapped as Carlos flew to another sandy area roughly the same distance from the Mineral Ant nest as the center point. Then he summoned the shield guards and Purple Vortex. "Get to work!" This time Carlos didn’t leave Purple Vortex, this digging ’expert,’ out of the order. "Creak!!!" "Roar~~" The shield guards, same as last time, turned into digging machines and began tirelessly digging sand. But Purple Vortex was different. Having experienced finding only more sand beneath sand piles once before, it had learned its lesson. It began working at a leisurely pace, squeezing between two shield guards. Drawing the greatsword from its back, it started digging sand one stroke at a time in a proper manner. Its speed almost matched the shield guards’, with none of the super-high digging efficiency from last time. "..." Carlos was amazed by Purple Vortex’s intelligence growth rate. Just the second time, and it had learned without any teaching to give only 20% effort while capable of 100%. You couldn’t judge a skeleton by its appearance—Purple Vortex’s potential was off the charts! Faced with this development, Carlos contemplated from life’s origins to the soul’s destination and sighed: "This is the lazy instinct of intelligent life!" After sighing, he immediately ordered: "Don’t copy them—dig by yourself!" This trend absolutely couldn’t be allowed. If Purple Vortex dared give 20% effort today, tomorrow it would dare give only 10%! Who knew how lazy it might become down the road! "Roar?" Purple Vortex made a confused sound. "Hmm?" Carlos’s gaze was serious as he looked back. "Roar!" The master’s command could not be disobeyed. Under Carlos’s serious gaze, Purple Vortex could only stick its greatsword back onto its back, leap up, and land in the pit’s center. Its hands shot into the sand, skillfully beginning to dig! Sand and stone flew everywhere, though the speed was slightly less than last time... "Hmm?" Through the soul link, Carlos made a questioning sound. What was going on? The master had noticed! Purple Vortex’s body went stiff. Instantly, its digging speed kicked up several notches, matching or even slightly beating the previous time. Carlos nodded with satisfaction. This was his good retainer. Working hard for him, it had to demonstrate at least 100% efficiency. The digging work was both tedious and boring. Purple Vortex worked mechanically and numbly. "Ding ding ding!" Suddenly, sand and stones accidentally flew toward the surrounding shield guards, hitting them and making crisp sounds. Hearing this sound, Purple Vortex’s eyeballs began rotating up, down, left, and right, while its hands never stopped moving: One hit, one ring; one hit, one ring... Its soul lit up as it kept throwing sand and stones at the shield guards, as if performing a ding-ding-ding musical piece... What’s more, without realizing it, Purple Vortex’s digging efficiency actually increased by another 20%! "Purple Vortex can actually show positive initiative, thereby greatly improving its digging efficiency. This has never happened with the shield guards. This might be a major advantage of increased intelligence." Carlos gained some insight, thinking this point had to be put to good use. ... Soon, the second large sand pit was dug, even larger than the first pit. Carlos left four shield guards in the sand pit. Then he pulled out a pile of Sand Worm heart crystals, crushed them, stirred up a whirlwind, and blew it near the Mineral Ant nest to lure them... Then he waited quietly until a Mineral Soldier Ant squad showed up and fell into the sand pit as expected... the luring and killing process complete. "No problems here." After making sure the second luring pit was running smoothly, Carlos quickly flew to the third target location. Following the same method, he began digging the third sand pit... ... The fourth... The fifth... The sixth... All six Mineral Soldier Ant luring pits were set up. From up in the sky, Mineral Soldier Ant squads either caught the intoxicating mineral fragrance or followed trails left by their buddies, eagerly rushing toward the deep pits... ... "The seventh!" This was the final luring pit. Carlos specifically had Purple Vortex bring a Tulip Shield Guard to protect an ordinary soldier while farming monsters and accumulating death energy. "Remember, the most important thing! Protect this ordinary skeleton soldier well! Also, beat the Mineral Soldier Ants to within an inch of their lives, especially cutting off those mandibles and legs. Only after making sure they completely lose their ability to attack can you let the ordinary skeleton soldier finish them off." Carlos carefully instructed Purple Vortex. Protecting ordinary skeleton soldiers while harvesting spirituality-18 Mineral Soldier Ants required serious caution. "Roar!" Purple Vortex’s eyeballs rotated diagonally up and down, indicating no problem when left to it! Carlos nodded. With the all-around attack and defense Dark Purple Force Field, this task was indeed not difficult for Purple Vortex. So he flew away with confidence and began patrolling the first sand pit to check for problems... Soon, a Mineral Soldier Ant squad arrived at the seventh luring pit. Without a hitch, they fell into the deep pit one after another. "Rustle!" Seeing the Mineral Soldier Ant monsters appear, the Tulip Shield Guard was about to charge forward. "Roar!" Purple Vortex stopped its companion, pushing the Tulip Shield Guard. Its eyeballs rotated ninety degrees, signaling it to move aside—it wanted to handle this alone. The Tulip Shield Guard was confused, unable to understand Purple Vortex’s behavior in preventing it from fighting. But given Carlos’s pre-departure requirement to follow Purple Vortex’s lead, the Tulip Shield Guard still went along with it and retreated to the side. "Roar." Seeing the Tulip Shield Guard obediently listen, Purple Vortex copied Carlos’s movements from memory and nodded slightly. It even wanted to pat the Tulip Shield Guard’s shoulder. Unfortunately, the Tulip Shield Guard dodged back too quickly, leaving Purple Vortex patting empty air.