October 29, Thursday, four days after the Double Ninth Festival and also the first day that Zhang Yanhang entered the Ashen World. It was 6:10 pm (I mistakenly wrote 6:21 pm in the previous chapter but have since corrected it)—Ashen World, Crimson Iron Ore Vein, Large Crimson Iron Ant Nest Talano, Central Region.

[Successfully killed a Second Tier Four-star Monster, 'Crimson Iron Flame Ant (Ordinary)' x1, Soul points +160.]

[Successfully killed a Second Tier Four-star Monster, 'Crimson Iron Flame Ant (Ordinary)' x1, Soul points +160.]

[Successfully killed a Second Tier Four-Star Monster, 'Crimson Iron Flame Ant (Ordinary)' x1, Soul Points +160.]

...

After using a Death Wave to take out all the nearby large Crimson Iron Ants and incidentally collecting the drop treasure boxes, Zhang Yanhang was already moving forward. He had just walked a short distance when he discovered a new type of large Crimson Iron Ant.

This new breed of large Crimson Iron Ant was larger than a rhinoceros, almost as big as an Iveco minibus that had transported corpses and their ashes. Compared to the previous Crimson Iron Flame Ants and Crimson Iron Destruction Ants, this new type of large Crimson Iron Ant was mainly longer, and only slightly fatter all around.

Compared to the previous Crimson Iron Flame Ants, Zhang Yanhang could clearly feel that these more formidable large Crimson Iron Ants contained an even more violent fire power in their much-longer abdomens. It seemed they were likely also a type that specialized in fire power.

Moreover, perhaps due to their more mature development or stronger power, Zhang Yanhang could see that the exoskeleton armor of these large Crimson Iron Ants was much darker in color than that of the Crimson Iron Flame Ants and the Crimson Iron Destruction Ants, already approaching the dark red color he had previously seen on the Talent light balls.

Although relying on Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil's perceptions he had roughly figured out that this new type of Crimson Iron Ant was a Third Tier monster, he still maintained a good tradition and first looked at their attribute list; after all, he wanted to know their names.

[Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant (Ordinary)]

[Level: Third Tier One-star]

[Talent: 1. Mystic Steed Power. 2. Large Crimson Iron Ant (Flame Demon Ant).]

[Mystic Steed Power: There is a 2.1% chance to trigger an extra attack effect when making an attack. Strength +30%.]

[Large Crimson Iron Ant (Flame Demon Ant): Born from the mating of a Lord Monster Crimson Iron Queen Ant and a Crimson Iron Prince Ant, these are femael large Crimson Iron Ants without reproductive capacity and not fully developed. During their growth, they will consume a large amount of Crimson Iron Ore and absorb the nutrients within to forge their own hard exoskeleton and wings.

As a Flame Demon Ant with a higher level of development compared to the Crimson Iron Flame Ant, not only do they consume large amounts of Crimson Iron Ore to build a thick and tough exoskeleton and powerful wings for themselves, but they also focus part of their energy on better enhancing their muscle tissue.

As the third line of defense guarding the Ant Nest, Flame Demon Ants do not have to carry out excavating and 'producing' Crimson Marrow like the Crimson Iron Destruction Ants, nor do they need to handle part of the production work like the Crimson Iron Flame Ants. Their only job is passively accepted being fed by the Destruction Ants and focus on protecting the Ant Nest.

With the advancement of their developmental stage coupled with years of consuming Refined Crimson Marrow, while digesting it to grow themselves, the Flame Demon Ants gradually mastered the power of flames and became more adept at it, which allows them to launch fire attacks more freely against their enemies during combat.

However, due to their undeveloped growth, though they are able to digest Refined Crimson Marrow, they can only digest a small part of its power. The harder-to-digest portion is stored in their abdomen, accumulating over several years to become their ultimate measure to prevent enemies from further penetrating the Ant Nest.]

[Life Value: 1500/1500]

[Energy Value: 1125/1125]

[Strength: 53]

[Agility: 41]

[Constitution: 50]

[Intelligence: 45]

[Charm: 11]

[Skills: 1. Fiery Fireball. 2. Fiery Flame Beam. 3. Flame Demon Body. 4. Fiery Flames Burning Body Explosion.]

"Sure enough, it's a Third Tier Crimson Iron Ant. Although it's only Third Tier One-star, it's still a Third Tier monster. Based on my past experience, a Third Tier One-star Monster would at least drop a Dark Purple Quality treasure box, with equipment that comes out being at least Light Gold in basic quality. Nice, indeed."

Of course, more than this, Zhang Yanhang also noticed some things he cared even more about, and that was related to Refined Crimson Marrow.

"I didn't expect Refined Crimson Marrow to be the food of Third Tier Crimson Iron Ants?

I thought the Crimson Iron Destruction Ants were digging holes and accumulating Refined Crimson Iron in the Central Region simply because, like the smaller Crimson Iron Ants, there was nowhere to put it, so they just found a place to build a latrine, but it turns out it was a canteen. Heh heh heh, whether it's fragrant or stinky, to me, it's all meat."

At times like this, Zhang Yanhang couldn't help but think of the man who created the will of '8'.

"No wonder these Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants look so much longer than the Crimson Iron Flame Ants; turns out it's because they can't poop, they're bloated. But constipation aside, how did they even manage to develop a self-destruction skill?"

Zhang Yanhang immediately recognized that the Fiery Flame Body Explosion was definitely a self-destruction skill. He had felt something was off when he was scanning earlier, and now it seemed he was very right to think so.

"But considering that even a Second Tier Four-stars small Crimson Iron Ant Queen could have a self-destruct ability, it seems normal for a Third Tier One-star Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant to have it too. After all, proper Flame Demons do have the Body Explosion skill. I didn't expect these Flame Demon Ants to be able to acquire such skills just like the proper Flame Demons."

However, upon further thought, Zhang Yanhang remembered that proper Flame Demons were also generally between the Third and Fourth Tier, and anything beyond the Fifth Tier wasn't a Flame Demon anymore but a Demon Lord. Thus, this Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant could be said to not only have 'Flame Demon' in its name but might also possess strength quite comparable to a proper Flame Demon.

While Zhang Yanhang was looking over the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants' attribute list, they had taken the opportunity to launch an attack on him. Moreover, perhaps due to a higher level of intelligence, knowing that they might not be able to defeat Zhang Yanhang, they directly activated a strength-enhancing skill called Flame Demon Body right from the start.

Zhang Yanhang observed that after activating the Flame Demon Body, the fireballs spewed out by the group of Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants were indeed several times larger. If the original fireballs were only about the size of a bathtub, then now they were as big as a single bed—the difference was indeed very significant.

But, sadly, no matter how big the fireballs were, when they hit Zhang Yanhang's energy shield, they still failed to cause any ripples or waves.

After perceiving the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants' increasing tendency to use Fiery Flame Body Explosion in a bid to self-destruct, Zhang Yanhang, who had finished reviewing the attribute list, quickly raised his Pure Soul Gun and pulled the trigger at the group of Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants.

Dark projectiles shot out of the barrel at nearly Nine Mach's speed at such a close distance. It was almost as if the cannon bullets were instantaneously translocated into the bodies of the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants in front of him as soon as Zhang Yanhang pulled the trigger, albeit it looked a bit more violent than actual instantaneous movement.

Following the strong impact, the dark projectiles forcefully pierced through the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ants and continued their trajectory into the Crimson Iron Ore behind them, finally stopping after penetrating through dozens of meters of Crimson Iron Ore due to their momentum running out.

However, at that moment, Zhang Yanhang observed that from the body of the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant that had been ripped into pieces by the cannon bullet, another blue energy cannon bullet quietly emerged due to an extra attack and shot out once more.

This blue cannon bullet ravaged the already battered carcass of the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant and then also entered the crimson iron ore wall behind it.

But unlike the previous ordinary cannon bullet, this energy bullet carried an enormous amount of impact force, causing countless small fragments to scatter in all directions as it tore through layers of crimson iron rock, coming to a halt only after traversing about a hundred meters.

Before Zhang Yanhang had a chance to closely examine the newly formed tunnel, one meter in diameter and over a hundred meters deep, he suddenly found that atop the carcass of the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant, now reduced to a mess of flesh, another entirely dark-red yet still translucent energy cannon bullet, typical of an extra attack, had appeared.

This dark-red energy bullet caused a storm of force as soon as it appeared, sweeping up the surrounding plethora of Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant carcasses into a mass resembling a ball of flesh and then forcefully piercing through it.

Copious amounts of flesh and thick bodily fluids, mixed with shattered exoskeletal armor fragments, sprayed out in all directions, evenly coating the entire crimson iron ore passage, rendering it an even redder hue.

And at the center, the body of the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant, already thoroughly crushed by the cannon bullet and consecutive extra attacks—reduced entirely to a pile of flesh—in the wake of this forceful destruction, turned into a puree mixed with the other Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant carcasses, smearing the walls of the crimson iron ore passage.

As for that dark-red semi-transparent energy cannon bullet, it once again entered the crimson iron ore wall situated behind the Crimson Iron Flame Demon Ant, just like the previous two bullets had done.

The enormous destructive power and impact force of the crimson cannon bullet had already been spectacularly demonstrated from the outset.

As soon as it penetrated the Crimson Iron Ore Wall, it forcibly shattered the surrounding rock layers for several meters and continued to burrow deeper, until it passed through the entire Crimson Iron Ore Wall and then into another wall behind it, similarly piercing it before finally coming to a halt, stuck in the layers of a third Crimson Iron Ore Wall.

Looking at the massive cavern that was several meters wide, allowing him to walk through at leisure and easily see the opposite mine shaft and the conditions of the third tunnel in the distance, with an overall length of over four hundred meters, Zhang Yanhang was a bit silent for a moment.

"Could it be that the mysterious crimson cannon bullet that just appeared was the 'Double Strike'?"

Due to the extremely low probability of triggering, this was the first time Zhang Yanhang had experienced Double Strike, but he had never imagined that the attack effect of Double Strike would be so powerful; it seemed to be far more potent than described in the Talent Effects.

"Although I've indeed relied on an increase in Critical Strike Probability recently to get a 327% Critical Strike Attack Multiplier, and I've also gained a 200%+60% Attack Power Bonus by enhancing 'Three Heads and Six Arms' even in its passive state, and even further increased the Attack Power of cannon bullets by increasing Attack Speed.

But could the Double Strike, providing a 450% Attack Multiplier after combining these bonuses, really achieve this level of impact?"

Although theoretically it might be normal to reach such a level with so many bonuses, Zhang Yanhang still found it somewhat incomprehensible, since he had never before achieved such a level of destructiveness.

Well, perhaps this was mainly related to his recent promotion to the Third Tier; he still didn't understand what kind of performance should be expected of the Third Tier.

"Just this was the performance on Crimson Iron Ore, which is several times harder than steel. In the fragile environment of the Main World, the attenuation of impact force would undoubtedly be drastically reduced. Perhaps a single Double Strike could directly pierce through thousands of meters of ordinary rock, or even from one end of Qin Island City to the other."

Zhang Yanhang felt that if an ordinary extra attack could still be considered a force that Third Tier could barely master, then this Double Strike definitely had to be at least at the level that Fourth Tier could possibly control.

"Moreover, this Double Strike basically didn't have any bonuses this time. It only utilized passive bonuses. If I were to materialize 'Three Heads and Six Arms' and then enhance it with 'Indestructible Golden Body,' and finally also enhance it with Spiritual Energy, I'm afraid even a Fifth Tier Awakened couldn't withstand it.

But unfortunately, although it's true, the triggering probability of Double Strike is just too low, from 0.4% before and still only a 7.2‰ now; it really can't be considered a normal attacking method.

Well, that's not necessarily the case, after all, who let my cannon bullet magazine hold five hundred rounds? As long as I fire all the bullets in a magazine, there's always a chance it could trigger."

Thinking this way, Zhang Yanhang suddenly began to feel that increasing Attack Speed is indeed very important. With such a low triggering probability, only by increasing Attack Speed can more Double Strikes be triggered.

"Moreover, if relying on dense attacks to strike the enemy, then even if Double Strike's triggering probability is so low, it would still start to have real combat value."

Zhang Yanhang suddenly began to feel that perhaps the triggering probability of Double Strike wasn't really so low; after all, as long as he wanted to trigger it, he could.

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