Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The dark clouds moved abruptly towards the swarm of Bladed Bees.
Blazing with infernal heat, the clouds engulfed the swarm of bees like a slow-moving avalanche of magma.
With a sharp crackle, the same kind one would hear when one lowering tempura into a wok of hot oil, could be heard as charred bees dropped like dumplings unsticking from the sides of a pan onto the ground below.
Boom!
The fallen bees were charred to a golden crisp. Their clear wings shriveled up like worms, and the fine white feathery fluff on their backs was a burnt mess.
They had been charred alive.
Even from a considerable distance, he could vaguely smell the fragrance of something being deep fried.
Gao Peng looked on at the massacre with a tinge of regret in his eyes.
What a shame…
Within moments, small, dark shadows could be seen flying out of the cloud in twos and threes.It was funny how desperately they were trying to get away when they had been swarming angrily at them just minutes before.
After taking care of the bees, he motioned Flamy over and climbed onto him. “Let’s head on over.”
There should have been a couple of Monster Core Crystals lying around. Actually, given the fact that these bees were Elite-tier, there would definitely be more than a few Monster Core Crystals.
He couldn’t have cared less about the odd core, but this was thousands they were talking about.
With a flap of his massive wings, Flamy took to the skies.
The forest rippled beneath its feet as they soared across the towering canopies. The gentle fragrance of nature tickled his nose.
As it rounded a small valley, it saw the blackened corpses of the bees strewn across the ground, some caught in the trees.
From up close, it could clearly see what these bees actually looked like. They were around three feet long, with a rather swollen abdomen that was marked with red and yellow stripes. There was a fine layer of down on its body, but it had already been burnt to a crisp. From its rear extended a long, silvery blade. Gleaming coldly in the night, such was the quality of the blade that it had remained intact under such extreme heat.
Kneeling down in front of a dead bee, Gao Peng gently ran his fingers across its surface. It was prickly to the touch, and when he exerted just a tiny bit of pressure, his palm was covered in black ash.
Flamy’s tummy rumbled. These bees smelled absolutely mouthwatering. It could definitely see itself eating a couple of them.
Flamy couldn’t wait any more. It sank his fangs into the divine-smelling charred bees and ripped off a huge chunk of meat.
Flamy’s eyes lit up. Delicious!
Gao Peng summoned Dumby. From the mountain behind him, a shadowy blur could be seen leaping and bounding towards him, black robes whipping furiously in the wind.
“Master.” The Soul Flames in Dumby’s eyes burned brightly.
“Try resurrecting the bees.” Gao Peng pointed at the dead creatures.
“Yes!”
Dumby raised his right hand and flames spewed forth, going deep into the midsection of the dead Bladed Bee by his feet.
The corpse of the Bladed Bee writhed uncontrollably on the ground. Yellow ooze with streaks of black gushed out of its numerous orifices. Its swollen belly shriveled rapidly, like a deflated balloon. Its eyes exploded, as though they were being crushed by an invisible vice. In the hollow sockets where its eyes once were, a white flame burned brightly.
As the corpse started to vibrate, layers of blood and flesh started sliding off its body until only its pearly-white skull remained. Immediately after, it levitated eerily in mid-air for a few seconds before exploding with a bang. What remained of the skull clattered to the ground, spinning around for a bit before slowly coming to a stop.
The Soul Flames flowed out of its eyes and back into Dumby.
“Master, this monster’s remains are incomplete. I cannot resurrect it…”
Gao Peng frowned. This was a shame indeed.
“Then just revive every dead creature buried in the earth here.”
Dumby took a single step forward and spread his arms. A ring of light slowly emanated from the soles of his feet outward into the ground.
The forest was fairly deserted. Without a caretaker, the fallen leaves had formed layers of brown-speckled green on the floor. The leaves now trembled as a bony hand thrust its way out of the ground, grasping wildly at the mossy roots around it. Slowly but surely, the rest of its skeletal body followed suit.
All around the forest nearby, similar scenes were unfolding.
In the damp, shadowy forest, skeletal remains of men and beasts alike were crawling out of the ground ablaze with pale white Soul Flames.
The humanoid skeleton was still clad in an old garment with a yellow flask attached to his hip. It swayed to and fro unsteadily, like it could fall at the drop of a hat.
“I think we should let this one just rest in peace.” It had probably been an adventurer in a past life.
The next second, the skeleton collapsed into a heap of bone.
The revived ghouls numbered in the hundreds and came in a variety of sizes. The largest one was a 1,600-foot-long Earthen Lizard.
Under Dumby’s orders, these ghouls gathered the dead bees lying around and put them in the middle of a large clearing.
Very soon, it was the size of a small mountain.
Suddenly, there was a loud commotion in the distance, interspersed with the angry roars of his little ghoul army.
Dumby turned his head. “Master, something has happened. The ghouls have encountered a monster.”
As the other ghouls made their way towards the commotion, the area of the encounter grew more and more crowded.
Whoosh!
A golden figure burst out into the clearing. Upon seeing Gao Peng and Dumby, it spun around rather violently and immediately fled as fast as it could in the opposite direction.
Gao Peng glanced at the figure and did a double take.
“Dumby, Flamy, get it!”
Without hesitation, Dumby charged at the golden figure with startling speed. On all fours, it flew like the wind, its body nearly pressed flat to the ground. The stray leaves on the ground were swept violently up into the air.
Flamy unleashed a huge ball of flame right into the path of the golden figure, which immediately erupted into a fiery wall after making contact with the ground.
The golden figure screeched to a halt while trying to turn around, but it was too late.
Dumby had already caught up at this point. It easily grabbed the figure, who struggled desperately in attempts to escape, in its left hand.
A slender, golden tail covered in delicate scales gleamed brightly in the sun. Two tiny ears twitched mischievously as its doe-like eyes flickered curiously in all directions.
