prynovel Chapter 61 Success, Space Dust
Chapter 61 Success, Space Dust
The ball accurately entered the hole and then exploded underground.
A muffled explosion rang out, and the ground trembled slightly.
The opening collapsed instantly, causing a large area of sand around it to sink in, and scorching, corrosive energy escaped from the cracks.
This attack clearly severely damaged the underground ant nest.
The number of sand-eating ants that emerged decreased significantly, and the entire ant colony's offensive stalled, becoming chaotic.
Without lingering in the fight, Luo Lin once again used acid splash to clear away the obstacles in front of him and quickly retreated.
Having lost unified command and suffered heavy losses, the ant swarm's pursuit momentum greatly diminished.
Luo Lin quickly broke off contact and disappeared into the darkness at the edge of the Gobi Desert.
After confirming that it was safe, he stopped and breathed slightly.
Although the encounter was brief, it was quite taxing and gave him a direct understanding of how troublesome the sand ants were.
In particular, the silver-spotted individuals were more sensitive to energy than he had anticipated.
"It seems that collecting spatial dust is more difficult than expected."
Rolin looked toward the direction of the Wailing Canyon, his eyes becoming even more determined.
The difficulties were expected, but the goal remains unchanged.
He found a new secluded spot, took a mana-restoring potion, and began to meditate and recover.
After a night of recuperation, Luo Lin's magical and mental power had returned to their peak state.
At dawn, he stood on the edge of the Gobi Desert, gazing at the desolate, gray-yellow world ahead.
The Wailing Canyon, like a scar on the earth, stretches across the horizon, appearing eerie and dangerous even in the morning light.
He carefully checked his belongings and confirmed that the three specially made glass bottles were intact and that all kinds of medicines and scrolls were ready for use.
The spell model of [Flowing Barrier] is in a semi-activated, ready state in the mind sea, ensuring that it can be activated instantly when danger is encountered.
"Let's go."
Rolin whispered something to Baha on his shoulder and stepped into the silent Gobi Desert.
The sand beneath our feet was dry and loose, and we sank slightly with each step.
The wind whipped up sand and dust, bringing with it a biting chill.
The elemental particles here are unusually active yet chaotic, like bubbles on the surface of boiling water, making them difficult to capture and guide.
This places higher demands on the wizard's concentration when casting spells.
Luo Lin spread his mental energy around his body like a fine spider web, on the one hand to be vigilant against potential dangers, and on the other hand to carefully sense any abnormal energy fluctuations in the air, especially signs related to spatial attributes.
Baha, on the other hand, undertook reconnaissance missions at longer distances.
It sometimes soars high, scanning vast areas with its obsidian eyes.
It would sometimes skim low overhead, using its Dark Silver Eye to probe for anomalies beneath the sand.
The spiritual connection between Bach and Rolin maintains real-time communication.
After traveling for about two hours, a warning message came from Baha.
In a relatively flat sandy area ahead, it sensed a faint gathering of life energy, as well as a faint energy fluctuation similar to that of the silver-spotted sand ants from the previous night.
Rowling immediately slowed down, using a sand dune to conceal himself, and carefully looked in that direction.
On the sandy ground, there were about twenty or thirty sand ants gathered, seemingly busy digging something.
Unlike the ordinary ant colony encountered last night, this group of sand ants had a significantly higher proportion of individuals with silvery carapaces, accounting for almost one-third.
Their digging movements also seemed more purposeful, not like they were just randomly foraging for food.
Luo Lin held his breath, focused his mental energy on the past, and carefully sensed it.
Sure enough, in the underground area of that region, he detected a very faint but definitely present spatial fluctuation.
The fluctuations were intermittent, like a candle flickering in the wind, yet they carried a sense of alienation and distortion unique to spatial energy.
"Space dust..."
Luo Lin had a sudden thought.
It seems that these mutated sand-eating ants do indeed have a special sensitivity to spatial energy. The reason they gather here to dig is likely because there are substances containing spatial energy underground.
This is an opportunity.
If we can take this opportunity to collect some space dust, we can verify its existence and properties, and save ourselves the huge risk of going deep into the core area of the Wailing Canyon.
But he did not act rashly.
Although this group of sand ants is not large, the proportion of silver-spotted individuals is high, and they are sensitive to energy. Once discovered, another battle is inevitable, and it may attract even more ant colonies.
He carefully observed the digging patterns of the sand ants.
They appear to be taking turns digging at a specific spot, with sand-eating ants occasionally carrying out some sand from the pit, which is then inspected by other sand-eating ants.
Most of the gravel was discarded, with only a very small amount carefully collected by the silver-spotted individuals and piled aside.
Rowling's gaze was fixed on the small pile of sifted sand.
In his mental perception, the spatial fluctuations emanating from that pile of sand were still weak, but slightly more obvious and concentrated than those emanating from underground.
"The target is that pile of gravel."
Rowling quickly devised a plan.
He needed to lure away the sand ants, even if only for a moment, and then seize the pile of sand and leave as quickly as possible.
He took out the packet of insect repellent powder from his dimensional bag, and then took out an empty leather pouch.
He poured a small amount of powder into the pouch, then infused it with a trace of magic, causing it to slowly emit a pungent odor.
Then, he carefully calculated the wind direction and distance, and used [Mage's Hand] to manipulate the husk, moving silently towards the upwind side of the sand-eating ants.
The skin bag was eventually placed behind a rock about thirty meters away from the sand-eating ant colony.
The pungent smell drifted slowly towards the ant colony on the wind.
The effect is immediate.
The sand-eating ant colony immediately became agitated, especially the ordinary individuals, who appeared restless and began to move in the opposite direction from the scent.
Even some silver-spotted individuals were affected, becoming hesitant in their movements.
It's now!
Luo Lin's figure darted out from behind the sand dune like a ghost, maximizing the defensive power of the [Flowing Barrier] while simultaneously channeling his mental energy to the fullest extent, suppressing his energy fluctuations as much as possible. Like a pale blue shadow, he rushed straight towards the pile of sifted sand.
He was incredibly fast, covering tens of meters in the blink of an eye.
However, just as he was about to touch the pile of sand, the two closest silver-spotted sand ants emitted sharp, piercing hisses.
They seemed completely unaffected by the smell of the powder, or rather, their instinct to protect the energy of the space overcame their aversion to the pungent odor, and they brandished their enormous jaws, fearlessly lunging at Rolin.
Luo Lin's eyes turned cold; he was prepared.
Without stopping, he waved his left hand, instantly activating a powerful [Acid Splash], and two jets of dark green acid shot precisely at the two silver-spotted sand ants.
puff!puff!
When the acid hits its target, its intense corrosiveness instantly destroys the silver spots on their carapace and erodes their bodies.
The hissing of the two sand ants stopped abruptly, and they struggled and collapsed.
But their warnings have already been issued.
The entire ant colony, including the individuals dispersed by the powder, instantly went berserk, surging wildly towards Rolin, the intruder, like a yellow tide.
Without pausing, Rolin extended his right hand, using the [Mage's Hand] to form an invisible force of absorption, rolling up the pile of sand emitting faint spatial fluctuations along with a small piece of animal hide underneath that seemed to be used by sand-devouring ants to hold these things. He quickly put it into a specially made glass bottle that had been prepared beforehand and sealed the bottle tightly.
succeed!
Without pausing, he retreated rapidly, simultaneously flicking his hands, sending out streams of acid like a green rain of death, precisely targeting the sand-eating ants at the forefront, especially the soldier ants that attempted to spit acid or leap to attack.
Baha also swooped down from the sky, its claws and beak turning into streaks of black, constantly harassing and attacking the rear of the ant colony, distracting it.
As Luo Lin fought and retreated, the [Flowing Barrier] withstood several attacks and acid sprays from the Sand Ants. Ripples spread across the pale blue force field surface, but the overall structure remained stable, successfully dispersing and neutralizing the attacks.
He fought and retreated, and soon escaped that area.
Losing their target, the sand-eating ants spun around frantically and hissed, but they couldn't catch up with Rolin's rapidly receding footsteps.
After retreating several miles in one breath, confirming that he had shaken off the pursuers, Luo Lin stopped and breathed slightly.
Although the mission was brief, it required extremely high precision in timing and control of magic, keeping the mind constantly on edge.
He couldn't wait to take out the glass bottle, uncork it, and probe it with his spiritual energy.