A Card In Hand

Chapter 6: Want a Bite of My Flesh?

Li Ao clenched his fist.

The contract with the stone bear wasn’t without its benefits.

Bear’s Strength: By summoning a battle beast, the master of the contract could gain an enhancement in strength from the beast itself.

For an ordinary summoner, gaining the strength of a stone bear was a considerable increase in combat power.

However, Li Ao felt somewhat disappointed.

If the power of the bear granted a percentage enhancement based on Li Ao’s own strength, he would be much happier.

A direct addition of a stone bear’s strength provided a bigger boost in the short term, but Li Ao was bound to ascend to the divine realm again in the future.

Returning to the divine realm.

The incremental gain from Bear’s Strength was minuscule, nearly useless.

Thus, skills that could enhance his own strength by a percentage were truly the divine techniques he needed.

“Let’s go!”

Li Ao never expected a Black Iron-tier stone bear to possess a skill that would benefit him for life; it was perfect for deceiving outsiders, though.

The cave tunnel twisted and turned.

Meandering and winding.

They walked about two to three kilometers.

The shadow wolves ahead detected a burrower worm.

Cloaked in a tough exoskeleton, the burrower worm resembled a cave-dwelling, iron-clad rhinoceros, even larger in size.

While two shadow wolves could drive them away, inflicting significant wounds on them was unlikely.

Known for their thick shells and incredibly robust vitality, even if injured, they could recover by simply eating some dirt.

To kill them, one would have to chop off their heads.

For a creature that usually hid underground, digging and eating dirt, it had few natural predators.

Li Ao had no interest in dealing with these subterranean nuisances that liked to consume minerals.

He simply moved on.

The colony of burrower worms was undisturbed by Li Ao’s passage, each continuing to dig diligently.

Except for a young burrower worm, either startled or mischievous, which spat a stream of highly corrosive dark green saliva from afar towards Li Ao.

Naturally, Li Ao was not hit, but it almost splashed the stone bear at the rear of the group.

Annoyed, the stone bear roared loudly at the little creature.

Roar!

Yet, Li Ao kept walking.

Facing a colony living together, it knew it couldn’t fight back, so it could only glare angrily at them before turning and hurrying after its master.

Five to six hundred meters ahead, a stone door blocked the path in the cave tunnel.

Opening the door revealed a vast cave mouth.

Peering ahead, Li Ao discovered a large rift formed inside the mountain.

Though sunlight couldn’t reach inside, the place teemed with life.

Large-eared bats, stone lizards, cave spiders, hidden-winged beetles, dark scorpions, and blind cave snakes.

They were all feasting on the advantageous terrain.

Buzzing around in swarms, a multitude of flying insects occupied the rift’s airspace, nourishing their predators to the point of satiety.

Li Ao, smelling a particular stench, was not very interested in the rift’s internal ecosystem.

He sniffed vigorously and nodded.

It was undoubtedly the distinct smell of dragonflies.

In environments inhabited by flying dragons, dragonflies typically appeared.

Despite no close relation to flying dragons, dragonflies shared a fascinating symbiotic relationship with them.

Besides hunting on their own, dragonflies often followed flying dragons in groups, nibbling on the dragons’ leftover food.

In turn, flying dragons used the dragonflies’ guidance to quickly locate large prey on the ground, appreciating having a group of guides to pinpoint their targets when it was time to dine.

Moreover, many insects liked to lay eggs in the excrement of flying dragons.

Dragonflies took advantage of this fact.

And laid their eggs there as well.

Fierce dragonfly larvae are born knowing how to hunt various nutritious maggots to nourish themselves.

“Ah woo, ah woo, ah woo…”

Above the rift valley.

Suddenly, a series of chaotic yet distinct buzzing and shrieking sounds erupted.

Dozens, nearly a hundred creatures with bodies over a meter long, resembling large dragonflies but with sharp stingers at their tails—these formidable demonic insects are born as larvae already at the Black Iron level.

Utilizing their superb flying skills, they engage in playful hunting of slower bug swarms.

In the sky, other creatures hastily vacate the hunting ground, fearing they might become the next meal.

Several dragonflies spotted Li Ao.

Accustomed to being at the top of the food chain in the underground rift valley, they dove towards him without hesitation.

Their mouthparts opened.

Revealing ferocious teeth.

“Want to eat my flesh? You’ve picked the wrong target!”

Li Ao calmly pulled out the Black Diamond from his pocket, gently invoking it with Abyssal energies, and a burst of dark green Abyssal Flames surged up.

With a casual wave of Li Ao’s hand, the green flames spread out in a fan shape across several dozen meters of sky, sweeping through everything in their path.

The few arrogant dragonflies were instantly burnt to cinders, and the surrounding insects were reduced to ash.

Ordinary flames.

Dragonflies aren’t particularly fearful of them.

Many fire-attribute dragonflies can even spit phosphorous juice from their mouthparts, which ignites in the air and forms long tongues of fire to burn their enemies.

However, the Abyssal Flames are not something that creatures from the lower realms can withstand, and the dark powers unleashed from the Black Diamond terrified them.

The horrific power fluctuations caused chaos in the rift valley, with both predators and prey panicking, fleeing in disarray at their fastest speeds.

Weaker flying insects were literally scared to death.

Falling like raindrops.

Even the Stone Bears following the group were agitated, growling restlessly for a while, searching everywhere for non-existent Abyssal creatures.

It was not until Li Ao pocketed the Black Diamond.

That the power fluctuations ceased.

Only then did they calm down, breathing a sigh of relief.

With the path now clear, the Shadow Giant Wolves followed the faint scent left by humans earlier and found a dilapidated stone bridge.

Li Ao strolled leisurely across the stone bridge through the underground river valley.

Soon.

He encountered a new mechanical stone door.

Opening the stone door, the passage inside had several confusing forks.

Fortunately, the Shadow Giant Wolves, with their keen sense of smell and natural tracking abilities, easily found the correct path.

The Stone Bear also had a keen sense of smell and wanted to show off, but the two Shadow Giant Wolves didn’t give it any chance and it had to silently follow.

Walking through countless twists in the dark tunnel.

Seemingly endless.

Luckily, Li Ao knew how to use the energy to create light orbs for illumination, making the journey steady. If it were another ordinary rookie, they’d likely have smashed their nose in the dark!

Li Ao carefully bypassed various mechanical traps, trying not to disturb the original landscape.

After opening the secret doors, he closed them back properly.

After walking for no less than an hour.

Finally.

A giant rock wall with a cleanly cut opening appeared before them.

Approaching closer, one could see that the opening receded deeply into another side of the cliff wall, forming a vast cave.

Looking out from the cave was a cliff.

Li Ao carefully observed and determined the direction, realizing that the cliff below to the southeast at about forty degrees was his route here.

“Roar!”

The Stone Bear smelled the strong scent of flying dragons and growled uneasily.

The two Shadow Giant Wolves also pressed their tails down, crouching in the shadows at Li Ao’s feet, ready to strike at any moment.