Chapter 153 - Legendary Beetle
Chapter 153 of "Farming in a Parallel World and Becoming a God" introduces new challenges: This place is of the same origin as Aivensa, and if luck is on their... Keep following!
This place is of the same origin as Aivensa, and if luck is on their side, the Young Red Copper Dragon may likely inherit some knowledge of the Red Copper Dragons right here, which is exactly what this orphaned dragon needs the most.As they drew closer, the shape of the Dragon Scale Oak also hinted at this.
The entire giant tree took the form of a Giant Dragon ready to soar, with an outer bark resembling Red Copper Dragon scales, layered upon each other, truly living up to the name of Dragon Scale Oak.
Aivensaâs mood became exceedingly excited.
She couldnât help but let out a dragonâs chant, activating the Enlarge Necklace that she had silently vowed not to use just half an hour ago.
The body of the Young Red Copper Dragon grew visibly larger, from the size of a cheetah to that of a might Ferocious Tiger.
At the same time, a dragon saddle that seemed tailor-made for her appeared on her back.
Aivensa was a bit uncomfortable at first, vibrating her Dragon Wings a few times before fully adapting to her new equipment.
Although now equipped with a dragon saddle, Aivensa didnât seem to intend to let Gaven ride her. She flapped her Dragon Wings with all her might, soaring toward the Dragon Scale Oak.
She felt a familiar, Cordial presence from the Dragon Scale Oak, a voice from deep within calling to herâit was so gentle, so Cordial.
It felt a bit like the sensation she had when enveloped by the egg fluid within the dragon egg.
Not only did Aivensaâs body grow larger, but her Strength increased as well, turning heavy load into light load, significantly boosting her speed.
Simply observing the Dragon Scale Oak from afar was enough to be awe-inspiring.
When they got closer, their hearts were filled with nothing but admiration for the masterful work of nature.
Standing under the umbrella-like canopy of the Dragon Scale Oak, they couldnât see its outline clearly. They roughly estimated the entire canopy to be at least five or six kilometers wide.
The Dragon Scale Oak, of course, did not resemble a normal oak, standing upright with a single main trunk. Instead, it had one main and four secondary supports, totaling five.
The thickest of these resembled the Giant Dragonâs tail, crouching in place, while the four slightly thinner ones were the dragonâs legs. á´á´á´ á´á´á´ ę°Ęá´á´ No(á´ )á´lFire.ná´t
Five support points combined to hold up such a gigantic tree.
Even the thinnest of these dragon legs was thicker than a skyscraper, not to mention the main trunk, which was like a small mountain, standing at least five hundred meters tall.
Gavenâs assumption that the Dragon Scale Oak had drained all the nutrients from the surrounding tens of kilometers did not come true.
Contrarily, the flora around here was even more vibrant and lush than in other areas, with the Dragon Scale Oak itself hosting various shrubs, flowers, and plants.
Even the Everlasting Kind of the Fairy Wilderness didnât know the specific age of the Dragon Scale Oak; it had long since merged with its surroundings, too massive for anyone to gauge its age through the dust gathered in every nook and cranny, providing enough sustenance for ordinary trees to thrive.
This area had formed a unique ecosystem, distinct not only from the Material Plane but even from the Fairy Wilderness.
The vegetation growing on the Dragon Scale Oak was mostly flowers and plants, indicative of someoneâs dedicated care and cultivation.
Countless flowers bloomed, exuding a rich fragrance, with innumerable bees diligently moving in and out of various blooms.
Nicoleâs village was called Nectar Village, deriving its name from here; beekeeping and honey harvesting were the mainstays of their villageâs economy and well-known throughout the entire Spring Bud Forest.
The entirety of the Dragon Scale Oak was shrouded in the buzzing of insects.
"Hiss..." Gaven gasped in shock, "What in the world is that thing?"
The Dragonâs Sight Glasses granted him extraordinary vision, allowing him to spot from several kilometers away that there was something off about the Dragon Scale Oak.
An oddly shaped beetle, resembling a large-bellied ant, was crawling on the Dragon Scale Oak.
At first glance, the beetle seemed rather unremarkable, especially when considered against the overwhelming, almost terrifying size of the Dragon Scale Oak.
Compared to the surrounding trees and the Yaling Warriors buzzing around it, the size of this beetle was almost horrifyingly large, easily over ten meters.
Its pitch-black carapace shone with a rainbow halo, with eight spider-like long legs ending in sharp, spike-like tips. With each step, it deeply embedded itself into the body of the Dragon Scale Oak. Its carapace was not one solid piece but made of hundreds of leaf-shaped chitin plates pieced together.
Instead of insectoid compound eyes, it had a pair that resembled catâs eyesâgiant catâs eyes that glittered with the light of Intelligence, exuding a chillingly malevolent aura.
Around this Legendary Beetle, five Yaling Warriors with resplendent golden Angel Wings were flying back and forth, shooting arrows at it.
The results were far from ideal; the beetleâs chitin armor was not just for show, and most of the arrows were deflected.
Even the few arrows that managed to stick were inconsequential compared to its massive body, similar to being pricked by needles.
Though not seriously harmed, the Legendary Beetle seemed quite irritated by the harassment.
Plunging its sharp claws deep into the Dragon Scale Oak to stabilize itself, it slowly opened the chitin plates on its back, revealing a sticky chamber beneath teeming with Cicada Wing Maggots wriggling incessantly.
At that sight, Gaven felt a chill run from his spine to his scalp.
He was a classic sufferer of maggot phobia.
He had trodden through fields of death and mountains of blood countless times without batting an eye.
But placing a body riddled with maggot bites in front of him would make him uneasy.
It wasnât Fear or horror, but rage.
An explosive anger to completely eradicate the unsightly things before his eyes.
Suddenly, hundreds of maggots shot out from the chambers on the Legendary Beetleâs back.
Each one tensed and powerful, with speed mirroring that of flying knives.
The five Yaling Warriors quickly flapped their Angel Wings, retreating hastily.
Most of the maggot missiles were evaded by them, and a small part was directly slashed down with their drawn swords.
The Yaling Long Knives clanked against their bodies; some didnât get sliced through but were knocked away instead.
Most of these maggots were also enveloped in a brown carapace, especially at the tail, which was as sharp as a cone.
Violently vibrating their cicada wings and using their tails to repeatedly pierce were their primary means of attack.
These Cicada Wing Maggots, like a number of flying daggers, quickly gathered in swarms, emitting a disturbing buzz.
Buzzing, they shot towards the Yaling Warriors.
However, their speed was clearly not as fast as that of the Yaling Warriors, who could only be chased from behind.
Obviously lacking the intelligence to use encirclement tactics, they were soon lured to the side of a branch as thick as a large tree.
Thousands of Pikespirits wielding miniature bows flew out from behind, and a deluge of tiny arrows rained down upon the Cicada Wing Maggots.
Despite the sheer volume of miniature arrows, the effect was less than ideal.
The exceedingly sharp Yaling Long Knives were not very effective against these Cicada Wing Maggots, let alone these feeble miniature arrows, which downed only a few maggots.
Instead, it was the Pikespiritâs spell-like ability, the Entanglement Spell, that produced more impactful vines, wrapping up and temporarily trapping seven or eight Cicada Wing Maggots that couldnât dodge in time.
Once the distance was close enough, Gaven didnât hesitate to activate the passive effect of his Dragonâs Sight Glasses, gathering a wealth of data in the process.
Life Force: 317 (Life Dice: 23D10+207)
Size: Gargantuan
Attributes: Strength 25, Dexterity 17, Constitution 25, Intelligence 6, Perception 16, Charisma 8
After reading the data, Gaven couldnât help but draw in a sharp breath.
The number of Life Dice was almost catching up to that of an ancient Giant Dragon; this creature wasnât just a Transcendent Magic Beast, but an undeniable Legendary Magic Beast.
Such strength and constitution were frighteningly high.
Its Strength attribute might not seem very high, just a few points higher than that of a Half-Ogre Hou.
But all physical attributes are divided by size, especially the Strength attribute; the same number of strength points in creatures of different sizesâsmall, medium, large, extra-large, gargantuan, colossalâhave a multiplying effect.
So to put it this way, even if Gaven had the same Strength attribute as the Half-Ogre, if he truly competed in strength against it, he would still be overwhelmed due to the advantage of a larger size.
And this Legendary Beetle, being of gargantuan size, with 25 strength points, could snap a limb as thick as an adult thigh as if it were a mere twig.
Gaven then turned his gaze to the swarm of Cicada Wing Maggots.
Life Dice: 202 (23D10+92)
Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 25, Constitution 14, Intelligence 3, Perception 16, Charisma 8
These were swarm attributes.
This is a unique trait of tiny and smaller non-sapient creatures; once they gather in sufficient numbers, they automatically develop this trait, activating a collective consciousness where the individuals can cooperate and protect each other as a whole.
Pikespirits and other sapient beings, however, cannot form such swarmsâthis relates to individual intelligence; they cannot fully open their minds to connect and develop a collective consciousness.
This swarmâs intelligence was on the lower end; some insects and beasts, once swarming, even possess intelligence higher than that of a normal person. Those are truly terrifying as they can utilize tactics from sapient beings and maintain certain traits of tiny creatures, allowing them to enter areas inaccessible to regular sapient organisms.
Without any direction from Gaven, the Young Red Copper Dragon stealthily approached and unleashed a Strong Acid Breath on the Cicada Wing Maggot swarm.
Strong Acid Breath was incredibly effective against such swarm creatures.
Once in a swarm, although gaining swarm traits, they are not truly a single entity, and undiscriminating area attacks ultimately affect the different individuals in the swarm.
Especially when the attack is overwhelmingly powerful.
The defensive maneuvers formed by the rotating Cicada Wing Maggots proved significantly less effective.
The foremost ones had no chance to rotate and switch positions; they were directly taken down by the Strong Acid Breath.
Particularly, their wings, thin as those of cicadas, could not withstand the erosion of the strong acid; even a slight splash would burn holes into them, let alone a widespread dousing.
The ones hit by it, a few died on the spot, while the majority saw their wings damaged, falling like dumplings, clattering down in large numbers.
Seeing the Young Red Copper Dragon suddenly emerge, most Pikespirits instinctively kept their distance, while a few tensely drew their miniature bows.
"Itâs an ally, itâs an ally, donât shoot," shouted five Yaling Warriors as they flew closer with their golden Angel Wings, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, kill all the larvae that lost their ability to move, donât let them regenerate."
The leading Yaling Warrior was none other than the half-dwarf Stelina.
The maggots with their cicada wings burnt were incessantly flapping, spurting out streaks of green mucus from their mouths; as it splashed on the acid-eroded parts, the acid was instantly neutralized, and the wounds recovered at a visible speed, including the wings.
Cicada Wing Maggots possessed extraordinary regenerative capabilities.
Both Yaling Warriors and Pikespirits, obviously fully aware of their trait, closed in and struck with deadly intent.
Temporarily unable to move, the Cicada Wing Maggots were much more vulnerable, and before they could regrow their wings, they were mostly cleared out.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Legendary Beetle stamped with each step as it rushed over at high speed, like a crab with its multi-jointed mouth emitting angry screams, sharp and piercing. Its two large pincers on its mouth snapped open and closed, and some trees as thick as a personâs waist were bite cleanly in half as it roared through them.