Chapter 147 – Royal Winged An (1/2)

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In the middle of the main street, Liu Lan directly summoned a Fire Cloud Panther and climbed on it, rendering Fatty dumbstruck.

“Where’s your mount?” Liu Lan asked him from astride her beast.

Fatty shrugged, indicating he had no words for this either.

“Hmph! You don’t even have a mount for yourself, yet you used a good mount to spoil someone else,” Liu Lan snorted, her tone laced with jealousy.

Fatty acted as if he’d heard nothing.

“Get on,” Liu Lan patted behind her, and Fatty leaped onto the Fire Cloud Panther.

The animal abruptly felt its limbs go jelly as the sudden weight almost rammed it flat.

“That’s why I told you to lose weight. See, you almost crushed my Little Cloud,” Liu Lan reproached Fatty, and she gently patted the Fire Cloud Panther’s head.

“Fire Cloud Panther? Aren’t these specially from Azure Dragon City? How’d you get it?” Fatty caressed the panther’s soft fur, feeling the smooth sensation.

“Bought it.” Liu Lan patted the Fire Cloud Panther once more and directed it toward the city gates. “Haah, poor little ol’ me. Since no one gifted me a mount, I could only buy one myself.”

“Tch, we can actually co-ride it; not bad,” said Fatty as he hurried to change the topic.

“Of course! But there’s still limits.” Liu Lan stroked her long hair. “The system only allows a girl and a guy to co-ride. It doesn’t work for guy/guy or girl/girl.”

“Discrimination, this is discrimination!” Fatty rallied for justice. “We must strongly object.”

“Whatever, Mr. Busybody,” Liu Lan chided. “Hold on tight, I’m speeding up.”

Fatty cried out, “Whoa ouch!” When the Fire Cloud Panther abruptly sped up, he was almost thrown from its back.

“Can’t you just hold onto me?!” Liu Lan fumed.

Fatty had no choice but to hug her waist. Hey, it actually feels pretty good! The sensation is just right!

“How does it feel?” Liu Lan suddenly asked.

“Real good,” Fatty replied without thinking. Then, he immediately regained his wits and chuckled awkwardly, trying to play the fool.

“Damn brat,” replied Liu Lan with a smug smile on her face.

“The Royal Winged Ants’ levels shouldn’t be very high, just between 40 and 50,” explained Liu Lan. “But with so many of them, no one comes here to grind because it’s too troublesome.”

While the two rode the Fire Cloud Panther to their destination, they studied the information they’d gleaned from the forum. A Royal Winged Ant was shaped like an ordinary ant, but much bigger. Its head was the size of an adult’s fist. Two pairs of yellow wings on the insect’s back allowed it to fly extremely fast; and, the body was tough, solid and durable.

The ant had two main attacks: Bite and Poison. Once upon a time, a player was paralyzed by the Royal Winged Ant’s poison. The victim was immediately gnawed to bones by the swarm. From then on, the ants’ territory became an unspoken forbidden ground among players. No one dared provoke the insects without reason.

Although the Fire Cloud Panther carried two people on its back, its speed wasn’t affected at all. The beast sped like it had lightning at its paws from Black Tortoise City to the Thousand Cave Ridge in the south.

The Ridge was composed of countless caverns. At about half a meter high, the small caves could only let one person enter while crouching. However, as rumor had it, the big ones where huge dragons lurked could reach over a hundred meters. A dearth of normal plants in this area made room for a type of fiery red bush to grow. The Royal Winged Ants fed on this bush.

Arriving at their destination, Fatty praised the Fire Cloud Panther as he jumped off. “Not bad, not bad! I should get a mount after this.”

“Shhhh, an ant’s here!” Liu Lan shushed him.

Slowly gnawing away with all its might, an ant was burying into a nearby bush. The insect was the size of a fist with two pairs of yellow wings on its back; so, it was definitely their target.

Appraisal.

Royal Winged Ant

Level: 43

……

Notes: A mutated ant that inhabits the Thousand Cave Ridge of the Black Tortoise City region. Because the wings are yellow, a color that symbolizes royalty, the insect was given the name “Royal Winged Ant.” While it feeds on a type of red bush, it still fancies flesh and blood more.

“Well dang! Some omnivore!” Fatty pulled out his dagger and carefully crept forward.

Whoosh! A –230 rose up from the ant with a cold flash.

This works! thought the rogue triumphantly. A normal attack can wipe out a tenth of its health!

“Screech!” the Royal Winged Ant screamed upon being attacked. It flew up and shot toward Fatty. In response, he quickly raised his dagger.

Clang! The Royal Winged Ant violently hit the dagger with a loud clatter. Although the ant’s head looked small, the force from the collision was enough to numb Fatty’s hand and push him a step back. Yet, the ant didn’t fare too well either: it was dizzied from the headbutt and hovered in circles.

Great chance! Fatty instantly pounced. First, he used a Combo Attack that continuously shaved away at the insect’s health. Then, Coil bound the unfortunate ant and left it hanging motionlessly in the air, wrapped in the folds of a silver python.