Chapter 90: The Storm of Flames

Iron-armored ants, measuring around thirty centimeters in length, possessed shells as tough as wrought iron. Though not of high rank, they were monsters that struck terror into all who heard of them.

These ants usually moved in swarms, leaving not a blade of grass nor a single bone in their path. Typically, they would not approach human settlements, much less dig tunnels to Richard Manor. More often, they launched attacks directly from the surface, burrowing underground only when building their nests.

Iron-armored ants would never choose a human settlement as the site for their colony—it was far too unsafe. This particular monster attack was highly suspicious.

The manor's guards began to gather at the gates, attempting to fend off the onslaught, but the ants were numerous, and many had already entered the manor from underground and through the windows.

Chu Yun hurriedly left his room, and upon stepping outside, he found Anna waiting, anxious.

“Chu Yun, what should we do? They're about to break through.” Anna, having heard the commotion and glimpsed the scene through the window, already knew what was happening.

“Don’t panic. Tell everyone to head to the rooftop. They're just iron-armored ants; I’ll hold them off.” Chu Yun spoke calmly.

Hearing his words, Anna managed to steady herself somewhat. The ants were on the ground floor, while the students resided on the third floor. There was only one staircase from the third to the fourth floor; as long as it was guarded, there was hope.

“But Chu Yun, these ants aren't easy to deal with. Let me stay and help you,” Anna insisted, still uneasy.

“No need. Just intercept any that slip past.” With that, Chu Yun took out his magic book and moved to a corridor window, smashing the glass.

From this vantage point, he could see the garden's burrow, from which the ants emerged in an endless stream.

Chu Yun then produced a fire crystal, guiding its flame with his mental strength before tossing it into the mouth of the burrow.

“Chu Yun, are you—” Anna began, confused.

As Anna watched in bewilderment, Chu Yun’s explosive flame magic book began to float, arcane incantations swirling as its pages turned rapidly.

“Summon: Fire Elemental Giant!”

The fire crystal blazed and transformed; an elemental being composed of fire appeared at the burrow’s entrance. Fire was among the elements most feared by iron-armored ants—the intense heat turned their iron shells crimson, and their internal proteins were instantly charred.

With the fire elemental’s radiance, dense black smoke billowed forth. In the distance, the Blackstone Knights and patrol teams rushed toward the manor.

Chu Yun had not been idle these past few days. He had completed the downgraded structure for fire elemental summoning and set the spell permanently into his magic book.

Though the summoned fire elemental could only reach Level 28, with the bonuses from the fire elemental commander and the explosive flame magic book, this Level 28 elemental was an elite-class Fire Elemental Giant.

Even if it couldn’t match the previous fourth-tier fire elemental lord, a third-tier elite elemental was more than enough to deal with iron-armored ants.

These ants relied primarily on physical attacks, which could not harm the Fire Elemental Giant; conversely, the elemental’s attacks devastated them.

“Perish, you vermin!” Chu Yun commanded.

Centered on the fire elemental, a storm of flames began to form. The ants in the garden were instantly swept up, and those in the burrow were dragged out one by one.

Chu Yun watched the stream of experience points from the kills, but felt dissatisfied.

“These ants are too weak. What a pity,” he sighed.

Having become a second-tier traveling mage, Chu Yun only gained fractional experience from killing zero-tier creatures. Most of these ants were zero-tier monsters; only a few elites were first or second tier, and the experience they offered was meager.

Chu Yun had considered accumulating experience by farming tiers, but such methods were ineffective—this was reality, not a game.

When he advanced to the second tier, the experience gained from first-tier kills and light orb drops was converted proportionally into second-tier experience. The leftover experience from his time at the first tier had been transformed into a much smaller amount of second-tier experience.

As Chu Yun lamented the difficulty of future upgrades, Anna stood dumbstruck beside him. She could never have imagined Chu Yun’s strength—he had annihilated the swarm with a single spell.

“Chu—Chu Yun, are you a third-tier mage?” Anna stammered.

Hearing her, Chu Yun reminded her, “Don’t just stand there—many ants have already entered the manor. Go and tell everyone to take refuge on the rooftop.”

“Yes, yes!” she replied.

As a mage who had absorbed two god-fragment shards, Chu Yun’s strength, in some respects, was not as great as one might expect. Most of those shards had been converted into Chu Yun’s own mirror god-fragment, so they had not directly increased his power. If someone else had absorbed the shards and directly harnessed the divine energy, the effect might have been even more formidable.

However, doing so would lock the recipient into the original divinity of the shard, resulting in significant compatibility issues. Even if one managed to piece together a god-fragment, the growth would be severely limited.

Chu Yun’s current situation, though unable to fully harness the shards’ power, allowed him to outpace those who merely cobbled together god-fragments—once he completed his collection.

Of course, others were not simply absorbing shards at random; the Truth Association and various organizations were conducting their own research. As shard samples increased, the world promised to grow ever more fascinating.

After ordering the Fire Elemental Giant to block the ants’ reinforcements, Chu Yun cast a regeneration shield on himself and headed downstairs.

He had grown familiar with the manor’s guards over the past few days, and he did not wish to see Richard Manor—so hospitable to him—ruined beyond repair.

“True Word: Shield!”

“Magical Explosion!”

“Stone Skin!”

“True Word: Healing!”

“Lightning Strike!”

...

A succession of spells shifted the balance between the guard team and the ants.

Soon, Chu Yun’s reinforcements arrived. They steered clear of the fire elemental commander’s storm, entered the manor from the flanks, and joined the fight.

As the situation stabilized, Chu Yun captured a first-tier ant that had been paralyzed by lightning strike and began his interrogation.

He possessed the Monster Communication spell, enabling him to converse with the ants.

“Why did you attack here?”

“Humans, hateful, queen, revenge...”

Though the ants were first-tier monsters, their intelligence was low, so their answers were fragmented.

Fortunately, their lack of wit made it easier to extract information.

Chu Yun interrogated several ants in turn. As he gathered more information, his expression grew increasingly grim.

This attack was no accident—it was orchestrated.