Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

Blades clashed against carapaces, fists and feet struck against claws.

Duanmu Yan moved swiftly and efficiently through the ant colony.

The power and defense granted by the Nava Armor allowed him to withstand the attacks of the Guardian Ants, while the Molten Scale Blade's powerful attacks were extremely effective against Cursed Spirits.

A guard ant tried to ambush it from the side with its stinger, but Duanmu Yan slashed off its stinger with a backhand stroke and then kicked it in the side, denting its carapace. The ant howled as it crashed into a pile of cocoons.

Another creature attempted to spew acid, but Duanmu Yan neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he unleashed a layer of scorching purifying light flames. The acid sizzled as it collided with the flames and evaporated rapidly.

He charged forward through the acid mist, delivering an elbow strike between the opponent's compound eyes, causing its head to tilt back, before finishing it off with a final stab.

Two of the three level-one guard ants were eliminated by Duanmu Yan in just a few minutes, with the help of a swarm of worker ants. Countless worker ants were also killed or injured, and the ground was covered with a layer of dissipating remains.

But the queen ant never stopped laying eggs; in fact, stimulated by the battle, the wriggling of its swollen abdomen became even faster!

One by one, the dark red cocoons were expelled more quickly, and after landing, they quickly cracked open, crawling out one by one newborn engineer ants, screeching as they joined the battle.

Duanmu Yan swept away several newly hatched engineer ants around him with a single slash, and glanced at the queen ant in between.

Far from being annoyed by the seemingly endless troop production, his eyes actually lit up slightly.

A thought flashed through my mind.

Before, earning points by defeating cursed spirits required searching everywhere, and the efficiency was inconsistent. This ant queen... she's practically an automatic points-farming machine!

Although a single engineer ant is only level three or four and has few points, their sheer numbers make up for it! This endless stream...

If we can control it, we can hand it over to Xia Youjie and have him subdue it using the Cursed Spirit Manipulation Technique, then use it to generate cursed spirits specifically for us to rack up points...

This idea... seems like it has potential?

However, we must capture it alive first, making sure we don't accidentally kill it.

His mind raced, but his hands moved with lightning speed.

With a series of sweeping attacks, he forced back the newly hatched engineer ants and the remaining guard ants that had rushed at him. Now that he was determined to capture them alive, he adjusted his attacks, focusing more on repelling them and disrupting their mobility, rather than aiming for a single, fatal blow.

The queen ant seemed to sense Duanmu Yan's weakness, her hissing became even more piercing, her abdomen writhed as if it were about to burst, and the newborn worker ants surged out even faster, almost forming a black stream.

The battle within the nest had temporarily reached a strange stalemate. Duanmu Yan stood firm like a rock in a raging torrent, steadily holding back the ant swarm; the queen ant, on the other hand, frantically produced more soldiers, attempting to overwhelm him with sheer numbers.

But a moment later, the system's voice came through.

[Idea rejected.]

[A cursed spirit unit completely controlled by cursed spirit manipulation techniques has its derivatives considered extensions of the manipulator's cursed power. These are not independent cursed spirit individuals and cannot contribute points.]

Duanmu Yan clicked his tongue.

Alright, as expected there's no such loophole.

Chapter 42 Solution

After realizing he couldn't cheat to get higher scores, his gaze towards the queen ant changed.

I just thought it was a promising seed for sustainable point generation, but now... it's just an obstacle to my progress. I'd better get rid of it quickly.

After all, defeating high-level cursed spirits gives you a lot more points.

Just then, the remaining guard ant and a constant stream of tiny ants swarmed in.

With a flick of his wrist, Duanmu Yan caused the flames on the Melting Scale Blade to intensify.

"Molten Flame Splitter!"

The blade flashed in a blazing arc, cleaving the heavily wounded guardian ant in two from head to tail.

After slaying the guardian ant queen, the blade flashed across her face, obscuring her identity, and wiped out the swarm of smaller ants.

After clearing out the guard ants, Duanmu Yan turned his blade and pointed it at the queen ant. The queen ant shuddered and hissed, and the newly hatched ants around her swarmed even more frantically, trying to block her with their bodies.

"It's no use," Duanmu Yan said in a low voice, as his cursed power surged wildly into the Melting Scale Blade.

He gripped the knife with both hands, raised it above his head, and fixed his gaze on the queen ant's swollen abdomen, which was constantly wriggling and laying eggs, appearing unusually vulnerable.

That is the core, and also the greatest weakness.

"Flame Spirit Fierce Flame Slash!"

With his fierce downward slash, a thin, crimson line that seemed capable of cleaving through space struck the queen ant's abdomen at an astonishing speed!

The queen ant let out a piercing screech of extreme terror, her massive body desperately trying to hide, but her bulky form and fixed egg-laying posture made her movements slow.

A thin crimson line flashed by.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

*Sizzle!*

The queen ant's swollen abdomen was precisely bisected in the middle by that thin red line, and dark red, foul-smelling mucus, undeveloped eggs, and broken internal organs gushed out from the huge wound like a flood bursting its banks.

The queen ant's mournful hiss abruptly ceased, replaced by a gurgling sound as if air was being released. Her massive body convulsed violently, the luster beneath her carapace dimmed rapidly, and her life force vanished as quickly as the tide receded.

One strike, and he's beheaded.

Duanmu Yan slowly sheathed his sword and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Flame Spirit Fierce Flame Slash is a skill he has only recently mastered. Its power is slightly less than that of Molten Flame Splitting Slash, but it is faster to use.

The system notification sounded at the appropriate time:

[Host has defeated a Quasi-Special Grade Cursed Spirit x1, gaining 10000 points.]

[Defeat 4 Level 1 Cursed Spirits, gain 400 points.]

[Defeat 31 Level 3 Cursed Spirits, gaining 310 points.]

[Defeat 389 Level 4 Cursed Spirits, gaining 389 points.]

[Total points earned: 11099.]

With the points credited to his account, Duanmu Yan felt a bit better. Although the breeding plan had failed, this wave of income was still quite substantial, so it wasn't a wasted effort.

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained 1 Legendary Chest, 4 Elite Chests, and 10 Common Chests]

A legendary treasure chest has appeared!!

Epic chests have yielded great items from the Enhancement Era, so what good stuff can legendary chests possibly give us?

As his consciousness sank into the system space, Duanmu Yan looked at the pile of treasure chest icons in front of him and directly ordered, "Open them all."

[Ding! Legendary Treasure Chest x1 opened!]

[Received: Domain Experience Card x1.]

[Description: A one-time consumable item. After use, it temporarily grants the user the ability of a domain for the next ten minutes, and may provide insights.]

Domain Experience Card!

Duanmu Yan's eyes narrowed. This is a good thing!

Although it's just a temporary trial version, the significance of the word "domain" in spell battles is undeniable.

At crucial moments, this might become a trump card to turn the tide, and it could also allow him to experience the mysteries of the field in advance, paving the way for him to truly master the field in the future.

[Open Elite Chest x4.]

[Received: Senzu Bean x1.]

[Received: 2 Spell Power Restoration Potions.]

[Received: 50 yen in cash.]

[Open 10 regular treasure chests.]

[Obtained: Multi-functional Survival Knife x1.]

[Received: Cleansing Charm x5.]

The rest are miscellaneous items, which have been automatically organized.

Duanmu Yan was fairly satisfied with the unboxing results. Besides the most important Domain Experience Card, the Senzu Bean was a life-saving artifact, and he had one more in stock.

He carefully put away the newly acquired items, then turned and walked towards the door.

Mission accomplished. Time to head back and meet up with Teacher Moth and the others.

He flew all the way here on a Tornado and only switched to a Nava here; he must be the fastest.

When he got close to Teacher Moth, he saw several familiar black cars parked at the entrance, and several assistant supervisors in "window" uniforms were busy setting up a cordon.

Masamichi Nocturnus was talking to an assistant supervisor.

Shoko leaned against another car, a cigarette between her fingers, staring blankly at the distant sky. Ankagi and Kamiki Kawaiichi sat by the open car door. Ankagi held a cup of hot drink, sipping it slowly, her complexion looking better than before. Kamiki Kawaiichi had his head down, seemingly resting.

As soon as Duanmu Yan approached, several pairs of eyes immediately turned to him.

Night Moth Masamichi finished his conversation with the assistant supervisor and strode forward. His gaze quickly swept over Duanmu Yan, making sure he wasn't seriously injured, before he asked in a deep voice, "Is it resolved?"

"Hmm." Duanmu Yan nodded. "The lair is in the deepest part inside. I have already exorcised the quasi-special-grade curse spirit. There are still some level one guards and a large number of low-grade ones inside. They have all been cleared out. I did not find any other threatening curse spirits."

"Okay." Nocturne Masamichi's face didn't change much, but a hint of relief flashed in his eyes.

He glanced in the direction Duanmu Yan had come from and said to the bespectacled assistant supervisor next to him, "Send a team in to confirm, handle the remains, make sure nothing is missed, and be careful."

"Yes!" The assistant supervisor immediately turned around to make the arrangements.

Shoko walked over, looked Duanmu Yan up and down, and asked in a flat tone, "Are you injured?"

"Just a minor scrape, nothing serious," Duanmu Yan said, stretching his arms. The Nawa Armor was very strong, blocking most of the attacks from the worker ants and guard ants. Only a few impacts made him a little out of breath, but it wasn't a serious injury at all.

"That's fine then." Shoko nodded and leaned back in the car to smoke, clearly uninterested in the details.

The songstress put down her cup, her gaze towards Duanmu Yan somewhat complicated. She seemed to want to say something, her lips moved, but in the end she only whispered, "Th-thank you for coming..."

Her gaze shifted between Duanmu Yan and the distant building, and her ears turned slightly red, probably because she remembered her conversation with Xiaozi earlier.

Kamiki Kawaiya quickly stood up and bowed to Duanmu Yan: "Thank you so much! You saved me and the songstress!"

"No need, it's just a mission." Duanmu Yan waved his hand, he wasn't very good at handling this kind of situation.

"Where are Wu and Jie?" Ye'e Zhengdao looked behind Duanmu Yan, not seeing the other two figures, and frowned again. "Haven't they come out yet?"

“I took the right-hand path and came straight into the queen ant’s nest,” Duanmu Yan explained. “The other paths they chose might have encountered different resistance, or there might have been other obstacles along the way that needed to be cleared. They should be out soon.”

Just then, a lazy voice came from afar.