Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Abyss Ant King’s Skeleton

Upon catching sight of the golden chest before him, Song Jian finally heaved a sigh of relief. After all, this mission was time-sensitive and the penalty for failure was a reduction of one level.

Song Jian was already at level 24, and every increase in level required several times the prior experience. Falling a level meant that all his efforts over the past few days would be for nothing.

Checking the time, Song Jian saw that he had more than forty minutes left. He should have ample time. He carefully approached the golden chest.

The closer one gets to completing a mission, the more cautious one has to be. He wasn’t sure if one more step would render the mission accomplished and reward him handsomely or turn out to be a trap, a metaphorical abyss that would cost him his life.

Just as Song Jian was about to reach the chest, he suddenly felt a dark shadow rushing towards him. There were two balls of green flame burning in the shadow, which stared at Song Jian as if regarding him as prey.

“What is this…?” Song Jian was taken aback. He hadn’t anticipated the presence of a monster in this lake filled with Abyssal Power.

His previous caution paid off. Song Jian quickly reacted, pushing off a rock beneath the chest with his foot and propelling himself backward.

Woosh~

A sharp streak of white light flashed by, cutting through the lake where Song Jian had just been standing. Only then did he get a good look at the creature.

It was a skeletal creature made entirely of ant bones. Although its size was significantly smaller than that of Toro, the golden ant gladiator, it was still twice the size of a typical charmed Ant King.

Its entire body was constructed from a black shell, but at the joints and seams of the shell, it was clear that there was not a shred of flesh inside this giant creature.

Deep green light emanated from these joints and seams. It had a pair of broken wings; black wisps hanged from the edge of the wings, making it look like their extensions.

“Abyssal Ant King Skeleton, Level 30, Lord-level, first-stage combat power, Vitality Points: 9000/9000”

“The Abyss is watching you…” The abyssal ant’s skeleton moved its lower jaw slightly, uttering a deep voice in Song Jian’s mind.

“The language of the Abyss…” Song Jian’s heart tightened. The creature in front of him, although it was only a skeleton, was a genuine abyssal entity.

Most of the entities Song Jian had encountered so far were creatures or monsters corrupted by the power of the Abyss and possessed only a trace of the abyssal aura—they were not fully transformed. Even the charmed Ant Kings could not be considered true abyssal entities because they did not understand the language of the Abyss.

Only a creature that understood the language of the Abyss could be identified as an abyssal entity.

After finishing its speech, the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton opened its mouth wide and a sharp energy burst forth. This energy stirred the lake’s water, forming a water dragon that charged towards Song Jian.

Song Jian swung his sword at the water dragon, and with a loud explosion—reminiscent of a dynamite blast—a column of water shot five or six meters into the air.

Over Song Jian’s head, there floated a figure indicating over a hundred points of damage. Despite shattering the water dragon, it had exploded into countless black icicles that hurled towards him.

The Abyssal Ant King Skeleton moved swiftly in the lake that was saturated with Abyssal Power. Just as Song Jian steadied himself, the Abyssal Ant King was already charging towards him.

A ball of pitch-black liquid spewed from the Abyssal Ant King’s mouth. Song Jian had no time to react before the black liquid slammed into his chest.

A critical damage point of over six hundred popped up over Song Jian’s head. The burning pain in his chest made him groan in agony.

Staring at the green flames burning in the eye sockets of the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton, Song Jian gritted his teeth. A roar burst from his throat, and his sword radiated a dazzling golden light. He swung his blade upwards, striking a golden Sword Qi. The sword energy sliced through the black water and heavily slashed at the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton.

With that, the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton was thrown back. Its massive body leapt high and let out an eerie shriek in mid-air, before it heavily plummeted back into the lake.

Divine Power inflicted the most damage on abyssal entities. Caught off guard, the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton was unable to withstand the Divine Power that was seething within its body.

Crack, crack~

Boom!

Halfof the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton began to shatter piece by piece. A sudden surge of intense, golden energy burst from within, causing its hard shell to explode.

For a moment, a green light, akin to blood, ejected from the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton’s body, splattering everywhere.

A hint of a smile appeared on Song Jian’s lips. He glanced down at his chest. He saw his previously silver armor had been heavily corroded, its durability decreased to less than ten points. Even the flesh on his chest started to dissolve, and his vitality was continuously decreasing.

Song Jian’s eyebrows furrowed—the Ant Soul Orb he was wearing seemed to have no effect on the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton. Just then, the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton suddenly let out a stern howl. The bubbling water of the lake started to continuously wash over its body. The green light that was previously gushing out began to recede back into its body, and its exploded body began to repair itself surrounded by streams of black mist. In no time, the severely injured Abyssal Ant King Skeleton had completely recovered.

With eyes wide and mouth agape, Song Jian suddenly realized how foolish it was to battle an abyssal creature in this environment saturated with abyssal energy.

“Damn it…” A thought crossed Song Jian’s mind and a pair of steel wings sprung from his back. His body shot toward the sky like an arrow, leaping out of the black lake and flying into mid-air.

However, the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton didn’t lag behind. With one flap of its broken wings, it followed Song Jian out of the lake.

In mid-air, Song Jian and the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton faced each other. On the island below, the ancestor of the Golden Ant Clan, Toro, lifted its head to look at the Abyssal Ant King Skeleton and showed a hint of surprise.

“This… this is…” It couldn’t sense any trace of the Golden Ant Clan from this Abyssal Ant King; it was an entity entirely formed by the power of the Abyss. Only its shape and the material that constituted its body—the shells and bones of the Golden Ant King—resembled the Golden Ant Clan.

“Sacrilege, this is a sacrilege against the Golden Ant Clan!” Toro, the ancestor of the Golden Ant Clan, suddenly became infuriated and let out a roar that shook the sky and earth.

…