Chapter 623: Chapter 495: Everyone’s Strength is Improving

Three hundred Backplate Dragons were gradually being equipped with giant beam cannons - weapons of astounding power. Even though their cooldown time was slow, a single direct hit could incapacitate a dragon.

Then, there was the battle armor, still being constantly produced, and dual cannons were also continually being installed on them. In the future, these ground warriors could likely become the main force in battle, especially since the Black Dragon Empire had produced a large number of Crystal Beasts. Without a power that could contend with them, things could become incredibly troublesome.

Next were the self-destructive beetles. Their explosion was certainly powerful, but in real combat, they seemed unlikely to keep up with the rapidly changing battle conditions. Long Yi had initially thought that he could use these beetles like airborne missiles, causing severe destruction to the enemy. However, on reflection, it seemed that his thinking was overly optimistic. Applying past experiences in such a rigid way was not appropriate. Long Yi concluded that he needed to reassess the roles that these beetles could fulfill in the war.

Perhaps he could increase the size of the self-destructive beetles?

At this moment, research on self-destructive beetles was nearing completion within the Biological Research Institute. When Long Yi arrived, being a hero who had recently come close to killing the Emperor of the Black Dragon Empire, he was showered with applause and cheers. Then Nor, presented to Long Yi the finished product of their self-destructive beetles. In Nor’s view, this final version was flawless.

Long Yi looked at the beetle hive, furrowed his brows, and thought for a while.

"Madam Nor, I think we need to modify this," Long Yi hesitantly stated.

"What? Are there any flaws in our technology?" Nor asked nervously, the scientists involved in the research also gathered around, focused intensely on Long Yi.

"No, there are no flaws," Long Yi admitted, looking even more embarrassed now, "I just realized that I may have taken a detour. This self-destructive beetle is not meant to be used this way, I plan to redesign its purpose and usage."

Upon hearing this, both Nor and the scientists breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was worried about what it could be. If it’s just a redesign, please feel free to instruct us. As long as it’s not a problem with our technology, anything can be worked out," Madam Nor said with a smile.

Indeed, the scientists, led by Nor, had great confidence in their achievements, insisting that Long Yi wouldn’t be able to find any flaws. As these were Long Yi’s own requests, none of them felt stressed about it.

"So how do you want to improve it?" Nor asked.

"Not an improvement, rather, a complete redesign," Long Yi replied.

"A complete redesign?"

"Yes, I plan to redesign its structure altogether and try to transform it into an unprecedented weapon of war. The King of ground warfare!"

Long Yi’s plan was simple.

The structure of self-destructive beetles is similar to missiles, but compared to missiles that can fly several times the speed of sound, they almost lack any form of stealth or sudden attack capabilities. If forced into aerial combat, their effectiveness might not be as good as that of the Hive Dragon. But what if they were used for bombing missions?

Ever since gaining the ability to read life chains, Long Yi had had this idea faintly forming in his mind. Now, it was time to put this idea into practice.

The hive of the Hive Dragon was initially an independent living entity, but over years of evolution, it gradually abandoned most of its body and became an auxiliary organ of the Hive Dragon itself, meaning it had to rely on a dragon to maintain its vitality.

However, to be precise, the hive only needed two things: nutrients and Dragon Power.

And to get the nutrients and Dragon Power, it didn’t necessarily require a full-fledged dragon.

Or perhaps, there were times when Long Yi could provide it with a ’Dragon’.

In terms of load-bearing capacity and provision of Dragon Power, the first creature that came to Long Yi’s mind was the Crab Dragon from the Sea Clan. This giant crab-like creature has a large body similar to the Dragon Clan and the capability to produce Dragon Power. However, they were not suited for ground warfare, as their claws proved to be too weak.

Of course, this weakness was relative. Despite seeming strong, because they live in water where they didn’t have to bear much weight, they had allocated more resources to their claws, making their limbs not apt for ground combat.

Are there any similar species on land?

In the forest, there was a terrestrial crab species called the Lumberjack Crab. This peculiar crab could grow to the size of a washbasin, entirely pitch-black. Unlike their marine counterparts, Lumberjack Crabs had robust legs and considerable power. A typical Lumberjack Crab gradually saws down a tree it has chosen with its claw, then drags the tree to its preferred location. They usually lived in tree holes that they dug out themselves—usually, tens of Lumberjack Crabs of varying sizes could cohabit in a single tree hole. These creatures feed on humus, fruits, insects, and even animals, with a generally mild temperament.

When Long Yi first encountered the Lumberjack Crab, it was during a crystal core hunt, where they were stopped by a giant Lumberjack Crab Crystal Demon over three meters tall. At that time, his Dragon-Slaying Sword couldn’t cut through the claw of the Crab, which made him realize the world’s wonders and the potential of the creature.

Now, Long Yi had asked the Biological Research Institute to bring him a batch of Lumberjack Crabs as he wanted to conduct several tests.

The first step in the experiment was to enlarge and strengthen these small creatures.

There was no life chain for these creatures in the experiment report of the Giants. It was clear that the Giants didn’t have much interest in them. Therefore, Long Yi could only conduct experiments with the Giant’s scepter in small increments. The simplest method was to introduce Dragon Clan genes into the Lumberjack Crabs. This included the Dragon Clan’s robustness as well as the generation of Dragon Power. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The initial experiments were very unsuccessful. Lumberjack Crabs found it difficult to adapt to these newly added genes. They mutated into various forms, then became food in the stomachs of the experimenters.

Later, Long Yi finally thought of a new approach. Maybe, he could start with the eggs!

Long Yi used the Giant’s scepter to inject part of the Dragon Clan’s genes into the fertilized eggs of the Lumberjack Crabs. Soon, the unique characteristics of the egg began to show. It started to actively absorb nutrition from the surrounding water, and it grew continuously. Shortly after, Long Yi could sense the waves of Dragon Power emanating from the egg!

Long Yi worked tirelessly, altering a total of 173 crab eggs, but only a mere dozen survived. In the following few days, the crab eggs continued to die off mysteriously. In the end, only three eggs survived and successfully hatched into Dragon-transformed Lumberjack Crabs!

One female, two males.

As soon as they hatched, the Lumberjack Crabs were almost the size of a basin. Their dark exoskeletons shone with a metallic luster, and waves of Dragon Power surged from within them. On closer observation, the muscular tissues of the Lumberjack Crabs had completely transformed, becoming more resilient and stronger. Afterwards, Long Yi discovered that the mitochondria within them had also mutated, capable of producing Dragon Power! However, Long Yi did not add any mitochondrial symbiants to them. Lumberjack Crabs naturally have symbiants inside their bodies, but the numbers are low. Plus, Lumberjack Crabs are not particularly intelligent creatures. Though they can be trained to obey commands, training them to engage in battle or to use magical aura is a waste of time.

Their growth speed was remarkably fast, appearing to be larger each day. Seeing this, Long Yi was happy.

By the time Long Yi had completed all this, it was already two weeks after his return to the White Dragon Empire.

During these two weeks, the entire Imperial City was immersed in joy. Victory was not crucial. What was most important was Long Yi nearly killing Yake Black once more! Even until now, this remained the main topic of conversation in pubs. To some people, the Black Dragon Empire seemed to be weak and ready to collapse.

Although the Black Dragon Empire was not quite as weak as the White Dragon Empire’s pub-goers said, there was growing unrest among the people. Especially recently, due to inflation caused by counterfeit currency, coupled with the Emperor’s mishandling of the counterfeit currency incident, public resentment was boiling over. Cracks started appearing among the people of the formerly united Black Dragon Empire.

This time, no one knew what Long Yi promised to the Dragon Clan, but any sane person would guess that it involved destroying the Black Dragon Empire. Especially since Long Yi once vowed to make the land of the Black Dragon Empire barren for thousands of years. Given the Black Dragon Empire’s persistent propaganda against Long Yi, many people truly believed that Long Yi would carry out this promise.

Thus, during these two weeks, a wave of refugees began fleeing the Black Dragon Empire. Some people began moving their families to smaller countries to escape the potential disaster. But those with deep roots in the Black Dragon Empire could not leave. These people had made their wealth and position by exploiting others; expecting them to give up everything to leave would spell hard times for them in the future, so they chose to stay. They were gambling that Long Yi had not made that choice.

After all, no one had personally heard Long Yi’s promise to the Dragon Clan.

At this point, Yake Black, the Black Dragon Empire’s emperor, did not have time to worry about these issues, because his new body was ready.

A thirty-meter-long massive body, pitch-black scales, and bone armour. Powerful limbs, enormous wings!

Yes, this was a black dragon, Tilian’s ultimate body for Yake.

Tilian’s previous body was merely a temporary solution. Originally, Tilian planned to prepare Yake for this body through the previous one. Now, with Long Yi’s help, Yake destroyed that body himself and finally ushered in his rebirth.

"You will plunge into darkness shortly and lose all feeling. Time will seem exceedingly long to you, but trust me, your majesty, when you awake, it will be the greatest moment of your life!" Tilian said, holding a handsaw.

"Let’s do it – for rebirth! For killing Long Yi!" Yake growled softly.

Tilian injected Yake with a special concoction, and Yake immediately lost consciousness.

As Tilian predicted, Yake had no idea how long he slept. He was awakened by his strong heartbeat. He tried to stretch, but he knocked over an iron shelf filled with potions.

He lowered his head and saw Tilian looking at him with a fervent expression.

"Welcome to your rebirth, your majesty!" (To be continued. If you like this piece, you are welcome to vote on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)