Chapter 1326: Chapter 347: Blind Box Zone, Insect Transformation into Dragon (Part 2)

The roots of the vines were being dragged by something, a dull grinding sound emerging from beneath the soil, as if heavy machinery was moving.

Li Zheng suddenly turned around, the ring in his hand instantly transforming into a golden war blade.

In front of his gaze, a "monster" nearly three meters tall was walking out from the depths of the forest.

The creature resembled a bipedal rhino, with its back covered in layered bone armor, holding a rusted giant axe in its hand.

Its left eye was a hollow socket, while its right eye burned with a ghostly green flame, emitting a low growl that was neither beast nor human, causing the ground to tremble with each step.

Seeing this weapon, Li Zheng couldn’t help but frown.

The battle pattern on the axe blade was clearly a mark belonging to the Reverse Tide Army. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

With a sweep of analysis, the related information appeared in his mind.

[Reverse Tide Warrior - Iron Spine Beast (Evil Gu Worm Parasitized)]:

Hunting Level: 82.

Target Introduction: Originally a warrior of the Seventh Subregiment of the 3293rd Regiment of the Reverse Tide Army, it perished in a war with the Compassion Clan. Its corpse was later parasitized by the invading forces of the Evil Gu Insect Clan. The remnants of its body became a nest, with insect swarms writhing between the bones, fostering layered bone armor and a mutated body. The residual combat instincts allow it to still wield the giant axe it was accustomed to in life, becoming a puppet devoid of autonomous consciousness.

...

The analytical information let Li Zheng know why the opponent was using the standard weaponry of the Reverse Tide Army.

Under the control of an Evil Gu Worm, the Iron Spine Beast suddenly raised its giant axe, the axe blade slicing through the air with a howling sound.

Li Zheng calmly sidestepped to dodge, then bent down and stepped forward, releasing gang qi that surged through his body. The golden blade in his hand slashed toward the opponent’s knee joint, where the bone armor had an old crack.

Clang!

With a crisp sound and sparks flying, the Iron Spine Beast staggered half a step, the ghostly fire in its pupils burning even brighter, swinging the axe backhand with a sweep.

Taking advantage of the momentum of his backward leap, Li Zheng spun the golden blade around in his palm, holding the hilt reverse grip. Using the inertia of the Iron Spine Beast’s axe swing, he slid to its armpit.

"One hit kill."

The rune weapon hummed, glowing with golden light, slashing upwards from below at an angle.

The blade tip pierced through armor and skin, precisely severing the opponent’s cervical vertebrae.

The gang qi instantly exploded, rushing into the Iron Spine Beast’s body like a tide, shredding all the Evil Gu Worms within.

The sudden burst of strength caused the Iron Spine Beast’s body to expand by a full circle, like an inflating balloon, as dense black mist continuously surged from its body.

This was the life force of the shredded Evil Gu Worms dissipating.

After this strike, the giant axe in the Iron Spine Beast’s hand clanged to the ground, its massive body swayed slightly, the ghostly fire struggling twice in its eye sockets before finally extinguishing.

It maintained an upright posture as it crashed to the ground, the broken badge of the Reverse Tide Army on its chest clinking lightly against a rock as it descended.

The Challenger Tips sounded in his mind, and Li Zheng waved to dispel the golden blade in his hand, then squatted in front of the Iron Spine Beast, gently closing its still-open eyes, and picked up the standard giant axe of the Reverse Tide Army.

The axe handle was engraved with a blurred regiment number, feeling heavy in his grip.

This weapon was severely damaged, keeping it served no purpose.

The sale to the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t meet integrity standards, so he chose to sacrifice it to Brother Emperor Zhao on the spot, gaining 828 points of sacrificial power.

After ending the battle, he had a preliminary understanding of the situation in this area.

Clearly, this place was once a battlefield between the Reverse Tide Army and an Alien Race, but now it’s occupied by the invading forces of the Evil Gu Insect Clan.

This creature in the analytical introduction was somewhat similar to the Soul Beasts created by the Soul Returning Clan.

But in terms of mechanics, there’s a significant difference.

Soul Beasts can perfectly inherit everything from the host except the non-rule abilities, including proficiency in ability usage.

But Evil Gu Worms can only utilize the life strength and life structure of the deceased, but cannot extract combat talent or slaughter battle skills.

Preliminary judgment of this race indicates weak mechanisms, but the clan power strength is currently undetermined.

The core of the Blind Leap Trial is hunting, then collecting trophies, so Li Zheng decided to target Evil Gu Worms for hunting next.

He picked up an energy residue stone that remained on the ground after refining, continuing his exploration into the depths of the forest.

Although the device he carried could record the hunting process.

The core focus is still to submit the hunting trophies.

The Blind Leap Trial only looks at the result, not the process; trophies are the key to completing the trial.

In his subsequent explorations, Li Zheng encountered several more Evil Gu Insect Clan-controlled creatures launching attacks.

Among them were reversed tide veterans and the remains of Compassion Warriors who fought with Reverse Tide Warriors back in the day.

There were even twisted sewn bodies where the remnants of reversed tide veterans and Compassion Warriors were connected together.

Feeling curious, Li Zheng, after killing one sewn body, looked at the Guiding Water Ball and curiously inquired:

"Brother Guide, what exactly is this Evil Gu Worm? Is it a species, or a pet beast controlled by a certain race?"

In response to the inquiry, the Guiding Water Ball opened its eyes:

[It can be understood as similar to the Combat Insect Clan’s existence, but this species has multiple controllers, each breeding and controlling a batch of Evil Gu Worms.]

After speaking, the guide raised its hand to release a light curtain, pointing at the twisted worm in the dark red silk-like strands on the screen and continued:

[These types of creatures are as thin as silk in body size, able to easily penetrate muscles and erode bones, their survival mode is a unique form of parasitism, not obtaining nutrients from the host, but weaving dead flesh back together to form slaughter puppets.]

[As long as remnants of life remain, they will become their materials.]

[For example, the fractured spine of a reversed tide veteran will be forcibly straightened by Evil Gu Worms, decayed muscles will be re-tensed under the control of the insect swarm, and even if joints shatter, Evil Gu Worms can still use silk threads to replace tendons, making the corpse wield its weapon from when it was alive.]