The Guardians that appear are probably randomized too.
I suddenly remembered a post I saw on the school forum earlier: those who cleared the tenth floor using “grind mode” probably wouldn't fare so well on the twenty-first floor.
“Chiying.”
Chiying descended from the air onto the scorching sand, its golden patterns shimmering under the blazing sun, and its crimson eyes cautiously scanned its surroundings.
“Mo.”
Chiying let out a cry, indicating it was ready.
Liu Yi nodded, “You're up this time.”
【Pet to deploy confirmed: Moling Dragon】
【Challenge Start!】
Liu Yi immediately took Ziyue back a greater distance, then pressed herself tightly against its cold-emitting body.
Suddenly, the sand dunes ahead surged violently, and a giant ant nearly three meters long burst forth from the sand.
She recognized this pet.
The Quicksand Ant, a Ground and Insect-type desert ant, has a transparent abdomen where its liquid sand pulp is visible, and six legs with suction cup structures. Its mandibles are strong enough to cut steel cables, and its nests often form underground labyrinths.
“Shasha!”
The Quicksand Ant rubbed its forelegs together, emitting a grating sound, and its back suddenly glowed with an earthy yellow light.
In an instant, fierce winds whipped up, and yellow sand filled the sky, forming an overwhelming sandstorm that immediately reduced visibility.
Even more astonishing, the Quicksand Ant's movement speed suddenly increased within the sandstorm, its six segmented limbs leaving afterimages on the sand.
Liu Yi: “...?”
A Sandstorm skill combined with the Quicksand Trait?
Isn't this just like Senior Wei's Sandstorm Scorpion from back then?
If Ziyue were deployed this time, Ice-type counters Ground-type, and Snowfall would directly override the sandstorm, making it much simpler, wouldn't it?
Is this the charm of an unknown Guardian?
Chiying's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, its True Dragon's Eye piercing through the sand curtain to lock onto the Quicksand Ant.
As the Quicksand Ant used the sandstorm for cover to launch a flanking surprise attack, Chiying directly performed a Dragon Tail Sweep, spraying Venom Spray.
The purplish-black venom arced through the sandstorm, but the Quicksand Ant suddenly braked and changed direction, thrusting its forelegs into the sand to raise a sand wall as a barrier.
The venom corroded the sand wall with a hissing sound, but the Quicksand Ant had already used the opportunity to burrow into the sand, leaving only faint, rapidly moving sand traces.
Chiying soared into the air, locking onto the rapidly moving bulge beneath the sand.
It took a deep breath, its dragon horns shimmered with golden light, and a high-pressure Dragon Breath suddenly condensed between them.
The golden energy wave pierced straight into the sand like a sharp sword, exploding within the sand layers and stirring up sand waves several meters high.
“...” Liu Yi was silent for a moment.
Because she knew the powerful might of Dragon's Rage, she hadn't let Chiying practice it in their backyard training ground at home.
Also, when she watched her sister's past match replays, she had seen other Dragon-type pets use Dragon's Rage and knew what the skill looked like, so she hadn't asked Chiying to demonstrate it in the past two days either.
Now the question was, other Dragon-type pets used Dragon's Rage by spewing a Dragon-type energy wave from their mouths, so why did Chiying launch it from between its two horns?
Liu Yi tapped her fingers, recalling a staff member's remark when Chiying first had its data recorded at the Beast Tamer Association.
“Dragon horns contain special energy fluctuations.”
Is that the reason?
Meanwhile, the Quicksand Ant was forcefully blasted out of the ground by the impact, its six legs flailing wildly in the air.
“Shasha!”
The Quicksand Ant's abdomen rapidly contracted, and the sand pulp within its transparent cavity surged violently.
Using the momentum of its descent, its forelegs gleamed coldly as it unleashed a Chain Slash!
Then its abdominal nozzle opened, and a stream of corrosive acid spray shot out.
The acid spray and Chain Slash attacks formed a perfect combination, blocking Chiying's angles of evasion.
“Hiss—”
The acid spray grazed Chiying's scales, causing a wisp of green smoke to rise.
Although the damage caused by the acid spray wasn't high, it would reduce its Defense by 5% for a period.
“Dragon Dance,” Liu Yi softly reminded.
The Quicksand Ant's skill traits and the arena environment were both too advantageous for it.
Chiying began to perform Dragon Dance as per Liu Yi's command, and Dragon-type energy flowed around its body.
As Dragon Dance took effect, Chiying's Speed visibly increased, and the luster on its scales became brighter.
“Shasha!”
The Quicksand Ant sensed the threat, its abdomen contracting violently, and the sand pulp inside it surged even more fiercely as it burrowed back into the sand.
“We can't let it hide under the sand anymore,” Liu Yi said. “Chiying, Death Rain.”
Chiying circled once overhead, and countless drops of acid rain suddenly appeared from high above, raining down.
The poisonous rain covered a large area of sand, making a hissing, corrosive sound.
“Bang!”
The Quicksand Ant was forced to leap out of the sand, many parts of its body bearing traces of the poisonous rain, indicating that the [Poisoned] effect had clearly taken hold.
Suddenly, a faint glow appeared on the Quicksand Ant's body, and its Speed abruptly increased again.
It moved rapidly across the sand in an eerie trajectory, almost leaving afterimages.
Liu Yi frowned, “Is this... the Bug's Premonition Trait?”
The Bug's Premonition Trait activates when Stamina falls below 20%, boosting Speed and Evasion by 30%.
However, under the continuous [Poisoned] effect, the Quicksand Ant's Stamina should bottom out quickly.
Yet the Quicksand Ant suddenly stopped, thrust its forelegs deep into the sand, and its eyes emitted a red glow.
Liu Yi: “?”
After Bug's Premonition, it's Endure?
Endure is a B-rank General-type skill that can be activated when Stamina is critically low, increasing damage by 200% and locking Stamina at its lowest point for a short duration.
However, after use, it enters an [Exhausted] state, reducing all attributes by 30% for three days.
But this Quicksand Ant is just an illusion from the Tower of Trials; after this battle, this side effect is basically non-existent!
In other words, if she chose to re-challenge this floor two minutes later and again got the desert environment plus Quicksand Ant combination, she would still face a Quicksand Ant in its full-strength state.
Liu Yi was uncharacteristically speechless. Could the Guardians at the very beginning of the Intermediate stage be randomized to this extent?
On the field, the Quicksand Ant used the Ant Colony Haul skill to temporarily boost its Strength by 50%, allowing it to lift and throw extremely heavy objects. Its six segmented limbs simultaneously exerted force, lifting a massive rock from beneath the sand and hurling it fiercely towards Chiying.
The rock continuously accelerated during its flight, its surface even turning slightly red from air friction.
Chiying locked onto the incoming giant rock, dodging sideways at the last possible moment.
The rock grazed past its scales, and the air current it generated made Chiying sway in the air.
Liu Yi twitched her lips, “Chiying, Rising Dragon Strike.”
Chiying surged upwards, pointing straight at the sky, then suddenly changed direction at its apex, diving down like a meteor.
Golden Dragon-type energy formed a conical vortex around its body, and the air was torn apart with a sharp shriek.
The Quicksand Ant tried to dodge, but the Endure skill had ended, and the ensuing [Exhausted] state left it powerless to move.
Chiying's Rising Dragon Strike precisely hit its back, emitting a thunderous roar.
Sand billowed up, and when the dust settled, the Quicksand Ant lay incapacitated in a sand pit.
Rate on N.U.
