213 CH: 194 Sazardon Labyrinth

[However, due to the host's heat resistance, the host only incurs 1 HP damage for every 5 minutes, allowing the host to endure the punishing conditions with greater resilience."]

The hot wind swept across, raising the yellow sand all over the sky,

The scorching sun above his head, the scorching sun, and the always rising temperature combined with the fact that the whole place cast a big debuff/penalty to anyone who dared to enter the place all told him that the environment here was very harsh.

There are stretches of sand dunes not far away blocking the view.

Jin found himself in a basin surrounded by sand dunes.

Shadow warriors appeared in large numbers, and a total of 424 shadows appeared and quickly ran in different directions.

The topographic map of the surroundings that would be needed to clear the Sazardon Labyrinth as soon as possible.

Jin also walked up a sand dune and saw an endless desert.

There is nothing to orient yourself by.

No sense of direction at all.

The scorching sun hung directly above his head, and so couldn't be used to guide him.

This is a replica, not the real world.

The scorching sun on the head will not move, and it cannot point in the direction at all.

North, south, east, and west are indistinguishable.

"Seeing how much time it took to clear Rivarintos Labyrinth, how big it was, and how far my senses could reach this one scale must be unprecedentedly massive."

As he mused, a High Orc Warrior suddenly sent a warning.

Encountered Enemy!

A withered tree branch suddenly sprang out of the desert and coiled around the High Orc Warrior.

The High Orc Warrior, whose strength attribute has reached high due to recent promotion/rank up, promptly brandished its large blade and directly severed the withered tree branch.

Next, a large tree sprang up from the desert.

The tree is 10 meters high and is covered with withered tree branches. As soon as it emerged, it launched a frenzied assault against the High Orc Warrior.

The High Orc Warrior kept brandishing its large blade, and withered tree branches flew into the air. In the blink of an eye, there was only a tree trunk left, at its last gasp.

Jin arrived before the large tree died, and Detection flew out.

[Desert Woodwraith (A Light Black name)]

Judging by its attributes, and the color of its name it is quite close to the standard of the High Orc Warriors before the promotion.

It's even stronger than the A– rank monster of most Dungeons.

"That's a large-scale Labyrinth for you."

"A mere mob is already comparable to the level B++ Dungeon Boss monster."

"If it weren't for the fact that the High Orc Warrior was upgraded, it would take some effort to deal with it."

If it were a previous High Orc Warrior, with its attributes of B++ Rank, the Desert Woodwraith would naturally pose no problem, but it would take some effort to deal with it. It's a tree after all.

After Jin saw the opponent's attributes, he gained a rough idea of the dungeon's monsters.

[Slain a Desert Woodwraith, EXP +4,000]

[Obtained Woodwraith's tree branch x5]

Not only are its attributes at the level of a leader, but the same is true from the EXP it provides.

Killing one monster yields 4,000 EXP, which is quite a lot. If compared with any other mob of dungeons.

Shadow Army met enemies one after another, all Desert Woodwraiths.

This area of the desert seems to be the territory of Desert Woodwraiths.

They are many in number and are scattered all around. They are usually hidden in the desert. When someone passes by, they will immediately launch an attack.

Skill: Shield!

Shield: Shield (Active)

Creates a shield around the caster to prevent incoming damage for as long as it is cast

For every 200 HP of damage absorbed, 250 MP is drained

Jin pressed his palm down and cast the Shield skill.

A set of armor composed of pink hard light appeared on his body, emitting silver-pink light in the sunlight.

He had the Shadow army continue to explore the desert.

Jin advanced along a path that a Shadow army passed through. Slowly creating a map in his mind.

As more and more areas were explored, the map in Jin's mind expanded and became increasingly more complete.

An hour has passed. Jin has explored a vast area.

Everywhere, there is yellow sand.

Apart from yellow sand, there are also Desert Woodwraiths. He hasn't encountered any other monsters.

After two hours of exploration, a different prompt finally appeared in his mind.

Water…

Water was discovered.

Jin hurried over.

Standing on a sand dune, he saw an oasis.

The oasis waterway snaked into the distance.

He promptly retrieved the Shadow Soldier that went in other directions.

A large number of Black Warriors and animals appeared in front of him in an instant and then rushed toward the oasis.

An oasis in the desert is an indication of danger.

By all accounts it was a trap and even a baby could think that much.

The Shadow Army forged a path ahead.

The faster Warriors in the shadow army have just reached the edge of the oasis, when loud noise rose, and water splashed.

Then a large number of giant scorpions rushed out of the oasis.

Jin didn't panic. At this time, he was still on the sand dune.

Detection surged like a gentle breeze.

[Oasis Scorpion]

Each scorpion is two meters tall and more than five meters long, tail included.

The tail is created by huge poisonous stingers, arranged like the petals of a flower, emitting faint blue light in the sunlight, looking quite ferocious and daunting.

More than 100 Oasis Scorpions charged toward the nearest troops in the Shadow Army.

Not the least bit intimidated, the Shadows raised their large blades, axes, knives, and all sorts of weapons.

If it were another party, when approaching the oasis, they would certainly tread lightly, slowly drawing one monster after another.

But not Jin. His approach is straightforward.

10 High Orc Warriors wielded their large blades and showcased their skill.

[Skill: Berserk Strike]

They unleashed a strike with three times the attack power of their strength attribute.

The large blades unleashed red light that obstructed the sunlight.

An Oasis Scorpion screeched and was instantly killed.

[Killed an Oasis Scorpion, EXP +4500]

[Obtained stinger x3]

After two seconds, other Oasis Scorpions had already approached.

"Let's wrap this up swiftly, even if it means sacrificing a few insect corpses as casualties along the way."."

Jin raised his hand.

[Force Explosion!]

A loud boom rose, and yellow sand splashed about.

The sky was full of yellow sand.

The giant oasis scorpion was wrapped in yellow sand and blown away.

Oasis Scorpions wrapped in yellow sand were blown away.

Bodies tumbled in the air.

The corpse bits rolled in the air. Turning yellow sand into blood red.

Skill after skill.

There was one explosion after another.

As Jin activated his spell repeatedly, explosions sounded one after another.

And soon large craters appeared.

And A large pit appeared.

Yellow sand fell down like rain, burying Oasis Scorpions that were killed in the explosions.

"A lot of experience in the bag."

Jin harvested a large amount of EXP and dropped materials poured into the storage space.

The EXP provided by each monster is equivalent to that of more than 2,000 Small Spiders in Spider Nest.

A single batch of monsters increased his EXP by .3%.

"Nice!" Jin let out a soft shout in his heart.

Despite having reached level 137, EXP unexpectedly still accumulated that quickly. Due to the fact, this wasn't any normal dungeon.

If he can keep hunting monsters like this, then leveling up will be as easy as drinking and eating.

In front of Jin, monsters that others have to tread lightly with are no different from vegetables on the chopping board.

EXP accumulated like raindrops.

Not only EXP, but the same was true for materials.

In the blink of an eye, the monsters at the edge of the oasis were cleared.

Jin followed the Shadow Army and advanced along the waterway.

The waterway snaked into the distance.

Jin doesn't know if this is the right direction.

At present, there is only one path that can be taken.

The rest of the place is covered in yellow sand, where no direction can be distinguished.

There is a large number of Oasis Scorpions living on both sides of the waterway, buried underneath yellow sand, with only their tails exposed.

From a distance, all of it looks like spikes.

As the Army advanced, these spikes were removed one after another, leaving only corpses behind.

At the same time, a large number of High Orc Warriors, Beast Shadows, and Shadow Infantry, advanced and scattered on both sides, moving in the same general direction as Jin, clearing Desert Woodwraiths and Oasis Scorpions in their way.

Their numbers aren't particularly large, but every bit of EXP counts.

The terrain of the Sazardon Desert is really large.

After walking along the waterway for over an hour, another scenery finally appeared in front of Jin.

A mountain appeared at the end of the waterway.

Jin learned why some other parties would take so long to advance here.

First, you have to find the way, and then you have to deal with the Oasis Scorpions along the way.

Each one of these monsters is as strong as the boss monsters of other dungeons.

A typical party, even a complete party of 40 people, requires a lot of time to forge ahead.

The waterway flows to the end and disappears into the ground.

Some sparse occupations appeared in front of my eyes, all of which were cacti.

A large number of ants are crawling next to the cactus.

These are no ordinary ants. In fact, they are each more than one meter long, and they have sharp mandibles exposed.

There are barbs on each foot, like a sharp knife with a handle.

[Desert Young Ant (enhanced elite monster)]

Compared to Oasis Scorpions, they are weaker. They are classified as enhanced elite monsters, similar to monsters of A— rank dungeons of the same level.

Just this amount. . .

And they are young ants...

Ants are social insects that live in very large colonies.

They have a strict hierarchy and a clear division of labor.

The young ants are just the weakest of them.

If even the young ants are enhanced elite monsters.

The worker ants and soldier ants above it. . .

If even young ants are enhanced elite monsters, then what about worker ants and soldier ants… not to mention the… Queen.

Jin grinned and braced himself for a large amount of EXP.

His appearance caught their attention.

A few young ants raised their heads and looked at him.

In the next moment, they screeched and rushed toward him.

Their speed is pretty fast. In fact, it feels like they exceeded the speed that a B-rank monster of agility should be able to unleash.

Although they are fast, but the Shadow army is faster.

Several Shadow Infantry Warriors blocked in front of them and swung their blades.

Along with the roaring, buzzing noise of a Chainsaw, the other side was dispatched in an instant, without any suspense.

The gap in attributes between the two sides is simply too large.

With attributes of Knight Grade, Veteran Knight Grade, and Elite Knight Grade Shadows possess overwhelming combat power.

The Shadow Beast rushed out and tore through the nearby young ants one by one.

[Killed Desert Young Ant, EXP +5000]

[Obtained ant mandibles x3]

[Killed Desert Young Ant, EXP +5000]

[Obtained ant mandibles x3]

Experience points are steadily increasing.

It has been more than 3 hours since Jin entered the dungeon.

And he already gained more than 20% Exp of LV 138.

After a while, the swarm was rooted, with only scattered ants remaining. The efficiency has naturally decreased significantly.

"What is this?"

What is this~`.

Jin walked over and saw a strange-looking cactus.

There are small deep blue fruits that look like grapes hanging from the cacti.

When he was in doubt system window popped up in front of him.

[["Desert Fruit"]

[Infused with mystical properties, this extraordinary fruit swiftly bestows a remarkable elemental immunity lasting for a 2-hour duration upon consumption.]

Looking at their discretion Jin had a grin on his face as he realized this could very well be the best tool in this dungeon.

"This proves to be an invaluable asset for when I encounter a certain 'Dragon'. The prospect of absolute immunity to elemental attacks sounds truly awe-inspiring."

Jin spoke out his thoughts as At that moment, squeaks sounded.

A large number of young ants emerged from the ground and quickly surrounded him.

There are more than 100 young ants.

The young ants screeched angrily at Jin as if warning him to stay away from the Desert Fruits.

The answer they received was the large blades, claws, and Gunshots of the Shadow army shooting, slashing, and tearing them up.

Jin looked ahead and saw a mountain blocking the way. And as look left to right, the only thing he saw was this mountain.

The mountain has a steep cliff and difficult terrain making it difficult to climb.

At the foot of the mountain, there are several caves.

There also appeared to be ants at the entrance.

There seem to be ants in the caves.

Ant colony…

From his senses, Jin knew that this was an ant colony. To cross the mountain, you had to go through the ant colony.

There are five entrances. And Jin knew all of them came tougher at the end so there wasn't any right path.

With a thought from Jin, 300 Shadow Soldiers organized into five groups ran toward the entrances of five caves.

Anticipating a delay before encountering the Ent Queen, Soldier Ants, or Worker Ants, Jin redirected his attention to his magical battalions, realizing a significant deficiency in the magical prowess of his army.

""I currently command a force comprising 10 named Shadow Mages, led by Zero, accompanied by 2 Goblin Shamans. Aella, although primarily an archer, contributes to our magical arsenal with her arrow-related skills. Additionally, Tusk stands as our most potent magical unit."

"Interestingly, the majority of my forces consist of shadow entities eschewing conventional weaponry, with some adept at firearms. However, this diversity in combat styles highlights a deficiency in the sheer numbers of my magical contingent."

'Indeed, even within these entities, the magical skill set is not as diverse as one might hope.'

Delving into contemplation as he observed his formidable magical legion, Jin's mind churned with a new prospect. Recognizing his innate ability for self-learning, he envisioned a comprehensive endeavor to infuse additional magical skills into his mystical forces. While the intricacies of mastering highly destructive and complex spells had proven elusive in his past endeavors, acknowledging the inherent limitations, he settled on a pilgrimage of imparting simpler elemental skills. This strategic initiative aimed not only to overcome their existing boundaries but also to elevate their collective magical repertoire to new heights, ensuring a more versatile and potent force…

Jin made a prompt decision.

****

This place turned out to be optimal for teaching skills to his magic legion.

With just this, Jin felt that the time he spent here was worth it.

As he was training his Shadow Mages and Tusk, the Shadow army split up into 5 groups and rushed into the ant colony.

This is in a straight line, and it won't change due to the complex terrain.

There are more ants in the ant colony.

[Killed Desert Young Ant, EXP +4500]

[Obtained ant mandibles x3]

[Killed Desert Worker Ant, EXP +5000]

[Obtained ant mandibles x6]

Shortly after drilling into the colony, the Shadow brigades encountered Desert Worker Ants.

Judging from experience, Desert Worker Ants are clearly classified as super-enhanced elite monsters.

Their ranks were higher, and they provided more EXP.

Jin no longer concerned himself with hunting armies and let them fight freely and explore the colony.

In the ant colony, the Shadow Army continued to explore and advance, and the map in Jin's mind gradually expanded.

At this time, his EXP has reached 27%.

He began to train his Shadow Mages and Tusk magical skills in earnest.

After two hours of continuous explanations and showcases, Jin gradually stopped.

The skills of Shadow Mages have been upgraded to a higher level.

Jin checked the attributes of the skills he taught to Mages, and his eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

[Skill: Frozen Tempest]

[Frozen Tempest: forms an ice storm within its range and deals cold elemental damage to the target; attack power depends on magic force]

Standing in front of him is an ice-type skill.

As they used the skill, Cold light was flickering in both of their palms.

Ice appears and dissipates continuously.

Occasionally, the sound of ice cracking rises.

After putting more and more mana into the spell, especially a 30-fold amplification, its magic force reached much higher.

Jin can imagine how big and scary the Shadow Mage's attack power would be in normal eyes.

Furthermore, its skill, Frozen Tempest, is an AOE offensive skill.

Jin pointed in a direction and ordered one of the Shadow Mages to use its skill, and the Skeletal Mage released cold light from its palms.

Under Jin's gaze, cold light exploded.

In an instant, large chunks of ice broke out and shot in the air like raindrops.

The scorching desert was immediately frozen into ice.

Frozen Tempest lasted for a total of 10 seconds, covering a range of 10 meters, before ending.

It's an AOE offensive skill with great power.

The high points of mana put into it were not just for show.

Since they stem from a skill that was only acquired with low rank, Shadow Mages are more formidable than Shadow Infantry.

Nevertheless, the two kinds of Shadows each have their own uses.

But Shadow Mages also have a drawback -- they require a lot of mana and time to launch a skill. Time and spent increase with how big you want your skill to be

Gusts of cold wind broke out, and particles of different elements surged.

Fire-type... Wind-type... Lightning-type…

Shadow Mages learned different types of elemental skills one after another.

[Skill: Flame Burst]

[Flame Burst: deals heat elemental damage to the target; attack power depends on magic force]

[Skill: Frozen Tempest]

[Frozen Tempest: forms an ice storm within its range and deals cold elemental damage to the target; its power depends on magic force]

[Skill: Cyclone Storm]

[Cyclone Storm: forms a tornado within its range and deals wind elemental damage to the target; attack power depends on magic force]

[Skill: Thunderstruck]

[Skill: Five Thunderbolts]

[Five Thunders: Causes lightning damage to the target, and the attack power depends on the magic power.]

The skill of the fire- and lightning types are single target attacks, while the skill of the ice- and wind types are AOE attacks.

Compared to Shadow Infantry, their dark frames are a bit shorter, but the soul fire in their heads is more vigorous.

Elemental particles rolled and flowed in their hands, showcasing tremendous power.

Jin thought that now his Shadow Infantry was capable of instantly killing Mage-class hunters of the same level.

With added power to Shadow Infantry, Jin believes that dungeons of the same level can be swept with ease.

Not to mention S-rank dungeons, even SS-rank dungeons pose no problem.

Just like Sazardon Labyrinth, a large-scale dungeon that requires a party of many people to be cleared, he can sweep it with ease.

The Shadow army is much more powerful than a party composed of thousands of high-rank hunters.

It took about two hours to train them in magical skills.

Since he entered the dungeon, over 5 hours have passed already.

At this point, the terrain in the ant colony has been roughly explored and mapped out.

The Shadow army advanced more than 130000 meters and explored everything within that range.

Jin found that the entrances are actually interconnected, making it rather similar to Spider Nest.

However, the ant colony is much larger than Spider Nest, with the area covered by the Shadow Armies being only a small portion of the whole.

As Jin entered the colony and narrowed the distance, the Shadow Armies began to advance again.

They darted through the colony's caves, exploring the terrain for him.

The ant colony is full of twists and turns as if a vast, intricate maze without a boundary.

Jin could only choose a direction and proceeded forward.

[Killed Desert Soldier Ant, EXP +5500]

[Obtained ant mandibles x5]

Jin suddenly received a distinct message.

Soldier ants appeared somewhere in the colony.

Soldier ants are responsible for protecting the queen ant.

Finding soldier ants indicates that the queen ant is not too far away.

Jin immediately rushed in the direction of the soldier ants.

All other Shadow Army groups also proceeded in the same direction.

As the Shadow advanced, more and more soldier ants emerged.

Jin stepped into a wide cavern.

A large number of soldier ants were awakened by him.

More than 150 soldier ants awakened at the same time. They shook themselves and unleashed strange sounds, and then charged toward Jin.

"Soldier Ant Barracks.." Jin mused.

In an ant colony, soldiers ants will have their own camps.

Needless to say, this is one such camp, and there is bound to be more than one.

The Short range Shadow Soldiers took the lead in welcoming the opponent, with their Weapons and Claws while the Long range followed suit.

This is the first battle the Shadow Mages are going to use new skills.

[Skill: Flame Burst!]

[Skill: Frozen Tempest!]

[Skill: Cyclone Storm!]

[Skill: Five Thunderbolt!]

12 Mages and a super Mage Tusk attacked simultaneously.

In an instant, elemental particles surged, and magic spells flew out chaotically.

The cavern was filled with rumbles and colorful lights.

For a time, the elements rioted and spells flew around.

The roaring sound continued in the cave, and it was colorful.

Jin's eyes were dazzled.

When the Shadow Warriors reached the soldier ants, the soldier ants had already suffered very heavy casualties.

With their unlimited points of mana, they had even if they could only use as much as their souls were capable of they still had the unlimited points of mana as part of the Army of Shadow Monarch as they have supple of the whole Shadow Dimension Shadow Mages unleashed terrific destructive power, surpassing class users of the same level by far.

Even High-Rank Mage class users can't deal as much damage as the Shadow Mages.

In just over 8 seconds, more than 150 soldier ants were slaughtered.

Although it can't compare to his own one-trick pony spells highly destructive spells that could end even countries to even in terms of speed his or his fastest Shadow Soldiers, but it can save him effort. He doesn't have to lift a finger to do it.

Jin can just stand there, grab a chicken nugget and coke, and watch the fireworks.

Indeed, this is quite beautiful, much more so than just some Explosion, Implosion or just throwing some huge rock

Since a soldier ant camp has appeared, Jin believes that he should be on the right track.

The shadow army proceeded forward and discovered soldier ant camps one after another, each bigger than the last one.

EXP rose at an astonishing rate.

At this point, it has already reached 43%.

The shadow army pushed forward unobstructed and finally entered the depths of the ant colony.

The team pushed all the way without hindrance and finally entered the depths of the ant cave.

There was a buzzing sound in my ears.

The Shadow Beasts passed a corner and suddenly encountered a group of flying ants.

[Desert Flying Ant (super-enhanced elite monster)]

The Shadow Beasts reacted extremely quickly and promptly engaged the flying ants.

The Shadow Beasts have an overwhelming advantage in terms of rank. Plus in their ranks, they also had beasts capable of flight.

The Shadow Beasts dealt heavy damage to the flying ants, nearly claiming their lives.

On the other hand, the flying ants found it difficult to deal much damage to the Shadow Beats.

The flying ants can't break through their physique armor even if they were able to with a few new beats it didn't matter.

After a short while, the group of flying ants was eliminated.

[Killed Desert Flying Ant, EXP +6,000]

[Obtained flying ant wing x2]

Jin's eyes sparkled with excitement as a revelation struck him. The prospect of obtaining flying ant wings meant he could nourish Beru's army, big a part of the faction currently incapable of air combat. The unique nature of these wings promised an evolutionary leap, ensuring that these members of the army could develop wings through the evolution process.

"Certainly, the prospect of acquiring more aerial units is more than welcome, bringing increased versatility and strategic advantages to the forces under my command."

After the flying ants appeared, Jin was completely certain that he was on the right path.

The flying ants can be considered as the Queen ant's personal guards and will never stay far away from the Queen ant.

Moreover, the number of flying ants in an ant colony won't be particularly high, at least much lower than that of soldier ants and worker ants.

The Shadow army proceeded ahead and encountered more flying ants along the way.

But unlike soldier ants, flying ants have no camps. They usually only appear in teams of ten to twenty.

The Shadow Army cleared the teams of flying ants one after another.

After staying in the ant colony for nearly 50 minutes, Before he knew it, 50 minutes had passed. Jin finally reached the end, and a huge ant appeared in front of him.

This ant is 10 meters long and has a bloated body, looking quite unwieldy, looking bulky.

There are three pairs of huge wings growing on its back, vibrating several times from time to time, making uncomfortable noises. Like Sonic Boon.

In front of it, there are four smaller ants, over six meters tall.

The four ants have wings on their backs and legs that resemble giant sickles, looking quite dreadful.

"It shouldn't be the dungeon's final boss right?"

Feeling doubtful, Jin looked over the Exp farm.

The Shadow army also rushed over.

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