Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************
Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 49: [Stirring Emotions]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
***********************************
Qin Ming and Old Liu had been busy preparing everything: chopping firewood, paving paths, trapping beasts—Everything was ready.
"Silverhead Ants are omnivorous with an acute sense of smell, especially sensitive to scents they like. It's proving true now!" Qin Ming said.
They had purchased expensive honey and prepared ample animal blood, sprinkling the blood and occasionally dabbing honey along the path, drawing the ants closer.
As soon as Qin Ming and Old Liu entered the mountain fissure, the combined scents jolted the motionless Silverhead Ants awake.
"They're starting to move! Light the fire now!"
"Careful not to burn yourself!"
The pair hurled several barrels of kerosene into the fissure, tossed in lit torches, and turned to flee.
"Boom!"
Flames erupted, startling all the Silverhead Ants in the mountain's belly. Though many were incinerated by the kerosene, the sheer density of the swarm—a writhing mass packed together—and the complex structure of the Ant Nest meant many areas remained untouched by the fire.
In an instant, the enraged Silverhead Ants surged out of the fissure like a tidal wave.
"Come on, you bastards! You might as well bring out the Queen Ant too!" Old Liu roared, brandishing his thick-backed cleaver.
"Run! They're charging!" Qin Ming grabbed Old Liu and began sprinting uphill.
They weren't worried about the Silverhead Ants giving up the chase. They had scattered honey and animal blood along their path, and these creatures were far from ordinary ants. Their territorial instincts were fierce, and any intrusion into their nest would be met with immediate retaliation.
"Why are some of the Silverhead Ants flying?" Qin Ming shouted, barely a hundred meters into their escape, as a metallic clanging echoed behind him.
"What's going on?" Old Liu was equally stunned.
At least a hundred fist-sized Flying Ants were swarming toward them, far larger than their usual counterparts.
"You're asking me?" Qin Ming felt a growing sense of unease.
This old man was starting to seem unreliable.
Hadn't he claimed to know the Great Mountain like the back of his hand?
How could he not know about flying Silverhead Ants?
As Old Liu hacked at the swarming ants with his thick-bladed machete, he replied, "The Ant Nest must be overflowing with Spiritual Substance. Some of the Silverhead Ants have undergone Transformation. They weren't here five years ago!"
"You... your information is five years out of date?" Qin Ming smashed his hammer down on the fist-sized Flying Ants, finding them surprisingly tough.
An ordinary person wouldn't be able to crush them with a single blow.
The Flying Ants were dark red, with even brighter and more numerous silver markings on their heads. Their transparent wings buzzed ominously above the snowy ground.
Their mandibles resembled massive, blood-red pincers.
When they landed on armor, their bites rang with a metallic clang, a testament to their terrifying attack power.
The mere hundred or so that had appeared were enough to strip an ordinary person clean in an instant.
"Don't worry," Old Liu said, slashing his blade while guarding his face. "There aren't many of them. We can handle this hundred."
No sooner had he spoken than hundreds more swarmed from the mountain fissure, their terrifying wingbeats sounding like grinding metal—a truly chilling sound.
Qin Ming's expression darkened.
If they kept pouring out in endless waves, numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands, they'd be in serious trouble.
Both men were in excellent shape, reaching the summit of the low mountain in a single breath.
Around them, hundreds of Flying Ants swarmed in a frenzy, their speed undiminished by the extreme cold.
The scene resembled a blacksmith's forge as Qin Ming smashed the charging insects one by one with his hammer.
Old Liu was equally relentless, his broadsword flashing through the snow-bright light with a constant crack as ant corpses piled at their feet.
Standing atop the low mountain, they gazed down at the crimson expanse below, the sheer volume of it making them dizzy.
Countless Silverhead Ants swarmed up the snow-covered slopes.
In truth, they hadn't needed to sprinkle animal blood or honey. These vicious insects possessed an insatiable thirst for revenge and an exceptionally keen sense of smell, tracking them down by scent alone.
"How can they maintain this speed in such extreme cold?"
"They've slowed down slightly, but not enough. We need to hold out longer."
The pair remained on the mountain, neither fleeing nor retreating.
They fought off the relentless Flying Ants while watching the approaching Silverhead Ant army, which drew ever closer.
"They're slowing down! Give it some time, and they might actually freeze."
"Let's set fire to a batch first. Warm them up and lure more ants out of the nest."
Wielding swords and hammers, they simultaneously lit torches. To breach the Ant Nest, they first had to eliminate the massive ant army below.
"Be careful! Don't throw the torches in the wrong spot!" Old Liu warned, genuinely worried Qin Ming's clumsiness might prematurely detonate the earth explosives.
These explosives were byproducts of alchemical processes developed by Outsiders.
After spreading across the land, people gradually learned to harness their power.
"Don't worry!"
Soon, the firewood-covered areas of the low mountain ignited, the flames raging fiercely after being doused with kerosene.
Many Silverhead Ants were burned alive, but this only fueled the Ant Army's ferocity.
Fearless and relentless, they surged upward like a tidal wave.
"The second wave of the Ant Army is emerging from the nest!" Old Liu shouted.
The worst-case scenario hadn't materialized; the number of Flying Ants was far fewer than anticipated.
Suddenly, Old Liu cried out and crashed to the ground, knocked over by a massive Flying Ant.
He plunged headfirst into a snowdrift, immediately swarmed and overwhelmed by a swarm of the insects.
Qin Ming's heart leaped.
He spotted a Flying Ant larger than a human head, its body crimson with silver markings.
This creature had not only mutated but had likely undergone a second mutation.
He charged forward, swinging his hammer.
But the second-tier mutated Flying Ant was incredibly agile, dodging the blow instantly and swooping down toward Old Liu in the snowdrift.
Qin Ming moved like lightning, closing the distance and slamming his hammer at the creature.
The second-tier mutated Flying Ant, unwilling to be struck from behind while attacking Old Liu, swiftly evaded the blow.
Enraged, it turned on Qin Ming, darting left and right in a relentless attack.
Old Liu cursed and scrambled out of the snowdrift, hacking at the fist-sized Flying Ants with his sword.
"At my age, getting knocked over by an ant? I've completely lost face today. Am I really getting too old to lift my sword? I... hiss, a Second Mutation Super Flying Ant! Xiao Qin, can you handle this?"
Qin Ming quickly responded, warning, "I'm fine. Just be careful yourself—there might be more Second Mutation Flying Ants!"
Old Liu's expression turned grave. "You're right. The Queen Ant is a Third-Tier Mutated Creature, but she's not much of a fighter. They must be focusing on breeding these Flying War Ants."
Qin Ming swung his Long-Handled Black Gold Hammer repeatedly, striking the Flying Ant with metallic clangs like hammering iron.
The creature was remarkably resilient.
Still, it couldn't withstand Qin Ming's immense strength.
Each strike cracked its carapace until it finally exploded with a pop.
"Damn it! Three more Super Flying Ants have appeared!" Old Liu's face paled.
At the foot of the mountain, three distinctly oversized Flying Ants buzzed menacingly as they ascended, followed by six smaller but still far stronger than ordinary Flying Ants.
"Three Second Mutation ants and six First Mutation ones... This insect nest is proving to be a real challenge!"
As for the ordinary Silverhead Ants, some had already climbed the mountain peak.
Though the main force behind them had slowed down, they still surged upward upon spotting the two figures nearby.
"Almost there!" Qin Ming said, blocking the three strongest Flying Ants.
Hearing this, Old Liu swiftly lit the fuse.
With a thunderous boom, the buried earth explosive detonated, triggering an avalanche.
The rumbling snow buried countless Silverhead Ants beneath its crushing weight.
They had timed it perfectly, calculating that the Ant Army was already on the verge of freezing.
Buried under the snow, most would be unable to escape and would freeze to death.
"You think a puny ant can knock me off my feet? I'd never live down the shame!" Old Liu roared, blocking a Second Mutation Flying Ant and engaging it in a fierce sword battle.
"Damn, this thing's tough! My sword can't even cut through it!" Old Liu struggled, his hands moving frantically as ordinary Flying Ants swarmed around him.
Qin Ming went all out, his body shimmering with golden energy waves. With thunderous crashes, he finally shattered two Second Mutation Flying Ants.
Then, wielding his Long-Handled Black Gold Hammer like a whirlwind, he sent ant corpses plummeting to the ground with sickening thuds.
"Don't interfere! Let me handle this myself!" Old Liu, ever stubborn, finally slew the Second Mutation Flying Ant.
After finishing off the Silverhead Ants that had climbed the mountain but hadn't yet frozen, the two men let out a collective sigh of relief.
"We've done the people a service by taking care of this early," Old Liu said, plopping down on the snow. "If the Queen Ant undergoes a Fourth Mutation, the Silverhead Ant population will explode, leaving nothing in their wake."
"Not yet," Qin Ming warned. "Another swarm is emerging from the cracks in the mountain."
Old Liu's face paled at the news.
Fortunately, this time there were no Second Mutation Flying Ants, just a dense mass of ordinary Silverhead Ants swarming up the slope.
"Fewer than before," Qin Ming observed. "Once we clear these out, we should be done."
Now that they couldn't trigger an avalanche, the Silverhead Ants below seemed to have received instructions to retreat to their nest before freezing.
"Let's head down and lure them out of the nest," Qin Ming suggested. "We can kill them at close range."
Even Qin Ming was exhausted by the end of the day, having been killing ants non-stop.
Yet as Shallow Night drew to a close, countless Silverhead Ants continued to pour out of the nest.
Old Liu, meanwhile, was completely drained, barely able to lift his sword.
Fortunately, the area was remote, and no other creatures dared nest near the Silverhead Ants, so no mutant creatures had been drawn to the commotion.
"We'll continue tomorrow!"
...
Over the past two days, some villagers had ventured into the karst caves beneath the Great Rift Valley and emerged with high-quality weapons, causing a sensation that drew even more people to the area in search of treasure.
Many of the weapons and armor were left behind by the dead scions of Chi Xia City's noble clans, naturally of exceptional quality.
Qin Ming and Old Liu never imagined that their initial extermination of a large number of Silverhead Ants on the first day would lead to three consecutive days of relentless killing, yet they still hadn't eradicated them all.
"I think we're almost done for today. We could probably even storm the Ant Nest now."
"You've got a Raven's tongue, old man! Best keep such talk to yourself!"
On the fourth day, as they walked and chatted, Qin Ming paused at the Great Rift Valley, rubbed his eyes, and confirmed he wasn't mistaken.
A black mist, like a serpentine spirit, was rapidly coiling and swirling within the ravine.
"Look there, old man. At the Great Rift Valley..." Qin Ming gestured.
"What am I supposed to see? There's nothing there," Old Liu replied, his face etched with confusion.
Qin Ming fell silent, feigning blurry vision.
His heart raced with unease as he secretly speculated that absorbing the mysterious liquid had somehow granted him the ability to perceive this unnatural black mist.
"Have you made any progress contacting those once-prominent but now-fallen clans I asked you to reach out to?"
"One of them has agreed," Old Liu said. "I don't think there will be any further issues."
"That's wonderful!" Qin Ming exclaimed, overjoyed.
"You two! What were you gawking at over there?" A voice suddenly called out from the distance.
Two figures emerged near the Great Rift Valley's entrance.
Their imposing Qi aura marked them as extremely dangerous experts, causing Qin Ming's heart to sink.
Old Liu glanced at the emblems on their sleeves and whispered, "Those golden patterns on their sleeves mean they've received preliminary recognition from the Golden Thieves. They must be the leaders of Golden Rooster Ridge, the two strongest Great Bandits in the area."
He fell silent, tugged Qin Ming forward, and began walking.
Qin Ming was well aware of these Great Bandits, having heard numerous rumors about them recently.
They were Fourth Awakeners, among the most powerful individuals in the local organizations.
"What are they doing at the Great Rift Valley?" he wondered. "Could the black mist be connected to them?"
"Quit dawdling and get over here!" one of the Great Bandits shouted.
"We're just passing through on our way to hunt in the mountains," Old Liu said, adopting a humble posture.
The two Great Bandits appeared to be around forty years old, their eyes cold and piercing.
One of them grabbed Old Liu by the collar and hoisted him into the air.
"He's an Awakener, but he's too old—useless!" the Great Bandit remarked, tossing Old Liu aside, nearly causing him to lose his balance and fall.
He approached Qin Ming and said, "You're quite fortunate to have undergone Awakening at such a young age."
Then, grabbing Qin Ming by the collar, he continued, "Golden Rooster Ridge will be recruiting in the next few days. Remember to sign up, understand? I've already memorized your face!"
The Great Bandit spoke calmly, his voice even, but his tone left no room for argument.
"Yes, sir! Don't worry, I'll take him to register myself," Old Liu quickly interjected, fearing Qin Ming's youthful recklessness might provoke the Great Bandit, leading to certain death.
"You're so old—are we just keeping you around to eat for free?" the Great Bandit sneered.
"I meant I'll escort him to register," Old Liu clarified.
"Hmm!" The Great Bandit nodded, releasing Qin Ming's collar.
"I asked you a question earlier. Are you mute? Did you hear me?" another Great Bandit suddenly shouted, his voice cold and reprimanding.
"I was momentarily stunned. Yes, I'll register when the time comes," Qin Ming replied with a nod.
...
"I'll greet them..." As they approached the Ant Nest, Old Liu erupted into a torrent of profanities, his anger boiling over. He was seething with pent-up rage.
He quickly urged Qin Ming to remain calm, insisting he suppress his anger and focus on registering first.
"You're still young, yet your strength is already so formidable. You'll only grow stronger. Anything is possible. When the time comes..."
Qin Ming cut him off, declaring, "When the time comes, I'll storm Golden Rooster Ridge alone and wipe out every bandit there!"
Old Liu immediately silenced him. "Hush! Such words must never be spoken aloud. Think about it after your fourth or fifth Awakening!"
The rest of their journey went smoothly.
Upon breaching the Ant Nest, they confirmed that the Silverhead Ant army had indeed been nearly annihilated in the previous three days.
The Queen Ant finally emerged—a silver-scaled insect.
Though a Third-Tier Mutated Creature, she proved surprisingly inept in combat.
Her only truly dangerous weapon was the luminous liquid she spat from her mouth, which possessed astonishing piercing power and could corrode armor.
During their initial encounter, Qin Ming and Old Liu were nearly hit by the Queen Ant's unexpectedly powerful liquid spray.
The first layer of their armor was pierced, but fortunately, steel plates protected their chests.
The ensuing battle was swift and decisive.
The strongest battle ants had already been eliminated, and without the protection of her Silverhead Ant swarm, the Queen Ant was quickly subdued by the duo.
"We've struck gold!" Old Liu exclaimed, his eyes gleaming as he ventured deep into the Ant Nest and spotted honey wine sealed within ant wax.
Though most of it had been consumed during the winter, even the remaining small quantity was incredibly valuable.
Qin Ming cautioned, "Let's bury it for now. If we try to sell it, our status as Second Awakener will be exposed. The bandits at Golden Rooster Ridge are ruthless; if they find out, we'll be in trouble."
Old Liu nodded in agreement, fully understanding the risks.
Soon after, they discovered a pale golden Spiritual Substance. Their faces lit up with surprise and excitement—there was enough for both of them.
Upon returning home, Qin Ming gazed at the pale golden liquid in the porcelain jar, his emotions surging, his heart pounding with excitement.
Recent events had left him restless, but he knew that if he grew strong enough, any troubles he faced would become insignificant.
______________________________
END OF CHAPTER
Subscribe to MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel
*********************************