A World Worth Protecting

Chapter 175: An Itch Beyond Relief

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The dangers posed to a Divine Armament cultivator were not great. However, the stress on their technical capabilities was great and the volume of work substantial. This was especially true for Wang Baole, who was in charge of ten Fire God Cannons. He could not spend too much time on a single platform.

After each inspection, he had to hurry to the next platform. He had to keep a sharp eye out at the same time for any Fire God Cannons that might be experiencing malfunctions; any problems would have to be attended to immediately. In the event that the malfunction was something that he could not manage, he would need to shout for Chen Yutong’s urgent help.

Time would be needlessly wasted if he returned to the stronghold before heading to the next platform. Wang Baole retrieved his cruiser and flew it around the grounds outside the stronghold, weaving his way among the ten platforms. He managed to catch a breather then and called out his mosquitoes. He was just about to search for a test subject for them.

It was then that one of the Fire God Cannons started shaking and experiencing instability. Wang Baole set aside his attempt at controlling the mosquitoes and raced to the platform where the unstable Fire God Cannon was. He gave a simple order to the mosquitoes to sting True Breath realm beasts; there was no time to tend to them for the time being.

The nine mosquitoes made their way rapidly through the battlefield, hunting for prey.

They soon locked onto a target. It was a beast in the form of a leopard. It had surpassed the Ancient Martial realm, the aura exuding from its body that of the True Breath realm. Its fearsome form moved swiftly through the battlefield.

The beast was extremely cunning. It avoided the attacks from the Combat cultivators of the four Dao Colleges and instead sought out Ancient Martial realm warriors. With a leap, it would surge forward, rip the throats of these warriors out, and slip away in a blink of an eye.

At present, the leopard carried a cold glint in its eyes as it dodged another attack from the Combat cultivators from the four Dao Colleges and licked its lips. Its eyes narrowed and locked onto the throat of a muscular, middle-aged warrior. The man was in a fierce battle with an Ancient Martial realm beast.

As it dashed out, suddenly, nine mosquitoes appeared in the vicinity. They landed on the beast without it noticing. Its proboscis whose length originally seemed unable to penetrate furry skin suddenly grew in length, piercing through the furry skin and straight into the leopard’s body. The nine mosquitoes drank, and the next moment, they flew off.

As they flew further away, a harsh bright light exploded. The leopard that had been charging the middle-aged strongman suddenly widened its eyes. Its body spasmed mid-leap, and a pained howl tore itself out from its throat. The lunging form trembled and, without rhyme or reason, suddenly changed course and charged headfirst into the ground!

The leopard hit the ground and started howling madly. Its body wriggled on the ground ceaselessly, its paws trying to scratch itself; it was as if it had been hit by an uncontrollable itch all over. It was an extraordinary itch that seemed to sink through the bones to the depths of the soul. That left a leopard that rivaled a True Breath realm cultivator shrieking in agony. Its battle prowess was drained away almost entirely. It was as if there were countless insects biting it, inside and outside its body. Its eyes screamed fear.

The beast tried to get on to its feet but failed. The itch was indescribable. It could only howl madly. Its screams did not travel far; the beast’s strange behavior caught the attention of a Combat cultivator from one of the four Dao Colleges. He approached speedily and drove his sword straight through the leopard’s forehead!

“What’s the situation!” Upon seeing how the leopard did not attempt to dodge the attack, allowing itself to be killed instantly, the Combat cultivator froze. He could not spare further thought on this though as he immediately retreated and attacked another beast.

The episode was akin to a small wave in the huge ocean, drawing little attention. Even Wang Baole, busy with inspecting the malfunctioning Fire God Cannon, had no energy to meld with the mosquitoes. The nine mosquitoes continued their flight through the battlefield.

Violence permeated the battlefield; the smell of blood rose heavy in the air while howls of rage resounded through the battleground. Injuries and death abound. However, the nine mosquitoes were not only agile but small. Be it cultivators, warriors, or even the beasts, barely anyone noticed them.

With such stealth, the nine mosquitoes accomplished Wang Baole’s order perfectly without drawing attention. They began to frantically sting the True Breath realm beasts that appeared before them, one after another.

Gradually, a string of strange phenomena took place on the battlefield. Many True Breath realm beasts, which had appeared fine and had been engaged in fearsome battles with great prowess a moment before, suddenly widened their eyes and fell to the ground with an agonizing cry, wriggling uncontrollably as if trying to scratch an itch.

Those who could reach the itch started scratching at the indescribable itch, as if practicing self-mutilation, until their skin broke and flesh tore.

Those who could not ease the itch flew into a mad frenzy; in their howling madness, they did not differentiate ally from foe, charging blindly at and tearing into the beasts around them.

An isolated scene started repeating itself, quickly and in large numbers. It was like a plague and caught the attention and surprise of many people.

“What’s going on?”

“These beasts, have they gone mad? What are they doing? Scratching an itch?”

“Are my eyes deceiving me?”

Warriors and cultivators alike exclaimed in surprise as more and more of such strange beast behavior occurred. This was especially so for the warriors on the Fire God Cannon platforms—their elevated positions gave them a grander view. Every one of them was stunned beyond belief.

They had lived through countless battles with beasts, fought beasts all year round, but never had they seen such a sight before.

As for Wang Baole, he had just completed the repair of the Fire God Cannon. He raised his head in surprise when he heard the disbelieving cries. At that timely moment, a flying beast in the sky fell to the bite of the mosquito. It screamed in pain midair, and its wings froze. With an excruciating cry, it crashed heavily to the ground.

What was most amazing was how as the beast fell—one could clearly see with one’s eyes its body swelling up.

As this sight blew everyone’s mind away, Wang Baole’s body shook slightly, and the expression on his face shifted, barely noticeable. Spirit Qi flowed into the scabbard housed within his body. The scene before his eyes transformed, becoming fused with the mosquitoes’ fields of vision. The scene of the entire battlefield appeared before his eyes.

There was no attempt at further control. Instead, Wang Baole observed as the mosquitoes inflicted swift bites on one True Breath realm beast after another before flying away, leaving the bitten beasts in howling, frenzied madness. Wang Baole sucked in a deep breath, his eyes wide.

“That... that’s seriously fierce!” Wang Baole muttered to himself in both disbelief and excitement. With the aid of the mosquitoes’ fields of vision, his eyes landed on the beasts’ teeth... and brightened suddenly.

“There are teeth everywhere. The Dragon’s Tooth that I’m crafting requires a huge number of beasts’ teeth. This place is like a treasure trove!” Wang Baole became excited. He immediately commanded a mosquito to return to him. The mosquito’s field of vision would be used to monitor the ten Fire God Cannons. His form blurred as he sped toward the battlefield before him!

His appearance caught the attention of many warriors. They were about to shout out their concern, but Wang Baole was too fast for them. He appeared almost instantly on the battlegrounds. As he dashed forward, a raging bear-like beast charged toward him, howling. Wang Baole teleported next to it while it was in mid-leap, raised his left hand, and caught the lower jaw of the raging bear. With a twist of fingers, the bear’s mouth fell open.

“That’s not a bad-looking tooth.” Wang Baole’s eyes glimmered. His right hand shot right in, grabbed hold of a molar, and broke it off without mercy. With a wave of his hand, seven to eight flying swords flew out and beheaded the howling beast. Then, he sped off.

The warriors who had been about to call out to Wang Baole witnessed the entire scene. They gasped and stared at Wang Baole in shock.

That raging bear was a True Breath realm beast!

Before Wang Baole, it seemed as weak and fragile as a thin piece of paper.

Wang Baole excitedly tossed the tooth into his storage bag. With the aid of the mosquito stationed at the Fire God Cannons, he checked that the cannons were in order. Utilizing the field of vision of the other mosquitoes, he moved from one part of the battlefield to the next. Soon, the terrific screams of beasts losing their teeth echoed across the battlefield.

Amid their screams were Wang Baole’s shouts of delight.

“This tooth will do!”

“Eh, this molar’s not bad!”

“This tooth looks sharp—I’m taking it!”

Wang Baole wove in and out of battle on the battleground, like a fat ghost; he appeared before beasts that had been bitten from his mosquitoes, pulled teeth out, and slew the beasts. His movements were fast and fluid, like a passing cloud or flowing water, gone the next moment.

Gradually, more and more people bore witness to such a scene. Be it warriors, Combat cultivators from the four Dao Colleges, or even the many in the stronghold, they all saw Wang Baole striking and... extracting teeth.

“What sort of hobby is Wang Baole into? Teeth extraction?”

As each and every one of them bore an odd expression on their face, they were also amazed in equal measure. It was as if Wang Baole had eyes on the back of his head; amid the chaos of the battlefield, his eyes seemed to see all, and his ears hear all. He moved fast, like a fat loach that slipped through the grasp of the beasts that tried to encircle him time and time again. When he struck, he would, without fail, pull a tooth out.

Every beast that fought him would fall howling to a strange itch and lose their ability to retaliate. Within a short span of two hours, the beasts that died by Wang Baole’s hand rose to a count of thirty!

He had exterminated an even greater number of Ancient Martial realm beasts along the way. His body count surpassed that of many Combat cultivators and sparked flames of rivalry in the hearts of many cultivators who witnessed his battle prowess. Thus, their attacks quickened.

All of a sudden, those standing on the side of the stronghold seemed fearsome beyond measure. Even though Wang Baole’s mosquitoes suffered some damage, as long as his Spirit Qi did not run dry, he had an infinite number of mosquitoes at his command. He grew fiercer in battle, and his methods at teeth extraction became more efficient. With a brief glance, he could assess the beast’s teeth and determine how to extract it from the root up.

“Could it be that I am naturally gifted at dentistry?” Wang Baole murmured, surprised. He approached a green-skinned, lion-like beast speedily. The beast’s form was obviously swollen and enlarged beyond its original size. It wriggled on the ground, trying to reach an itch.