Degrade from Nobility to a Humble Slave novel Chapter 94

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Loud sounds of drums from outside woke Zen up in the early hours of the morning.

As soon as he opened his door, he was infected by the atmosphere.

Amidst the bustle of the drumming, a hundred imperial soldiers were marching out of the fort in groups.

Martin located Zen, assembled the team, and they took up the task of hunting blade locusts beyond the confines of the fort.

Hundreds of miles in front of Dragon Fort was the principal battlefield against blade locusts.

Dead blade locusts were piled up in heaps on both sides of the path.

Zen saw some people crowding around the heaps as if they were searching for something. Occasionally one of them would prod at a corpse.

He noticed that all those scavenging the bodies were ordinary citizens. None of them were body refiners.

'So why are they out there?' he wondered. Common people were so weak that a single blade locust could easily kill them all. The battlefield was too dangerous for them.

After watching the people rifling through the remains, Zen asked, "Why are these civilians risking their lives outside the fort? Aren't they afraid to die?"

Martin laughed at his question, "Afraid to die? Of course, they are afraid to die. Every year many civilians get themselves killed here. Just a few days ago, some damned blade locusts got lucky! They rushed in, killing a dozen civilians."

"Then why do they come out of the fort?" asked Zen, puzzled.

Martin smiled, "It has to do with your sect."

Zen was still confused, so, Roger explained, "Each blade locust has a crystal core in its chest. In our sect, they only need the crystal cores you have collected to count the number of blade locusts you have killed. Usually, we take the crystal cores after we kill them. But, we always miss some amidst the many carcasses. These people are here to take a chance on luck. Crystal cores are sold at a premium in the fort."

That explanation cleared it up for Zen.

Twenty crystal cores were worth one point. One point was worth two cubic crystals.

Refiners would love to buy some crystal cores with gold or silver that they had no use for. At the same time, through trade, ordinary individuals could make a fortune, living a prosperous, comfortable life. It was a small wonder why so many men were willing to risk their lives looking for crystal cores outside of the fort.

Ahead, the lush green rain forest was quiet.

In the face of the insect army, other beasts migrated yearly because they were as defenseless as humans when it came to the insect horde. The creatures either went into hiding deep underground or fled the forest entirely.

All was still. The only sound was the leaves rustling in the wind.

Moving silently, Zen and the others made their way into the forest.

Since a blade locust's entire body was grass-green hues, they blended in with the environment perfectly, making them good at camouflaging themselves in the forest. When prey was close enough, they would leap out and make the kill.

The instant Zen brushed by a shrub, there were two blades shooting out at his neck so fast that the blades whistled as they neared him.

Smirking, Zen seized a blade with his bare hand as it came close. Energy erupted through his body, covering every inch of him with a purple aura.

With a clang, the blade snapped between his fingers. At the same time, he shattered the head of the blade locust with his other fist.

Everyone was on guard after the appearance of this blade locust. Zen killed it quickly, but that didn't relieve the tension. Instead, the saying, 'when you have one blade locust in sight, two thousand more are close, ' went through their minds.

The rustling grew louder and louder.

It seemed suddenly that the entire forest was alive with thousands of blade locusts appearing out of thin air and closing in on all sides.

'Kill!'

Killing them was the only thought running through Zen's head at that moment.

To him, the blade locusts were nothing more than points and a ticket to get into Hell Mountain.

Since Zen began the marrow refining level, he had better control of his life energy. He couldn't use it to attack like a weapon or transform it into life vitality like people at the nature level yet though. Still, at this level, he was able to control his life energy perfectly.

Purple light scattered through the air like thin lines extending from Zen's body and the next moment his fist landed forcibly on a blade locust's head.

'Die!'

Two blade locusts sprang out on either side of him, their sharp blades rising, snapping at the air as they closed in on him.

Zen didn't flinch or dodge. His fists severed the air. The blow summoned a horrifying force, the Purple Light Fist!

"Thump! Clunk!"

With dull thuds, the abdomens of both blade locusts were crushed into pieces under his fists. Their crystal cores dropped to the dirt.

Before he could pick the crystal cores up, he heard the whistling in the air behind him. He ducked in reflex avoiding the attack from a blade locust and then swung his fist at its gut as he turned toward it.

'Purple Fist Strength!'

The abdomen was the hardest part of their body. Zen had learned that the hard way.

Purple Fist Strength could channel a force through the insect's thick shell to the deeper, softer part of its body, where the effect would do more damage.