Rustle!
Rustle! Rustle!
While the two were delayed, the first Strong Acid Ant had already emerged from the ground.
Its head alone was about the size of a baseball. As it crawled out from underground, everyone finally got a clear look at it.
Its whole body was red, and it was roughly the size of a large fat rat.
The pair of blade-like mandibles on its mouth were especially frightening.
"Get up there now!"
Harriet was startled by the Strong Acid Ant that suddenly appeared.
It had surfaced very close to them. The moment it emerged, it immediately rushed toward the two of them.
And it was incredibly fast.
"I'll hold it off!"
As she spoke, Harriet swung her nicked greatsword at the glowing red Strong Acid Ant.
But just as her sword approached it, the ant nimbly dodged the attack. It even clamped its mandibles tightly onto the sword she had swung.
Crack!
Harriet immediately discovered what made these Strong Acid Ants so dangerous.
She tried hard to pull her sword back, only to find that their bite force was tremendous.
At the same time, gray-white bubbles rapidly appeared on the part of the blade being bitten. Thin streams of black smoke with an extremely sour stench rose from it.
"It's corroding it!"
Alarmed, Harriet lifted both the sword and the Strong Acid Ant into the air, then swung wildly several times.
But the ant refused to let go.
Left with no choice, she smashed both the sword and the ant against the tree trunk.
Smack!
Only then was the Strong Acid Ant's head split into two pieces.
However, as the ant died, the sword in Harriet's hand also snapped into two sections.
Now it was Harriet's turn to be stunned.
Rustle!
Rustle! Rustle!
However, she had only just killed one Strong Acid Ant when countless more began emerging one after another.
Harriet's face immediately turned pale.
She no longer dared stay and fight. She quickly grabbed the end of the rope beneath Charlie and relied on the pulling force from Ethan and the others to bring both of them onto the tree branch.
As the two slowly rose higher, the number of Strong Acid Ants on the ground kept increasing.
Harriet looked at the broken sword in her hand, now only half a blade remained.
Then she looked up at the Broken Sword in Ethan's hand, the one that could cut through everything.
The resentment in her heart grew even stronger.
'If only...'
'That divine weapon was mine.'
The moment that thought appeared, she could no longer suppress the desire in her heart.
She quietly glanced at a packet of powder resting inside one slot of her backpack.
It was a poison called Scent of Death.
According to the description, it was an extremely deadly poison refined from a mushroom with an incredibly fragrant scent.
Just a tiny amount added to a pot of soup was enough to kill someone.
Anyway...
She had already entered the Third Temple.
If she remembered correctly, this should be the Guardian Divine Tree mission mentioned by Grand Mage Gonnegal.
This mission lasted twelve hours. As long as they survived three waves of attacks, the stage would be cleared.
But Ethan definitely didn't know the secret to clearing this stage.
So as long as she could get Ethan to consume the poisoned Scent of Death before the third wave arrived, not only would the Broken Sword fall into her hands, but everything else he possessed would as well.
The moment she thought of this, Harriet became happy again.
Crunch! Crunch!
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Countless Strong Acid Ants continued crawling out of the ground.
But after emerging, they didn't climb the tree to attack Ethan and the others.
Instead, they began chewing on the tree itself.
Looking at the dense mass of Strong Acid Ants below, Ethan suddenly noticed red exclamation marks appearing wherever the tree was being bitten.
[Health: 9999/10000]
[Health: 9998/10000]
[Health: ...]
'This tree actually has health points?'
'It seems the key to this stage was protecting the tree.'
Looking at the number of Strong Acid Ants below, Ethan really wanted to throw down a Great Fire Rain.
But after considering that it might set the tree on fire as well, he had no choice but to use the Level 3 Space Gate instead.
It consumed an enormous amount of mental energy, but its effect was incredibly powerful.
"Spread Across the Sky Like Stars!"
Pop!
Pop! Pop!
The seemingly indestructible Strong Acid Ants began falling from the trunk one after another.
Green blood flowed from their heads or bodies.
Harriet and Charlie were both dumbfounded.
"How did these Strong Acid Ants suddenly die?"
Charlie was shocked.
But Harriet realized something.
She turned to look at Ethan, her eyes filled with uncertainty and suspicion.
"Naturally, this was our Lord's doing," Bird One said proudly, "So I'd advise you to put away any bad thoughts you might have! Otherwise, you'll end up just like these Strong Acid Ants!"
"Why would we do anything to Lord Ethan?", Harriet quickly replied with a smile, "I've already signed a Lord Agreement with him. If I violate the agreement, I'll be the first one to die."
"Good."
Bird One responded coldly.
Ethan directly reminded Bird One, "Bird One, don't be rude! Miss Harriet is our partner now. We're all here to overcome this challenge together. There's no need to attack each other."
"Yes, Lord."
Bird One answered reluctantly.
Harriet immediately took the chance to show goodwill.
"I'm sorry about before. I spoke without thinking. I should have treated you as a partner instead of putting you in the position of one of my admirers. Thank you for still being willing to help me."
Harriet said this deliberately.
Including her earlier attempts to provoke Ethan with things like how men should give way to women.
Her purpose had always been simple.
She wanted to test whether Ethan truly trusted her.
Or rather, whether he genuinely regarded her as a partner.
At first, she used a provocation tactic.
If Ethan had really given her all the materials, she would have seriously questioned whether he genuinely wanted to cooperate or was planning something behind her back.
As for what she had just said, it was intended to make Ethan think she was a foolish woman with a large chest and little sense, someone who spoke and acted without thinking and only regretted it afterward.
Although doing this somewhat damaged her own image, it would lower Ethan's guard and prevent him from seeing that she was actually a calculating woman.
Only then would her final plan be easier to carry out...
Poison him.
Rustle!
Rustle! Rustle!
Although Ethan's Spread Across the Sky Like Stars had dealt with quite a few Strong Acid Ants, there were simply too many of them.
On top of that, the ants were small.
Many escaped the Space Gates and resumed chewing on the tree beneath them.
Left with no choice, Ethan took out the Godslayer Sword.
Then he began practicing the Strange Sword Form.
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