Chapter 130: The Golden Giant Ant

Zhang Shan rode his Red Hare, galloping across the Ant Mountain map and swiftly passing through groups of army ants.

Riding a horse is truly exhilarating. It isn't just about the speed; the most important thing is the ability to quickly maneuver through the gaps between monster mobs. If one were traveling on foot, weaving through a dense crowd of monsters would be no simple task. If things went wrong, you would be surrounded, forced to fight your way out while trying to push forward. Before he had a mount, that was how Zhang Shan had to progress through high-density monster maps. Now, however, it was comfortable; mounted on his Red Hare, he could kick up dust and leave before the army ants even reacted. As long as he didn't do anything reckless like stopping in the middle of a mob, he would basically never be surrounded again.

Zhang Shan swept through the groups of minor mobs, carefully checking for any bosses. The Ant Mountain map was quite large; even on his Red Hare, he estimated it would take half an hour to fully scout the entire area. He hoped his luck would hold and he could find the boss early without having to scour the whole map. Once this boss was taken down, there were many other things waiting for him. Although the national war and monster siege events hadn't officially started yet, the public map known as Heaven's Gate Pass was already open to players. Judging by the chatter on the world channel, many players had already headed over, and Zhang Shan wanted to check it out as well. However, before leaving Ant Mountain, he had to find and kill the boss—otherwise, it would be a waste of the twenty-plus days he had spent grinding here.

Following his planned route, Zhang Shan meticulously screened every monster he saw, not letting a single red dot escape his notice. He couldn't afford to miss it; if his luck was poor and he overlooked the boss, he would have to search the whole place all over again.

Just as Zhang Shan was scouring the map on his Red Hare, he received a call from Fengyun Yidao:
"Brother Six-Barrel, what are you up to? Want to go to the Heaven's Gate Pass map and kill some people? It's really lively there right now."
"I'm still here looking for a boss. I'll worry about other things after I finish off the boss here."
"Nani? You have a boss there?"
"I should. It’s all ant monsters, so surely there’s an Ant King or Ant Queen or something, right?"
"You've been grinding there for so long, and you haven't seen a boss yet?"
"No, the map is a bit big. Before, we were always grinding in small sections, and there are still many places I haven't been to yet."
"Alright, then you take your time finding it. If you find a boss you can't handle, remember to call us so we can get some experience too."
"Aren't you planning to go to Heaven's Gate Pass to kill people? You wouldn't have time to help anyway, heh."

"I do want to go, but the boss and the others don't want to. They say it's too chaotic there right now and want to wait a few days for things to calm down before going over. If I go alone without a few powerful teammates, I'm just going there to die."
"After I finish this boss, we can go check it out together. I heard there are many bosses at Heaven's Gate Pass, too."
"You're bold, you actually want to fight bosses at Heaven's Gate Pass? Do you have any idea how chaotic it is there? It's filled with players from other countries everywhere; how could they possibly let you fight a boss in peace?"
"It's fine. We're just there for the bosses. If anyone dares to cause trouble, we'll just kill them."
"Alright, you're the big boss. I'll go grind some mobs for now; call me when you find the big boss."
"Sure, I'll let you know once I find it."

After ending the call, Zhang Shan continued to speed across the map. His luck today seemed subpar. He had covered more than half of the Ant Mountain map, and he still hadn't seen a boss. Could it be that he would have to run the entire map? Was his luck really that bad?

*Holy crap, what is that? A giant golden ant?*

Just as Zhang Shan was about to grumble about his terrible luck in not finding a boss after traveling so far, he spotted a massive, golden ant not far away. It was incredibly eye-catching. Anyone who wasn't blind could see it. Remembering the sleazy nature of the Mountain King, and comparing it to the imposing presence of this giant ant, he realized that not all bosses were created equal. A boss this arrogant-looking had to be fierce. However, Zhang Shan was on his horse, so no matter how fierce the boss was, he didn't have to worry—if things went south, he could just run. No matter how fast the boss was, it couldn't possibly outrun the Red Hare.

Zhang Shan rode forward and circled the golden ant to observe it. It was a red-tier boss: a Demonized Army Ant Queen. As for its stats and skills, he couldn't tell. Zhang Shan didn't dare to test it lightly. While mounted, he could escape, but if he dismounted to strike the boss, it would be difficult to get away again. Summoning a mount had a casting time, and the boss wouldn't give him the chance to remount.

Forget it, he wouldn't test it. He would just call people to take it down together. A level 40 red-tier boss was out of the question for just him and Boss Wu; they simply couldn't beat it. Moreover, all army ants possessed the "Ant Strength" passive, which made their attack power terrifyingly high. As the queen, it was likely she also had the "Ant Strength" passive, so her attack power would definitely be extreme.

Needless to say, even if he and Boss Wu were joined by Fengyun Tianxia and the others, they would still need to carefully consider their team composition. Otherwise, victory wasn't guaranteed. A boss with high health wasn't scary—at most, it just took more time. A boss with high attack power was the most frightening, as no one could hold the line, just like with the Mountain King. In the end, even the Panda Baby couldn't hold on. He figured the Ant Queen's damage output would be even higher than the Mountain King's. Although his Panda Baby had leveled up twice along with him and gained some health, it only just reached 130,000 HP—not much stronger than it was during the fight with the Mountain King.

He had to rely on his teammates, especially by bringing extra support units. As for damage output, he didn't need to worry. After his artifact was unsealed, his damage output had nearly doubled. Even if the others just assisted from the sidelines without attacking the boss, he could kill it alone. The key was ensuring the Panda Baby could survive.

He called Fengyun Yidao:
"Brother Yidao, I've found a red-tier boss: a level 40 Demonized Army Ant Queen. Call some people to come and help take it down."
"Haha, you really found one! Did you see the boss's stats or skills?"
"No, I didn't dare to test it. This boss looks fierce at a glance—it's glowing with gold and looks quite arrogant."
"Try it out, maybe it's just a pushover?"
"I won't risk it. You guys gather a team and come over. Be sure to bring plenty of support, or I'm afraid the Panda Baby won't be able to hold it."
"Impossible. If a Panda Baby with over 100k HP can't hold it, then no other player can play this game. The Mountain King was just an exception; it's impossible for every boss to have such insane damage output."
"Well, you guys work out the arrangements. I'm going to head back to Dangyang City to update my gear anyway. It'll take you a while to get here."
"Damn, people with horses are so willful, just porting back to the city whenever they please. I'm going to go gather the team now."