Chapter 105: Leveling up the territory

From their perch, the archers watched in stunned silence as Ethan completely annihilated any scorpion that came into his path.

“Focus!” Marcus shouted, snapping his team back to attention. “Target the one on the left!”

Five arrows struck simultaneously, punching through bronze armour to find vital organs beneath. The scorpion collapsed, black blood pooling in the sand.

’Good,’ Ethan thought, glancing at them from the corner of his eyes.

More Scorpions emerged from the burrows, appearing like a seemingly endless stream of chitinous death. But instead of overwhelming Ethan, they simply provided him more resources.

A walking lootbox. That’s what I love to see.

A scorpion leapt from an elevated position, trying to land on his back. He caught it mid-air and slammed it into the ground hard enough to create a crater. Another attempted to flank him while he was occupied; he kicked it so hard its body disintegrated on impact.

This is too easy.

Resources Gained:

-> 30 units of wood

-> 20 units of stone

-> 10 units of sand

-> 3 water containers

The notifications appeared as creature after creature fell. Each kill added to their territory’s reserves while eliminating future threats.

“My Lord!” Elena called out. “Something larger is emerging!”

A new shape rose from the deepest burrow, twice the size of the High-Bronze variants, with additional armour plating and serrated claws that gleamed like polished steel.

<Ferocious Beast: Desert Overlord Scorpion>

<Rank: Low-Silver>

<Poison Mastery Talent: D- Grade>

“Arrows ready!” Marcus commanded. “Wait for the Lord’s signal!”

The Overlord moved with surprising grace for its massive size, poison literally dripping from every surface as its talent activated. Where the liquid touched sand, small clouds of toxic vapour rose into the air.

It might look strong, but in reality, it’s weak.

Ethan met the creature’s charge head-on. Its claws, capable of shearing through steel, met his bare hands. The impact created a shockwave that scattered sand in all directions.

You want to have a strength contest with me? Really?

His Gold-rank power overwhelmed the Low-Silver creature’s resistance with ease. The Overlord’s claws buckled, then shattered completely. Before it could process what happened, Ethan’s counterattack removed its head from its shoulders.

Thud.

The head landed on the sand, before its body followed.

“Target the emerging ones!” Ethan shouted, gesturing toward more High-Bronze scorpions spilling from nearby burrows.

The archers responded with disciplined volleys, their coordination improving with each engagement. Elena’s enhanced arrows proved particularly effective, punching through armor that regular arrows didn’t.

They’re getting more confident.

Minutes passed in a blur of slaughter. Ethan moved through the nest like a force of nature, leaving destruction in his wake while his archers provided precise support fire. The scorpions’ pack tactics meant nothing against overwhelming individual power.

Twenty-five… twenty-six… twenty-seven…

Another massive shape emerged from the central burrow—larger than the Overlord, with additional appendages and armour modifications.

<Ferocious Beast: Desert Apex Scorpion>

<Rank: Mid-Silver>

<Toxic Aura Talent: D Grade>

The Apex didn’t charge. Instead, it activated its talent, filling the air with poisonous mist that would have killed any Bronze-rank fighter instantly.

Ethan’s Gold-rank constitution rendered the toxins harmless. He walked through the deadly cloud like it was morning fog, reaching the creature before it could retreat.

This fight lasted longer—perhaps two seconds instead of one, but the outcome was never in doubt.

“My Lord!” Marcus called out. “The burrow systems!”

Ethan followed his archer’s pointing finger toward the largest tunnel entrance. Something glowed within its depths.

Time to investigate.

“Wait here, I will come back soon.”

He descended into the tunnel system, following winding passages that led deeper underground. The architecture was too regular to be natural—carved walls, reinforced supports, deliberate construction.

Those Scorpions are quite intelligent to have built this.

The passage opened into a circular chamber where artificial light revealed its source: a shimmering portal marked with scorpion engravings. The magical construct hummed with contained energy, its surface rippling like disturbed water.

A spawning gate.

Sleeping beside the portal lay the largest scorpion he’d encountered yet—easily four meters tall, with armour that looked more like sculpted metal than chitin of the other scorpions.

<Ferocious Beast: Desert Nest Scorpion>

<Rank: Peak-Silver>

<Poison Talent: C- >

The Guardian’s eyes snapped open as Ethan entered the chamber. Intelligence shone in those compound orbs—this wasn’t just another beast, but a true apex predator with experience in guarding this spawning ground.

Finally. Something that might actually require some effort. Its talent might become useful in the future. I will store its body in my storage ring.

The creature rose to its full height, mandibles clicking in what sounded like a death rattle. Its C- poison talent activated immediately, filling the chamber with toxic miasma that would have killed any Bronze-rank fighter in seconds.

Cute trick.

Ethan’s Gold-rank constitution countered the poison, although not fully. He breathed the deadly air in short breaths, his enhanced physiology processing and neutralising the poison faster than it could accumulate.

The Guardian’s compound eyes widened in what might have been surprise. Then it attacked.

Too slow.

Ethan’s Enhanced Speed talent ignited, turning the world into slow motion. The Guardian’s massive claws swept through empty air as he blurred to the side, his Iron Enhancement talent coating his fists in metallic reinforcement.

His first punch cracked the creature’s supposedly impenetrable carapace.

CRACK!

The Guardian shrieked, poison spraying from the impact site as it stumbled backwards. But Ethan wasn’t finished.

His Wind talent responded to his will, creating invisible crescents of compressed air that sliced through the chamber’s stale atmosphere. The first blade carved a groove across the Guardian’s armored head.

The second severed one of its secondary legs completely.

Thud.

The limb hit the stone floor with a wet sound.

The Guardian tried to retreat, its survival instincts finally overriding its territorial aggression. But the chamber offered no escape—just stone walls and a portal it couldn’t abandon.

Ethan’s fists became living weapons, each punch carrying the force of a sledgehammer reinforced with supernatural hardness. He drove the Guardian backward with a relentless barrage, his speed making defense impossible.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

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