Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

With their foes slain in a whirlwind of blades, routine soul and body searches followed. Negris said in slight exasperation, “Are all the members dispatched by the Chaos Temple such small fry? Are they truly meant to sow chaos? With such weak power that they just die upon being pinched, how can they create chaos?”

Nobody paid him any attention. The Little Angel was chasing bugs with a stick, squashing them one by one with a satisfying crunch.

The Little Zombie was running all around the field, crushing the bugs underfoot—crushing one after another.

The bugs weren’t interested in them. They found the Little Angel rather tasty, but once it unleashed the Holy Light, they lost their appetite.

Rogge’s voice floated over from somewhere: “They probably aren’t small fry. Think about it. For other adventurers, finding their target amidst this vast swarm of bugs, killing it, and successfully retreating is extremely difficult. But, in Lord Ange’s case, just a few stomps on a pile of bones is enough to reveal all the necessary information. Maybe we’re just too strong.”

“You might be right. But first, let’s check what we’ve gained. A worn-out bag with some trashy jewelry, a Space Ring—huh, it’s not locked? Let me check. Trashy bag, trashy bag, trashy bag…all bags full of junk jewelry. What does this bug keeper use all these things for?”

Negris said disdainfully. From the belongings of a person, one could roughly gauge their level. The Stripping Female Mage’s belongings included a spatial mage’s notebook, which contained vague content that even Negris couldn’t understand, indicating a formidable strength.

All luxury goods or jewelry probably indicated a newly rich person.

The memory Ange found confirmed Negris’s guess.

“Sheesh! Twenty-three years old, a commoner. A follower of Hermorthos for the last three years and a bug keeper for the last two months. He destroyed the millennial Black Mountain Kingdom. They may be small fry, but the forces behind their fast progress certainly aren’t. Humans and elves are really becoming troublesome.”

An impoverished newly-appointed bug keeper, who suddenly gained the ability to control a large number of bugs, would naturally not have any far-reaching ambition.

Ange slid towards a pit. At just the right moment, a sculpture of a hand clutching a hammer corroded and fell apart. The Earth Hammer, wrapped in holy shrouds, fell onto the ground with a loud clank.

Ange picked it up and unwrapped the shroud. Clank! The Earth Hammer suddenly became incredibly heavy, too heavy for Ange to handle. It slipped from his hands and crashed back onto the ground.

“Oh boy, this is some real trouble now,” Negris who was a step too slow, spoke anxiously:

“Now what? How are we going to wrap it back up? The sealant on it is from an earth enchantment, similar to the principles of the Earth Monument of the Demons. Although it boosts the power of earth magic within it, it also binds it to the earth. Unless we overturn a large patch of the surrounding land, it would be tough to lift.”

Ange, not believing him, reached out to lift the hammer but almost dislocated his back. The Earth Hammer didn’t budge.

Rogge, also incredulous, reached out to lift it, but almost tore his physical form apart. The Holy Hammer didn’t move one bit.

Ange once again stood in front of the Earth Hammer. He twisted his waist and kicked his legs to perfect his posture. Then, he took a firm stance, tightly gripped the hammer handle, and pulled up with all his strength.

A creaking sound could be heard, clearly indicating the uproar of his bones, as a raging Soul Flame rose from his figure.

The Earth Hammer budged—it was a mere half-inch off the ground.

A thunderous, muffled Dragon Language bellow, ancient as if from the dawn of time, erupted from Ange’s soul.

The embedded Gold Dragon Scale on his rib seemed to melt, permeating into his bones, and turning a large part of his ribs golden.

Suddenly, the golden scales pierced out through his ribs and continuously convulsed on all sides, transforming Ange into a three-meter-tall golden giant with dragon head, horns, scales, and a human body.

The Gold Dragon Giant effortlessly lifted the immovable Earth Hammer with much ease over his head.

Negris was utterly terrified. He hadn’t been this scared even when Ange transformed into Steadfast Locke or Brooks. That’s because Brooks’ scales were something he had cleverly retrieved.

But now he was frightened because Ange didn’t transform into Brooks, instead he—.

“Dragon God Transformation? How could this be possible? How is this possible? It’s impossible, he doesn’t possess the dragon vein!” Negris stammered, shocked like a little bird.

The golden giant lifted the Earth Hammer and paused for a few seconds. Then, he abruptly swung the hammer down and it hit the ground with a loud crash. The ground turned soft, rippling like the surface of a lake and spreading outward.

The frail bugs were met with disaster—they were weak individually, with their only advantage being their sheer numbers. The ripples in the ground hit them like a wall, squashing them into bug juice with a single splat.

The Earth Hammer was known for turning all matter within a radius of several meters into dust with its Earth magic. However, Ange’s strike caused the ripples to spread over a range of 40 meters. Every piece of earth and stone it touched was reduced to dust and formed a sediment layer, making the Holy Temple shorter by a level.

Now that the pillars had lost contact with the foundation, they stood independently, supporting the ceiling. Only the sturdy construction quality of the Holy Temple prevented it from collapsing.

Amidst a cloud of dust, the golden giant slowly shrank back into Ange. Upon calculating, Ange had managed to maintain this form for 15 seconds, which was longer than when he transformed into Steadfast Locke.