"We cannot let our righteous companion fight alone!"
Hong Maru naturally couldn't just retreat like this; at the very least, he had to leave with Egui Peng.
"Rumble~~"
But before he could give a precise order, the ground in front of them began to shake.
The muddy ground collapsed, revealing the hidden pits beneath.
The next moment, dense swarms of Insect Monsters surged out of the darkness like a tide.
"Holy shit!"
The terrifying number made even Bai Luo, standing in the distance, twitch his lips: "What exactly are these things? There are too many of them, aren't there?"
With just a quick glance, Bai Luo saw no less than 5000 Insect Monsters.
It was conceivable that there were certainly more underground.
As for their level...
Under Bai Luo's Appraisal, the overall strength of these Insect Monsters was not as good as the first batch they encountered, and their size was also much smaller.
"Most are D-rank, C-minus rank accounts for two-tenths of the total, there are also many C-rank, and C-plus rank is around one hundred."
Bai Luo ignored the D-rank monsters.
For Growth to gain experience, it cannot be too far below Egui Peng's level.
Generally speaking, if a monster's magic essence is below C-minus rank, even if Egui Peng kills it, she won't get an increase in existence value.
So, don't be fooled by the many Insect Monsters here.
Only 20%, or about 1000, are truly worth consuming.
"Even so, taking down this batch should allow Peng Peng to grow into a true A-rank monster at least."
And according to the Cardinal World's mechanism, an Egui Peng that reaches A-rank and receives a disaster rating has a very high probability of completing 'evolution' and transforming into a more powerful Ogre Clan.
"Should we retreat?"
Bai Luo didn't really care about the D-rank Insect Monsters.
Without C-rank strength, they might not even be able to break through Egui Peng's defense.
More importantly...
[Defeated C-rank monster x1, gained 4 existence points]
[Defeated C-minus-rank monster x2, gained 3 existence points]
[Defeated C-plus-rank monster x1, gained 8 existence points]
[...]
Since Egui Peng joined the battlefield, every time she defeated an enemy, she received a gift of existence value.
In this short span of about ten minutes, Egui Peng's existence value had already increased from the original 8000+ to 8500+.
"At this rate, and with the remaining Insect Monsters..."
Bai Luo mused, "Over 1000 C-rank and above Insect Monsters should allow Egui Peng to break through 10000 existence value and obtain an A-rank rating, right?"
A-rank is a watershed.
There is a qualitative difference between below A-rank and A-rank.
Even the most ordinary A-rank monster can, by itself, contend with a Great Ogre Clan village of 300 people.
"Let's do it!"
Bai Luo made up his mind; he didn't intend to let this imminent feast slip away.
"Peng Peng!"
"Bai Luo?"
Through their familiar connection, Egui Peng heard Bai Luo's voice.
"Can you continue fighting?"
"Peng Peng, not tired at all!"
Egui Peng was full of energy, continuing to smash one big Insect Monster after another with her staff: "Peng Peng can fight them like this all day!"
Good, you're Captain America too!
Of course, that was just a joke.
In fact, the hidden characteristic of the ghostly spirit race was their astonishing physical prowess and bottomless stamina.
Especially now, as Egui Peng continuously killed enemies, her Growth talent was frantically absorbing nutrients and transforming them into her magic essence.
According to the common knowledge of the Cardinal World, the more massive the magic essence, the more energy an individual possesses.
So, after this wave of battle, Egui Peng not only didn't consume much magic or stamina.
On the contrary, due to the surge in magic essence, her condition was better than ever before.
"I understand."
"Then..."
Knowing Egui Peng's current state, Bai Luo immediately cast a loudspeaking spell: "Friends of the Great Ogre Clan, Egui Peng and I are here to help you."
"That voice?"
In the battlefield, the Great Ogre Clan, gathered in one place, led by Hong Maru, all looked up to find the source of the voice.
"The Egui Peng he mentioned, isn't that the terrifyingly strong little one?"
"So her name is Egui Peng?"
"What a strange name."
"No, does she, does she even have a name?"
"That child is actually a named monster?"
"...."
Ignoring the surprise and exclamations of his clansmen, Hong Maru quietly waited for Bai Luo's next words.
Bai Luo didn't intend to directly intervene in the battlefield.
He positioned himself as a summoner and mage in the back row; there was no reason to get caught in the enemy's encirclement, that would be too foolish.
"Next, I will cast a powerful spell at the location of the insect nest to force out all the Insect Monsters below."
"If the insect nest's forces are beyond imagination, I will have Egui Peng retreat immediately."
"You too, retreat from the battlefield with Egui Peng!"
Bai Luo's plan was simple and clear, and Hong Maru quickly understood his meaning.
The insect nest's forces were unknown, and their combat power was unknown.
If Bai Luo blew out tens of thousands of Insect Monsters...
Then staying would be waiting for death; returning to the village for reinforcements was the correct course of action.
Conversely, if the insect nest's forces were not as numerous as Bai Luo imagined...
Then the Great Ogre Clan wouldn't be needed.
Bai Luo: I have General Egui Peng, who can defeat a thousand armies!
"Everyone!!!"
Without much hesitation, Hong Maru made a decision: "Obey the command of the voice's owner!!"
Zhu Cai was his younger sister, and Shion was his childhood friend.
Both girls' lives were saved by Egui Peng.
This life-saving grace alone was something Hong Maru could not repay.
Moreover, abandoning their fighting benefactor and fleeing themselves would simply bring shame upon their Ogre Clan!
"Not bad."
In the distance, Bai Luo watched Hong Maru and the others' formation change, secretly praising their courage.
"Let's begin!"
So, Bai Luo no longer paid attention to Hong Maru and the others.
He slowly raised his hands, gathering all the magic power within his body into them.
After this wave of slaughter by Egui Peng, Bai Luo's magic essence also broke through the 4500 mark.
And with his current magic power, he had clearly reached the standard for casting Konosuba's strongest magic.
What is Konosuba's strongest magic?
Does that even need to be asked?
Of course, it's our crazy Crimson Demon Clan loli, Megumin's signature magic—the ultimate Explosion Magic!
In Konosuba, every time Megumin leveled up, she would reallocate the skill points she gained to Explosion Magic.
This caused Megumin's Explosion Magic to continuously evolve into a small nuclear bomb.
"Hoo~~"
Bai Luo's Explosion Magic had not received any additional points and was still at Lv1.
But!
After returning to the Cardinal World, the 'Mage' profession he obtained brought him infinite possibilities.
Freely manipulated magic power, stirring the wind in the atmosphere, ubiquitous elements: earth, water, wind, fire, light, darkness, even time and space...
Explosion Magic, named 'Explosion', is actually not fire magic.
Its true form should be called 'Destruction Magic'.
By absorbing, compressing, and decomposing the surrounding magical elements, and then instantly releasing terrifying destruction capable of destroying heaven and earth.
Just like Bai Luo now.
When he used the Mage's ability to deeply analyze 'Explosion Magic'.
What he obtained was no longer just a simple shortcut-like skill, but the essence of this power.
Magic power was consumed in large quantities, but due to the Mage's connection, new magic power was replenished into Bai Luo's body, and then continued to be consumed.
Thus, in a continuous cycle, the energy Bai Luo invested in this magic became increasingly astonishing.
"What exactly is going on?"
The commotion caused by the large-scale pulling of magical elements resulted in the space within several kilometers centered around Bai Luo becoming incredibly oppressive.
This feeling caused the Great Ogre Clan, led by Zhu Cai, to feel a huge sense of crisis from the bottom of their hearts.
Run!
Run away quickly!
The monsters' instincts were warning them to immediately leave this place!
"This, this kind of magic..."
Zhu Cai was also a spellcaster, so she could more clearly perceive the fluctuations coming from the atmosphere than warriors like Shion and Hong Maru.
In her eyes, the direction where Bai Luo was located had become a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.
The abyss devoured everything, like a black sun, obscuring the sky and dimming the hearts of all living things.
"Buzz buzz buzz~~"
Multicolored magic particles converged towards Bai Luo's palm, forming vibrant, colorful rivers.
Trees swayed, the sky grew darker, and a gigantic star ring slowly appeared above everyone's heads.
Then, a massive crimson magic circle.
But, it wasn't over yet...
The second, the third, the fourth...
Dozens of magic circles, layered one upon another, stacked up to construct a towering pagoda that pierced through the sky, as if screaming defiance and declaring war on the gods.