Sorcerer: I want to be an Academic Prodigy

Chapter 405: Chapter 404: Giant Stone Armor

“Turns out it’s the members of the Stone Tail Clan, rest assured, we are not here to mine rocks, but rather–”

“Shut up, you pale-face truly harbor ill intentions.”

Ivan had been better off silent, for as soon as he spoke, he ignited the fury of the Stone Tail Clan, their faces turning fierce, leaving him somewhat puzzled.

“How can you say that? How do I harbor ill intentions?” he asked in astonishment.

“You even dare to argue back, we heard very clearly what you just said about mining what?” The man leading them seemed domineering but was actually reasonable; he did not rush into action despite his anger.

“Mine rocks.” Ivan followed his lead.

“See, you know full well we are people of the Stone Clan and yet you dare to speak so insolently and spout wild words; I see you, pale-face, are clearly here to cause trouble.” the man continued.

Ivan was taken aback, not expecting the Stone Clan to have such taboos, which was quite surprising.

The members of the Stone Tail Clan before him were generally of average strength, only the leading man had reached Level 3, but his aura was not very strong; Ivan estimated that any Level 3 Ant Sentinel from the swamp ants could match up.

However, as he had just arrived, there was no need to make a big fuss, especially since the entire Stone Clan was a force not to be trifed with.

“First off, I am not some pale-face, but a human sorcerer from the surface, thus unaware of your Stone Clan’s linguistic taboos.”

“Really?” the man, Feyn, furrowed his brow.

“Of course, my name is ‘Ivan’, you can call me ‘Sorcerer Ivan’.” Ivan nodded affirmatively, introducing himself.

“Feyn, Feyn Siluka, I am the Clan Leader of the Stone Tail Clan.” Feyn replied instinctively.

“Clan Leader, the words of outsiders are not to be trusted; who knows whether what he says is true; in any case, he trespassed onto our Rock Mining Land surely with some ulterior motive.”

Seeing that their Clan Leader was quite believing of the other party, an older Stone Tail Clan warrior quickly interjected as a warning.

His words garnered the agreement of the other Stone Tail warriors.

Upon hearing his people’s words, Feyn realized he had been deceived; looking across at the other man, his expression gradually turned hostile, clearly on the verge of taking action.

For Ivan, it was not a disappointing turn of events; it seemed a peaceful resolution was not possible.

He’d have to take action himself, clean up a bit, then seek out more information about Pan Ti Mountain.

The next second, just as he was about to swat the man before him, he suddenly sensed something and stopped his movement.

He saw the ground to one side start to radiate a dark glow, and like rolling waves, the ground churned from afar to their midst in the blink of an eye, and a majestic strange creature appeared.

The swamp ant had arrived.

The swamp ant positioned itself in front of Ivan, and the tumultuous ground did not cease, spreading even more fiercely right up to where the Stone Tail warriors stood, causing Feyn and his men to be unstable on their feet.

“Be careful!”

“Spread out, use the Giant Stone Armor, follow me to face the enemy.”

“Go! — The enemy is too powerful, I’ll hold them off, you all retreat.” @@novelbin@@

Enveloped by the aura of the Ze King, the vicinity became sticky and fraught with various negative effects, simply insurmountable for the Stone Tail people; even their life-dependent ‘Giant Stone Armor’ was deployed but still could not escape the oppressive force field.

After a fierce struggle, they quickly fell.

One by one, the Stone Tail Clan was planted into the ground, only their heads sticking out, like rows of statues.

“Sorcerer Ivan, I’ve dealt with these big fellows who dared to disrespect you,” the swamp ant proudly declared its feat.

“They seem to be vulnerable to your suppression.” Ivan was not surprised, he approached and crouched down, tapping the shell wrapped around the head with his finger.

This was the Stone Tail Clan’s famous ‘Giant Stone Armor,’ essentially a full-body armor covering everything from the head to the soles.

The Stone Clan almost every individual owned one, cultivated through their bloodline secret techniques, interlinked with their lives; they often collected rocks primarily to nourish the Giant Stone Armor.

It’s said that at advanced levels, the Giant Stone Armor could transform into something akin to a giant mech, a truly towering presence in the underground world.

The Stone Clan stood out among many races in the western territory precisely because they possessed the Giant Stone Armor.

Having read up on the Stone Clan, Ivan of course found this object intriguing.

“Indeed, the stone tail tribe can also use ‘fossil into mud’ techniques, but their powers are weak and I easily suppressed them,” Swamp Ant pondered and said.

“I see,” Ivan responded with understanding.

“You’re despicable, you ambushed me.” Seeing his foe casually chatting above his head, Feyn couldn’t help but retort.

“Not as stubborn as you are.” Ivan tapped his fingers forcefully again, then tried multiple minor tactics, none of which affected Feyn as all the attacks were blocked by the stone armor warriors.

These stone armor warriors indeed had many notable aspects, but before they could show off, Swamp Ant had subdued them with Aura Power.

“If you have the ability, let me out,” Feyn expressed his frustration vehemently, “then we’ll have another contest, and I’ll show you the prowess of my stone tail tribe.”

“No problem, but what if you lose?” Ivan asked amusingly, watching him.

“What will happen?” Feyn queried.

“I came here in search of a mountain, and since you have been living here for many years, help me find that mountain.”

“You came here to scheme against my tribe’s possessions, didn’t you?” Feyn asked, somewhat perplexed.

“Never mind that, just tell me if you agree or not?” Ivan didn’t waste words.

“I agree, just let me out,” Feyn stated, having no reason to refuse at this point.

“Remember what you said, if you dare go back on your word, the consequences will definitely be unbearable for you,” Ivan emphasized sternly, then signaled to Swamp Ant.

Swamp Ant released the suppression as instructed, and the soil around Feyn softened, allowing a stone armor warrior, resembling a ‘Terracotta Warrior,’ to rise from the ground, escaping the predicament.

“I will not compete with him, I want to compete with you, human sorcerer,” Feyn decisively changed his target after a glance at the fiercely watching beast ant.

“Insolent! Given a chance yet you cherish it not, still daring to make such an impudent request, it seems you haven’t learned your lesson,” as a guardian, Swamp Ant naturally could not allow such rampant behavior.

“No trouble, it’s a good opportunity to stretch my body,” Ivan waved his hand.

He actually had another idea—to further test the reality of the stone armor, as his previous probing wasn’t satisfying enough.

Hearing this, Feyn was not angered; he quickly moved to a more open area to avoid harming his clansmen.

Both stood positioned, their fighting spirits rising.

With an angry shout from Feyn, the entire stone armor rapidly expanded, growing taller and larger, transforming into a giant about fifteen or sixteen meters tall, with a long tail embedded in the ground causing ripples like on the surface of water.

Thereupon, the giant forged a long-handled Stone Hammer in its hand.

This was clearly the complete form of the stone armor, its presence and intensity escalating in a moment.

“Human sorcerer, let me show you the might of our clan’s giant armor,” he declared enthusiastically, seemingly releasing all his pent-up frustration.

“Good.” Ivan hadn’t attacked yet, waiting to observe the stone armor’s complete form. Hearing the taunts, he casually flicked his hand, releasing the “Black Magic Hand.”

A well-defined, gray-green flame giant palm appeared.

This flame, initiated by Solidification Magic ‘Fire Heart,’ was extremely dominant, capable of burning both life and spirit. Taking the form of a palm, it also carried an immense force.

As soon as the words were spoken, the flaming giant palm reached the giant and struck.

Feyn widened his eyes, such an attack was inescapable, almost akin to an ambush; he could only desperately swing the long-handled Stone Hammer in response.

“Bang!”

The Stone Hammer blocked the flaming giant palm, but not entirely.

Feyn was forced two or three steps back.

Without giving him a chance to breathe, another flaming giant palm approached, appearing before him again, timed and positioned perfectly. With a bang, the giant was pushed back a few more steps.

Subsequently, the striking sounds continued one after another.

The giant experienced different-direction tactical slaps, the slaps intermittently mixed with other elemental powers.

“This big guy really knows how to make things uncomfortable for himself.”

Watching the continuously retreating stone armor, Swamp Ant shook its head, noting that the giant had sparked the sorcerer’s interest, inadvertently becoming an experimental subject, so why bother at all!