Chapter 689 - Explosive Locust Blade

Han Wu gathered firewood and started a fire. Holding a wooden club, he waited for insects to be drawn to the light. As expected, many soon appeared, some as large as fists.

He killed them with the club and absorbed them with his Small Locust Blade. After one night, his blade had reached rank 5. Each upgrade increased both its strength and durability. The progress was slow, but at least it was steady.

While he continued killing insects, he heard another life form approaching at high speed. It was a wolf. Encounters like this were common in primordial forests. Wolves were nocturnal hunters that traveled in packs, and they were notoriously vicious.

Han Wu spotted their glowing green eyes in the distance and climbed a tree. The wolves soon arrived and circled below, waiting for him to fall so that they could turn him into their dinner.

Han Wu clung tightly to the branch, but his strength slowly drained. Unsure how long he could hold on, he brandished his Small Locust Blade and attacked. To preserve its durability, he carefully controlled it and aimed only for the wolves’ abdomens. That way, its durability fell by one per kill. By the time he killed them all, his Locust Blade still had durability remaining and didn’t shatter.

Han Wu was both pleased and disappointed. The wolves yielded far more essence than rabbits and insects. It was enough to unlock the second Divine Weapon in his atlas.

Han Wu flipped the page and almost fell from shock. The second Divine Weapon looked similar to the Small Locust Blade but carried a more yellowish hue.

[Explosive Locust Blade]

[Faith Equipment]

[Rank: 1]

[Durability: 1/1]

[Effect: None (Waiting to be unlocked)]

[Skill: Self-Detonation]

[Description: Formed from the Bomber Locust. Contains explosive power.]

After reading the description, Han Wu smiled bitterly. A Faith equipment with Self-Detonation sounded powerful, but its durability was only 1! It was a single-use weapon! Once it exploded, he would have to wait for it to reform. It was even stranger than the Small Locust Blade.

The Divine Weapon Atlas would drive Han Wu crazy. He could only hope that the ten Divine Weapons inside weren’t simply different variations of the Small Locust Blade. Otherwise, escaping the jungle would be impossible, let alone passing this test.

Han Wu hoped that the available effects would somehow save the Divine Weapon. Clinging to that sliver of hope, he checked the effects.

[1: EMP (God). Changes explosion into an EMP with a wide range of effects.]

[2: Rapid Reformation (God). Increases reformation speed after durability is exhausted.]

[3: Crush (God). Enhances explosion with the Crush effect.]

Han Wu chose the second option without thinking. The first and third options differed, but they both enhanced Self-Detonation’s power. He was certain they would enhance the explosion’s damage, but he needed a Divine Weapon that could attack more frequently. Only the second option met his needs. It would allow him to turn his Explosive Locust Blade into a weapon he could use continuously.

After confirming the effect, he threw the Explosive Locust Blade at a boulder about his height. The blade stabbed into the boulder and exploded. With a loud blast, a third of the boulder vanished. The Explosive Locust Blade was as powerful as a hand grenade, which was more than enough to help him escape the jungle.

After confirming the strength of the explosion, he turned his attention to how long it would take for the Explosive Locust Blade to reform.

Han Wu waited for one second, and it reformed. He was satisfied with the result. Since it was only rank 1, some of its parameters were naturally low. Still, he could do more now with it. Against larger beasts, he could throw the Explosive Locust Blade while controlling the Small Locust Blade to deliver the killing strike. The combination worked well.

Soon, the second day arrived, and he received three more chances to ask questions. This time, he asked about how to upgrade his Explosive Locust Blade.

[Sulfur, gunpowder, and certain rare ores can upgrade it. (Today’s quota for questions: 2)]

Han Wu smiled bitterly at the answer. Where could he find those materials? First, he had to exit the jungle.

Han Wu picked a direction and killed anything he encountered. The essence was minimal, but it was better than nothing.

Eventually, he came across a wooden hut and quickly raised his guard. In a foreign civilization, anyone without sufficient strength or a reliable disguise needed to avoid revealing themselves to the natives. The risk of death was too high.

Then another thought occurred to him. He had technically been invited by the Divine Weapon Civilization. Even his avatar was formed by the Divine Essence, so perhaps he wouldn’t be discovered so easily. Keeping that in mind, he approached the hut with caution.

At that moment, a burly man walked out. He wore a beast hide and carried a black axe. It appeared that he was about to leave for something.

Han Wu slowly got closer.

As an excellent hunter, the man immediately sensed that something was wrong. He could tell that Han Wu wasn’t a native.

“You must be an outsider who came here for the Armament Spirit, right?” the man asked.

Han Wu was stunned that the man identified him with a single glance. Since he had already been exposed, he decided not to hide it and nodded. “I am indeed here for it.”

The man laughed. “Then you came to the wrong place. Leave here, head to the village, and get a recommendation from there before you head toward the Divine Weapon City.”

Han Wu was confused. Was the process that simple?

The man continued, “Every ten years or so, outsiders appear here to seek the Armament Spirit. We are already used to it.”

Han Wu lowered his guard slightly. “Could you tell me where the village is?”

“Of course. Come here. Walk along this road, head forward for about five kilometers, then...” The man seized the moment while Han Wu was distracted and suddenly swung his black axe at him.

Han Wu’s avatar was less agile than his original body, so he couldn’t evade completely. He summoned the Small Locust Blade to block the axe midair before stepping back several paces.

“Weren’t you going to show me the way? Why are you attacking me?” Han Wu demanded. If he had been less cautious, his head would have rolled.

“You outsider! Don’t you dare think about sullying our treasure. Die!” the man roared and tossed the black axe at him

Han Wu calmly used his Small Locust Blade to block it while tossing the Explosive Locust Blade toward the hunter.

The hunter wasn’t afraid of such a tiny blade. Convinced it could not even pierce his skin, he reached out and grabbed it.

The hunter succeeded and sneered. “Have outsiders become so weak that this rubbish is all they can wave in front of me?”

Han Wu didn’t reply. He laughed coldly and activated the Explosive Locust Blade’s Self-Detonation. The blade detonated in the hunter’s hand.

Han Wu saw that the hunter had lost his right hand, though the rest of his body remained intact. The Explosive Locust Blade still had limits to its damage.

“You blasted outsider!” the hunter roared. “How dare you hurt me. I will cut off your head!”

Enduring the pain, he summoned his axe back to his left hand and swung it, sending a wind blade. Han Wu evaded the attack and tossed the reformed Explosive Locust Blade. This move was only a feint. At the same time, he controlled the Small Locust Blade and aimed it at the side of the hunter’s throat.

The hunter fell into the trap. After the earlier explosion, he tried to avoid the Explosive Locust Blade and failed to notice Han Wu’s true attack. As a result, the Small Locust Blade stabbed through his throat with ease. The hunter collapsed to the ground in pain and glared viciously at Han Wu before dying.

Once he confirmed that he was dead, Han Wu used the Explosive Locust Blade to blow off the hunter’s head before approaching the corpse.

“Never thought the natives here would be so hostile,” Han Wu muttered. “Maybe that’s why Luo Yun told us to fight the others, not each other. Our enemies are everywhere. It will be difficult to win if we don’t work together.”

He then looked at the black axe. According to the Divine Weapon Atlas, both of his weapons could absorb the power within the axe. Given the likelihood of fiercer battles ahead, the Small Locust Blade and its effect offered far greater versatility. Thus, he had the Small Locust Blade absorb it.

The process ended quickly, and the Small Locust Blade advanced to rank 15. Not only did its durability reach 25/25, but it also gained a new skill.

[Blade Pressure: Fires a sharpened pressure wave that attacks enemies. Damage is proportional to rank.]

“Not bad.” He studied it with satisfaction before turning his attention to the wooden hut. The hunter had been living there, so something valuable had to be inside.