"Prepare for battle!"

Qin Xiao shouted sharply. Bai Ling and Ilya both looked solemn. They knew that the unknown creature in front of them was far beyond their star level, but they didn't know exactly how many platinum stars it was.

Ling'er suddenly grew larger and immediately spewed a mouthful of foxfire at it. This golden jade mantis was covered in a crystal-clear blood-red color, like crystal jade, and had extraordinary resistance to fire.

Ling'er's foxfire didn't elicit any noticeable reaction from the mantis; instead, it enraged it.

The 'blood-red crystal' stretched out its body, its forelimbs and four slender hind legs, which had been embracing it, spread out, revealing a dark metallic luster.

To be honest, this thing has a strange kind of beauty, a kind of intense beauty that belongs to predators.

Clang~ Sizzle~

Two pairs of half-meter-long black blades stretched out, making a metallic clanging sound as they collided. The mantis seemed to have just woken up, moving its body in Ling'er's foxfire.

But soon, the mantis's wings opened, creating a violent turbulence, and the mantis vanished in an instant.

"careful!"

Ilya shouted and controlled the earth and rocks to block the mantis's attack. The mantis had just rushed straight for Bai Ling, and the hastily raised earthen wall did not stop it at all. With a swing of its blade arm, the earthen wall was smoothly cut in two.

Goodness, these blade arms would be incredibly powerful if they were crafted into equipment. I wonder if the opponent, having absorbed so much blood copper ore, has an automatic repair function.

Qin Xiao stole a moment from his busy schedule to think of this, and then controlled the growth of the Jianmu wood, triggering the root system.

This thing is going too fast; we have to control it.

"Oh dear, the freezing air has stuck it."

Seeing that there was still a mantis on the blood copper mine that hadn't moved, Qin Xiao immediately spoke to Youyou.

Yoyo, which was flying in mid-air, responded immediately, abandoning the mantis and exhaling freezing air at the other one on the blood copper mine.

The freezing air instantly covered the blood copper mine. The mantis seemed to sense something was wrong and tried to dodge, but the freezing air held it firmly in place.

The pale blue ice grew thicker and thicker, and another mantis seemed to have noticed something and wanted to turn back to provide support.

But Qin Xiao would never give it that chance. His four roots appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and as soon as the mantis stopped, he would immediately open a void entrance and wrap around it. If the mantis tried to dodge, he would block its way in front of the frozen mantis.

Ilya moved with all four hooves, carrying Qin Xiao around, dodging the mantis's attacks while using rocks to change the terrain and gradually shrink the mantis's living space.

Although this move also reduced their space to maneuver, it was clear that the Golden Jade Mantis was at a greater disadvantage compared to Qin Xiao and the others who had the life flow and the protection of the Jianmu wood.

Soon, the mantis on the copper mine was completely frozen in ice crystals without any chance to maneuver, and another mantis was also held back. Qin Xiao's wood energy spread to Bai Ling and Ilya, covering them with a thick layer.

The Golden Jade Mantis's slashes struck the wood, but only penetrated a dozen centimeters before getting stuck. Then Qin Xiao and the others seized the opportunity to beat it up. Having suffered two losses, the Golden Jade Mantis was somewhat hesitant to attack.

The entire space is now sealed off by rocks controlled by Ilya, leaving only the space containing this pile of blood copper ore.

Having completed its task, Youyou chased after the Jade Mantis, frantically spewing freezing air at it. If the mantis resisted, Youyou would immediately activate its "Free and Easy Wandering" ability, becoming a complete scoundrel.

However, the Golden Jade Mantis's defense is truly amazing. In such a small space, it is protected by Bai Ling's fire, Youyou's freezing air, and Ilya's lightning activation.

Aside from some cracks and breaks, the Golden Jade Mantis's fighting ability was not affected at all!

Qin Xiao felt a pang of unease. How was he supposed to deal with this thing? It seemed impossible to kill.

How many stars is this Platinum? You've maxed out its defense, right?

Qin Xiao complained. In fact, he knew that the mantis's attack power was also formidable. If those twin blade arms were made of wood, Qin Xiao's team would definitely be bleeding. If they were cut, Ilya could probably withstand it, but it was hard to say about Bai Ling and Youyou. They would definitely get injured.

However, on the other hand, Bai Ling's agile movements make her difficult to hit, and Youyou's ethereal transformation is also incredibly unfair.

However, the two of them would probably have a hard time dealing with the Golden Jade Mantis, while Ilya should be able to wear it down.

To be honest, I'm starting to wonder what's going on.

Although this mantis looks a bit dim-witted, its attack power, mobility, and defense are all top-notch, giving it the feel of a heavily armored assassin.

In other words, they suffered from the terrain, and it was a case of several against one. If they were to launch a surprise attack in the wild, the scene would be quite something, and if they couldn't defeat the opponent, they could definitely run away.

I don't know if my affinity-boosting talent will work.

“Ilya controlled the rock to hold it down.”

Qin Xiao gave an order and immediately used his roots to drive away the Golden Jade Mantis's activity range. Then, Ilya controlled a large number of rocks to surge up and rush towards the Golden Jade Mantis.

The final space was compressed, the path in front of him was blocked by Qin Xiao's roots, and finally, the Golden Jade Mantis was squeezed in the middle by rocks five meters thick.

Qin Xiao, covered in Jianmu wood, approached the Golden Jade Mantis, his life force flowing through him.

"I wonder if this thing can understand me?"

Qin Xiao muttered to himself, then continued, "Do you understand contracts?"

"Submit and you may live; resist and you and your wife will die!"

As Qin Xiao spoke, he pointed to the mantis frozen by ice crystals. He didn't know if it was male or female, but that was the gist of it.

The mantis had a triangular head and huge compound eyes staring at Qin Xiao. Qin Xiao could even see his own reflection in the transparent keratin of those eyes.

After waiting for a moment, Qin Xiao tried to reach out and press his hand against the other person's head, and the contract's energy emanated from it.

Tsk~

The golden mantis struggled frantically, its bladed arms twisting wildly within the rock before bursting out and severing Qin Xiao's arm that was pinning its head.

Qin Xiao stared at the wooden arm lying on the ground, suppressing his slightly dizzy mind, feeling somewhat embarrassed and angry.

"Holy crap, Ilya, kill it!"

You're asking for trouble! You've offended me, Qin, and now you want to make things worse?!

Having suffered his first defeat in the contract battle, Qin Xiao now finds the beast utterly unpleasant and utterly unlovable.

Ilya smiled slightly, conjuring a lightning spear. Amidst crackling sounds of electricity, the parts of the Jade Mantis's body that were pierced began to gradually shatter and char.

Even drops of something resembling both blood and metal flowed down, quickly cooling upon landing and returning to its original blood-jade-like appearance.

Qin Xiao's eyes lit up, and he instinctively felt that it must be something good!

Snap!

As the thunderous spear pierced through, the golden mantis exploded like metal and jade, shattering into several pieces.

Qin Xiao controlled the roots to retract the largest pieces, and ignored the smaller fragments.

As for the other Golden Jade Mantis, Qin Xiao had Youyou reinforce it again before storing this three-meter-diameter ice block into the Demon Realm space.