Chapter 85

Yan Boss spoke with a sly smile, instead turning to Xiao Hai and saying, "Little brother, we never agreed on what kind of crickets could or could not be used, right? If you don't want to compete, then consider this as your loss."

The crowd around them burst into a chorus of boos, but Yan Boss paid no attention.

Xiao Hai was now completely at a loss. After all, this wasn't a competition he was entering himself. He had thought that the cricket infused with his spiritual energy would be invincible, but who would have thought that a coffin cricket would suddenly appear?

Moreover, Xiao Qiang seemed to be utterly terrified, sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the coffin cricket.

The coffin cricket, after eating one of its own kind, could go a long time without eating again. It also seemed to have little interest in an oil cricket.

Xiao Hai thought for a moment, "I'll feed it something to help it recover."

Yan Boss wasn't in a hurry, letting Xiao Hai do as he pleased. Which cricket in the world could stand up to a ferocious coffin cricket?

Xiao Hai reached into the fighting pot, letting Xiao Qiang jump into his palm. He didn't know how to lure the cricket into the special bamboo tube, so he simply reached in. Suddenly, he felt a slight pain in his index finger. It turned out that the coffin cricket, which had been resting, saw an object appear so close and bit down hard.

Its small size and lightning-fast movements, combined with the crowd's obstructed view, and the fact that Yan Boss's phone rang at the exact moment the coffin cricket bit Xiao Hai, meant that no one noticed Xiao Hai being bitten.

According to the old man, the coffin cricket's venom was extremely potent, and a single bite was fatal, with no known antidote.

However, Xiao Hai wasn't too concerned. He had survived a bite from a Kunlun White-Tailed Snake, so what could a small cricket, even one raised in a coffin, do to him?

He asked Yan Boss for a grain of rice and, while feeding it, transmitted a thought: "Can you fight?"

"I... I don't know..." Clearly, Xiao Qiang was terrified to the extreme.

"If you can fight, then fight. If not, concede."

The jade scorpion made from the He Shi Bi was precious, but knowing that defeat was certain, why let Xiao Qiang die in vain? After all, the coffin cricket left no survivors.

"I... I can fight!" To Xiao Hai's surprise, Xiao Qiang mustered all his courage and said these words.

It was a cricket with ambition, always aspiring to be a true fighting cricket. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if it died in battle, it would die gloriously, and it would never disgrace King Ai!

Xiao Hai's expression turned serious. "There's a method, but I don't know if it will work. It's a risk, and you might die before the fight even starts."

"King, go ahead. A cricket's life is only 200 days, and I've already lived 120. Xiao Qiang is not afraid of death."

Xiao Hai nodded and infused a second wave of spiritual energy into Xiao Qiang.

The spiritual energy from the Dragon Spirit Pearl was the most powerful in the world. For other animals, two waves might not be much, but for a cricket, it was overwhelming.

Xiao Qiang felt his body filled with spiritual energy, but his body couldn't process it, almost to the point of bursting.

Only Xiao Qiang could truly understand the pain of this moment.

He was enduring it with all his might, knowing that if he lost control of the spiritual energy, his body would explode.

Xiao Hai was also aware that infusing two waves of spiritual energy into a cricket was risky, but to deal with the terrifying coffin cricket, this was the only option.

As Xiao Qiang struggled with the spiritual energy, his body began to change, gradually taking on a soft green hue.

This was a sign that his body was merging with the spiritual energy!

Xiao Qiang's pain gradually subsided, and he became calm. After a while, he transmitted a thought: "Thank you, King. Xiao Qiang is ready to fight. I am willing to die in battle to repay your kindness!"

Two waves of spiritual energy, two full waves! For a cricket, this was almost unbelievable!

The strongest fighting cricket, the truly strongest fighting cricket!

"Little brother, are you going to fight or not?"

Yan Boss's urging made Xiao Hai smile, and he placed Xiao Qiang back into the fighting pot.

The coffin cricket, which had been lazily lounging in the pot, suddenly began to chirp, sensing a significant threat.

"Why not fight?" Xiao Hai was full of confidence. Which cricket in the world could stand up to Xiao Qiang, who had absorbed two waves of his spiritual energy?

Xiao Qiang's wings began to flutter rapidly, and the coffin cricket, with its cruel and terrifying appearance, showed no signs of backing down.

The coffin cricket, a ferocious and violent species, was born to devour its own kind. Although it sensed danger, its innate ferocity made it leap into the air and pounce without hesitation.

Faced with the most cruel cricket in the world, Xiao Qiang did not dodge!

There was one thing King didn't know, but as a cricket, Xiao Qiang could smell that the coffin cricket was toxic. Any other cricket that touched it would die instantly. This was why Yan Boss was so confident in offering a pair of purple-blue macaws as the prize.

How could other fighting crickets fight if they couldn't touch the coffin cricket?

The coffin cricket thought the only thing the annoying oil cricket could do was run away, and it would chase and toy with it, then bite it to death when it got bored.

But—Xiao Qiang didn't dodge! He met the coffin cricket head-on and bit it!

Xiao Qiang knew that even with the two waves of spiritual energy from King, touching the coffin cricket would still be fatal.

It was like in martial arts novels, where an invincible martial arts king meets a venomous king. No matter how powerful the martial arts, a single touch of the venom would be fatal.

From the moment Xiao Qiang entered the fighting pot, he was determined to die to repay King's kindness. What was death? He had already lived 120 days, which was enough! Defeating the coffin cricket would make him a legend.

Dying to achieve eternal cricket fame!

So, at the moment the coffin cricket bit him, Xiao Qiang also bit the coffin cricket!

Mutual destruction! Xiao Qiang used a strategy of mutual destruction!

He was a cricket with ambition!

The venom quickly entered Xiao Qiang's body, and the spiritual energy from the Dragon Spirit Pearl began to resist, but the two waves of spiritual energy couldn't stop the coffin cricket's venom.

In a life-or-death struggle, Xiao Qiang didn't think much, and with a sudden burst of strength, there was a soft "crack," and a yellow liquid spurted out.

It turned out that although the coffin cricket was terrifying, its small size and the unexpected tactic of a life-or-death struggle caught it off guard. Once bitten by the much larger Xiao Qiang, it couldn't escape.

Xiao Qiang used all his strength and bit the coffin cricket to death!

The coffin cricket died with its eyes open, puzzled. According to logic, it should have killed Xiao Qiang the moment he touched it, so why was it dead now?

The crowd fell silent, the scene was too intense. The oil cricket actually used a strategy of mutual destruction! If the coffin cricket had been faster, the oil cricket would be dead now.

But the cricket corpse in the fighting pot was the coffin cricket!

Then, a loud cheer erupted, even Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi clapped their hands, their faces flushed with excitement.

Yan Boss was stunned and dumbfounded. What happened? The coffin cricket died? It was bitten to death? This... This was impossible!

"Good job, Xiao Qiang." Xiao Hai was overjoyed, but then he noticed something was wrong.

Xiao Qiang was walking around the fighting pot, as if accepting the cheers of the crowd, like a true king. At this moment, having defeated the coffin cricket, he had truly reached the pinnacle of cricket kings.

However, the green on his body was slowly fading...

Once the spiritual energy from the Dragon Spirit Pearl entered an animal's body, it would last a lifetime. Was Xiao Qiang's spiritual energy fading?

Xiao Hai quickly reached into the fighting pot, and Xiao Qiang used his last bit of strength to jump into Xiao Hai's palm.

The moment he touched Xiao Qiang, Xiao Hai knew it was over.

The venom was ravaging Xiao Qiang's body, and without the spiritual energy to support him, Xiao Qiang was already dead.

It couldn't be. The Dragon Spirit Pearl could cure the venom of the Kunlun White-Tailed Snake, but it was helpless against the coffin cricket's venom? But he had been bitten by the coffin cricket and was fine?

"King... Xiao Qiang has not disgraced the mission..." Xiao Qiang's consciousness was very weak: "Xiao Qiang is dead, but I have no regrets."

He truly had no regrets. As an oil cricket, he had defeated the invincible Iron-Headed Green-Backed Living Yama, the Black-Headed Green-Toothed Red-Dot, and the coffin cricket. He had reached the pinnacle of cricket fighting and would become a legend in the cricket world!

Xiao Hai, without hesitation, infused another wave of spiritual energy into Xiao Qiang, but it was useless, unable to stop the venom.

"King, don't waste your spiritual energy. Let me return to the bamboo tube... I want to die with dignity..." Xiao Qiang even smiled.

The bamboo tube was a special privilege for fighting crickets and valuable crickets. An oil cricket had no right to live in it. Dying there, Xiao Qiang felt he could die in peace.

Xiao Hai opened the bamboo tube, and Xiao Qiang used his last bit of strength to slowly crawl to the edge... He took one last look at King, full of gratitude. King had made him a legend and allowed him to die without regrets...

Farewell, King; farewell, cricket!

He completely crawled into the bamboo tube... This miraculous oil cricket left a legend in the cricket world, like a meteor streaking across the sky and then disappearing.

He—was a cricket with ambition!