Chapter 114: Building Frustration
Chapter 114: Building Frustration
After a few seconds I finally locked onto her scent. It seems they are heading downward into the nest.
The moment I exited the tunnel and went down into the next chamber, I was attacked by even more ants.
These ones also had a scorpion tail, but there was also something more about them.
Their legs. They were like loaded springs, allowing them to jump several meters at a time.
The moment they saw me they all leaped towards me all at once.
[FireBall]
Aphrodite was the first to react, sending a wave of fireballs crashing down on the ants.
This caused Dracule to quickly move forward and prepare his own attack. With a single touch, he turned the ground into sand, then by combining his wind and earth affinities, he controlled the sand, creating a powerful slashing attack that sliced the ants in half.
Lily also stepped forward, and immediately large roots began to sprout from the ground.
The powerful roots wrapped around the ants and slowly began tightening around the ants’ bodies until they were crushed by the pressure.
When it comes to fighting together, they weren’t the best. They were very sloppy, and it didn’t seem as if they were looking out for each other.
Most of Aphrodite’s attacks crossed fire, forcing Lily to dodge them so she wasn’t hit.
And the roots Lily used made it difficult for Dracule to dig underground.
And also the reason Aphrodite’s attacks crossed fire was because of Dracule’s wind attack.
They were a mess. It looked more like they were trying to kill themselves rather than fighting as a team.
But the good thing about this was that we had a chance to improve. Their cohesiveness as a team has the chance to improve if they continue fighting side by side.
Seeing that they were getting in each other’s way, they all began glaring at one another.
"Aphrodite, are you trying to kill me?"
"Hmph, Dracule was the one who changed the course of my attack with his stupid wind spell."
"Remove these roots from the ground at once! They are obstructing my movements."
The three bickered, seeming unaware of the ants plotting against them.
The ants sprang towards them, ready to inject their venom, but before they even had the chance, I activated my firebolt spell.
The single firebolt moved around the room at lightning speed, piercing through an ant’s body before moving to the next.
It was only then when I used my spell that they stopped bickering and finally realized what was happening.
This team had no variety. We all used long-range attacks.
Since that’s the case, it’s best we combine each spell and use them in a way that brings forth something unique to us.
"Dracule!"
"Yes, Sire?"
"Use your wind spell to amplify Aphrodite’s flames. And Lily..."
"Yes!"
She answered sharply like a military officer called to duty.
"I’ll use my mold skill to coat your roots in obsidian. This will make them sharper and harder to damage. And be careful of Dracule while your roots are underground. Try to assist him if you can."
"Yes, master!"
This was a single strategy, but it’s a good start. Since we’re all using long-range spells, I guess it’s best we use our spells to make each other’s attacks better.
Though a bit hesitant to work together, they all still followed my orders. Almost immediately several flaming orbs appeared before Aphrodite.
She looked down at the tyrants looking down on her subjects just before execution. Her eyes remained cold even as the orbs exploded and shot forward.
At the same time, Dracule released a powerful wind spell that not only propelled the fireballs forward but also amplified their size. The fireballs rippled in a thunderous explosion as they made contact with the ants, burning them until nothing but fragments of their exoskeleton remained.
Seeing this, Lily was much more willing to try out our combined attack. She summoned thick roots from the ground, and at the same time I activated my mold skill, creating a makeshift form for the roots.
This caused the tip of the roots to be pointed. Instead of squeezing the ants to death, Lily instead used them as spears and pierced through the ant’s body with ease. A few of the ants were fast and jumped on top of the root, but immediately as they did so, large obsidian spikes shot from the root and pierced through their exoskeleton.
This time it took us less time to kill the void ants with fewer injuries to ourselves.
As the fight was over, I sealed each of the entrances to the chamber. We decided to sit down and rest for a few hours. Even though the enemies we were facing weren’t all that powerful at the moment, it was still important that we pace ourselves.
If we tire ourselves out on a weak enemy and then suddenly come across a much stronger enemy, then we could be putting ourselves in danger.
"Dracule"
"Yes, Sire."
"Your job is to locate the queen. I want you to go out and find her. She is supposed to be in the centralmost part of this nest."
Dracule answered immediately.
"Yes, sire."
"Make sure you aren’t seen."
Without another word, Dracule burrowed underground and set off.
"Aphrodite, I need you to lay eggs. Several of them from the ants we killed. They have a few interesting traits that I don’t want to let go. Plus, it will be easier to fight these ants with an army of our own. I’ll use biomass to speed up their hatch time."
Aphrodite’s eyes seemed to sparkle. She was a queen without subjects of her own. So this was her chance. She bobbed her head excitedly before sitting down on the ground comfortably and preparing herself.
Next I turned to Lily.
"You remember the colorful trees in the forest? I need you to create a few; we’ll grow them throughout the nest as we move."
Those trees had special adaptations specifically to deal with the ants. My plan was to weaponize them by having Lily plant them in their nest.
The ants will have bigger problems than us.
Lily bobbed her head excitedly.
"Consider it done, master."
While they were taking care of their individual tasks, I in turn did... nothing.
...
Amanda’s expression dropped as she saw the kind of creatures crawling towards them as they scaled down the wall. These ants were covered in dark red lizard-like scales. The only indication that they were ants was their mandibles.
’What kind of creatures could they have eaten to obtain this kind of evolution?’ she wondered.
The ants coughed up and spat flames. If she went on this alone, she would’ve guessed their DNA came from a dragon, but their flattened faces reminded her more of a salamander than a dragon.
’Yes, they are definitely ant/salamander hybrids.’
They were caught off guard since the monster only attacked while they were scaling down the wall. Amanda quickly grabbed her knife the moment a salamander lounged at her. She planted her dagger in the base of its skull and watched as it plummeted to the ground lifelessly.
Her hands and legs were no longer bound, allowing her to fight. The Phoenix King’s eyes were always on her, and if she tried to escape, it would only make things harder for herself. Plus, she had resigned herself to her fate and had no intention of fighting.
All around her the members of the Phoenix King’s guild were fighting intensely against the ants. The scaly creatures fell from the walls, some bringing players down with them.
The Phoenix King floated gracefully in the air, the light of his wings shining brightly as he looked down at the massive horde of ants.
The light and heat emanating from his body, coupled with his majestic wings, made him look like an angel.
At that moment the fighting ceased as the players who served him in his guild turned to look at his almost godly appearance.
To them, he was the epitome of strength. A height they knew they would never reach. A pure blast of light and heat descended upon the ants. Their salamander trait gave them a high resistance against heat, but even that couldn’t stop them from being incinerated immediately.
One second, they were there, climbing up the wall, but the next, their ashes were falling to the ground. This wasn’t the first time his guild members were seeing his true power, but every time they did, they couldn’t stop themselves from being amazed.
He was the one single-handedly killing the ants from the moment they entered the nest. With just a point of his finger an entire line of them would be erased immediately. He was like a magician making cards disappear with just a flick of his wrist.
Under his leadership, the guild progressed smoothly. The days passed as they continued through the nest, still searching for the drop-off. In truth, they had no clue of where it was, so they were merely wandering around in circles.
Being in such a cramped area, under relentless attacks of bugs while unable to find what they were looking for, was slowly getting to the Phoenix King.
His patience was running out as he began taking out his frustrations on the members traveling with him. He began toying with the idea of simply going on a rampage and destroying the nest. This way he wouldn’t have to wander around this godforsaken place!
But just as he was about to finally listen to his thoughts, something happened.
"Guild master, look, we found something."