Chapter 199: The Colony Of Ants II
Chapter 199: The Colony Of Ants II
The entire forest floor was moving.
Not metaphorically, and not because of the ground trembling.
The moss itself, the rotten leaves, and the dark layers of soil were rippling under the pressure of thousands of red and black bodies.
Crimson Needle Ants were pouring out from the darkness and advancing like a living flood among the massive roots.
Their antennae were twitching wildly, their metal jaws were clicking together with a dry and regular sound, and their countless legs were striking the ground so hard that the sound resembled heavy rain falling on thousands of roofs.
Ravian was running at the front.
He kept his body low, and with every step, he thrust his spear into the moss and thick stems to clear the path.
The spear’s tip hit narrow roots several times, and green sparks of mana jumped from the wood’s surface, but he did not slow down even for a moment.
Sera was holding her wounded shoulder with one hand and pulling Nemi with the other.
The wound under the wrapped cloth had opened again. Blood was running down from the edge of the cloth and making a thin line on her arm, but the pressure of the ants’ feet behind them left no time to stop.
Nemi’s foot got caught in the moss several times.
Each time, Sera pulled her forward.
Lian was running at the back of the group, a position he had deliberately chosen.
From there, he could see the wave of ants, estimate the distance, and eliminate any creature that got too close to his companions.
Predator’s Instincts was working in his mind like a continuous alarm.
Danger was approaching from behind, very close, but not only from behind.
There was also a vague pressure from the front; weaker, more hidden, and at the same time more uncertain, Lian took his gaze off the ants every few seconds and checked the path ahead.
Tangled roots, short mushrooms, dark hollows, practically nothing clear could be seen.
Nevertheless, the unpleasant feeling did not disappear.
"Just run to the bitter mushroom path! Once we enter their mist, the ants will lose our trail!" Ravian shouted without turning his head.
His voice was almost lost under the roar of thousands of feet, Lian looked at the wave behind them.
The first row of ants was now less than fifty meters away.
A few Workers were thinner than the rest and were crossing over the backs of their kind with unusual speed.
One of them jumped out from the moss and leaped high toward Sera.
Lian changed his path without stopping, cold mana gathered around his right hand, the air’s moisture turned white in an instant, and a layer of dark ice formed around his fingers.
[Glacial Reaper Claw]
The ice claw extended along his fingers, the ant was still in the air when Lian passed by it.
A cold and dark line passed through the creature’s body, the Worker was split into two parts in the air.
The two halves of its body fell on the moss a few meters away, and its dark blood turned into ice crystals before it could fully spill.
The second ant approached from the left.
Lian spun, his heel hit the side of the creature’s head directly, and the sound of shell breaking like stone shattering was heard.
The ant’s body was slammed against the root wall and sank deep into the moss.
The third jumped from behind him, Lian ducked at the last moment, the metal jaws passed over his head, and he grabbed the front part of the ant’s body with both hands.
With a spin, he lifted the entire several-hundred-kilogram body of the monster and threw it toward the wave behind him.
The ant’s living body fell like a boulder among the advancing ranks.
A few Workers collided with it, some fell, but only a second later, dozens of ants climbed over their bodies and continued moving.
Lian frowned, every monster he killed only created a space the size of one step.
Behind that space, dozens of other bodies were moving, their numbers were so great that killing them was like trying to empty a river with bare hands.
His effort was practically useless.
Just how many of these bastards were there?
"We’re close!" Ravian jumped over a short root.
The group climbed up behind him.
Lian was the last one, before crossing the root, three more ants came up from behind.
He passed Glacial Reaper Claw through the first one’s jaw, slammed the second one’s head into the ground with his elbow, and kicked the third one back into the wave.
But the pressure from behind was increasing every moment, the sound of feet was no longer just heard, it was felt in the bones.
The ground trembled beneath their steps, and the tall moss on both sides of the path bent like grass under a flood.
Suddenly, Ravian stopped.
Lian almost hit his back, in front of them, a massive gap had opened its mouth.
Two giant roots had separated in the past, and the space between them had turned into a deep valley.
The walls of the gap were covered with small mushrooms and hanging roots, but its bottom disappeared into complete darkness.
No sound came from the bottom of the gap, no stones hitting, no water flowing, as if the gap had no end.
The only way to cross was a dry and thick stem that had fallen from one side of the gap to the other.
Compared to them, the stem looked like a narrow tree trunk, but its surface was full of cracks, and parts of it seemed rotten.
"Is this part of the plan too?" Sera gave her brother a tired look.
How were they supposed to get across this damn path?
Ravian only took one look behind them, the wave of ants was now coming over the previous root.
"We have no other choice." He stepped onto the stem without pausing, the wood groaned under his weight. He kept his balance and crossed the gap quickly.
When he reached the other side, he turned back and kept his spear ready.
"Nemi, you first!"
The younger sister hesitated and was worried about falling, but when she looked behind her, she realized she had no other choice.
She sighed, and Nemi stepped onto the stem.
Her feet slipped on the first step, but Sera held her hand from behind, and the two moved forward carefully.
Lian remained on the previous side, the first Crimson Needle Worker jumped down from the root.
Then the second.
Then a large Soldier with a thick shell appeared among them.
Lian stood in front of the bridge.
None of them should get past him, if even two or three ants stepped onto the stem, their weight would be enough to break it.
Electrical energy began to move in his veins, a tingling feeling went down from his shoulders and gathered in his palms.
The air around his fingers cracked, thin blue and white lightning jumped between his nails.
[Thunder Calamity]
"I hope this works." He wanted to test a different way of using this skill.
The ants were exactly on that path.
Their hard and wet shells were touching each other, thousands of feet were running on the wet soil.
Lian knelt down and placed his palm on the ground, lightning went from his arm into the soil.
For a moment, nothing happened, then the ground in front of him exploded with white light.
The electric current passed under the first Soldier, the creature’s entire body contracted.
Its feet left the ground, and its jaws locked together with a loud sound, the lightning jumped from its shell to the Worker next to it.
Then to the third.
Fourth.
In the blink of an eye, a network of blue light formed among dozens of ants.
Lightning jumped from one body to another, all the creatures close to each other trembled at the same time.
The sharp smell of burnt shell, boiled blood, and wet soil spread in the air.
A few ants fell on their backs from the intensity of the contraction, some remained motionless, some were still alive, but their feet were hitting the ground irregularly.
The front wave stopped for a few seconds.
Lian lifted his hand from the soil, thin smoke rose from his fingertips.
Controlling Thunder Calamity for such a thing was harder than he had imagined.
Part of the lightning wanted to spread in all directions, he had been forced to hold the current within a small range using mana.
But those few seconds were enough, dozens of monsters were killed, and multiple notifications were sent to him.
And most importantly, finally!
[You leveled up!]
[16 --> 17]
Nemi reached the other side of the gap, Ravian grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the ground, but Sera was still in the middle of the stem.
The wood under her feet made a loud sound, the old crack on the stem’s surface widened.
Sera stopped.
"Move!" Lian turned his head and shouted.
Sera took another step, this time the sound of breaking was clearer.
The middle part of the stem went down.
Sera lost her balance, Nemi shouted from the other side of the gap.
"Sera!"
The stem broke, the rotten piece under Sera’s feet separated and fell into the darkness.
"Nooooooo" She reached her hand toward the edge, but her fingers only grasped empty air.
"Sister! Damn it! No no no no no no" Ravian threw himself on his stomach and extended his arm.
"Nooooooo sisterrrrrrrr! Nooooo" The distance was too great, their fingertips didn’t meet.
Sera fell.
Nemi fell to her knees upon seeing this scene, and tears started pouring from her eyes at an unprecedented speed.
"Nooooooo"
"Damn it, now was not the time for this." Lian moved.
The electrocuted ants were still blocking the path, but the next row was climbing over their burned bodies.
A Soldier appeared directly in front of Lian, he lowered his shoulder, mana gathered in the muscles of his legs and torso.
[Iron Fortress Charge]
Lian charged forward, his shoulder hit the Soldier’s chest, the creature’s thick shell cracked with a loud sound, its body was thrown backward and took three Workers behind it with it.
Lian passed through the gap he had created.
A few metal jaws closed on him from both sides, but Diamond Skin formed on his arm and side for a moment.
The jaws slid on the hardened skin.
Lian reached the edge of the gap and jumped without slowing down, in the air, Sera was falling a few meters below.
Lian stretched his body forward to get closer to Sera’s falling body.
"Just a little more! Just a little more and I can save her!"
Could he save her?