Ch. 186 – Big Tumultuous Battle
I can see that there are more than eighty red ants just from roughly looking around the area.
Ya know… your total fighting force is just too much, red ants.
I quickly take a deep breath. As I do so, Adofu rolls and falls back underneath me.
That’s some good judgment.
If Adofu didn’t move quickly, then this preemptive strike would’ve probably failed.
Bringing my neck and body around, I breathe out [[Scorching Breath]] and let loose a torrent of flames in all directions.
The red ants, far from pulling back, instead jump right into my flames as if that’s their signal.
”Kucha!!” “Kucha!” “Kuchaa!!”
I fight back while using my claws, tail, and wings to their fullest.
The poison has made the red ants’ movement sluggish enough to make it possible to deal with them.
But even though it’s possible, it’s still very difficult.
To start with, red ants are tougher when compared to other C-ranked monsters due to their [[Auto-Regeneration]] skill.
Even if I knock them to the ground with a single strike from my claws, they just get back up and go back to snapping at me…there aren’t many other monsters who would do that.
I can’t reliably direct enough attention to any one single ant to finish them off.
If I let up with my claws, tail, and wings even once, I’m going to be attacked severely.
They’re rushing at me without end.
Any red ant that gets damaged quickly falls back and immediately gets replaced by more ants waiting in the back.
All that while the retreating red ants use [[Auto Regeneration]] to repair their wounds.
Thanks to the number of opponents, I can hardly hit any of them with a finishing blow.
”Kuchaa!!”
Suddenly, a red ant that I thought had retreated after being dealt a heavy blow, instead vigorously bites into my arm!
The red ant figured out when my attention would be diverted from it and managed to land a precise hit on me through a gap in my defenses!
The red ant wants to use this chance to throw me off so that the rest of them can rush in and take me down.
”GuuoOO!!”
While the red ant is still biting into my arm I encase my surroundings with the flames from [[Scorching Breath]].
I slam the red ant on my arm against the ground, and I’m finally able to kill one of them. This took longer than before.
[Obtained 360 Experience Points.]
[Title Skill [[Walking Egg Lv -]] activated, 360 bonus points obtained.]
…If I can’t escape after accumulating enough experience points, then I’ll have to evolve inside the nest.
Adofu is standing at my feet and slicing at red ants with his large sword.
Though he’s mostly only using himself as a distraction, he’s effectively reducing the number of ants focusing on me.
I appreciate it very much.
…However, because of where he is standing, Adofu is always in my blind spot. Because of that, I’m worried that if I turn my head to fire off a breath attack, or start moving suddenly, I’ll accidentally hit him.
”…Excuse me for a bit.”
Adofu suddenly climbs up my tail, and from there leaps onto my shoulder. He defends against a red ant that attacked me, compensating for my own mistake.
Oohh, my bad. You saved me there.
After Adofu repels a red ant, I skewer it with my claws and slam it against the wall.
[Obtained 403 Experience Points.]
[Title Skill [[Walking Egg Lv -]] activated, 403 bonus points obtained.]
[Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 63 to 64.]
Alright, my level’s gone up.
It’s going to be a little tough, but at this rate I’m likely to raise myself by 10 more levels all in this one fight.
”Pefu!!”
[Ahead! Back Turn Around!]
Listening to the ball rabbit’s [[Telepathy]] I quickly spin around and strike a red ant that leaps at me, letting it fall.
I try to pursue it and cut it down, but once again, red ants are leaping at me from both the left and right side so I focus my attention toward them instead.
I send the ants on my sides flying with a quick gust from my wings, and shift my attention towards the front again. The red ant I just struck down is no longer there, and once again, another ant has taken its place, readying its body to leap at me.
Is this hell?
I was too naive.
Even though the poison weakened the red ants, it didn’t create enough of a gap between our physical abilities for me to push back this wave.
For a moment, the red ants’ rush stopped.
I’m relieved to have even just an extra second of time. It gives me time to relax.
The next moment, the red ants join together, and with perfect timing, simultaneously attack me from all directions.
Completely trusting my back to Adofu, I turn around to the red ants coming toward me from the front and strike them repeatedly with [[Kamaitachi]].
After that, I take a step forward, and since the wave of ants in front of me can’t stop since they are being pushed from behind, I shoot a blade of wind directly into them.
After somehow enduring the difficulty from the ants that came from in front, I quickly look behind me.
I don’t think Adofu is able to deal with all the red ants from the rear.
Sure enough, some red ants are able to slip through and are about to jump me.
There are five of them.
I prioritize mitigating any damage to me, and launch [[Dragon Punch]] repeatedly at them as an uppercut.
For the last remaining one, I ram into it with a headbutt.
”Kucha!!” “KuchAA!!” “Kucha!!”
The red ants cry out.
The ground beneath me melts, and swallows up my feet.
Once again, with impeccable timing, they simultaneously attack using [[Clay]] to alter the passageway. They opted for a two-stage attack.
I try to pull my foot out with all of my strength, but it doesn’t budge.
Naturally, the red ants don’t miss this opportunity.
They again crowd around me.
”Kuchaa!!” “Kuchaa!!
The red ants cry out again.
This time, the ceiling deforms, and a red needle starts to grow out of it towards me.
What the hell? These guys have far too much technique!
The clay below me is trapping my feet, and the clay above me is now a needle.
And finally, a swarm of red ants are heading toward me.
This is just bad in general.
The worst is that I can’t free my foot.
Is- is this the end…?
”…This is bad, but I swore revenge on Irushia for my relatives. He is a man whom I must not let live.”
Adofu says this before rushing into the swarm of red ants.
And like that, he pushes his way through the red ants. While parrying off the red ants’ attacks with his large sword, he continues advancing forcibly.
W- What is this?
Are you fleeing?
But no, this is not a place that you can forcibly break through.
You’ll absolutely get lynched on the way and it’ll be all over for you!
Adofu swings his large sword and slashes a red ant that’s in his way.
But before he can finish, a red ant that’s in Adofu’s blind spot tackles him to the ground.
Adofu swiftly recovers and takes on a defensive posture. The surrounding red ants are glaring at him while readying themselves.
”[[Decoy]]”
When Adofu chants the magic skill, a red ant that is just about to leap at me suddenly stops in its tracks.