146 - - an underground struggle

A black mass sprinted.

The monster, with its enormous mass and unusual hardness, kicked up a cloud of dust and closed the distance to the red-haired swordsman in an instant.

Stratchia chose to face the oncoming threat neither to the right nor to the left, but to the front.

He bounces his forelegs and jaw with his twin swords to create a small gap, into which he slips on his toes.

The blade swung again, passing under the insect's belly as it did so.

The sound of steel clanging against steel is heard, and the trajectory of the stomping leg is shifted just a little.

As soon as the black ants passed by, Straccia, who had just gotten out of a tight spot, stood up and immediately took a stance.

The giant ant, perhaps sensing immediately that it had missed its prey, skillfully used its six legs to change direction.

The black-armored Stratchia and the shiny black ant-like monster face each other at a distance of only a few steps.

The frenzied queen ant has shrunk by one size due to the removal of its outer shell.

However, it is still as large as a two-horse cart.

Moreover, they seem to have acquired a frightening speed.

The back of the queen ant suddenly peels off and stretches.

The thinly spread parts quickly begin to emit an unpleasant sound as they pound the air.

It was the four disastrous black wings.

It seems that I was wrong in thinking that only Blue Jade Ants can fly in the sky.

The sound of their wings slicing the air increases, and their huge black bodies suddenly shake.

The next thing you know, the ants have arrived right in front of Straccia's eyes.

The ants are even faster than before.

A dull thud from the impact hits the walls and the ground, and the red-haired swordsman is sent flying through the air.

The red-headed swordsman was thrown back, and he was sent flying through the air. He was able to quickly pop a bite out of his jaw with his sword, but he could not seem to kill all the momentum.

The ants, which had turned into black shadows, attacked without mercy.

The overwhelming weight of the ants crushed him, squeezing the air out of his lungs with a scream.

But Straccia, too, was not left unscathed.

In exchange for evading the ants, he thrust out both of his swords, which pierced the ants' eyes, barely stopping their momentum.

Drawing his sword, which was now glistening white, Straccia drew his sword and moved out of the way, letting out a strangely faint exhale.

After only a few cuts, the blade of the sword with the fangs of the rotting dragon had already spilled.

The scaled armor was torn at the shoulders, and the flesh beneath the armor was torn open and sucked up by the overflowing blood.　

In addition, several ribs seem to have been broken.

With his left sword thrust into the ground, Straccia rips off his eye patch with his free hand and finally pulls down the cheek of his helmet.

As soon as his thinly lifted lips were hidden, the swordsman stepped forward with his twin swords at the ready.

It was a signal to continue the battle.

In the past, they had retreated after seeing this frenzy.

This time, however, they were able to proceed the shortest distance possible, and with Thor's magic technique, they were able to conserve a great deal of their magical energy.

Ninesa nodded her head at the captain's decision and began to chant a trump card to break the situation.

"O tree of heaven-burning radiance! Now is the time to shake the branches of your flaming authority and spread the leaves of your red flame. ......"

Kugase, who had been attracting a small group of nearly two dozen Vajra ants with and three other clay figures, noticed the chanting and turned himself around.

With a desperate look on his face, he runs to the place where Thor and the others had been waiting near the entrance.

While watching the distance between them, Ram Merulla also began to offer a small prayer.

O Lord of the Tree of Life! Protect us--!"

"Mourning flowers of cremation that bring ash, let them bloom and be proud--!"

Ninessa's eyes turn bright red as if she is on fire from the .

At the same time, red blood begins to flow from the wounds all over her body.

, a fundamental characteristic of Ninessa's, is that the more her body is injured, the more the effects of her magic will be doubled.

For this reason, she dared to go to the dangerous front line.

Dozens or even hundreds of burning flowers float around the woman who has turned into a pillar of flame.

The flowers are presented to the ants that rush toward her as she declares.

One after the other, the petals of flame soar up without a moment to catch their breath, instantly melting the ants and stretching them to the ground.

The red storm continues to spread its flames like a raging firestorm, regardless of who it is directed at.

The whole room is ablaze with a tremendous intensity, and a terrible heat is produced.

Thor, Rummella, and Kugase, who had arrived just in time, exhaled deeply as the air was filled with flames that burned just by touching them.

Around them, a large, semi-circular bubble covers the air.

This face-down cup-like object is the upper branch of the water-based magic skill, which can completely block out any kind of anomalies.

"Hahahaha ...... is it going to be ............ somehow?"

Kugase, who had reached the limits of his physical and magical strength, slumped to the ground as if in relief.

Ram Merulla wipes the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief as he hands the girl, who is out of breath, a potion to restore her magic, and watches the insects burn away.

She must have been drained of her magical power due to the upper branch magic technique.

But Ram Merulla stood still and looked at the situation of the room as if he were staring at it intently.

The flower of flame that had consumed the Vajrayan ants under her command would not be missed by the black queen ant, of course.

The flames that surrounded her in layers hit her body surface one after the other, and she burst into flames with a roaring sound.

The queen ants shook their wings as if they were struggling, but the flames of the red lotus spread the sparks of fire more and more actively.　

But the monster, engulfed in flames, still clearly showed its fighting spirit.

It starts flying around like a madman and attacks Stratchia, who is close to it.

A red blade flashes, and its massive frame suddenly turns and slams into the wall.

Unlike Thor and the others, who were protected by the bubbles, Straccia, who was in the middle of a battle with the queen ant, was caught in the flames without mercy.　

Her whole body has absorbed so much fire and heat that it has turned into a different color.

This time from black to red.

Standing there was the red dragon itself, taking the form of a man in combination with the design of the helmet.

Within the helmet, Straccia utters a muffled cry.

The bright red twin swords, radiating heat, are swung, snapping one of the queen ant's jaws.

In a red trajectory through the air, Stratchia's sword runs, forcibly crushing the leg that is being swung down.

The red-haired swordsmen, despite their weight difference, were engaged in a fierce battle.

The beastly roar is released again, and Stratchia runs and leaps the wall with an unbelievable movement.

The queen ants, on the other hand, flutter about at blinding speed, shaking their flaming wings, and collide with each other in mid-air.

Sparks fly and a heavy, dull thud echoes through the air again and again.

The ground and the walls shake as the dozens, if not thousands, of strikes and collisions continue.

The battle seemed to go on endlessly, but it seems that the queen ants, who were continuously engulfed in fire, reached their limit a little earlier than the others.

Once again, the howling Straccia leaps high into the air.

Then she flips off her flailing antennae and plunges her twin swords deep into the queen ant's forehead.

The monster dropped to the ground and moved its legs as if it were struggling, but then stopped as if it had run out of energy.

At the same time, Stratchia also stopped moving and nodded her head, as if she had run out of energy.

"............ won?　What?　Yes, I did it!"

Beside Kugase who was shouting loudly, a girl of the Soukei tribe, who was about to smile with a big smile on her face, suddenly froze and turned her gaze to a point.

Thor also turns his face in that direction.

Then, her eyes flashed sharply.

There was the sight of a new queen ant emerging from the black roots on the back wall.