Chapter 48 - 47

Just like what I had expected, this whole area was completely dominated by the ant type monsters. Though contrary to my initial impression, it wasn’t as if the ant type monsters were crawling in every nook and cranny of this place. Instead, it seemed to me that these ants were actually living with clear division between their groups. Because from what I had seen, it looked like there were only certain spots where a certain group and number of ants’ lived. In simple terms, it was something like the town and cities of humans. And of course, between those cities and towns were uninhabited and unclaimed lands. The only difference was, unlike in human lands where forest thrives whenever the humans’ population were small, in the ant type monsters territory, there were no forest and the uninhabited lands were instead completely devoid of life. In essence, you could probably say that the whole area was like a "sunless desert."

In all honesty though, that very same landscape worked in my favor. After all, that moment when I successfully escaped that battlefield, I had been worried if I would ever find a safe place to hide from those ant type monsters. But after sneaking around for a while and finally noticing the landscape of this area, I had come to realize that it might not be that hard to escape the detection of these ant type monsters. In fact, I even kind of regretted that I escaped from that battlefield. Because all things considered, the ant type monsters swarming in that place were all on the weak side of things. Mostly, the ant type monsters back there were only Anties Workers and some occasional Anties Soldier. And despite their large number, it might not be impossible to annihilate those ants if I teamed up with my fellow monster survivors.

'Hmmm, those guys might actually pull it off. Though, it will be a hard-fought battle for sure… And well, the real problem will surely come after that…'

Truth to be told, it was possible to come back to that battlefield and assist those guys in annihilating those ants. But given that this form had now reached its maximum level, doing so would simply be a waste of time and energy. And while it was true that fighting an actual battle would help me hone my "skills" and "practical skills," it just wasn’t worth it. Besides, I am most definitely sure that those guys would start fighting among themselves the moment the ant type monsters were gone. Seriously, fighting for supremacy was just basically ingrained into their instinct so I had no doubt about that and also had no d.e.s.i.r.e to be wrapped up in the aftermath.

While wishing the best for my fellow monster survivors, I focused my senses and began scanning my surroundings. 'Yep. There’s literally nothing in here…' I concluded while letting out a sigh.

As I had expected, all traces of life had been erased in these uninhabited lands. And even though it was favorable for me that there were no ants living in this place, the fact that there were no other monsters here was still a problem in itself. Because for one, having virtually no other monsters around also meant that there was a lack of food. Though now that I think about it, maybe that was the reason why these ants were trying to invade the jungle type area. Most likely, given the size of their population, the ants must have been in a desperate need of resources and food.

'But because these guys always turn a fertile land into a barren land of nothingness, then I am pretty sure that this situation will simply repeat itself…'

Based on what I have seen so far, once these creatures had successfully created a hive in fertile land, the immediate surrounding of that spot would without fail lose its fertility. And possibly, as the ants continued to expand their territory and control over the land, any vegetation and forestry along the way would also die in return. Then, as both the result of losing the forest and being continuously hunted by swarms of ants, every monster species that were originally living in that area would also fall into extinction one by one. Until eventually, the land itself would die turning it into this same barren land.

Of course, I hadn’t seen it happen myself, so it was still all a conjecture on my part. But given how desperate those ape type monsters were even going as far as launching a "reckless" counter invasion, then it was highly likely that my conjectures were correct. In short, those ape type monsters had no other choice but to fight for survival. After all, even if they tried to abandon their land, once the ant type monsters were done consuming all of its resources, they would inevitably clash once again for the same exact reason. And well, sealing all of the possible pathways and completely isolating the jungle type area wasn’t a good option either, because considering the big population of those ants, there was a high chance that a powerful ant type monster that could unseal those passages exist. In other words, the only options left for the ape type monsters were to either run and prolong the inevitable, or to fight back and risk all that they have.

'Talk about being stuck in a rock and a hard place…' I thought while shaking my head in exasperation.

Well, given the ant type monsters’ nature, someone had to deal with them eventually. After all, if those guys were left into their own devices, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to completely take over this whole cavern and then venture outside in search for more resources. Though, given the presence of the Swamp Drake and that Cerberus, doing so would surely prove difficult and it could very well take years or even decades even if they succeed.

'Still, these ants are pretty nasty. They are kind of like a parasite honestly.'

In the midst of all my mumbling, I saw a small settlement full of ants in the far-off distance. From the looks of it, it seemed like this particular settlement was smaller compared to the one from before. In fact, there was only one hive in the center where the ants seemed to be working on. And when I moved closer to get a better look, I noticed that the ant type monsters in this settlement were all just an Anties Worker; which judging from my experiences was the weakest among the ant type monsters species. Not only that, there weren’t that many of them either. Though of course, my reference point when I said that was that huge settlement from before, so I guess by normal standards that would still be a lot.

In order to avoid getting caught, I activated stealth and kept it active all the while observing the ant type monsters working on the settlement. 'Hmmm… This might just be the perfect opportunity to secure a safe evolution…'

Up until now, I had postponed my evolution with the reasoning that it would be too risky to proceed with that in this place. After all, I still haven’t found any safe place to hide and rest. And even if I did find one, it would still be dangerous to proceed if I didn’t have any food on hand. But now with this settlement, it might just be possible.

'Okay, I can use this settlement as a temporary shelter while in the middle of evolution… As for those ants… One, two, three, four, five… Maybe around thirty-plus I think...?' I thought while carefully circling around the settlement. 'Well, well, well… Isn’t this just perfect!!'

***

Intermission: A Sudden Attack

For the ant type monsters, it was just in their nature to consume and devour any resources that they got their hands on. It just couldn’t be helped, after all, their species was built to serve their "Queen" that had the ability to continuously produce offspring after offspring which in turn leave the ant type monsters in constant need of resources and food. As a result, whenever a Queen was born in a tribe, all the ant type monster tribes in the surrounding area would unite and move to expand their territory in search of more resources and food. And of course, because of this behavior, every land and area that the ant type monsters had conquered would inevitably turn into a barren land.

Naturally, after the Queen was born, the population of the ant type monsters would just continue to increase. Because of that, it was often unthinkable and hard to completely annihilate them once their population reached a certain size. In such cases, the best course of action was to run away as far as possible and wait for the "army of humans" or "some powerful monster" to kill and subjugate the "Anties Queen." Well, that was supposedly how normal humans and monsters handle such situations.

At the chamber of the "Anties King," the "Anties Guardians" had received an unusual news. Apparently, an exceptionally powerful group of monsters appeared out of nowhere and had attacked one of the settlements near the border. Based on the recounts of the few surviving scouts, it seemed like the group of monsters had successfully taken over the said settlement.

Obviously, the Anties Guardians had no other choice but to send a subjugation team. But before they even managed to give the order, another news came in. And just like the first news, it seemed like their territory was under another attack. Though this time, it looked like the attack went undetected for quite some time because it was now near the center of their territory which they were now residing in. Furthermore, it was even reported that the attack was done by none other than the ape type monsters army. In short, there was a high chance that multiple settlements had already fallen, and most likely, the ape type monsters were heading towards the center to kill the Queen.

In that instant, there was only one collective thought in the minds of the Anties Guardians. 'Crazy bastards!!'