Chapter 58 - 54

I activated Stealth and followed the direction of the sound. 'As I thought, the sound and these trails lead in that same direction.' But knowing that those apes might be in a hurry to finish this battle, I assumed that it would take more time before I could catch up. 'Is something preventing them from going any further?'

To be honest, the only possible explanation why those apes were hindered was if they were ganged up by waves upon waves of ants. After all, if they fought those ants in this place head-on, those apes would be fighting an almost endless sea of ants just like us from before. And even if they had that Gigarillon leading their army in this battle, given their numbers alone, those ants would still be able to overwhelm them in the end.

'It really all comes down to quantity. Because no matter how powerful those apes are, they still have a mortal body in the end. And naturally, that body has its own physical limitations, so once they’ve reached that limit, even some inferior ant could actually kill them.'

If so, I had no business joining that fray. In fact, I would rather choose to find a different path than risk being ganged up by thousands upon thousands of ants. Especially since my skills were more compatible in ambushes rather than a frontal confrontation.

While the sound of battle was becoming much clearer, the scent of fresh blood was also getting thicker and stronger. And of course, all of that only meant one thing. 'I’m close.'

Noticing that, I proceeded with much more caution. But it was then that a chill ran down my spine.

'?!!'

Confused by that sudden feeling, I stopped. Then as if on cue, the earth began to tremble. 'What the—?!' I thought while looking around.

At first, the earthquake wasn’t that strong. But as seconds passed, its intensity increased to the point that I began to have a hard time standing still. And to make matters worse, I also noticed an overwhelming presence rising from underground.

'Crap, what the heck is that?!'

A moment after that, there was a deafening explosion up ahead accompanied by a thunderous screech. And upon looking up, I saw a gigantic ant flying in the air.

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Queen

Status: Healthy]

'Is that the ruler of these ants?!' I internally exclaimed. 'Are you kidding me?! Those apes are seriously planning on killing that?!'

In my personal opinion, that thing far outmatched those apes. Because not only was it big, that gigantic ant could also somehow fly! And as far as I know, even that Gigarillon couldn’t even do that. In fact, even if that ant didn’t have that ability, I still think that the Gigarillon would lose if they fought one on one. 'Seriously, how crazy and desperate are those apes to try and fight that thing. Or maybe… they simply had no idea?'

While I was there standing still and doing my best to keep myself hidden from that gigantic ant, a loud sound of rumbling suddenly echoed in every direction. 'Huh?' Looking around, I also began to hear the screech of multiple ants. And from what I could tell, it didn’t only come from one or two. In fact, I’m quite certain that the sound was a result of at least hundreds if not thousands of ants screeching their hearts out.

'O-oy, are you serious?!!'

Far into the distance, I saw the silhouette of waves upon waves of ants marching towards their Queen. And the worst thing was, that immeasurable number had me surrounded on the back. In short, the only clear path was upfront to where that gigantic ant was.

Upon realizing that fact, I couldn’t help but curse at my incredibly bad luck. 'Damn it!! So that screech was a command to gather her kin!!' Then, after recognizing that her kin was starting to gather, the gigantic ant screeched once again and flew off to somewhere.

'What?! Where is that thing going?! Is she running away from the apes?!' I unconsciously asked. But not too long after that, my question was answered.

Upon looking to where the apes were supposed to be, I saw a group of familiar monsters chasing after that gigantic ant. Or at least, that’s what I initially thought. 'So, it’s not those apes who are fighting! It’s them, the monster survivors! But why are they chasing after that gigantic ant? Are those monsters really out of their mind?' Not long after that thought crossed my mind, I saw an exceptional-looking ant leading what seemed to be a small and elite group of its kind.

Seeing that, the realization of what was happening dawned on me. 'D-don't tell me…?' At that, I looked behind. And what came into view was the sea of ants making a mad charge to where their Queen flew.

'Shit!' I cursed as I ran to chase after the Queen. 'That screech was a command to follow and charge!! This is nuts!!'

Fortunately, there was still quite some distance between the army of ants and me. And since my base speed had also improved, it was pretty much impossible for those ants to catch up. In fact, the distance between the ant army and me was slowly increasing even though I didn’t use any speed-enhancing skills. The only problem was…

'Damn it, they noticed me.' Up ahead, the small group of elite ants that were chasing the monster survivors earlier had stopped and then looked at me. And judging from their reactions, their intent was clear. 'Planning to stop me eh?'

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Level: 23

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Level: 24

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Level: 22

Status: Healthy]

At that moment, four ants from that group rushed towards me. Reacting to that, I used Shadow augment to all of my limbs. As a result, my speed and agility increased even further. 'Now, let’s see what you can do!!' With that in mind, I activated Accelerate and charge towards the nearest ant.

Using my claws, I decapitated the nearest ant in the blink of an eye. And probably because of my recent evolution, it only took me one swipe to lop off the head of that strong-looking ant. Seeing that, the other three froze. But, without wasting any second, I began to annihilate the rest who were still in shock.

After making a quick work of those four, I absorbed their shadows and continued to run. 'That’s easier than I expected…' I thought while using Assess on the eight remaining ants ahead.

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Level: 25

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Level: 28

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties Commander

Level: 26

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties General

Level: 35

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Level: 33

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties General

Level: 38

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties General

Level: 34

Status: Healthy]

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties General

Level: 36

Status: Healthy]

'So, three Anties Commanders and five Anties General.' Since the Anties Commanders were only in the level twenties, it wouldn’t be too hard for me to kill them. Unfortunately, that same thing couldn’t be said about those Anties Generals who were in the level thirties. And more than that, there were five of them. 'It will be nothing short of a suicide if I attempt to fight those five along with that three Anties Commander.' I concluded. 'I guess my only choice is to either keep my distance or lure those three away. Well, in this situation, I can only respond in kind to their actions anyway.'

Being that those ants were sandwiched between the monster survivors and me, it was only natural that their actions would have a direct effect on my movements. In that sense, as long as they don’t take any actions against me, my best option was to just keep my distance and avoid any confrontation. That, of course, depends on what their leader would decide.

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Anties King

Level: 47

Status: Healthy]

'Seriously, level forty-seven? Heck, that’s strong!' I gaped upon using Assess on the supposed leader of the ants. 'Yep, if they all decided to stop and fight me, I’m dead for sure.' I shivered at the thought. But before my assumption even came to fruition, another huge explosion rang far ahead. And to be honest, I didn’t even know if I should consider it a good fortune or bad.

It happened when the flying gigantic ant ahead made a sudden stop. As if waiting for something, it just hovered in the air all the while looking at the cave’s wall without moving an inch. 'Huh?' Truth to be told, I didn’t even notice that we were already so far back to the point that we were already near the boundary of this area. 'I’ve got a really bad feeling about this…' And as if confirming that premonition, that familiar monster appeared.

Accompanied by a loud bang, another gigantic monster emerged from the wall. And of course, the resulting debris from the destroyed wall flew off everywhere causing further mayhem and explosions. Then as if to announce its appearance on the battlefield, the gigantic three-headed hound roared in chorus. But unlike the screech of the Anties Queen, that roar was both deafening and powerful. It was so powerful in fact that it created this air pressure that shook almost the entire area.

[Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Cerberus

Level: 58

Status: Healthy]

'F.u.c.k,' was all I could think.