Chapter 62 - 58

With the death of the two Anties Generals, the only enemy left that we have to worry about was that Anties King. Of course, all of this success wouldn’t be possible if not for the effort of the Gigarillon who had stalled the Anties King until we defeated those two ants. And since it looked like the Gigarillon was still able to fight, it would be for the best if we could all gang up to fight against that monster. In this ideal scenario, I, the Gigarillon, the Tronobo, and the Pronobo would fight the Anties King together to further increase our chance of victory. The problem was…

'Yeah, with these guys’ condition, that’s not gonna happen.' I thought while looking at the two exhausted apes.

Well, it’s not like the two apes weren’t able to move. In fact, I’d even say that these guys would still be able to put up a good fight. But with how tired and injured they were, I doubt these two would be able to keep up against that ant. In short, they would only be a burden if they joined the fight in their state. And probably because they also realized that fact, the two apes entrusted the job of helping their leader to me instead. Though judging by the sour look on their faces, it was obvious that the two monsters were quite bitter about it.

After giving the two monsters a nod of acceptance, I began to absorb the shadow of the dead ants. 'Good, my stacks are back at twenty-five.' Probably because the two were superior and had a higher level compared to the other ants, their corpses gave me five shadow stacks each. And while twenty-five stacks weren’t much compared to what I had before, it was still a lot better compared to having only fifteen stacks.

With all of that done, I bid farewell to the two apes who went away towards the exit following the trail of their soldiers. 'Yeah, that’s a really wise decision. Especially since an army without a leader is dangerous and is prone to make mistakes.'

Peeling my eyes away from that exit, I started to jog towards the still ongoing battle between the Anties King and Gigarillon. 'Okay, I have twenty-five shadow stacks, which means that if imbue my legs with Shadow Augment, only seventeen will be left. In short, seventeen shots of Shadow Bullet.' Since the effect of Shadow Augment could last for about a minute after it was cast, that would also mean that I could only use my top speed for that limited amount of time. And judging by the speed that the Anties King was showcasing…

'Accelerate alone will not be enough. That guy is different from those Anties Generals. If I fight using only one of my speed enhancement skills, I will not be able to keep up even with that Gigarillon’s aide.' I observed. 'So, in theory, I will only have about two to three minutes at most to finish the fight.'

Of course, that time limit of two to three minutes was just the ideal timeline. After all, my Shadow Bullet consumes one shadow stack per shot and there was no telling when or how many I would need to use in battle. So, all in all, it would still be better if we could kill the monster within just a minute. But to be perfectly honest, that scenario was too idealistic and almost seemed impossible to pull off.

“Now, I wonder how far you can go?” Wondered an amused voice.

Ignoring that, I began to sprint as I approached the two-battling monster. During that time, I saw the sand near the Anties King’s feet swirled around. A split second after that, a tidal wave of sand emerged from the monster’s feet threatening to swallow the Gigarillon as a whole.

'What the heck was that?!' I couldn’t help but ask.

In just the nick of time, the Gigarillon managed to move away from that as if he was expecting it to happen in the first place. But as if he had known from the start that the Gigarillon wouldn’t be caught by that, the Anties King used that wave of sand as a cover to move into the Gigarillon’s blind spot. Noticing it a little bit late, the Anties King managed to bind the Gigarillon’s limbs using that sand preventing the ape’s escape.

Upon seeing that, I activated Accelerate and imbued my legs with Shadow Augment. But even with all of that, I knew for a fact that I wouldn’t make it there in time. And so, left with no other choice, I shot two Shadow Bullets at the Anties King.

“KREE?!”

But before my Shadow Bullets hit, the Anties King noticed my incoming attack and covered itself using four of its limbs. As two booming sounds rang, the Anties King was pushed back while the sand that was binding the Gigarillon’s limbs fell apart. Because of that, the Gigarillon escaped his certain demise and was able to move away from the ant.

'You can thank me later.' I signaled at the Gigarillon who was at the other side of the ant.

In a normal fight, there was no way that I would stop after just one attack. And with the opening that my Shadow Bullet has created on the Anties King’s defense, my common response should be launching a follow-up strike. But because the number of my shadow stacks was limited, I couldn’t just bombard the ant just like I did before. Furthermore, there was also that strange ability…

'With that sand manipulation thing, it is dangerous to recklessly charge and engage this monster in close-quarters combat. If I mess up, I will end up in the same situation as that ape.' I observed in a flash.

Unlike its aggressive behavior when it was fighting the Gigarillon alone, the Anties King seemed to be acting a lot more cautious, now that another threat had appeared. As proof of that, the ant was not moving an inch from its position and instead has taken a defensive stance whilst letting the sand swirl around its feet.

'Tsk! As if fighting with a time limit isn’t tricky enough, now I also have to deal with that strange ability.' While complaining inside, I glanced at the Gigarillon who was now prepared to continue the fight. 'Okay, now show me what you’ve got!' With that challenge in mind, I rushed towards the ant and so was the ape.

For better or for worse, it seemed like the Gigarillon’s speed was about the same as mine. Because of that, we were able to synchronize our movements even though it was our first time fighting together. And using that rhythm as the basis, we both timed our attacks at the same moment.

“RAAAAAHHHH!!”

“KRAAAAHHHH!!”

As I had expected, the Anties King created that same wave of sand to block my path. With that sand threatening to swallow me inside, I made a swift and sharp turn to the side. In that instant, I heard a dull sound coming from the opposite end. And upon dodging in a snap, I saw the ant hacking away at the Gigarillon upfront. But with such nimble movements, the Gigarillon was weaving through all that attack while also fighting back with counters from time to time.

'Don’t forget about me!'

Using that chance, I activated Stealth and charged at the monster’s blind spot. But as if sensing my approach, a tower of sand emerged from under the Gigarillon’s feet, sending the ape flying away into the distance. Now free from the ape’s relentless assault, the Anties King turned around and swung its arms towards me.

When I saw that incoming attack, I forced my body to duck down in a rush. “Kuh!” Then using that momentum, I pushed my body up like a spring and swiped my claws in a counter. But without missing a beat, the Anties King blocked it with an arm before striking back.

'Wha—'

Then, as if saying that I have no time to be surprised, the Anties King continued its onslaught against me. 'Tsk!' With no other choice but to fight back, I pounced into the ant in an attempt to overwhelm the monster using my speed.

“RAAAAAHHHH!!”

“KREEEEEEEEE!!”

While the two of us were lashing out at each other, we created a violent storm every time we slash and bash. And in the middle of that slugfest, a never-ending torrent of clanging sounds could also be heard together with our war cry.

'This thing’s shell is tougher than those two from before!!' I noticed in the midst of our exchange. 'And more than that, he’s fast! Probably even faster than me!' I concluded.

Because of its advantage in speed and number of limbs, the ant’s assault was beginning to push me back. But despite being in that desperate situation, I smiled. 'It’s true, I can’t win against you in a duel. But don’t forget, you’re not fighting me alone!' At that moment, the Gigarillon appeared and delivered a full-powered punch straight into the ant’s cheek.