Chapter 166: Ant Queen

If that flame reached the skeleton's head, it would be done for. Skully's bony chest rose up and down as panicked breaths escaped its skeletal frame. Left with no choice, Skully forcefully ripped out his hand, throwing it to the ground.

Skully suspected the poisonous yellow energy was in some sort of cooldown as the aerial worker ants descended on him after seeing that he was vulnerable.

Fortunately, it was his good hand that was wielding the sword. He still had a fighting chance. The skeleton no longer held back its strength. All this while, he had been controlling it because he simply wanted answers, but since the other party didn't want to comply, he would have to resort to drastic measures.

"Hmpff, even if you guys were to cut off both of my hands, I'd still win this fight!" The skeleton sneered, its voice filled with disdain. He lunged forward at the closest worker ant that was swooping down, its mandibles snapping, ready to tear the skeleton apart.

*Shing!*

*Bang!*

Skully's bony sword flashed in the air, striking the worker ants. The skeleton then charged at another one, leaving the previous ant with a cracked exoskeleton. When the ant tried to move its wings, concentrated thin green blood oozed out from the numerous cracks that had spider-webbed through its exoskeleton. A moment later, that ant's body fell apart as if it had been held together by a thread.

Skully's body was a blur as he moved past another ant, then another. Another and another. Any ant that he passed by immediately fell, all that remained in his wake was a fountain of blood.

Some time later, the only ones left were Skully and the ant king.

The ant king's eyes blazed with anger as it watched this scene, its powerful mandibles glowing with a brilliant purple light that seeped into the surroundings, casting a regal eerie aura. The ant king's body trembled in rage, but before it could explode forward, a feminine yet commanding voice boomed through the cavern.

"That's enough! Both of you, stop!"

The two who were about to clash once more looked in the direction of the voice and saw the red-carapaced ant queen standing, her expression unamused. Her gaze briefly shifted to the ground, where she could see several red-carapaced ants lying and groaning.

She sighed softly in relief when she saw they were all fine, just temporarily immobile. Then her gaze shifted back to Skully.

"Master Skully, what brings you here?" she said in a rather respectful tone. After all, this skeleton was one of the people who had trained her, along with Mistress Eve.

"Ah, finally a reasonable person," Skully exclaimed as he also recognized the familiar ant queen that belonged to a certain pipsqueak who was currently away.

---

"Grandpa, why are you so tense?" Nyx asked, staring at the back of her grandfather, whose shoulders were tense. They were currently flying through the air over the Western Region.

The Vermilion Kingdom capital was located in the Eastern Region, but they were currently above the ancient Dragon Spine Range, a towering mountain range that stretched across the western horizon, its rugged peaks shrouded in mist.

Nathan's gaze remained fixed on the landscape below for a while before he responded in a low voice, "Just keeping watch."

Of course, he couldn't outright tell the young girl about his history with those in the capital.

"But we're so high, I doubt anything could attack us from here," Nyx replied, her gaze fixed ahead. Though she said this, she was still alert herself.

Yes, just like Nyx, she didn't think Grandpa could fend for himself in case an area-type beast attacked them... she had to be vigilant.

Nathan glanced down at the Dragon Spine Range, which was shaped like a literal dragon spine. "You see that mountain?" he pointed out a moment later.

"What about it?" Nyx asked, her brows knitting together as the wind caused her lustrous black hair with streaks of red to flutter.

Nathan spoke in a strangely wise tone that the little girl wasn't used to: "Even those who soar among the clouds can plummet to the earth, my granddaughter. No height is safe from the shadows that seek to destroy us."

Nyx was momentarily confused. A lost expression crossed her features as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Because of its flight ability, this dragon might've been extremely cocky in its prime, but see what happened to it."

Nyx's eyes widened slightly. "Wa-wait, this range is an actual dragon?"

Nathan didn't say anything, but his silence spoke volumes. She was shocked. This mist-covered range she had thought was just a rocky formation was actually a literal dragon.

"But I thought those were rare," Nyx's mind raced as Doombringer sped up, passing the Dragon Spine Range, unaware of the pair of yellow eyes watching them from the mist. If one paid attention, they would see bitterness in those beautiful eyes.

---

A while later, Doombringer was soaring past a town, one of the ten baronies in the Western Region. This was Landon Barony.

From their high vantage point, Nathan and Nox witnessed a group of Awakened battling goblin-like creatures just outside the towering town walls.

'Sigh, what is triggering these beasts? Why are they so strong?' Nathan thought, watching the Awakened struggle against goblins that were just Wild and Intermediate Tier at best.

'But it feels as if they're facing a beast at the King Tier,' Nathan thought, thick vines rampaging through the horde of goblins, crushing them one after the other.

Nathan gazed at the one controlling the demonic vines. A dark shadow suddenly covered the battlefield, and the green-haired man gazed up.

The two men's eyes met, and they gave a mutual nod before moving on. Although no words were shared between them, one could tell both men respected each other greatly.

Meanwhile, Jared was momentarily in a daze as he stared at the beautiful girl mounted on the wyvern, and his heart sped up. The girl didn't look at him; she seemed indifferent, as always. The wind whipping her hair made her more stunning.

"It's her again," he whispered, his eyes sparkling, unaware that a goblin with malicious eyes was sneaking behind him.

*SHING!*

*REEEEEK!*

A piercing scream woke Jared from his stupor. He hurriedly turned around to witness the goblin being pierced by a spear through the heart.

"Stay focused, young master," the soldier advised before joining the fight once more. Jared scratched his head embarrassedly, his gaze still fixed on the disappearing wyvern.

---

A day later, the wyvern finally arrived at the royal capital.

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