Episode 85: Queen Ant
The Steel Ant’s boss, the Queen Ant, had two heads lined up vertically, as if doing a two-person coat routine. It was as if another ant was piggybacking, with a second head growing from the back of its neck.
Its physique was like a centaur, with four legs firmly planted on the ground. Its upper body faced upwards, with two front legs attached like arms.
And the Queen Ant’s legs didn’t stop there. Six more legs extended from its back, like an Asura statue.
The tips of its legs had vicious and sharp steel claws. Its four red eyes pierced through me from the front.
“Gijijijiji! (Vanquish my enemies!)”
“Gichigichii!”
The Queen Ant clacked its two jaws, scattering waves of 〖Mana〗. The ants that were bathed in it were filled with power. It seemed they had received an enhancement similar to Electrification.
The royal guards that were waiting nearby began to move all at once. The 〖Dire Beast〗 species of the Steel Ants were mainly of two types.
One, a vanguard group that looked like it was suited for close combat, with particularly developed claws and jaws.
The other, a rearguard group with sharp tail needles, thick carapaces, and a lot of stored 〖Mana〗, which seemed to be good at long-range attrition.
The former took the lead, and the latter took a stance to fire acid shots with their tail needles angled upwards. However, it wasn’t either of them that attacked me first.
“(Lightning Strike)”
“Gidyii!?”
A Black Ant that had launched a falling attack from above was pierced by lightning in mid-air and died. I had been hit by a surprise drop attack in the cave before. Since there were also assassination-type Black Ants, I had been on guard.
Next to attack was the rearguard group.
The lasers of acid that were fired diagonally upwards curved at right angles and rained down.
“(〖Replicant Form〗)”
I could have ignored it, but I mimicked a giant shield and blocked it.
A giant shield that could cover my entire body. But I didn’t mimic this for defense.
“(Forest Shield, activate!)”
I poured a large amount of 〖Mana〗 into the giant shield.
The trees (……..) that grew from the shield extended at a speed that was imperceptible to the eye, as seen through my 〖Clairvoyance〗.
It was like a torrent of tree trunks.
The vanguard group that had been running towards me was swallowed by the trees, pierced, and lost their lives one after another.
“(Yeah, yeah, for area control, the Forest Shield is still the best)”
The material for this shield was the Forest Turtle’s carapace.
I added the ability to manipulate trees, the ability to harden trees, and the ability to sharpen trees, centered on the Forest Turtle’s ability to rapidly grow trees.
It was a shield, but it was the weapon best suited for area attacks.
“(But there are a lot of misses… is it because of the Queen Ant’s buff?)”
However, only about half of the vanguard was killed by this.
The rest survived by defending or dodging with their claws.
I tried to target the rearguard and the Queen Ant as well, but I was pushed back by the barrage of acid and steel bullets.
It seemed pointless, so I released the mimicry.
“Gi, Gichigachi! (Damn, 〖Queen’s Blessing〗!)”
A light of 〖Mana〗 spread out from the Queen Ant, healing the injured vanguard.
This restored about 70% of the vanguard to fighting condition… a troublesome ability.
Judging from the previous enhancement, it seems the Queen Ant is good at support.
“Gidyii, Gachigichidi… (What power is this, my army is half-destroyed in an instant…)”
“Gajidi, Gichichichii! (In this case, there is no choice, 〖Territory〗!)”
Then, at that moment. The Queen Ant’s front and back heads spoke alternately, and then finally expanded its 〖Zone Control〗.
The floor of the hall began to turn into steel, centered on the Queen Ant.
“(If that’s how it is, then I’ll use it too, ‘Convergence’ release!)”
I removed the additional effect of 〖Zone Control〗, ‘Convergence’, which limited the range to myself, and made the hall my territory as well.
The 〖Zone Control〗 areas touched each other, and a powerful shock hit the walls of the hall.
Thus, the two 〖Zone Control〗 areas began to compete for territory…
“(Something… it’s weak)”
The push was surprisingly in my favor.
The territory of the 〖Armory〗 was expanding rapidly.
It wasn’t that I had become stronger… it seemed that the Queen’s 〖Zone Control〗 was not very refined. It was not even comparable to that of the Forest Turtle.
Perhaps the Queen Ant had only recently learned 〖Territory〗.
” (Guh, you guys, interfere with him!)”
Perhaps trying to compensate for her shortcomings with her strengths, she urged her subordinates on more fiercely.
The vanguard rushed in to surround me, and the rearguard unleashed a variety of long-range attacks.
“(But the grunts can’t reach me, 〖Replicant Form〗!)”
I charged forward while activating my 〖Skill〗. I mimicked a halberd and a poison sword, and sent four Forest Shackles into the attack.
With the supernatural processing power created by 〖Multi-Weapon Style〗, I freely manipulated six weapons and annihilated the vanguard.
“(Stop already!)”
The Queen Ant, along with the rearguard, fired acid lasers.
Hers branched into several beams, refracting many times to surround me.
I received the acid lasers that attacked from multiple directions without any particular defense.
There was no damage to me or my weapons.
I continued to advance, kicking away the vanguard. I was almost to the Queen Ant.
“(Gunuu, this doesn’t work either… then I’ll kill you with my own hands, you guys follow me!)”
Judging that things wouldn’t improve if they continued like this, the Queen Ant jumped out. She separated from the rearguard and headed towards the vanguard almost alone.
On the way, the claws at the ends of her eight arms changed into large ones.
It must be some kind of 〖Skill〗.
The Steel Ants also have a power that seems to be effective against earth types, so it was wise to bet on close combat.
Well, it’s convenient for me too.
“(〖Leap〗, 〖Compact Shoot〗!)”
“(What!?)”
We closed the distance to each other, and just as we were about to reach striking range, I jumped up.
In the instant I was out of the Queen Ant’s sight due to the sudden action, I shot an arrow that I had prepared in advance.
The arrow, which had received several 〖Skill〗 corrections, pierced the Queen Ant’s shoulder perfectly.
“(What is this thorn!?)”
“(How’s that, the power of the Mana-Absorbing Arrow!)”
The arrowhead of the arrow that had pierced deeply was gray. This was the color of a Mana Crystal that had been completely drained of 〖Mana〗.
In this state, the Mana Crystal rapidly steals the surrounding 〖Mana〗, like ice absorbing the surrounding heat.
Therefore, if it was used as an arrowhead, the target would continuously lose 〖Mana〗.
“(Guh, such a thing!)”
Well, in the end, it would be over if the arrow was pulled out, and with the total amount of 〖Mana〗 that a 〖Feral Beast〗 has, it would be like a drop in the bucket even if some was stolen.
But, being continuously drained of 〖Mana〗 is quite unpleasant.
It was enough to create an opening.
That’s why I decided to use it like this.
“(Thousand Blades Burst)”
As soon as I landed on the ceiling, I took out a tower-sized iron spear and immediately detonated it.
Countless iron knives attacked the ants below at super speed, slashing their entire bodies to pieces.
Due to the loss of concentration and the disturbance of 〖Mana〗 caused by the Mana-Absorbing Arrow, even the Queen Ant was unable to defend properly.
The 〖Dire Beasts〗 with low 〖Life〗 were annihilated by that one blow, and the Queen Ant was on her last breath.
“(Im, possible, that I would be defeated so easily…)”
“(Air Jump, Heavy Swing!)”
I descended rapidly while mimicking a Forest Hammer.
In response, the Queen Ant swung one of her arms on reflex. That arm was particularly enlarged, and the claw at the tip was as well.
At the same time that the arm was swung, a slash flew out from the claw. It was just like a 〖Wave Slash〗.
I dodged the long slash, which was imbued with a huge amount of 〖Mana〗 and power, with small 〖Air Jumps〗 and my transformation ability.
Then, I swung the Forest Hammer down on the Queen Ant, whose posture had collapsed after swinging her arm. I crushed both heads along with the seven legs that were raised in defense.
The impact was transmitted through the Queen Ant’s body, and a violent tremor ran through the entire hall.
With one last big twitch, the Queen Ant stopped moving.
It was an anticlimactic end—the opponent’s 〖Level〗 was still low, and the fact that she was a support type with modest 〖Stats〗 was a big factor.
～Unidentified Information Log Area～～～～～～～～～～～
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>>War-Inducing Weapon Creation, Fue Toukouya’s Soul Accumulation Value (Level) has increased to 182.
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A small pebble fell onto my surface with a tap, having just seen off the Queen Ant.
“(…Did I overdo it a bit?)”
After the battle, I noticed various cracks, large and small, all over the hall.
They seemed to be widening by the moment.
It was my first Feral Beast fight in a while, and I tried out various powers, but it seems I was a little careless about my surroundings…
The Queen Ant’s final slash also left a huge crack in the ceiling.
Besides, this area was partially weaponized due to the influence of the Armory, making it more fragile.
It’s unlikely the entire cave will collapse, but it’s probably best to assume the hall will.
For now, I should secure any useful materials before it gets completely buried.
With such an optimistic mindset, I hugged the Queen Ant’s corpse, and then, to check how much time I had left, I focused my attention on the ceiling raining down rocks—
“Aaaaaaahhh!?”
“(…Huh?)”
—I saw a human girl falling, mixed in with the collapsing rocks.