NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 89: Armored Ant Nest (3)
The attack on the Nest of Armored Ants was in its final stages, and a Hollow found a very large room at the end of a deep path.
There were several Armored Ants. As if protected by the Armored Ants, there was an unusually large Armored Ant. Its head and armor appeared to be the same size. It had a long caterpillar-like body that protrudes from its armor. The caterpillar-like body, which was as big as three Armored Ants, was repeatedly expanding and contracting.
(Oh! It’s definitely the Queen Armored Ant!)
I rejoiced. Apparently, this was the end of the Armored Ant Nest. A special individual, obviously the Queen Armored Ant.
I returned three Hollows to the Holder I used to create the strategy map. And since the location of the Queen Armored Ant was recorded in the Grimoire, their job was done.
I can currently use <Sharing> on 8 summons simultaneously.
(Shall I go on like this for now? If the fight is too tough, I’ll raise my [Intelligence] and get more summons.)
6 Bears
1 Hollow
1 Spyder
I used <Sharing> on the 8 summons, buffed them woth Harami’s [Splash] and sent them to defeat the Queen Armored Ant.
I normally would instruct the Bears to follow Hollow (on whom I would have used <Sharing>. However, due to the darkness, they can’t see ahead and can’t follow. So, I can only use summons with <Sharing>.
My summons took the winding, branching path of the Nest to its deepest point, about five kilometers below.
They arrived at the place where I found the Queen and Armored Ants in the same condition as before.
(The Armored Ants will get in the way, so I should deal with them first. In a boss battle, it’s always a good idea to start with the small fries. It’s the truth of this world.)
I killed nearly ten Armored Ants for this reason. The large room with the Queen Armored Ant was quite large. I could see clearly with the help of Hollow’s [Night Vision]. There are more of them than me, but I don’t care.
Three Bears were killed, but I quickly summoned them back and sent them on their way. This is the same strategy I used to defeat the Orc King, Quantity over Quality.
(Now that I’ve defeated the small fries, I can go down and summon the masses in the Nest.)
I needed more than 100 Bears to defeat the Orc King. The strategy was to surround the area from all sides, and no matter how many were killed, the surviving Bear would attack. This time as well, I was going to use the same strategy, but the battle location would be deep underground, about five kilometers below from the surface.
Now that the small fries were defeated and I was out of danger, I didn’t want to waste time summoning Bears and make them travel. So I went into the Nest with a Hollow and two Bears. My vision was completely ineffective, so I relied on the [Night Vision] of Hollow via <Sharing>.
While I was traveling, the remaining Bears attacked the Queen Armored Ant at the far end.
(She’s slow, but aiming for the head could be dangerous.)
I decided that her head covered with a large exoskeleton should be avoided. The large jaws are dangerous. So I decided to attack the soft, stubby abdomen.
Three Bears used their special [Crunch] technique to attack the caterpillar-like abdomen of the Queen Armored Ant. The Queen Armored Ant twisted and blasted the Bears away.
She pinched the blown and fallen Bears between her jaws and turned it into a glowing bubble.
(Yes, this can work. She is too slow.)
Compared to the battle against the Orc King, the speed at which the Queen Armored Ant defeated the Bear was much slower.
I arrived at the large room of the Queen Armored Ant.
(She is slow! I have to use this weakness! Bears, go at once!)
“Guruaaaa!!”
More than 20 Bears barked in unison and closed in on the Queen Armored Ant. Their enemy was stronger, and more than half of them couldn’t see anything, but even so, because of the large body of the enemy, the more their attacks hit them. They were blown away, but they didn’t care, they kept on attacking.
(You’re not moving as fast as the Orc King.)
The Queen Armored Ant was not as tough as I thought. While I was thinking about this, the blow from Bear seemed to have inflicted a fatal wound. The Queen’s long torso was partially torn, and white bodily fluids spread all over the ground at once.
“Gitchiiiiii!”
The Queen Armored Ant screamed and fell to the ground. Her body was twisting and convulsing. The white bodily fluid flowed out more and more because of this.
“You have defeated 1 Queen Armored Ant. You have acquired 45,000 experience points.”
(Hmm, I took her down just like that.)
I took down the Queen Armored Ant in a flash.
(Now that I’ve beaten it, what should I do? I don’t think I can make it back to the city in time.)
It took me a day to conquer the Nest of Armored Ants. Even if I returned to the city of Grandver, the gates were closed and I would not be able to enter the city. It was a deliberate act, but I wondered what I should do.
(This is going to be an unauthorized night out. The Butler will be angry at me. I’ll have to apologize as much as Rickel.)
Today was the second of two consecutive days of hunting. I had to go back to the mansion, but there was a risk that the Armored Ants would come back if I stopped the hunt here. Therefore, I gave priority to killing Queen Armored Ant. This was why I stayed out overnight without notice. I imagined in my mind how to apologize to Rickel.
(For now, let’s just collect the Queen Armored Ant’s Armor, then go back and apologize.)
I took out the witch’s lamp from the storage. I turned on the light. I wanted to be able to see with my own eyes, though I could see everything it with Hollow’s [Night Vision].
I approached the Queen Armored Ant to check her condition first.
(Yuck!)
The Queen Armored Ant was leaking body fluids and smelled sour, though I couldn’t tell what it was. I don’t think it’s good though.
(But then again, she didn’t move very well. I guess she wasn’t in good shape.)
Somehow, I was able to kill Queen Armored Ant instantly, even though she is a B-rank magical beast. She should have been a strong opponent as she is the same rank as Madegarsh but I wondered if she was in a weaken state, or if she was a weak magical beast to begin with.
(Maybe she was weak from laying too many eggs.)
I have killed over 5000 Armored Ants in the last two months. If there were originally 1,000 Armored Ants in the Nest, she might have produced over 4,000 Armored Ants in the past two months.
I think that she might have laid too many eggs and was much weaker than she should have been.
(Hmm, magical beasts need to eat and sleep, and they can get weak too. They also have pupae and eggs. It’s important not to let them get into a perfect state.)
To sum up
(Let’s dismantle the Queen Armored Ant and get the hell out of here.)
I didn’t want to stay too long, so I used my beloved sword to dismantle it with gusto. Dismantling the Queen’s Armored Ant seemed to be no problem with my Mithril sword. I removed the armor and the magic stone and take it home.
(Oh, yeah. Mithril.)
It reminded me of something I mustn’t forget. The Armored Ant’s Nest is sometimes connected to a vein of Mithril ore. Perhaps this Nest is connected to a Mithril ore as well.
(Is this how it’s supposed to be?)
I had never seen a Mithril ore before, so I decided to look for shiny stones that reflect the light of the Mages. I’ll report this to the Butler as well.
(Okay, let’s go back.)
Having done what I had to do, I dragged the Queen Armored Ant’s Armor back the way I came.
I stayed one night in the same village at the foot of the White Dragon Mountains and returned to the city of Grandver the next day.
Before leaving, I put the ore in a jute sack and put it over my shoulder.
Although I left early in the morning, I ended up returning around noon.
I need to apologize to the Butler first.
I wanted to visit the Butler to apologize for staying out without permission, but I was told that he was already upstairs in the dining room. I placed the Queen Armored Ant’s Armor, which was three meters in length and width, in the yard.
“Excuse me.”
I said those words and entered the dining room, where all eyes looked at me from the Baron to the Butler.
“Hey, hey! Why did you just come back!”
The first voice came from Cecile.
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m back.”
Then the Baron, not the Butler, spoke up.
“Allen. You didn’t come back yesterday. Give me an explanation as to why you didn’t come back.”
“Yes, I’ve been attacking the Armored Ant Nest in the White Dragon Mountains for about two months. Yesterday, my efforts bore fruit, and I was finally on the verge of defeating the Queen Armored Ant. Thinking that defeating the Queen Armored Ant here would end the long battle against Armored Ants, I prioritized defeating it and stayed out overnight without notice. I apologize for staying out without notice.”
I explained the situation and apologized profusely, folding my upper body 90 degrees. This is the Rickel style of apology that I often see.
“Hmm? Queen Armored Ant?”
“Yes, Queen Armored Ant. I have defeated it and placed its Armor in the garden.”
After the Baron asked me again, he looked at the Butler. There was no expression on his face. The Butler looked back at the Baron. There was no emotion there as well. Both the Baron and the Butler, having heard what I said, looked at each other and became expressionless.
“I’m sorry, Allen. I just didn’t understand what you meant, can you explain it to me again?”
The Baron turned to Allen and said that he did not understand.
(I was explaining quite politely, but maybe he’s angry? I don’t know, maybe I should explain more politely)
The Baron didn’t understand why, so Allen explained again about what had happened last night.