The Antventure Begins

92. Prelude to the Second War

Tiny and I continue to retreat to the nest as fast as we can. I continuously attempt to draw out and shape Mana, frequently stuffing it up and tangling my legs in our haste. This is so damn difficult! How did that stupid wizard perform so much magic on the back of a horse?

I’m not sure if this will help anyone in any way, but I’m feeling desperate to get stronger. With only a day or two left until impending Armageddon, I must improve at something!

The entire conversation with Formo keeps running through my mind. So much new information to drop on a person. Might just take me ages to comb through all the gems my chatty new friend dropped in our brief exchange.

Tiny and I make it back to the open space of the forest without incident, although I do trip a few times.

Even with my sub-brain assisting to draw the Mana out of my core and direct it, to manage that process, seize the prepared Mana before shaping it into one of the many patterns the skill-inserted knowledge is telling me to use, is exceedingly difficult.

I must practice! Back to the nest, Tiny, with all speed!

The forest is just as chaotic as when we left it a few hours ago. We don’t waste time trying to sneak through now. As we encounter creatures, we simply continue running, leaving a trail of bewildered and confused beasts in our wake.

However, some give chase, bellowing their challenge as they crash through the brush, snapping branches and crushing the undergrowth beneath their feet. If I’d not been distracted with Mana Shaping, I might have anticipated this. There’s no stopping now.

Stop chasing us, you idiots! There are a thousand other monsters you could fight, why don’t you just leave us alone? Can’t you see we aren’t interested? Nobody likes a desperate monster.

It’s no use.

With their blood up, every monster is seeing red and it isn’t long before the one or two creatures tailing along behind us have attracted the attention of others nearby.

Gradually, more beasts emerge from the trees, chasing the tails of the monsters who are chasing Tiny and myself.

Naturally, the increased ruckus only manages to draw yet more monsters out from between the trees and giant mushrooms. Soon, a conga line of bears, chimps, giant rabbits, centipedes and other monsters I’d not yet seen has formed behind us.

Are you serious! How stupid are you, monsters? I don’t have time for this.

When we reach the anthill, there must be more than a hundred monsters behind us, all hurtling forward, ignoring the cavalcade of ravenous beasts behind, solely focused on the target in front of them.

I’m speechless.

Just how dumb can these beasts get?

All I wanted to do was get back quickly!

[Mana Shaping (II) has reached Level 4.]

Not now!

As Tiny and I begin our sprint up the anthill, the guards look at the train of monsters and immediately prepare to fight. One of them ducks into the nest, off to summon reinforcements to deal with the threat.

Dang! You guys couldn’t just run away for once?

I’d been hoping we could just duck into the nest and leave these stupid monsters to battle it out amongst themselves whilst I tried to devise a ‘save the colony from the deadly wave’ plan.

Alas, it is not to be.

Clacking my mandibles in irritation I turn to face the oncoming beast-conga once I reach the top of the hill. Tiny, tired of running and eager for battle, takes his cue from me and gleefully readies himself to fight, electricity already sparking off his body.

After all the effort I went through to avoid this very situation, one run through the forest and here we are. A massive brawl right on top of the anthill!

The full train of monsters suddenly pause as the creature before them stops.

There is a moment of stillness.

The beast immediately in front of me is a heavily mutated Wolf Dragon. Any monster that can survive in the forest these days is going to amass Levels and Biomass at a furious rate, I suppose. In fact, all the monsters out there look pretty darn tough.

The beast paws at the ground, baring its teeth in a menacing snarl, its powerful tail swinging and curling behind it.

Look, you stupid monster, you chased along behind me and brought this enormous trail of villains here to threaten my nest. Do you know who I am? Do you know what I do here?

I guess I only have one question left for you, Wolf …

Do you want to dance?

Perhaps sensing my change in my mood, Tiny hoots in delight and beats his chest. Those fists and that chest are still getting larger by the day. I would estimate Tiny has achieved half of his previous size and he is certainly growing stronger. Judging by his bristling fur and thick, meaty fists, I’m starting to suspect he’s already achieved a mutation advancement or two.

Unable to contain himself anymore, the ape bounds forward, and with one swing of his arm delivers a stunning uppercut to the chin of the Wolf Dragon. The poor beast is shattered by the blow and cartwheels backwards, smacking directly into the monster behind it.

One punch!

I never saw you doing push ups, Tiny. You certainly never went for a run. Where did this strength come from?

Like a starting gun, Tiny’s aggression seems to have been the signal to all the attending combatants to commence the festivities. With a mighty roar, the second major battle to be conducted next to this anthill has begun!

Filled with rage, I begin to channel my Mana into my Infused Mandibles and then, almost as an after-thought, I try to channel Mana from my Gravity Magic Gland instead of my core.

To my surprise, it works. The deep purple energy flows out from my body and along those familiar lines through my head, pouring into my mandibles and dyeing them with the energies colour.

Gravity Mandibles! What the heck do these do?

As the Mana continues to build up, I vaguely feel as if I could reach out with it. As if it wanted to take hold of something. With more Mana flooding into the mandibles every moment, the feeling only grows stronger.

I charge toward the melee and spot my target. An Adult Centipede is slipping to the front lines of the battle from the flank, already raising its tail for a sneaky poison attack.

You never lose your cheap tactics, do you, centipedes?

Without entirely knowing how, I extend the gravitational energy from my mandibles toward the centipede. Like a rope, it twists through the air with blinding speed, almost as if I’d fired a grappling hook.

A strange sensation of latching on reverberates through the coil of Mana and into my mandibles, and again, without really knowing how, I pull on the rope.

With spectacular effect.

As if kicked by an invisible giant, the centipede is yanked into the air towards me! The movement defies all the laws of physics, pulling this far heavier creature without moving a muscle.

I doubt the poor centipede has any clue what is going on, as it is very suddenly airborne, flying in a straight line to the waiting jaws of a particularly menacing ant.