Chapter 181: For The Moment
As I run, the two red ants continue chasing after me . I assume that they also know that they don’t have a chance of winning, yet they don’t let up . Ant societies seem much more tougher than human societies . Because of that, the way I imagine it, there’s nothing unusual about being told to “go die in a suicide attack” .
Well, if they do start running away, I’d just go on the offensive next . Currently, I’m retreating through the air because I want to maintain a favorable distance, although I don’t actually want to run away . If they try to escape, then I will chase and completely annihilate them with [[Kamaitachi]] . Maybe the red ants understand that, and that’s why they’re still chasing me .
For these guys, I guess it’s not possible for them to disperse and escape . Eventually, they’ll just return to their nest and meet up there
I decelerate to provoke the red ants and continue retreating . Now that they can barely use [[Clay Gun]] to shoot at me anymore, they probably want to take this battle into close combat . Therefore, I decelerate . From the red ants’ perspective, this must look like the last good opportunity they’ll have .
The red ants take the bait and speed up . I bet they’re thinking of pouncing on me now that I’ve left an opening by slowing down .
I decelerate even further and continue to shorten the distance between me and the red ants . They won’t be able to avoid it at this range . I’ll kill one of them with a single shot of [[Kamaitachi]] .
I shoot a single [[Kamaitachi]] towards the red ant that’s closest to me .
“Kuchaaa!”
The red ant, which is hurriedly running towards me, gets struck by the sharp wind attack head-on . Its severed legs scatter and the red ant stops moving . Because of inertia, the red ant’s body continues to hurtle forward and literally grinds to a halt on its stomach .
[Obtained 400 Experience Points] [Title Skill [[Walking Egg Lv -]] activated, 400 bonus points obtained . ] [Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 60 to 61 . ]
The last remaining ant comes diving towards me . Now it’s one-on-one; I can hardly lose with a single red ant as my opponent .
I twist my body away, avoiding its bite attack . The red ant’s defenseless head is presented right in front of me . Ooh, don’t mind if I do .
I extend my arm out as far as it will go, and perform a large swing . Riding on the angular momentum of my arm, my claws hit the red ant directly in the neck . With a slapping sound, the red ant’s head flies .
[Obtained 416 Experience Points . ] [Title Skill [[Walking Egg: Lv -]] activated, 416 bonus points obtained . ] [Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 61 to 62 . ]
With a plop, the red ant’s head falls to the ground behind me . After the sound passes, the ant’s body collapses to the sand beneath it .
[Level of Normal Skill [[Neck Breaker]] has increased from 3 to 4 . ]
Alright, my skill level also increased .
With this, all four of them are dead . Finally level 62, huh? At this rate, it’s going to take about 20 more ants until I’m able to evolve .
…When I evolve, I wonder if I’ll still be able to fit in the ants’ nest . I don’t know to what extent my size will change, but couldn’t it become too cramped for my physique? Geez, to think I overlooked this . Well, is this alright? No, how would it be?
…Just in case, I’ll prepare for the worst . I’ll absolutely prevent myself from evolving inside of the ants’ nest . If I make one wrong move, I may end up having no choice but to spend the rest of my life in there .
I think I will be fine since there’s probably a selection system in place for my next evolution… But even so, I don’t want to have to be restricted to choosing an evolution based on size and end up as something weak and pitiful . Thinking about this isn’t going to help until I can actually take a look at the evolution list, though .
Now then, time to go get the red ant that is pinned underneath the Big Scissor . This time, I’m going with the centipede dumplings as my main strategy, rather than just raising my level .
I follow the path I took while fleeing, now using [[Roll]] . It’s going to save me a lot of trouble if it’s still pinned .
Once the Big Scissor comes into view, I cancel [[Roll]] . Beneath the Big Scissor is the red ant, flailing it’s legs .
“Kuchaa! Kuchaaa!”
That’s good . It hasn’t been able to free itself yet . It chitters energetically .
I circle around behind it and quickly lift up the Big Scissor .
“Kuchi…”
Relieved, the red ant looks back at me .
“Gwaa”
Too bad for you . It’s not a fellow red ant . It’s me .
“Kuchaaa!?”
The red ant retreats back, as if frightened . I follow the movements of the red ant, making sure to keep my distance . I strike at it lightly .
“Guchii!?”
Using my wings, I fly around so I’m behind the red ant . Grabbing onto its back, I grind it against the ground while continuing to use [[Flight]] .
“Guchichichichichichichichichaa!”
It’s cruel, but it’s has to be done . Ants spread pheromones to “remember” the path they took . If I fly while carrying it, it’s possible that it may not know how to return to its nest . If I grind it against the ground like this, then the scent should remain .
Because of the low altitude and the support from below, the burden on my wings is small . I continue dragging the red ant as is and return to the pile of centipede dumplings . I hurl the red ant into the hollowed out carapace of the large centipede . Leaving it as it is, I land and use [[Roll]] to retreat . I stop midway and observe the red ant’s movements from a distance .
After the red ant gets up, it repeatedly moves its legs and twists its body . It seems that it’s checking to make sure that its body can move normally . It was dragged quite a considerable distance . Honestly, it’s a miracle that it didn’t lose any of its legs .
After that, the red ant approaches the centipede dumplings . Pressing its antennae against them, it tilts its head .
What, is it no good? No, it seems to be good . It might unexpectedly find them edible . I would not want to bite into them again, but there are people who are into things like that . Take it, just take it please . I’m relying on you alone .
The red ant holds the centipede dumpling in its mouth, quickly lifting its head up . Yes, victory .
The red ant goes back the way it came . For now, I feel relieved . The strategy to get them to carry the dumplings back is a success .
[Level of Title Skill [[Mean King]] has increased from 4 to 5 . ]
…Right as I’m close to evolving, I get something unpleasant . Well, I was pretty much prepared for this . I’ll have to offset it by increasing the level of [[Rest]] later .