BXBX NOVEL Chapter 187: – Collapse
All at once, the red ants take their sights off of me and turn to face Adofu .
Even though they went through the trouble of hardening the ground beneath my feet to stop me from moving and restructured the ceiling to make it into a weapon, the red ants still straight up abandoned their best chance at killing me .
It’s is likely the effect of the magic skill [[Decoy]] that Adofu just chanted .
It seems to have the power to attract attention to oneself .
Thinking back to when we first met, when I was preoccupied with Adofu, I couldn’t feel the presence of the hero approaching from behind me at all .
I thought that was the effect of the hero’s [[Stealth Step]] and [[Mirage]] skills, but it seems that wasn’t the only thing .
Adofu must have used [[Decoy]] back then beforehand .
”Kuchaa!!”
Adofu tries to fight back, but gets surrounded to an unreasonable degree .
A red ant in front catches Adofu’s large sword in its mouth, stopping his attack .
Another red ant from behind uses the opportunity and bites down into his shoulder .
Adofu is then pulled down on the spot as is .
For Adofu to throw himself into that mountain of red ants, the enemy probably didn’t expect it too .
In order to buy me time so that I could break out of this [[Clay]] that’s restraining me, he put his life on the line as a decoy .
I hurriedly try to escape from the [[Clay]], but I can’t pull my feet free .
Even though I knew that it wouldn’t work, I still hate that I can’t pull my feet out .
When I try lifting my feet with all my strength, the ground gives a slightly gruff creak, but that’s it .
Not even a crack appears .
It seems like the more I hurry, the more time I waste doing nothing . I’m struck with a feeling of powerlessness .
BREAK DAMMIT, BREAK! WHY WON’T YOU BREAK!?
Of course, the red ants’ attack isn’t over with him just being pulled down .
Despite being defenseless, Adofu’s doing a good job at not getting crushed .
Once again, the red ants gather together and begin piling themselves on top of Adofu .
”Guugaa!!”
With all my strength, I stab my fangs into the ground .
I feel the impact reverberate throughout my head and at the same time I feel the ground starting to crack .
Again, I stab my fangs into the ground .
I knock out three of my fangs .
My fangs got pulled out and my mouth is dripping with blood .
However, a crack finally appeared .
I kick out of the ground with all of my strength . The crack enlarges and the ground disintegrates, releasing my feet .
”Kucha?” “K-Kucha!!”
Hearing the sound of me getting out and returning, some of the red ants look back at me .
Jumping up into the air, I bring my head back and swing it forward hard enough to send the ball rabbit flying off of it .
「”Peefuu!!?”
Curling up my body while extending my neck, I open my large mouth and catch the ball rabbit within it .
From there, I switch over to [[Roll]] .
Sorry, ball rabbit .
I had no choice but to use [[Roll]] .
The ball rabbit’s [[Light]] vanishes and the surroundings become completely dark .
However, I’ve got the gist of my surroundings and the red ants’ locations .
Now to go and retrieve Adofu from under the pile of red ants… No, even if I attack, will I be able to topple that mountain of red ants?
Besides, I’m certain that just a few moments ago a number of red ants started to look back at me again .
Even if I jump in and help Adofu, it’s clear that the other red ants will obstruct my efforts .
Well, if these are the stakes, then I guess I’ll just have to take a gamble on this one .
I direct my momentum vertically to the direction I was travelling to Adofu and head straight for the wall .
Because of the darkness, I don’t have a very good grasp of the distance between me and the wall, but I still accelerate with all I’ve got and continue heading straight toward it .
My back slams into the wall .
It feels like my body is being crushed .
With a supreme thud, the sound reverberates and the surrounding passageway shakes .
I wonder if the thud caused the red ants’ struggle to stop?
”…Kucha?”
From within the darkness of the nest, a lone red ant’s cry echoes throughout it .
The bustling sound of the red ants that had been going on up until a moment ago suddenly stops, making the singular cry of the red ant seem that much louder .
Then, a part of the ceiling in the passageway breaks away and falls down .
Although it’s only a part of the ceiling, it’s a solid chunk of sand made up of the red ant’s hardened clay .
Depending on where it lands, it has the potential to deal a lot of damage .
As the ceiling collapses, lumps of dirt and stone also fall .
”Kucha!!” “Kuchaa!!” ”Kuchaa!!”
Understanding what the sound means, the red ants disperse .
For now, I’m glad that it’s went well .
Because the red ants had altered the walls to hide in them, the ceiling’s support for the passageway had become unstable .
Furthermore, because a part of the ceiling had been reshaped into a spike, there’s now a structural weakness .
On top of that, because I added a big shock there, the warped section had to bear even more weight, weakening the supports and causing the ceiling to begin collapsing .
A boulder falls from overhead and grazes my shoulder .
That was dangerous, it’s could’ve done some serious damage if it hit me .
For now, I want some light .
I spit out the ball rabbit with a *betugh* and catch it on my head .
The ball rabbit, now soaked in my saliva, quickly sticks to my head .
…Although it seems like it wants to give its harsh opinion, it instead stays silent and uses [[Light]] .
I crouch, bend down, and run through the passageway .
I head toward Adofu while avoiding both the falling debris and the red ants trying to escape .
The red ants seem to be trying to escape from here, but one of the red ants still has its sights set on me and throws themself at me .
”Kuchaa!!”
I swing my claws around and gouge the red ant .
Whether it was because it crashed into a falling object, got weakened by poison, or had taken damage during battle, the red ant stopped moving after only that single blow .
[Obtained 432 Experience Points . ]
[Title Skill [[Walking Egg: Lv–]] activated, 432 bonus points obtained . ]
[Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 64 to 65 . ]
My level went up again .
My level sure does rise quickly, but then I think about all the danger I had to put myself through .
Well even If I were to go back in time I would do the same .
Adofu’s limp, bloodied body falls to the ground .
The red ants that had gathered around him already dispersed after being surprised by the collapse .
Adofu’s mouth moves, giving me relief that he’s still alive .
But, that relief is momentary .
A large chunk of clay is falling down toward Adofu .
I throw myself toward Adofu and defend against the falling chunk of earth with my back .
The chunk of clay crumbles as it impacts my back .
I somehow managed to make it in time .
I lower my head, stick out my tongue, and retrieve Adofu into my mouth .
After that, I start to run away together with the red ants .
The areas around the passageway where the red ants tampered with the walls will collapse as is .
I have to escape to somewhere safe .