I confront the enemy Red Ants.
They number around twenty, but that amount makes no difference to me.
Can I push through them all at once? 

“Kutchatchatcha!” 

An unpleasant cry echoes from the depths of the passageway.
A large Red Ant appears. And, it’s leading a lot of Red Ants behind it.
Reinforcements again? This nest has more Red Ants than the previous nest.
This isn’t getting any easier.

…… That big Red Ant, is it the captain?
Although I don’t understand Red Ant’s facial expressions much, it looks composed.
I can’t count how many Red Ants are behind it due to the rows of enemy reinforcements continuing around the corner, but I think it’s somewhere around thirty. 

I shoot〖Wind Slash〗to an approaching enemy Red Ant.
Instead of aiming directly, I hit the ground.
By aiming the blast wave indirectly at their feet, I can limit their mobility.

Unlike outside, I don’t have to worry much about losing sight of the enemy in this narrow passage.
Even If the enemy spreads out, three〖Wind Slash〗is enough to cover the whole width of the passage.

The Red Ants’〖Clay Gun〗is their specialty, but the blasts from〖Wind Slash〗can deflect it.
If this is the case, I will have the upper hand.
I can one-sidedly shave off the enemy’s HP.

Even so, my MP is running severely low.
Even if my max MPamount increases from level up, it’s meaningless if the MP itself doesn’t recover.
Since I have〖Automatic HP Recovery〗, should I go for the defensive and take their attacks until my MP recovers? 

“Kuccha!” “Kuccha~a!” 

The ally Red Ants have caught up to me and are shooting〖Clay Gun〗at the enemy.
It was a good enough cover fire.
As a whole group, the enemy Red Ants are exhausting their strength.
Every time an enemy is beaten,〖God’s Voice〗keeps telling me I’ve gained experience points or I leveled up. 

“Kuccha~a~a!” 

The enemy Red Ants realize that they were getting pushed back, so they forcefully attempt to draw closer.
But, if they push themselves, they’ll suffer even greater losses.
Though they’re getting closer, but so many of them are falling victim to the〖Clay Gun〗behind me.

Just when I thought the tide was turning to our favor, more reinforcements emerge from the passage again.
They should be running short on numbers already, yet they still want to resist? 

“Kuccha!” 

One of the enemy Red Ants jumped at me.
Since it was just one ant, I dealt with it by knocking it off with just one claw swing, but it will not be over that easily.
Then, every enemy Red Ant kept throwing themselves at me. 

Even though I have the advantage in the fight, it did not make up for the difference in numbers.
I don’t have much MP left. If they get past me and take out the ally Red Ants behind me, the tables will turn against us. 

I spread myself out and deal with the enemies from the right.
I’ll leave the ones on the left to Partner. I feel uneasy about it though. Even if I can’t finish them off myself, the Red Ants behind me can deal the finishing blow with their support fire.
The fight nearly lasted ten minutes. 

It was difficult, but thanks to the ally Red Ants who received little damage, they provided really good support to Partner and we didn’t suffer a fatal damage.
The ally Red Ant captain fought with me in the frontlines, but when it’s leg was damaged by an attack, it was dragged by its allies back into the passageway to recover.
Since it was a long-driven battle, I sometimes lost concentration and an enemy Red Ant kept taking that chance to attack me from a blind spot.
With great timing, ball rabbit alerted me of the threat with〖Mind Speak〗.
The enemy Red Ants are falling one after another, and the rest are gathering together in one place. 

“Kutchatcha… … … … Kuccha?” 

It’s that big Red Ant making the sound.
I was expecting another attack, but they stopped moving.
The ones from behind stepped back a little.
It was clear that, until now, the Red Ants’ intentions were to carry out suicidal attacks.

The big Red Ant looks stunned.
That’s supposed to be the captain, right?
My Red Ant captain was fighting inn the frontlines, though…… well, their fighting methods seem to differ depending on the Red Ant in charge.

There are many kinds of leaders, huh.
Those that take the lead in the front, and those who give instructions from behind, both are good leader characteristics, right?
Not that I know much. 

“Kuccha~a~a~a!” 

The enemy Red Ant captain turns around and attempts to run away.
I jumped on his back.
Partner bumped her head into the ceiling, but it’s okay. [T.N: lol]
I impale it with a claw and flip it, then slammed it on the ground. 

【Obtained 135 Experience Points.】
【〖The Walking Egg〗skill gives you an additional 135 Experience Points.】
【The Lv. of〖Ouroboros Dragon〗went up from Lv. 54→55.】

…… That Red Ant captain didn’t give much experience points.
Guess it wasn’t a very good leader. 

【Acquired〖Death: Lv1〗skill.】

Hey…… doesn’t this skill sound pretty bad?
I’ll check it out with〖God’s Voice〗.
It’s been a while since I last examined my own skills. 

【Normal skill〖Death: Lv1〗】
【A form of dark magic that reaps the life out of its target.】
【Powerful, but often fails. MP consumption is also heavy. The success rate changes depending on the difference of magic power between the user and the target.】

Hey, now.
I thought this evolution was good at healing magic.
This is literally a death spell.
Probably something left behind by my previous evil dragon evolution. Moreover, this is useless in regards to what is essential for recovery skills.

I’m going to learn more recovery skills from now on, right?
Or rather, I was the one who learned〖Death〗, right?
If Partner learned it, I would be terrified.
It would be like a boss AI in a game that keeps using the instant death spell and wasting all of its MP.

At the moment, none of my ally Red Ants have fallen yet.
Though there are some that got their lower bodies crushed by the enemies’〖Clay Gun〗, but my〖High Rest〗saved them in time before it became fatal.
They’re still in poor shape though, but when their MP recovers, they can heal themselves with〖Self Regeneration〗.

The enemy Red Ants have been continuously sending reinforcements, but then, they suddenly stopped.
So, we’re finally in the enemy’s base. There’s no way their information hasn’t reached to others.
I could be wrong. They may have finally run out of reinforcements.
My level has risen considerably high now.
All that’s left now is to take down the enemy Queen Ant.