Volume 4 Chapter 4 The One Writhing Underground
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Along the way, we successfully discovered and eliminated 5 or 6 nests of Iron Nails and Army Ants.
Dee’s combat power stood out remarkably.
This was evident when she delivered a straight punch to an Army Ant, causing it to explode immediately.
Additionally, she demonstrated incredible strength by bending the Iron Nail’s claws with her hands.
When I asked Dee about her high combat power, she explained that it was due to her [Fighting Spirit Technique], but Lina, an expert on jobs and skills, appeared puzzled.
”Does the [Fist Fighter] class’s [Fighting Spirit Technique] really have such a deadly attack power? Could it be personal variation…?”
”Lina, I obtained this [Fighting Spirit Technique] through training with my father. It’s a bit different from the standard-level [Fist Fighter].”
”I see… so it’s a matter of personal differences. I’ve learned a lot thanks to Dee.”
”Lina, let’s not dwell on Dee too much. The [Fist Fighter] job turns oneself into a weapon. There are various factors at play.”
”Lord Kent, Lady Carly. We have a signal from Manon and the others.”
Aurelia reported the signal from Manon, who was ahead of the group.
According to reports, there are about ten monsters in a fairly large square.
We turn off the lights and approach.
After wiping out the army ants that had taken up residence in the square, we begin to explore the square.
”It’s a pretty big square. What is it?”
As I was pondering the size of the square, Manon, who was searching further inside, called out to me.
”Sir Kent, what a disaster-nya! There’s a master monster here-nya! This is a breeding ground for army ants-nya!”
”No way! There’s a Queen Ant! Did the last big attack attract the master monster… B class… Can we do it…”
It seems Carly is hesitant about the hunt after hearing about the main monster.
A Rank B monster is usually strong enough that it takes at least 2 or 3 parties to tackle it.
Even though we’re strong, whether we can win is still a questionable line.
”Shall we retreat for now? Should we gather Lady Miriallia and the other members for the hunt?”
”But the eggs are hatching fast. It seems our previous success inspired them.”
From the white eggs laid by the queen ant, army ants are hatching rapidly.
I estimate there are nearly tens of thousands of them.
If we pull back now, all these eggs will hatch and retaking the area will become impossible.
”If we retreat, it’s uncertain if we can reach it again. Even now, hundreds are about to hatch. If that happens, Estfort will become their home…”
”Kent… I believe we should carry out the hunt with our current forces. We can win now.”
I decided to proceed with the hunt to prevent Estfort from becoming an ant nest.
I want to call for reinforcements if possible, but losing more combat personnel would be tough, so I decided to retreat only if we have serious injuries.
”Alright, let’s take down the queen ant! Lina, don’t use fire magic since it consumes air! Carly, cast support magic on everyone! The other members will fend off the approaching army ants while focusing attacks on the queen ant!”
””””Yes””””
When I make a declaration, Lina and Carly will cast multiple Support Magic spells to increase my defense and attack power.
The members were shining with 7 colors of light.
”Battle begins!”
I readied my Elitzina and prepared to charge in.
Lina and Carly launch the preemptive Beginner-level combination magic ‘Icicle Lance’.
A large number of ice spears emerge from the ground where the eggs are laid, freezing any eggs they come into contact with.
The queen ant revealed her anger at her frozen offspring and approached, dragging her massive body from the back of the square.
I saw the queen ant illuminated by the light from up close.
It was a grotesque sight that filled me with dread.
With a ceiling nearly ten meters high, she had 6 large claws and a massive, translucent abdomen swollen with unfertilized eggs.
Additionally, her sharp ovipositor was rapidly laying eggs on the ground.
The queen ant seemed to be searching for our location with her large antennae and compound eyes.
As her antennae moved incessantly and her compound eyes glowed red, her claws lunged at Aurelia nearby.
”Incoming attack!”
Aurelia dodged the queen ant’s claw and slashed at its leg.
With a sharp clang, Aurelia’s blade was deflected.
”No way, there are things my sword cannot cut──”
”Aurelia, don’t space out!”
Sensing Aurelia’s shock at her inability to cut, the queen ant attacked with another claw.
Aurelia was slow to notice the incoming attack and almost got hit by the claw.
At that moment, Dee caught the attacking claw with her bare hands.
”Dee, I’m sorry. You saved me.”
”It’s too early to thank me. The monster is still alive.”
The Queen Ant, with one of her legs pinned down, moved her large jaws and spat out mucus toward Dee.
Dee dodged it easily, but the ground covered with the mucus started smoking and melted over a wide area.
”Acid. That mucus is a pretty strong acid.”
”If she had to eat me like that, it would melt right down to my bones-nya”
To protect myself from the strong acid, I use [Hawk’s Eye] and [Concentration] to aim Elitzina at the Queen Ant’s jaws.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullet bounces off the hard skin, making a clanging noise.
The skin of the queen ant seems to be incredibly hard.
Compared to Silver Tiger, it was slow, but its stiffness was extremely troublesome.
”It’s tough! Even Aurelia’s sword, boosted with Support Magic, can’t cut through this hard monster… Ggh!”
Distracted by her leg in front of me, I didn’t notice the claw that was dropped down from above onto my back.
A massive impact jolted through my back.
I involuntarily gasped for air.
Cough, cough.
It was quite bad, but the Armor of Darkness seemed to have blocked the claw.
However, a large dent had formed in the back of the armor.
Looks like, amidst the chaos, I might have to pay for this damage.
I still hadn’t returned it yet…
”Kent…! You seem okay. Don’t let your guard down; the monster attacks from all directions. Lena and I can handle the eggs, so aim for the stomach; that’s the only soft spot!”
The stomach is soft, but only Bludgeoning Weapons seem effective against the tough parts.
Maybe I can get underneath and stab up with a spear…
”Everyone, did you hear? The stomach is its weak point! Focus your attacks there!”
Everyone raised their hands in response.
Meanwhile, the Queen Ant’s claws targeted Aurelia, Dee, Ines, and Feria.
They all tried to dodge the attacks and strike at the stomach, but couldn’t break through the onslaught of strong acid and claws.
At that moment, Manon’s Thunder Bow arrow paralyzed the Queen Ant.
When Beatrice, who had been hiding her presence and appearance with Stealth Spear, sensed the Queen Ant’s numbness, she appeared directly under her abdomen and thrust up with Stealth Spear.
Thrust! A spear is thrust into the translucent abdomen.
Then, a thick mucus started leaking out and splashed on Beatrice.
”Ugh, it’s sticky. I want to take a bath”
Beatrice was half crying as she pierced the abdomens with the spear.
The Queen Ant frantically swings her claws, but everyone sees through her and avoids her.
Ines, Feria also dives into the abdomen and starts tearing it apart.
White eggs were falling to the ground from the queen ant’s torn abdomen.
I also ran toward the queen ant and, in full auto, pulled the trigger on Elitzina aiming for its abdomen.
Sticky liquid rained down on my face, but I fired every bullet I had.
”It’s gooey and slimy!”
Feria was swinging her axe, half in tears.
This slime is definitely disgusting…
As the queen ant recovered from paralysis, she lifted her abdomen and shot out a sharp ovipositor toward Ines.
”Ines! The stinger’s coming!”
”Huh?”
Thud!
The ovipositor pierced through Ines’s abdomen.
”Ines!”
Suddenly, Ines stood frozen in shock from the injury.
The queen ant withdrew her ovipositor from Ines and began attacking us at ground level with her claws.
Ines collapsed, holding her penetrated abdomen.
”Aurelia, Feria, Dee, I’m sorry, but keep attacking. I’m going to get Ines to safety for treatment.”
”Please hurry and help Ines!”
”Lord Kent, hurry!”
I rushed to Ines.
The ovipositor exceeded the defensive power of the maid suit and pierced a hole in Ines’ abdomen.
A large amount of blood was flowing from her abdomen, but fortunately there seemed to be no damage to her vital organs.
But it was painful for me to see Ines’s face as she endured the pain.
”S-Sir Kent… I’m sorry… I was careless… cough, cough”
”Don’t talk. Stop the bleeding. Gather magic elements! Become healing and heal the wounds! ‘Heal’!”
The hole that was pierced is filled with flesh from the inside.
Once the bleeding had stopped, I stopped chanting, picked up Ines and returned to the hallway.
I then drop Ines off in front of the square entrance, and resume the treatment.
”Gather magic elements! Become healing and heal the wounds! ‘Heal’!”
The hole had completely closed, but Ines’ face was pale, having lost a considerable amount of blood.
”Ines, are you okay?”
”Y-Yes, I can still fight… It’s okay…”
”You’re losing blood, so you can’t move fast! Ines, secure this place! I’ll leave it to you! If the enemy comes from the passage, ask Lina and Carly for support! That’s an order.”
Although magic healed her wounds, I determined it was impossible to let Ines fight due to her blood loss, so I decided to have her secure our retreat.
”…Understood. I will secure our retreat…Sir Kent…I’m sorry.”
”Don’t apologize. We’re in battle. We’ll have a debrief when we return.”
I entrusted the retreat to Ines and returned to the Queen Ant.
”I’m sorry for the delay. Ines is okay!”
”That’s good to hear. Still, this one is quite resilient.”
The Queen Ant’s movements were definitely slowing down, but she was still very much alive.
At that moment, Carly joined us after finishing the hatchery sweep.
”Lord Kent. Lina has exhausted her magic, so she joined Ines. I also have very little magic left.”
”I’ve used quite a bit for Ines’s recovery… I’m attacking her abdomen, but she’s still tough.”
”──Lord Kent, I will slice her abdomen. Please let me.”
”Can you do it, Aurelia?”
”I can do it, especially since I have a new technique. I will definitely cut it with the Sword of Lion King you’ve granted me.”
”Understood. Other members, support Aurelia. Draw the Queen Ant’s attention away from her.”
The members who heard my instructions stopped attacking the abdomen and started attacking each of the legs.
The Queen Ant swung her legs down as if to brush away the swarm of us.
The head, equipped with compound eyes, was shaking back and forth and side to side, as if unable to focus on a target.
Aurelia seized the moment and cast Body Enhancement Magic, then ran towards the Queen Ant’s abdomen.
Then, make a big jump and activate the battle technique.
”Sky-Earth Lightning Slash!”
Bind magic is released from the two of her 4 hands that are not holding swords, binding the Queen Ant, and the tips of the two swords, the Sword of Lion King and the Sword of the Diamond King, are covered in golden light and leave afterimages like lightning.
When Aurelia landed on the ground, black particles spurted out from the seam between the queen ant’s thorax and abdomen.
Eventually, the abdomen succumbed to gravity and fell heavily to the ground.
The queen ant, whose abdomen was severed, lost balance and rolled onto the ground.
”Aurelia! Great job! Now let’s deliver the finishing blow!”
”””Yes”””
As Carly froze the legs with ‘Ice Mist’, Feria shattered them with a single blow of her axe.
”I should have frozen it… I could have solidified it with my Ice Bullet…”
”Kent… with your level of magic power, you won’t be able to freeze a B-class monster.”
”So it’s something only Carly can do…”
Indeed, the disparity in magic power between us is like night and day.
Even if I cast Advanced-level magic, it could easily be overpowered by Beginner-level magic.
That’s how immense Carly’s magic power is.
Leaving the magic to Carly, I switched to an ammunition case loaded with armor-piercing rounds, replacing Elitzina’s normal projectiles.
”I’ll target the head with armor-piercing rounds! Everyone, break the frozen legs that Carly created!”
”Understood!”
After giving the orders, I began firing armor-piercing rounds into the queen ant’s head.
The bullet that was being deflected makes a hole in the Queen Ant’s head.
The Queen Ant opened her jaws wide and seemed to scream.
”Kent, leave the final decision to me.”
”Dee?”
Dee aimed her punch at the Queen Ant’s head.
”Take my hard fist!”
Boooong!
When Dee’s fist hits the Queen Ant’s head, a dull bell-like sound echoes through the square.
Then, the queen ant stopped moving her remaining legs, her tough skin rolled up, her whole body swelled up, and finally she scattered.
As the Queen Ant’s flesh rained down on him, Dee raised her fist in joy at her victory.
”Wow, that’s amazing. If I take Dee’s fist head on I’ll die…”
”I see, I’m just a weak and beautiful girl…”
That’s a lie.
You’re not weak.
Absolutely… but I’ll admit that she’s a beautiful girl!
”Dee-Dee, you’re strong. You punched the Queen Ant to death!”
”If it’s Dee, even a B-Class could be beaten to death… Grr!”
We managed to defeat the Queen Ant.
With this, I should be able to prevent my territory from becoming an ant nest.
Afterward, when I returned to the mansion and reported the events to Milly and Lila, a search party was quickly formed to thoroughly search for the ant nest.
Then, after confirming everything was eliminated, I worked on backfilling at the southern exit using the Creation of the Universe.
This caused a delay of about 5 days in stone extraction, but it didn’t affect the overall progress.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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