anwhile, deep within a dark, underground tunnel, Jared’s group was about to face sothing far worse than they expected.
And they weren’t the only ones.
Ethan’s heart sank.
’These are definitely beasts.’
He was expecting as much, but there was no mistaking it now.
{Ant Troop Status}
{Race: Earthshard Ant}
Growth Stage: Mature
Beast Rank: D
Strength: 35
Speed: 28
Stamina: 30
MP: 12/12}
It was exactly like the Tower, except this ti his life felt much more on the line without the possibility of resetting any damage sustained.
"Shit," one of the D Ranks muttered.
"They’re everywhere!"
"Form up!" Jared barked.
The ants surged forward, a wave of black bodies with claws scraping and mandibles snapping.
Ethan observed closely.
He was calm and focused, not afraid, at least not yet.
’Who needs Beast Call? These things co to you anyway...’
His eyes stayed locked on their group leader, Jared, who stepped forward without hesitation. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want to see the C Rank in action.
"Co on then!" the giant man yelled as he banged on his giant shield.
The first ant lunged.
Clang!
It slamd into his shield; the impact echoed through the tunnel.
Jared didn’t move and wasn’t knocked back even an inch. Instead, a ripple of force suddenly burst outward.
The ant was thrown back violently, its own montum turned against it.
"Iron Rebound!"
The reflected force crushed part of its exoskeleton as it screeched in pain.
"Attack it now!" Jared instructed.
The two D Ranks followed up imdiately.
The blade user struck with a compressed burst of air that exploded on impact, cracking through the shell. Then the axe wielder moved next, her weapon glowing faintly before slamming down with amplified force.
Just like that, the Ant Troop was eliminated.
It was quite impressive, but just as quickly as one fell, another burst forward.
Then another.
And another.
The giant insect beasts felt endless, but Jared and the D Ranks were holding their ground, fighting back efficiently.
Ethan watched from behind, analysing.
’They’re handling it quite well.’
But his expression didn’t ease.
If anything, it darkened and the bad feeling he had only continued to grow.
’This won’t work.’
His gaze flicked across the swarm that was still growing, with there being too many beasts to count. Even if they were all E Rank, this was going to be very tough.
That’s when it hit him.
Ultimately, most beasts, especially at lower ranks, were still just mutated animals with increased abilities.
And if there’s one thing he knew about ants.
’Where there are a few of them...’
His grip tightened.
’There are hundreds of those fuckers.’
"Jared," Ethan called out, but he couldn’t hear him amid the intense combat.
More and more ants poured in from every direction, cracks forming throughout the tunnel as if they were signalled here. It almost felt like a trap, and that they had been waiting for them to get deep enough into the tunnel to attack them.
But Ethan could dwell on the system’s twisted gas another ti.
He was too busy thinking about how they were going to face this living tide.
"It’s too much!" one of the D Ranks shouted.
"It’s like they’re multiplying!" the other also panicked.
The swarm surged, overwhelming and unending.
Despite that, Jared stood his ground, and his presence alone helped the D Ranks to calm down, as the giant man crushed another beast with his shield.
’He’s pretty strong for a C Rank. Realistically, he’s more of a C Rank.’
But even with that in mind, Ethan still wasn’t hopeful, and things were only going to get worse...
The ground suddenly trembled violently.
Imdiately, the ants paused, then they backed away slightly.
There was an awkward silence that baffled Jared and his group, but it all made sense when the swarm of ants parted for sothing to erge.
It moved slowly and more deliberately, a towering ant larger than the rest. Its exoskeleton was darker and thicker, and its mandibles were massive. From its presence alone, it was clearly more powerful.
But Ethan could see exactly how much so.
{Ant Commander Status}
{Race: Earthshard Ant
Growth Stage: Mature
Beast Rank: C
Strength: 43
Speed: 35
Stamina: 41
MP: 25/25}
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
"You’ve got to be kidding ."
The Commander then let out a sharp, piercing screech and the swarm responded instantly. If it wasn’t difficult enough to handle them, they were now more aggressive and coordinated.
"Hold the line!" Jared roared.
But even with his durability and Title, he was starting to get pushed back. Not to ntion the struggling D Ranks, whose attacks now barely slowed the tide of beasts.
The tunnel was filling with beasts fast.
Much faster than they could ever hope of killing.
"Jared!" one of them shouted.
"We can’t-!"
"It’s fight or die! Do not falter now!"
All Jared could do was continue and keep up a strong front, but as he fought, his eyes were glued onto the Ant Commander.
It had been observing them, but it seed like it had seen enough.
’Here it cos.’
The giant beast’s movents were slow and deliberate as it now took the frontline and headed straight for their group. Alongside him, the Ant Troops also surged forward.
And that was the mont everything began to fall apart...
-
A skilled C Rank Titled could take on a C Rank Beast.
That was the general rule.
But there were always nuances, and not all C Ranks were equal.
So stood at the very peak, which people casually referred to as C Rank. Veterans. These were the Titled who had honed their abilities to the limit. Inversely, others barely qualified and were more C- Rank.
The sa applied across all ranks.
Ethan was a perfect example.
On paper, he was an E Rank, but he was really a D Rank since he commanded three D Rank beasts.
That alone made him an anomaly.
So what did that an for their current situation?
Ethan’s gaze flicked back to the Ant Commander.
The beast alone was giant and powerful; its status spoke for itself. More dangerous was the fact that it led such a giant beast swarm.
Jared might have been able to win in a one-on-one encounter. Hell, even Ethan might have been able to figure out a way to. After all, everything could be killed.
But this wasn’t a duel.
This was a massacre waiting to happen, and Ethan didn’t feel like sticking around for it...
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