Lila stared, her jaw slightly agape, after witnessing Kael's marksmanship. "So, you let fight her on purpose?"
Kael chuckled. "Think of it as top-tier practice. You can't pay for a sparring partner that good."
Lila was speechless for a mont, but she quickly saw his point. She really did need more experience, especially against powerful, agile opponents like Nyria. A silent vow ford in her mind.
Next ti, I'm taking her down alone.
Soon, they arrived at the mouth of a large cavern. A constant stream of ants marched in and out—a bustling, orderly tropolis of insects. Besides the Leafcutter and Carrion Ants they'd seen before, there were dozens of other species. So were hauling resources, others were butchering carcasses, each performing its duty with disciplined efficiency.
They had found the nest.
Without a word, they charged in, Lila in the front and Kael right behind her. The ants outside were mostly basic mobs, their only strength being their sheer numbers.
[Soldier Ant]: Level 30
HP: 120,000
...
[Worker Ant]: Level 32
HP: 150,000
...
[Carrion Ant]
...
For an average party, clearing this swarm would be a slow, thodical grind. For Kael and Lila, it was a slaughter. They mowed the ants down in droves and pushed into the nest.
Inside was a labyrinth of twisting tunnels and countless branching paths. It wasn't a true maze, however; there was a clear main passage with smaller offshoots. Exploring the entire network would likely take over ten hours. They had no ti for that. They stuck to the main path, carving a direct route toward the center of the nest.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the core of the hive: [The Ant Queen's Chamber].
Unlike the rest of the nest, this massive cavern was relatively empty. Small squads of ants stood guard in front of several alcoves that ringed the chamber, each one apparently used as a food pantry. One alcove was particularly distinct, situated directly behind the Ant Queen, its contents hidden from their view. A few Worker Ants and their Foren shuttled food from the pantries to the enormous queen.
A quick headcount revealed ten mini-boss-level ants and three major bosses.
The [Ant Queen] herself was non-aggressive.
[Ant Queen]: Level 35
HP: 100,000,000
Physical Attack: 0
Magical Attack: 0
Physical Defense: 5,200
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Magical Defense: 5,200
...
Of course, they didn't dare underestimate her. A non-combat boss always ant powerful support and summoning abilities. Flanking the Queen were an [Ant King] and an [Ant Princess].
[Ant King]: Level 35
HP: 50,000,000
Physical Attack: 15,500
Physical Defense: 12,000
...
[Ant Princess]: Level 35
HP: 40,000,000
Physical Attack: 12,000
Magical Attack: 15,500
Physical Defense: 8,500
...
The remaining mini-bosses—Leafcutter Chieftains, Sapper Chiefs, and the like—stood guard in the far corners. The chamber was so vast that the groups were spread out, making it possible to pick them off one by one.
After a brief discussion, Kael and Lila decided to start on the right, clearing out the weaker mobs first.
As they began, Kael received a ssage from Draco. "Nyria's regrouped. Got about 200 people with her. They just entered the nest."
"Got it," Kael replied, closing the ssage window. He knew they wouldn't give up so easily, but there was no ti to worry about that now.
He and Lila quickly dispatched the remaining mini-bosses, leaving only the royal trio. Kael’s original plan was to pull the King and Princess separately, but with ti running out, they had to take them all on at once.
Before engaging, Kael gave Lila specific instructions. "Nyria's crew is on their way. I'm popping [Apollo's Descent] to handle these three myself. I'm giving you control of one of my clones. Your job is to take it and hold the entrance to this chamber. Stall them for as long as you can. The second you see a boss death notification, get back in here."
Lila nodded firmly. "Understood."
Golden light began to emanate from Kael's body, growing brighter and brighter until Lila had to shield her eyes. When the light subsided, Kael was transford. He activated his cloning ability, and four radiant, golden versions of "Dawnbreaker" appeared. He transferred control of one to Lila, then charged straight at the bosses.
Lila looked at the glowing clone beside her with a sense of awe. A single one of these could probably wipe out an entire city!
Shaking off her amazent, she turned and sprinted back towards the entrance with her new, temporary powerhouse.
Kael was on a tight ten-minute tir.
[Apollo's Descent]: All primary stats—HP, Strength, Agility, Attack, Defense, Attack Speed, Movent Speed—increased by 100%. Attack range 50 yards. All attacks trigger [Arrow of Dawn]. Duration: 10 minutes.
His stats skyrocketed. His health pool surged to 260,000, his defense to 32,000, and his base auto-attack damage reached a staggering 140,000. His attack range was now 100 yards.
He ignored the King and Princess, positioning himself at max range from the [Ant Queen] and opening fire.
-140K (Main body auto-attack)
-100K (Clone auto-attack)
-420K (Main body critical hit)
-290K (Clone critical hit)
...
The Ant King and Princess imdiately reacted, casting shields and defensive buffs on their Queen. But against the armor-piercing property of [Arrow of Dawn], it was useless. Between his main body and his two remaining clones, Kael was dishing out 600,000 to 700,000 damage per volley. With his transford attack speed, he was firing nearly three volleys a second.
The Queen was losing around two million health every second. Her hundred-million HP bar would be gone in under a minute.
But a final boss never goes down without a fight.
When her health hit 90 million, she began to spawn eggs frantically. At first, she laid them in huge numbers, hatching swarms of regular ants. As her health continued to drop, the quantity of eggs decreased, but the quality shot up, hatching elite-level mobs instead.
At 50 million health, a cloud of purple gas billowed out from her body, quickly filling the entire chamber. The clones vanished the mont the gas touched them. When it enveloped Kael, a string of debuffs appeared on his status bar: Attack Down, Defense Down, Healing Efficiency Reduced.
His damage was cut by more than half. With his clones gone and his own attack power nerfed to 100K, his defenses also dropped to 25,000.
More importantly, the bosses' critical hits and high-damage abilities could now actually hurt him. He chugged a 20,000 HP potion, but only healed for 12,000—a 40% reduction.
His plan to simply stand and burn the boss was ruined. He was forced to start kiting around the Queen, constantly moving to minimize the damage he was taking. After the King and Princess finally fell, the Queen instantly spawned four new leader-class ant bosses.
But none of it was a fatal threat. These chanics were only delaying the inevitable.
Five minutes later, Kael drew his bow for the killing shot.
Just as the arrow left the string, a shimring, multicolored aura erupted around the Queen. Encircling the aura was a distinct pattern of an ocean wave.
Kael froze.
The pattern… it was deeply familiar, a mory just beyond his grasp.
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