Chapter 187

Ch . 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 .