Chapter 178
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Chapter 178: Impervious Defense?!
Deep in the night,
Army Lady and her Stealth Ants departed the town without incident.
Whether due to negligence or not, the patrolling guards upon the walls were sparse. The Stealth Ants didn’t even need to incapacitate the watchmen—with feline grace, Army Lady scaled the battlements in mere breaths before dissolving into the shadows.
They delivered the two unconscious adventurers to the primary overseers of the peripheral colony—Dig One and Dig Two.
"Leave it to us!"
"Rest assured, sisters! We’ll ensure their delivery!"
The two Class B Earth Digging Ants raised their forelimbs in solemn salute.
Throughout Aowenduo Town and its surrounding villages, the higher echelons of ant colonies were invariably Earth Digging Ants. Their dual expertise in coordinating excavation with Worker Ants and combat prowess made them ideal guardians for the outermost settlements.
"Should they attempt escape… you may shatter their legs."
"Understood!"
After acknowledging her junior sisters with a nod, Army Lady led the Stealth Ants back to their lodgings.
As relaxation took hold, drowsiness resurged like a tide.
She shed her light armor once more.
"This time… my thanks to you all."
The golden-haired maiden murmured the reluctant words before collapsing onto the bed, her eyelids fluttering shut.
Some moments later—
"The gratitude should be ours."
Stealth One immediately appended, as if embarrassed by her own sentimentality:
"…And the wine was exquisite."
…
…
Dawn came.
Eyes opened
to absolute darkness.
The earthy scent of soil permeated the air.
His body—bound tightly by coarse ropes—
was being transported upon some living conveyance…
Sylvestre’s blood ran cold.
What abyss had he entered?
Fragmented memories surfaced: preparing to confront that woman alongside Martina… no, being struck unconscious with Martina… then—ah! Monsters! Yes! Gigantic ant-like monsters swarming his final conscious moments!
Since when did ant monsters infest the town? And gray ones at that—such coloration and size defied all bestiary records!
Though… what significance held a monster infestation now? Irrelevant!
The true question burned—
Where in the hells was he?
Sylvestre strained against the ropes binding him with desperate effort.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The sudden sound beneath him froze Sylvestre’s movements.
A monster?!
Damn it, how did I end up riding a monster?
Did these creatures tie me up?
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind before he ceased his violent struggling. Instead, he cautiously maneuvered his hands toward his shoe’s heel.
Hidden there was a small knife – enough to cut through these bindings.
As if sensing their passenger’s awakening, surrounding creatures began emitting waves of "chirping" sounds that resembled conversation.
The overwhelming chorus made Sylvestre’s scalp crawl.
Just how many monsters were there?
He instinctively stilled his movements further.
The chirping ceased, and his monstrous mount resumed its forward march.
They hadn’t noticed his actions.
Perfect. Just some stupid monsters. If he could just reach that knife…
After what felt like eternity – success!
His fingers closed around the finger-sized blade hidden in his heel.
Suppressing his excitement, he began carefully sawing at his bonds without a sound.
Midway through his escape, his body suddenly tilted.
The creature was ascending.
Faint light filtered in, finally revealing his carrier.
An ant! A monstrous ant!
His pupils contracted sharply, face draining of color.
This wasn’t the gray ant he’d seen before losing consciousness, but a massive, earth-toned specimen rivaling a Granville Wolf in size – with razor-sharp frontal mandibles and thick, powerful rear sections.
Flanking them marched several more of these earth-colored giants, accompanied by swarms of smaller black ants.
While unfamiliar with the light-brown variants, he recognized the black ones immediately:
The Weak Ant Tribe – low-level, rankless monsters weaker than even goblins individually.
Unarmed as he was, dispatching them would be trivial. But those giant earth-toned ants…
What tier were they? Could he handle them with his current strength?
"Sylvestre?"
The voice from behind startled him from both his rope-cutting and strategizing. He whirled toward the sound.
"Martina?! You’re here too…?"
"Idiot, keep your voice down."
Like Sylvestre, Martina was clutching an identical small knife, sawing through the ropes.
"The ants seem to be heading toward the nest exit. I still have two more daggers hidden in my clothes – I’ll toss you one later. We’ll slaughter these damned ants once we’re out."
"Shouldn’t we just escape? These ochre-colored ants appear to be an undiscovered species."
"We’ll flee if we can’t kill them. Who do you take me for?"
"Fair enough."
After all, Martina ranked among the elite Class C Adventurers – ordinary Class C monsters stood no chance against her.
These tawny ants were probably no more formidable than Granville Wolves, right?
As they neared the tunnel exit, Sylvestre and Martina finally severed their bonds.
While they shrugged off the ropes, their ochre-colored carriers emerged from the anthill into sudden brightness.
"Sylvestre!"
Martina’s voice rang out behind him as something came flying through the air.
Sylvestre’s hand shot up to catch it – Martina’s curved dagger.
"Now!"
"Right!"
In perfect unison, they drove their blades toward the heads of the tawny ants beneath them.
CLANG!
Instead of piercing through as expected, the daggers rebounded as if striking iron, ringing with metallic resonance.
The violent recoil sent numbing tremors through Sylvestre’s hands, his dagger spinning away into the air.
"Damn it! These aren’t ordinary monsters!"
"Bloody hell!"
Martina too realized her attacks couldn’t breach their mounts’ defenses.
While skills might penetrate, if normal strikes proved useless… unless facing Defense Specialization monsters, this meant their foes significantly outleveled them!
"Fall back!"
With this shout to Sylvestre, Martina leapt from the ant’s back without hesitation.
They appeared to be in a forest, though distant town silhouettes were visible.
But as Martina landed and prepared to sprint, her legs refused to obey.
Glancing down in alarm, she discovered the ground beneath her had transformed into a small patch of quagmire.
Her boots were already sinking deep into the clinging mud.
