Chapter 196 (1/2)

Chapter 196

Ch . 196 Surrender

I continue down the crimson red pa.s.sageway . I’m feeling overpowered by the unnatural atmosphere here . My partner is being unexpectedly quiet .

“Gaa…”

…It’s good that you’re quiet, however you could be a bit more mindful about where your head’s at . Since it’s quite narrow, my head will be the one sc.r.a.ping against the wall if you’re too close . My horns are throbbing but they won’t break, right?

Occasionally, my partner sneaks some quick glances towards the top of my head . She seems to be mindful of the ball rabbit’s illumination skill .

You were literally dangling the ball rabbit from your mouth just a few moments ago . Give it a rest already and just stay alert for any red ants .

As I advance, I see nothing that even remotely resembles the red ants from a little while ago . Maybe it’s because I wiped so many of them out last time?

I had annihilated them by using poison but none of them are lining the nest . The red ants will be able to heal over time as they also possess recovery skills .

I wonder if they’ve cooped themselves all up in antic.i.p.ation of me plunging back into their nest, while planning to a.s.sault me all at once? They could at least have a few on lookout… But then again, they might be trying to make me lower my guard . They may have altered the inner layout of the nest as a countermeasure against me .

Now that I’m thinking about it, isn’t this my third time going in? It feels like such a long time ago that I entered the nest in order to escape from the huge centipede and got the s.h.i.+t beat out of me .

“Gaa?”

My partner raises her voice and tilts her head . Seeing that, I use [[Presence Sense]] and feel the faint signs of monsters at the end of the pa.s.sageway .

Did I lose to this girl in terms

of sensing their presence? Th-this doesn’t sit right with me . I’ll have to be a bit more alert .

Any monster that’s here is without a doubt going to be a red ant . However, this presence feels oddly weak . That’s why I was so late in noticing it . Its movements are sluggish and I don’t sense much hostility either . Has it been considerably weakened? No, this feels like there’s more to it… .

Before long, two red ants appear from out of the darkness at the end of the pa.s.sage . The two red ants’ stop when they see me and the two nod towards each other .

“…Kucha . ”

“Kucha . ”

The two ants let out a cry, turn around, then point their b.u.t.ts in my direction together . They don’t try to run away and remain rigid .

Whwhat is this? Is this by any chance a display of courts.h.i.+p? I won’t be happy even if I’m popular with these red ants!

“Pefu . ”

[Surrendering-…]

Huh? Th-that’s a little troubling… If I’m unable to level up with the red ants then I won’t be able to catch up with the hero’s stats . Whwhat should I do about this?

Should I completely trample these red ants that have no will to fight? Back when I was hunting, the camels would always do something like this… However, I’m not completely resolved to use this opportunity to thrust my claws into the red ants’ backs .

Alright, I’ve decided . To say that I could get to this level by not killing red ants would be rude to Adofu who went above and beyond to save my life . Nina’s life is on the line too .

“Guo…”

I lift up my forefoot while letting out a growl .

The red ant hunt this time is like a match that’s full of openings . The higher my level rises, the more at ease I can be that everything will go according to plan .

I’m

I’m lucky to have here two red ants that are lacking the will to fight as my prey . This is fine . I won’t hesitate . I’ll quickly strike the back of the red ant’s neck, giving it an a.s.suredly fatal blow .

If I disable one of them, I can beat the other one with ease . I shouldn’t try to take on both of them . But rather, I should bring down one of them without fail .

I ready my forefoot and aim at the nape of the defenseless red ant . Then, at the exact moment I put strength into my hind-legs…

“Gua! Guaao!”

My partner suddenly begins to rampage . She violently shakes her head left and right while raising her voice .