Arlo's group moved with slow and careful steps.
They had managed to silently kill stray ants they encountered on the way, and now, they finally reached their destination.
Acting cautiously, Arianne took Arlo's position as the lead and released her divine sense to investigate the open field their tunnel led to.
Not even a moment later, her ruby red eyes widened, and her healthy pale face became sick-like, as her breathing stagnated.
Ella's face became worried while Arlo's expression crumpled upon seeing Arianne's intense reaction. It was the first time they had both seen her react in such a manner.
Arlo didn't risk whispering near as he knew that Ki cultivators had heightened senses to cover up for their lack of spiritual energy. So he sent his spiritual wave into Arianne's mind, something he learned in passing from Evangeline.
'What is wrong? What do you see?'
Arianne seemed to be pulled back from her trance by Arlo's unexpected voice. With a shaky voice, she replied telepathically:
'A huge ant's nest and ...ant beasts....several of them.'
'How many?'
'At least, a hundred....'
Arlo's eyes widened as his mind blanked out, however, Arianne didn't seem to be done as she continued:
'They are surrounding two kids our age, but they can't seem to reach near them. I could feel the gravity distorted around them....' The anxious feeling in Arianne's eyes disappeared for a moment to give way to surprise. Arlo could feel how struck she was.
But for some unknown reason, Arlo found the situation strange. Especially when he heard that two kids around their age were able to survive the onslaught of at least a hundred ants, something even their current group could not accomplish.
Slowly, his eyes widened, as a figure appeared within his mind.
'Gravity...it can't be...' He unconsciously released his divine sense to study the opened space, and the situation revealed to him caused his heart to beat faster and his blood to pump stronger.
Arlo never considered Tina his friend, even though the other party chased after him when they grew up. However, he couldn't deny the fact that they knew each other and that a part of him cared for her.
If he didn't care about her, he wouldn't have been so devastated when he lost to her in their last fight. He wasn't low enough to feel competitive with a person he didn't care about.
And ever since Old Bro showed the scene of certain past events, he had developed a mind of not wanting those close to him to be put in danger. It was a feeling that was almost bordering on the line of obsession, which caused concern from even Old Bro.
Arianne's pale face went up a few notches, "Ar-Arlo you..."
Awoken from Arianne's quivering voice, Arlo realized his grave mistake. Ever since they started following the ants, he and Ariane had agreed that she would be the one to investigate their surroundings as she had a better grasp on spiritual energy and could mask her presence to remain undetected. But in his carelessness, Arlo had just released his divine sense, albeit for a moment.
The group held their breath as they realized the seriousness of the situation. A moment later, they realized it was already too late.
They could no longer hear the booming sound of the ant's legs impacting the ground as they swarmed into Tina's domain.
Joe retreated fearfully in the stifling silence but Arlo who realized that he had jeopardized the lives of his team no longer bothered to act cautious.
Before Arianne who held her breath in fear, Joe who retreated with troubling steps, and Ella who glared at him for putting them in danger could react, Arlo ran to the mouth of the tunnel and jumped with all the strength he could muster.
His body flew high into the air, as he took in the scene before him.
His eyes locked momentarily with Tina's tired eyes, but soon later he had to consciously shift them away due to the dreadful feeling that was welling up within him.
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The playfulness in the bipedal queen ant's eyes had long disappeared, and what now lay within them was cautiousness and anger as they studied the small human jumping high in the air.
As Arlo reached the peak of his jump, he forcefully suppressed the fear he was feeling from the Queen's stare and shouted with all his might:
"ANITA!"
As if feeling his emotions, the blue slime resting within Arianne's embrace flew at him at breakneck speed before her body experienced an overwhelming change.
Red essence burst out from her slimy body, and soon after a cry closest to that of a Phoenix resounded within the opened field.
*SCREEEEEEEEEEE!*
Anita in her bird form appeared below Arlo's feet, with the flame surrounding her not affecting him in the slightest. A moment later, her body dived down toward Tina who had just released her gravity domain due to her fallen mana.
The ants that were already freed from the crushing pressure could not act immediately due to the sudden appearance of Arlo and Anita, however the same could not be said about the queen ant.
The bipedal creature had already released an order to one of the ants guarding her the instant she saw Anita diving toward Tina. One of the massive ants around her stomped the ground causing a crater of at least ten meters in radius to appear at its previous location. But the surprising thing was that none of the other ants and the queen stumbled or were affected in the aftermath of its lunge.
The blue eyes of Anita who was about to grab Tina and Miller with her talons widened, and before she could react the thorned limb of the six-meter-high red ant smashed into her, turning her body into a red flash that crossed tens of meters in an instant before impacting the walls of the cave.
However, the intelligent eyes of the guardian ant shook slightly as it registered the flaming bird sliding down the wall, with no sight of the human kid. Without any hesitation, it turned around and slashed one of its limbs down in Tina's direction.
Arlo who had used the cover of Anita's burning flame to slip past the huge ant arrived beside Tina and Miller. It was just that he was too late, as even though he moved earlier than the ant, its leg had already arrived above the trio due to the speed difference between them.
But what surprised the red ant was that while Tina and Miller closed their eyes in fear, Arlo gazed at it with no fear in his eyes.
No, it could even read an expectant look on his face, as if waiting for something...or someone to act.
Feeling anxious, the ant tried to smash its leg down even a tad bit faster, however, no matter how it tried, its leg wouldn't bulge. A moment later, the glow in its eyes died down as it lost consciousness. At the same time, a pulsing spiritual wave covered the entire area as a domineering primal roar shook the cave and reverberated through the tunnels.
*ROOOOOAR!*
Arianne in her transformed state appeared in the opened field in all her glory. Arlo smiled at her emergence and quickly moved Tina and Miller from below the ant's leg.
While it had seemed like he jumped out of the tunnel in a hurry and carelessness, the truth was far from the matter. He had actually planned to shift the entire ant's attention to him and give his mates a chance to plan.
And surely, they didn't fail him.
It was a given that the worst enemies of Ki cultivators were the even more rarer Spiritual cultivators. And vampires, who were quasi-tri cultivators due to their natural talent in Mana and spiritual energy, and their powerful bloodline that boosted their strength to a degree far above normal standards, were a good nemesis.
Even the Queen lost her consciousness from Arianne's fierce spiritual attack and it would take her a few moments before she regained herself.
This was Arlo's only chance to act.
"Anita!*
Arlo shouted once more as he un-summoned her and summoned her once again beside him. He could feel her will to kill the Queen and devour her to become stronger, but Arlo's anxious emotion transmitted through their connection was enough to soothe her.
She transformed into a flaming bird once again, as Arlo kicked off the ground with the stunned Tina and Miller, before landing on her back. While Arlo could not be affected by her flames, the same could not be said about the others, so she had no choice but to dispel her flames, causing her red feathery figure to appear before all clearly.
Immediately when Arianne's roar shook the cave, Joe searched the tunnels with great speed and quickly moved into one after a few seconds. At the same time, Ella transformed into a four-meter purple wolf and summoned tens of lightning rings high above the opened field. The rings flashed intermittently with lightning, as they seemed to be gathering power.
Tens seconds after Arianne's roar resounded, the bipedal queen regained her consciousness and released a piercing cry.
*SHRIIIIIIIEEEEEEK!*
The cry seemed to have a great effect as it shook all the ants awake.
However...
Before the ants could even regain their bearings, a barrage of lightning stormed down from the high ceiling of the cave, covering the entire region in blinding purple.
*CRACK!*
*KABOOOOM!*
The cave shook greatly and it was a wonder how it could still hold up. The ants that had just woken up were once again frozen from the countless barrage of purple lightning.
Arlo who had received Arianne's spiritual message, asked Anita to move into the tunnel Joe had entered. At the same time, Ella and Arianne who were still in their transformed state flashed around the pouring lightning at their fastest speed, with Ella taking the lead to create a path for them.
Soon after, they arrived below the flying Anita and jumped with all their might.
Their bodies reverted in mid-air, allowing them to land safely on Anita's back.
As the purple lightning died down around them, another angry cry drifted into their ears as they safely flew inside a big tunnel.
Anita quickly caught hold of Joe who was helped by Arlo up to her back. Soon after, booming footsteps resounded from behind them, but the sound was soon covered by the explosion of poison from the formation traps planted beforehand by Joe.
The painful shrieks of the ants rang out, but the group moved even faster as they made their way out of the cave.
It was at this time that Tina who was surrounded by unfamiliar faces spoke with a surprised look on her face:
"Arlo?"