“Oh. My. Gosh.”

“What’s the matter, dear?” Mei asked Anthea, noticing the girl was frozen and staring out into the distance.

“BABIES!”

Her sudden exclamation shocked both Mei and Anthony, as well as confusing them a great deal. Curious to know what made her so excited they followed her gaze, but upon seeing the approaching wave of what seemed to be monstrous ants they only grew more perplexed.

“Do you know what she’s talking about, Anthony?”

“I don’t have the faintest idea, my love.”

Anthea swivelled and locked her gaze onto Evelyn’s father. “ANThony? Oh my gosh. Why did I not realise before? This is destiny. Ugh. I don’t want to hurt the babies, but I have to. Kayla won’t be happy with me otherwise.”

“I think the poor girl’s gone mad,” he said.

“What’s wrong with Anthea?” asked Evelyn, having just arrived back, sweaty and out of breath from pushing herself to the limit.

Despite her bolstered stats it seemed activities that weren’t weighted toward one’s specialities still required a great deal of effort and energy.

“We aren’t quite sure. She started shouting about babies while looking at the latest wave of monsters,” said her mother.

“Oh, the ants. Don’t worry about her. She’s just quite fond of them. I imagine the next few hours will be quite difficult so let’s do our best to support each other.”

“Evelyn.”

“What’s up Anthea?”

“Do you think I could adopt one?”

“Adopt one what?” she replied without thinking. “Oh. OH. I don’t think so? Maybe. I’d rather you didn’t try to while we’re fighting, but I can’t stop you from doing what makes you happy.”

“FOR REAL? YOU WON’T STOP ME?” she shouted while bouncing on the spot and shaking so hard it seemed as though she was about to explode.

“No, I won’t,” giggled Evelyn. “I’m actually quite curious as to what would happen if you tried to tame a monster. Just don’t let any past the walls. And make sure you do it before Kayla wakes up.”

“Yay. Okay. I promise. Let’s do this. Sorry to all the babies I have to kill but I guarantee that if one of you becomes mine I’ll treat you like a princess.”

“Both of them are insane,” muttered her father.

“Now now dear, it’s important for children to have hobbies. If the girl wishes to have a giant ant as a pet I think it’s important that she face the consequences and responsibilities herself.”

“Right, because that went so well with Evelyn.”

“Shush. Get your sword up and fight, stop moaning.”

“Yes my love.”

By now the ants had swarmed across the upturned earth and were beginning to climb the walls. The anti-climb spikes did little to prevent their ascent, as they were able to easily avoid them with their spindly legs.

Evelyn wasn’t quite sure how she was going to manage to deal with so many enemies at once, but with her father’s assistance she believed they could cover this section of the wall. The cannons and ballistae she had just purchased were already proving their value as they unleashed volley after volley of bolts and balls into the army of ants, piercing and ploughing through the monsters with relative ease.

However, the sheer volume of ants meant that even with dozens dying each moment there was little impact on their advance. She was worried that just the defences alone would not be enough to halt the monsters, but she needn’t have been.

When the tide of ants had surged halfway up the walls two holes opened in each section and a small nozzle poked out from each one. There was a small spark and a gentle flame lit beneath each of the nozzles. And then burning fury erupted forth.

A searing inferno washed over the approaching ants down the entire length of Defiance’s outpost. Evelyn could hear crackling as the ants were barbequed and burnt to a crisp. Anthea cried out in anguish and covered her eyes.

“Poor babies.”

God I wish I had access to this when I was facing those damned rats. I’d have the polar opposite reaction that Anthea is having right now if I could watch those stinking furry rodents being burnt alive.

After ten seconds, the streams of flame sputtered out and the nozzles retreated into the wall. They would need some time and essence to recharge, but they had dealt a hefty blow to the invading ants. And the essence they would need had been repaid ten times over, a fact Evelyn confirmed by glancing at her menu.

Essence: 54358969『+657981440 / 5:54:56 hours』

~~ Stars ~~

Grey: 74

White: 29

** Inventory **

**Skill Synthesis**

**Class**

**Crafting**

**Guilds**

**Property**

【OVERCOME】

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

WHAT? This is insane. I can ascend twice every six hours. If essence was the only requirement that is. Tower, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake when you gave me Galactic Expansion?

There would be time to think about the ridiculous implications of her income later. For now she would just continue to slaughter monsters and keep her friends and family safe.

The ants swarmed onward, not cannibalising their fallen brethren as the rats had done but instead ignoring them and focusing all their effort on climbing the walls and slaughtering the defenders.

There was internal strife among the invaders as the worms and moles continued to charge forward, paying little heed to the other monsters around them. The ants took issue with it but chose to just move out of the way of the larger monsters and continue to climb.

Evelyn wasn’t sure she was prepared for the next phase of battle, but she would do her best. A worm threw itself at her and she wrestled hold of it before slamming it into the battlements where her mother and Anthea carved it up. As she clambered back to her feet she felt a sharp pain in her calf.

Looking down she saw the first of the ants had dug its mandibles into her leg and was attempting to drag her backwards over the edge of the wall.

It was a new strategy. The worms and moles had focused on slaughtering or devouring them, but the ants seemed smarter, using their numbers to their advantage. If she fell off the edge then it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to the endless onslaught, even with her massive fortitude.

Though she wouldn’t let that happen any time soon. Evelyn stomped on the ant’s head and crushed it in a single strike. They were strong and the bite of its sharp mandibles had stung but their main power came from their numbers and not the individual strength of the ants. She would be able to deal with them for now.

The combined efforts of the group brought them back into a stalemate with the monsters. They were doing their utmost and exerting every ounce of energy they had to fight back against the invaders and had managed to stem the flow.

When she could spare a glance Evelyn checked if the automated defences were holding up as well as the guild and to her surprise they were managing to, though a few monsters were slipping past every now and then.

However, they were soon dealt with by the people waiting below. Evelyn considered letting them onto Defiance’s section of the wall to assist in the defence but if she was being honest with herself she had little desire to share the essence with challengers who hadn’t even tried to join the front lines from the beginning.

While grappling with two ants, one that had its mandibles pinched around her leg and the other clambering over its fellow ant to attack her face, Evelyn spotted Anthea doing something absurd.

The girl had her arms wrapped around one of the ants and had lifted it into a bear hug while it struggled to behead her with its sharp mandibles. She was talking to the monster and stroking its carapace, presumably her attempt at taming the creature. Evelyn smiled at the sight. Silly moments like this were what made it worth it to keep struggling through whatever the tower threw at them.

Plus, if Anthea managed to succeed it would be a groundbreaking moment. Not just for the girl herself, though Evelyn was sure she would be over the moon with joy, but for all of Haven. It would unlock an entire new profession to chase and another tool in the challengers’ arsenal.

There were quite a few monsters she wouldn’t have minded taming herself if she had known it was possible. Given how furious the ant in the girl’s arms seemed however, it was just as reasonable to think that taming monsters was an impossible feat.

Evelyn’s parents were doing just fine. Her father slashed ant after ant in twain, letting the corpses fall to the battlements as he continued to stand stalwart against the horde.

At one point an armoured mole shot over the top of the wall and barrelled into him, nearly sending him tumbling into the city underneath the monster, but he dug in his feet and pushed it back little by little. Her mother joined the fray and together they tore it to shreds before returning their focus to the ants.

For her part, Mei Han unleashed spell after spell into the wave of monsters. She had been using her most powerful skill, Glacial Storm, on occasion and it was perfect for obliterating large groups of foes like the ants.

Spikes of frost tore into them endlessly and despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them, the group were coping. Even with Kayla still out cold.

“Yesyesyesyes, I did it! Hi there baby, how are you? What should I call you?”

No freaking way? Did she actually do it?

Evelyn wasn’t able to spare any focus to look in Anthea’s direction just yet as she was locked in battle with four ants and an armoured mole, but from the sheer joy radiating from the girl’s voice she suspected that what had begun as a fruitless endeavour may have become a startling success.

She had unleashed Spinebreaker, feeling that just her own strength would not be enough for what was to come. One swing crushed an ant into pulp, then another sent the mole staggering back.

Evelyn flung one ant from her arm and then stomped on a third, killing it instantly. When the ant she had thrown away rushed at her, she pulverised it with a decisive blow. The fourth ant died to friendly fire when the mole charged forward and tore it into ribbons with a swipe of its razor sharp claws.

The clang of steel rang out as her warhammer met iron hide and clashed with metallic claws. After a short tussle Spinebreaker pierced through one of the plates on the mole’s head and it fell to the bricks. The crimson hammer drank in the monster’s blood when she ripped it free, glistening in the light of dawn.

Having taken down her foes, Evelyn was able to look in Anthea’s direction at last. Much as she had suspected, the girl’s insanity for ants had somehow paid off and she was hugging and petting an ant larger than herself with an ear-to-ear smile beaming on her face.

“I have to say I didn’t have much faith in you, Anthea. It seems like hard work pays off though. What’s she called?”

Anthea looked over and the huge smile didn’t leave her face even as she replied.

“Antoinette.”

“Are you trying to make fun of me?” asked her father.

“You should feel honoured,” said Anthea.

“Will Antoinette be joining us in our fight?” asked Evelyn, eyes widening when the ant in question perked up at the mention of its name and turned towards her.

She got her answer a moment later when another ant skittered towards Anthea and tried to bite the girl, but had its head torn off by the vicious Antoinette.

“Good girl.”