The problem he faced grew much worse when he realized the large mound of earth at the center of the ant's territory was not the hive's only exit. Swarms of ants began pouring out of well-hidden holes scattered across the fungal forest.

Lucius took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, focusing all his attention on Sense Danger. He needed to quickly pinpoint which direction had the thinnest encirclement of ants. A moment later, his gaze snapped toward the southeast, and without hesitation, Lucius dashed off the side of the mushroom cap, large black wings spreading wide behind him.

Stems and mushroom caps blurred past on either side, swarms of furious ants already covering most of them, drastically limiting Lucius’ available landing zones. As he maneuvered through the area, descending closer to the ground with each passing moment, he realized the situation was truly dire.

He was struggling to find a clear spot to land and relaunch his flight, and the options available were vanishing faster each second. Lucius could feel the sweat forming on his back as he approached the ground, desperation urging him to devise a solution as quickly as possible.

Just as he was about to crash into the ant-covered ground below, Lucius signaled to Whisper as he reached his hand toward the canopy above.

"But the mushrooms are covered in ants, Father!"

"Just do it!"

Whisper obeyed, and Lucius grabbed the newly formed shadow at the last moment. The rope yanked his body upright from his flying posture, his feet plunging down onto the head of an unsuspecting ant beneath him. Lucius kicked off the ant’s face with all his strength, gripping the shadow rope tightly as he swung through the air in a wide arc.

Releasing the rope at the highest point of his desperate swing, Lucius spread his wings and began gliding again, buying himself a bit more time before touching down, and discovering a method to insure his survival. Swinging from the shadow rope wasn’t as effective as leaping off the top of a mushroom, but it worked well enough to get him through this treacherous stretch.

He repeated the maneuver over and over, swinging and gliding through the mushroom forest as he fled the relentless swarm. A few dozen meters ahead, a massive cluster of ants engulfed the body of an unfortunate centipede. The creature flailed it's long armored body around desperately, releasing an ear-piercing screech as it struggled in vain to free itself from the painful bites of the enraged swarm.

Lucius tried to steer clear of the centipede’s struggle, but his rapid speed and the concealment of the battle behind the mushroom stalks made it impossible to avoid completely. He could only drift slightly to one side as he approached.

Just as it seemed he might pass over the area without incident, an unfortunate flick of the centipede’s lower body sent several ants hurtling skyward, directly toward him.

Three ants were flung in his direction, but only one was on a direct collision course. Lucius’ eyes widened in disbelief at the sheer unlikelihood of the situation. With no time to think, he pulled his arm back and delivered a Sundering Strike directly into the head of the unfortunate ant. A loud cracking sound accompanied the blow as the ant’s trajectory instantly reversed, plummeting back to the ground. The force of the strike added a welcome burst of momentum to Lucius’ glide.

The ant landed with a thud, stumbling to the side while shaking its head dizzily. A web of fresh cracks spread across its abdomen, and its face displayed a blank confusion, unable to understand what had just occurred.

Fortunately for Lucius, the frantic centipede continued to draw most of the swarm’s attention, allowing him to escape without further trouble. When he finally reached an area that seemed relatively calm, he climbed onto the largest mushroom cap within reach and collapsed onto it, breathing heavily as he covered his eyes with one hand. After a few seconds, he pulled a bottle of water from his ring as he sat back up taking several long gulps.

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“That was dangerous…” he muttered.

“Indeed,” Whisper replied. “The ants are more formidable foes than I initially assumed. We must exercise greater caution in the future.”

After catching his breath and drinking half the bottle, Lucius stood up, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

“The mushrooms seem to light up every hour, so we need to keep careful track of the timing when hunting near the hive. For now, let’s continue exploring the other area while we wait to confirm whether the lighting pattern is consistent.”

Once ready to move again, Lucius got a running start and leapt from the tall mushroom cap, swiftly gliding through the air toward the far edge of the cavern, away from the hive and summoner’s tower.

The area he was heading toward was the only part of the cavern that remained dark, even when the other mushrooms illuminated everywhere else. He was eager to uncover what made that section unique.

As he drew closer, the number of mushrooms began to thin out. In the gaps between the remaining stalks, he spotted evidence of harvesting. Someone or something had been here, cutting the massive mushrooms off at the base of their stalks and taking them away, leaving only stumps as proof of their actions.

Lucius carefully inspected the harvested area of the mushroom forest, searching for any additional signs of activity, but no further evidence remained to reveal who had taken the mushrooms.

As he moved deeper into the area, Lucius approached the far wall of the cavern. There, he finally noticed a massive opening covered with a white, silky material. The covering blended in quite well with the light coloring of the cavern wall in this area, causing him to almost miss it.

Cautiously approaching the sealed entrance, Lucius tossed a rock at the silken covering. His eyes narrowed as the rock stuck firmly to the material like he suspected it might. As the silk shook back and forth from the force of the rock he remained silent as he waited to see if his actions provoked any response.

"Hmm."

When nothing happened he became more courageous, drawing his sword as he attempted to cut a hole in the barrier. The white silk resisted, stretching under the pressure of his blade and making it exceedingly difficult to pierce. Lucius stared at the silk covering with furrowed brows as he realized how strong it was. He eventually had to pull with his full strength many times to finally cut out a small hole, just big enough to peer through.

Using the tip of his sword to hold the newly cut flap open, Lucius leaned closer to look inside. As his gaze swept over the hidden interior, his heart rate spiked, and he stumbled backward, instinctively raising Matriarch’s Fury in front of him.

Inside the cavernous space, he had seen a vast tunnel stretching beyond his sight. The walls were lined with large eggs, while mountainous piles of chopped mushrooms littered the deeper sections.

But it wasn’t the eggs or the mushrooms that had startled him. Lying in front of them was the enormous body of an insect, nearly as large as the opening itself. It resembled a massive, furry caterpillar—twice the size of the terrifying C-Class hornet he had faced before.

Lucius stood frozen, breathing heavily as he waited for the creature to come charging out to attack him. When he remained there for a long moment as nothing happened, his eyes narrowed as he began to grow suspicious. The creature’s stillness, combined with the lack of any warning from Sense Danger, fueled his suspicions further.

After a moment, he forced himself to step forward and peer through the hole again. The giant insect remained perfectly still, lying at the center of the cave with no signs of life.

Determined to investigate further, Lucius began the arduous task of cutting a larger opening in the sticky silk. The material clung to him fiercely; several times, his arm brushed against it, and he had to struggle to free himself from the glue-like substance.

After fifteen minutes of fighting with the material to no avail, Lucius eventually made a discovery that vastly increase his ability to remove it. By breaking the rocks to which the web was anchored, he managed to free the silken sheet from the wall, creating enough space for him to slip inside without getting stuck.

Once inside, Lucius’ eyes were immediately drawn to the thousands of perfectly round, glistening orbs that filled the walls of the massive cave. However, his attention remained locked on the enormous insect lying just inside the entrance.

Lucius approached it with painstaking caution, circling the creature as he watched for any signs of movement. When he finally stepped around to its front, his heart sank.

From this angle, the slow rise and fall of creature’s chest finally became visible—it was breathing!