Almost two hours had passed since Lucius left the cave containing the C-Class caterpillar. He was now standing on the cap of the tallest mushroom in the vicinity of the ant mound. At any moment, the bioluminescence would resume and light up the cavern.

Lucius dashed forward, leaping off the edge of the mushroom cap toward the anthill. Two large bat-like wings spread out behind him. After adding nineteen points to Magic Power, Lucius could remain airborne for much longer. He still couldn't fly into the sky at will, but with a good running start from a high place, he could keep himself from hitting the ground almost indefinitely.

The seconds ticked by; at any moment, his plan would either succeed or fail. Lucius flew above a group of ants and held his left hand forward, releasing the dead bodies of their comrades from his storage ring. As the desiccated corpses fell to the ground, the nearby ants approached in what appeared to be a mix of confusion and startlement. Their initial response quickly morphed into an agitated rage as the group of ants released a pheromone to send the entire hive into battle mode.

The scent spread from one ant to another like a signal repeater, rapidly making its way into the mountainous hive. Five seconds later, a dull light filled the cavern as the mushrooms began to glow.

The moment the light reached his eyes, Lucius cast his gaze toward the ceiling, waiting for his prey to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long. A red blur shot across the top of the cavern toward the anthill.

Lucius changed the angle of his flight when he saw the approaching hornet, gritting his teeth as he urged his wings to carry him faster. The hornet casually selected the closest ant, continuing its usual pattern of behavior as it dove from the sky at rapid speed.

By now, a swarm of furious ants was already pouring out of the top of the anthill, and even the ant targeted by the hornet was moving aggressively as it searched for an enemy.

The hornet didn’t seem to notice what was happening—or perhaps it simply didn’t consider the ants a significant enough threat to worry about—as it completed its dive bomb, landing directly on top of the chosen insect.

In a tremendous stroke of luck, the ant the hornet chose to attack moved in Lucius’ direction before being snatched up in the jaws of the larger insect, allowing him to close the distance just in time.

As the hornet lifted the struggling ant into the air to deal the killing blow, it seemed to finally realize something was amiss. A swarm of ants so thick it resembled a wave made out of mandibles, carapaces, and antennae rushed toward it with wild abandon.

The hornet bit down on the ant clutched in its mandibles but neglected to lower its head to claim its prize, instead choosing to retreat from the imminent danger headed its way.

The transparent wings on the giant hornet’s back disappeared into a blur of motion as it began to lift off the ground. But before it could buzz away, a giant white silk sheet appeared in the air directly above it. The air pressure from the wings nearly pushed the sheet away, but a series of tentacle-like shadows reached out from the material, pulling on the hornet’s body to ensure the sticky silk made contact with its moving wings.

The rapid motion of the hornet’s relatively delicate wings caused them to become devastatingly entangled in the powerful silk trap, destroying its ability to fly and sending the massive creature tumbling back to the ground toward the approaching army of ants.

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“The caterpillar sends her regards!”

Lucius' heart was pounding faster than ever as he watched his plan come together perfectly. The hornet began to panic, struggling against the sticky silk in a desperate attempt to free its wings before the swarming colony arrived. When the creature realized there was no hope of restoring its flight anytime soon, it turned to flee toward the mushroom forest.

By now, the ants had already surrounded the hornet, but the dreadful creature refused to surrender, crashing headfirst into the dozens of ants attempting to block its retreat. Ant bodies flew into the air as though struck by a speeding train, but not all were thrown aside. Lucius could see many ants had latched onto the hornet's body.

SCREE

A terrible screech erupted from the hornet as the vicious mandibles of the ants tore into the soft flesh at the bottom of its abdomen. The hornet reached back in rage, ripping ants from its body, but this proved to be a mistake. The effort only slowed the creature’s escape, allowing more ants to clamp onto its legs.

Lucius hovered in the air above the deadly battle, letting loose one Piercing Throw after another at the hornet—and at any ant on the verge of death. He was playing both sides against each other, skimming off the top.

You have defeated Formica Sub Terra, level 16.

You have defeated Formica Sub Terra, level 19.

You have defeated Formica Sub Terra, level 12.

He didn’t forget to collect the bodies into his storage ring, nor did Whisper fail to harass the hornet with binding shadows to aid the ants. The hornet put up a valiant struggle, slaying at least thirty of the smaller insects as it fought for its life—of which Lucius was unfortunately able to kill-steal only three. Yet the overwhelming numbers of the colony soon proved too much, even for such a fearsome creature.

Soon, the hornet no longer had the strength to fight back. Its once-mighty head twitched impotently from side to side, the vicious mandibles on its face opening and closing reflexively.

“Now comes the dangerous part…”

Piercing Throw would not be enough to snipe the final blow on the hornet, not even with all the stacks of Assassinate Lucius had built up during the battle. He aimed one final throw at the collapsed hornet, though it was difficult given the number of ants covering its body from all angles.

With a bit of luck, he managed to land his shot, embedding Matriarch's Fury a few inches into the giant creature's head. Taking a deep breath to gather his courage, Lucius dove straight down toward the hornet’s head.

Stretching back his fist, he gathered all the momentum he could muster and transferred the energy of his falling body into his fist, unleashing a Sundering Strike onto the base of his sword.

CRUNCH!

You have slain Rex Crabro, Level 40.

You have reached level 27. You have 10 attribute points available for distribution.

You have reached level 28. You have 20 attribute points available for distribution.

You have reached level 29. You have 30 attribute points available for distribution.

As a reward for defeating a powerful Abyss creature, you have been awarded one equipment upgrade token [Extraordinary].

Lucius performed a somersault in midair, grabbing hold of the shadow rope Whisper had placed in front of him as he swung away to safety. He attempted to collect the hornet’s body, but with so many powerful ants holding it down, he couldn’t pull it into his storage ring.

After swinging back into the air, Lucius began to glide around the area once more, holding one hand over his racing heart as the reality of what he had just done sank in.

“Well done, Father! Can we get away from these ants now?”

“Not yet. I’m not leaving without my last prize!”

Lucius circled above the hornet’s corpse, watching as the ants began to calm down. Now that their foe was dead, they shifted into scavenging mode and started tearing apart the body.

It took the ants a long time to dismantle the powerful corpse, but Lucius waited patiently until the moment he’d been waiting for. When a relatively large ant detached the massive stinger from the rest of the corpse, Lucius used the full force of his telekinesis to pull the item upward the instant the ant relaxed its mandibles.

The oversized stinger popped out of the ant’s grasp and floated into the air. Lucius waved his hand, collected the item, and glided toward the far side of the cavern with a satisfied grin.