Out of the two ants targeting Tulip, the Soldier Ant rushed towards her while the Acid Ant stealthy kept its distance. It might be planning to shoot acid at unsuspecting targets.

Tulip was in danger, and Tula stood next to her. Both urgently needed protection.

Ester raised her shield shoulder high while clenching her fists. She began channeling mana to reinforce the piece of cloth holding the mudcrab shield on her arm with Frost Sigil.

The moist of the fog surrounding them froze the fabric, making it harder to snap. Icy shining runes appeared on Elsir, ready to freeze its target to death.

Ester felt afraid, but in one hand was a shield given to her from Vincent, and on the other was her parents' sword Elsir. A spark of courage sprouted in her doubtful heart. Ester was ready to fight.

Lupa crouched lower and lower until her chest almost touched the ground. She had the appearance of an alpha wolf, ready to pounce and kill her prey. Bloodlust appeared in her cold predator glare. Lupa was prepared to hunt.

When one of the Soldier Ants out of the four ants targeting them saw Lupa without a shield; it sped its pace, breaking formation as it was taught, no shield, yes death.

The Soldier Ant drooled with excitement for a free meal. It ignored the murderous glare Lupa sent, maybe because hers is far weaker than Overheat Vincent and Koss.

Lupa accepted the challenge and sprang forward with all she had. In a blink of an eye, five sharp claws swung at the rushing Soldier Ant. The momentum of the swing increased the deadly force, cutting the thick ant's head. The greedy ant died instantly.

One of the two remaining Soldier Ants ignored its anger to attack Lupa and rushed for Ester instead. It thought that the human holding a large and heavy shield would tire faster and easily killed soon after.

Lupa noticed how the third Soldier Ant and one Acid Ant targeted her. Their glare brimming in anger were locked on the ferocious wolf girl.

With a grin, Lupa started running towards the stump of a melted half tree. She wanted to let Ester fight unhindered.

Lupa jumped and nimbly stepped on the stump. The two ants became enraged even further as an egg lay under her legs.

Lupa raised a smirk and acrobatically vaulted backward. She raised her finger and taunted them, "You coming or what? Hehe."

Lupa suddenly felt a distressing feeling, her wolf ears titled after hearing an unpleasant sizzling sound heading her way. Her golden eyes soon noticed an ant with a bright yellowish substance dripping from its mouth and a ball of acid flying between them.

Lupa was about to sidestep as quickly as possible, but she slipped and fell on the ground. Fortunately, the gunk of acid kept flying, missing Lupa entirely. She had a lucky miss.

The Soldier Ant took this rare opportunity to attack the fallen Lupa. It rushed at the defenseless wolf girl and lept with its pincers open wide to kill the defenseless Lupa.

Lupa noticed the leaping Soldier Ant too late. She couldn't stand up, dodge nor block as only claws were in her possession.

Lupa was in a predicament of her own doing. She didn't worry too much about the sticky and sometimes slippery ground. She also underestimated the ants since she was faster than them.

Suddenly time slowed down; her golden eyes shone, and all her senses dramatically increased. Lupa quickly became aware of all her surroundings.

The leaping Soldier Ant appeared to float in mid-air, approaching her bit by bit slowly. The strange and beneficial predator like instinct activated on its own in this critical time.

Lupa now didn't have any need to dodge nor block anymore. She was calm as a windless sea. She could see, hear, and feel everything.

Lupa stayed looking helpless on the ground, patiently waiting for the Soldier Ant to reach her attack range. She waited with a pair of golden shining cold eyes like a predator waiting for its prey to arrive.

Lupa swung her claws at the incoming Soldier Ant. A slight gust of wind followed by the intensity and speed of the swing. Her claws found no resistance when meeting with the tough carapace of the ant's head and...

*Slash!*

The Soldier Ant received a swift and painless death. It slammed on the ground with its head slashed to pieces. The ambusher ended up getting ambushed.

Lupa took two down. One Acid Ant remained.

A bit far from Lupa were Ester and Tula. The frightened child was stuck beside Ester like gum. Two Soldier Ants headed their way targeting one girl each.

"Raise your shield and prepared for impact. When I tell you, push with all you have. Believe in your adult body." Ester tried taking control of Tula and their situation. She quickly glanced back, but Tulip wasn't behind them.

Tulip slowly moved away from the group while a Soldier Ant rushed towards her. The third Acid Ant targeting Tuilp hid somewhere. It was nowhere to be seen.

Whatever was on Tulip's mind caused Ester and Tula to have no one protecting their back. They could get attacked by the hidden Acid Ant at any time. It was worrisome.

'Fear might have taken control of Tulip, but I don't have time to care about her. My and Tula's life comes first.' Ester thought before focusing on the incoming charging ants.

Ester and Tula blocked the ants leaping at them. Ester grunted, "Push now!"

"Haa." Both shouted while knocking the crashing ants headfirst with a well-timed shield push.

*Ba-bang*

The two Soldier Ants fell on the ground. They raised their heads and noticed only one human was in front of them. Tula hid behind Ester from not wanting to continue this perilous fight anymore.

"It's going to be ok, Tula. I will protect you. Trust your big sisters, big brother, and your father. We will take you home." Ester encouraged. She tried her best to muster the courage to take both ants at once.

'I can do it... I have to do it. I can't be baggage anymore!' Ester repeated in her thoughts. She was stronger with Elsir now.

Next started a long and arduous fight. Ester couldn't hit the Soldier Ants as they felt it was dangerous to get hit by the cold emitting blade.

They took turns evading Ester's attacks while attacking at the same time. However, the ants found it hard to land an attack as well.

Whenever Ester had her leg unprotected, an ant would try to land bite with its dangerous pincers, but the leg would suddenly disappear.

Ester used her flexible body to her advantage. She moved and contorted her body in a way that the combined assault of the two Soldier Ants couldn't land a hit other than on the mudcrab shield.

Tula watched Ester in amazement. She couldn't take her eyes off of her.

Ester blocked an attack, then proceeded by moving her body in a way Tula thought was impossible.

Ester would later swing her sword just to hit nothing. It appeared as if Ester was both dancing and playing with the ants. However, Ester was moving her body to the limit.

The heavy shield made Ester lose balance a few times, but the dancing experience ingrained in her body allowed the frail-looking woman to dodge attacks by a hair.

Every move Ester made felt blessed by luck. But luck won't last for long nor win the fight.

Nevertheless, luck struck, and Ester landed a good hit on one of the Soldier Ant's head. It wasn't a fatal hit but enough to get stuck in the tough carapace.

The Soldier Ant furiously tried to retreat and remove the stuck sword. Elsir slipped from her grip from the sudden, unprepared pull.

Every step back the injured Soldier Ant took, its body shook and wobbled further and further. As if the ant lost its balance and afraid at the same time.

Elsir was still magically linked with Ester because of the soul bound effect. The coldness seeped into the ant's head, starting with its neck and moving to its brain.

Ant's weakness was their antenna, but as they started to get frozen along with the brain, the ant found it harder to remove the deadly cold blade on every passing second.

One Soldier Ant seemed to have lost its movements and waited for its brain to freeze to death. The second Soldier Ant became infuriated, but Ester didn't have a sword to attack with anymore.

Ester turned her head to ask for Tula's sword, but no sword was in her hand. It slipped from her hand after holding the shield tightly and push back the leaping ants.

The sword was a few meters away from them. If they moved too much from their initial location or an ant secretly moved it, they didn't have time to think about it.

Ester, "Can you be a courageous girl and shout at the big ant?"

Tula, "Bu-but..."

Ester, "I need to get my sword back, and the big ant might attack me. Will you distract the bad ant for me?"

Tula, "Will... will big sister come back?"

Ester, "Yes, little Tula. I will run as fast as I can."

Tula slightly nodded with a terrified expression. She was about to grab the attention of a Soldier Ant. She already experienced how strong and dangerous they were. Blocking their attack felt too much for her.

Both Ester and Tula gulped. They mustered their courage and proceeded with the dangerous plan. Ester removed the shield from her arm and ran towards the Soldier Ant staring at her.

When the Soldier Ant noticed Ester rushing without a shield, drool dripped from its mouth. The angered ant chose to run after Ester.

The Soldier Ant lept at Ester, but the unprotected frail-looking woman suddenly disappeared from its sight. As the ant was in mid-air, Ester swiftly did a split and slid on the slippery ground. She acrobatically evaded the attack and looked good while at it.

Tula stared in awe, but she soon realized what Ester wanted her to do. Tula gripped her uncle's shield firmly and taunted, "You big meanie! Come here!"

The Soldier Ant stood up after becoming surprised by the disappearing human girl. It turned its gaze on Tula, but she held a shield while Ester didn't.

The ant then looked around and noticed Ester running towards the freezing Soldier Ant with a sword stuck on its head.

The Soldier Ant thought the human was running to her death because it didn't know the standing Soldier Ant was already dead from having its brain frozen.

Ester appeared like a defenseless woman, but as the ant was already dead, no danger was in front of her, only the cold weapon Elsir was waiting for its master to pick it up from the ant's corpse.