Vincent opened his arms and lowered his upper body as if he was about to tackle the wolf girl. Lupa was too surprised to act. She stared with a puzzled frown.

Vincent grabbed Lupa and lifted her on his shoulder. Then he spun his body while slamming his heel inside the soft soil, sliding a meter until stop.

"No one harms my women!" Vincent uttered in a deep hoarse voice. He swung his free arm as if swatting a fly and...

*Splat. Tsss*

The blood gauntlet became covered with acid.

Previously, Lupa wanted to rush at Ester's side as quickly as possible. She ended forgetting the Acid Ant was following her. The ant was aiming at the right situation to spit acid at the unsuspecting worried wolf girl.

[1x Stick (Common Quality) summoned. x30 remaining.]

Vincent swung his arm to remove the acid from the gauntlet. Then he summoned one of the long pointy sticks he once prepared in the cave.

Vincent threw the stick at the Acid Ant with a glare filled with deep anger. He wanted the Acid Ant dead in one swift hit. It might decide to explode if not.

The Acid Ant felt a powerful bloodlust emitting from Vincent. It felt the dread of death when the pair of glowing green eyes pierced its soul.

The mutation amplified Vincent's intent with ferocity, yet Lupa hanging on his shoulder, could barely feel anything. The retainer bond might have dampened the intent as it seemed to protect anyone connected to Vincent.

[It's running away. We need to kill it immediately.]

"You won't run away!" Vincent exclaimed. He threw the spear-like stick at the Acid Ant, turning to run away.

*Skree... Tsss*

The spear-like stick pierced the acid sack. The stick melted in the blink of an eye, and a small fountain of acid erupted.

Acid rained on the Acid Ant, and surprisingly, other than the acid sack, the rest of its body wasn't immune to acid. The Acid Ant soon melted to death.

[Phew. We saved Lupa in the nick of time.]

Lupa, "Thank you, my mate... "

*Smack*

Vincent slapped her bottom and lowered Lupa on her feet. He turned his gaze and noticed Koss followed by Culo and Hara.

[This isn't time to flirt. Hurry and follow them.]

"Punishment will continue later. Let's go." Vincent raised a light smirk and ran after the three.

Lupa touched her bottom with one hand and her cheek with the other. A smile and a pair of light red cheeks appeared on her face. It seemed she didn't dislike it.

"Wait for me. " Lupa ran after Vincent with her tail wagging in the air. Good or bad girl, she liked both rewards, it seemed.

Koss, Culo, and Hara. Vincent and Lupa. The two groups arrived next to Tula and Ester.

"Are you hurt, my daughter?" Koss asked when he saw Tula with her eyes closed.

Tula opened her eyes. She quickly ran to her father and cried on his armored chest. "Daddy, daddy, daddy. I missed you, waaaa."

"It's okay, my courageous and sweet daughter." Koss then noticed a puddle of acid sizzling and what appeared to be human bones. He quickly realized that it was Tulip since she was the only missing person.

"Thank you, Ester, for protecting my daughter." Koss bowed his head at Ester. He was immensely thankful for was she did.

The fog was slowly dispersing, and their vision was becoming clearer.

Where Tulip once stood, now was a puddle of acid with a repulsive color and bones slowly melting as if the acid lost its potency. Culo and Hara had to swallow their puke after noticing the dead Tulip.

[The third Acid Ant went after Tulip. Thank lady luck for choosing her instead of Ester or Tula. But... is it me, or is the fog that suddenly became thicker and harder to see is going away?]

-I had a hunch this fog was artificially made. Could it be the Royal Guard Ant doing?-

"Ester. " Lupa hugged Ester, then continued, "I was worried about you."

Ester happily smiled. To have someone worry about her made Ester feel content. However, Ester decided to tease Lupa and lessen the fear she felt, "I killed three ants on my own. How much did you kill?"

Lupa immediately broke the hug. She raised a puzzled frown at the smiling and nodding Ester.

Lupa looked around and saw three dead Soldier Ants with cold fumes rising from their bodies because of the damp fog.

"Im-impossible! Sister killed more than me!" Lupa exclaimed with her tail stiff from surprise.

Vincent approached Ester and Lupa. His hands grabbed their waist and pulled them on to him. He could see Ester with a pair of red cheeks and a happy smile on her face.

"You did well, Ester. You did well, Lupa... although I had to save you." Vincent congratulated his girls for surviving. He became happy to see they were hardly injured, only tired.

[Ahem. Everyone is staring at you.]

Vincent raised his gaze and noticed everyone staring at him. But he didn't seem to get bothered.

Tula wanted to join them after she finished her short crying session. The two new recruits were envious of his popularity, and Koss remembered holding his wife and young Tula.

However, this momentary respite didn't last long. The fog dispersed quickly, with slight breezes of wind brushing against their bodies. The Royal Guard Ant became visible once again because of this mysterious occurrence.

*Skroar!*

The Royal Guard Ant shouted. Visibility returned to normal, and the danger was rising. It seemed the monstrous ant was ready to fight next.

"Vincent! We got a big problem on our hands! The Royal Guard Ant is planning to fight us now!" Koss warned.

"How much stronger than the Soldier Ants do you think it is ?" Vincent quickly asked to assess their predicament. Running wasn't an option since it was unknown if ants were hiding in their vicinity.

[Great question. I hope it won't be something like...]

"I read it is around thirty Soldier or Acid Ants combined. Based on the reports I received before leaving the camp, that should be the weakest encounter reported. " Koss replied with grim news. Such overwhelming power assessment dropped the group's morale, incited terror and depression.

[Does that mean this giant ant is probably on par with the Demonic Beast we fought? We're facing an offensive monster instead of a defensive one...]

-Don't overthink. Time is ticking. Overheat can't last forever.-

[... you have less than seven minutes left now.]

"I heard Royal Guard Ants that protect nests test the ants to decide if they are worthy of protecting a nest or the queen. Now that all are dead, it's ready to fight the intruders by itself." Koss added. He took a few steps back and placed his hand on Tula's back.

"We are here for you, my daughter. Don't be afraid of the big scary ant." Koss warmly said to his daughter while rubbing her back.

"Daddy, I'm scared." Tula hugged her father one last time before the fight was about to begin.

"Lupa, I think this ant spits acid, stay cautious. " Vincent warned.

"Ester... " He continued before Ester left to approach an impaled Soldier Ant.

"I need to get my sword back and activate Frost Sigil." Ester's hand approached the blade. She activated Frost Sigil spell. Her crimson eyes shone, a pair of sigils hovered a few inches above her hands, and Elsir similarly glowed with icy runes.

Ester grabbed the sharp edge of the blade by instinct. As she touched the blade, she didn't cut her hand. It was similar to the emerald grass inside Vincent's Soul Domain. Both didn't injure their owner.

[I don't think Ester should fight with us. I can feel her mana supply dwindling, and evading attacks might deplete her low reserves even faster. She likes to hide her pain because she doesn't want to feel like a liability to the group.]

-I understand, but...-

As the seven survivors of the ant wave discussed, planned, or prayed, the Royal Guard Ant stared at them with its antennas moving from time to time. It seemed as if it was sending or receiving messages.

*Shiing, shiiiiing*

The Royal Guard Ant crossed its four arms. Similar to a butcher, it started sharpening its sharp scythe-like appendages. Sparks fell on the ground showing their sharpness and possibly composed of a hard metallic-like material.

The sharpening sound interrupted the seven, forcing their eyes to stare at the monstrous ant preparing to attack. The more spark fell and the clearer their vision became, the fewer chances of survival they felt to have.

Vincent, "Ester, you stay with Tula. "

Ester, "But I killed three ants. I can help now!"

Vincent, "Then help me by being my sword. I will be your shield."

*Tsss*

Vincent grabbed Elsir. Steam rose from the heat of the blood gauntlets and the coldness of the icy blade. Then he continued, "I know you don't have much stamina and mana left. Stay with Tula while I fight for us."

Ester sadly nodded. She released her grip from Elsir since she knew her body the most.

Ester felt exhausted, and it was harder to keep using Frost Sigil than before. Elsir made her stronger, but her body wasn't. She was still the flexible and delicate beauty.

"Don't worry, sister. I'll fight for you too with Vincent. I'm his right claw, and you are his left sword. I will kill this ant, and because it's big, it should count as three." Lupa approached Ester and competitively added.

"But Lupa, Vincent is holding my sword with his..." Ester abruptly stopped after remembering Lupa's competitive nature.

Even if Vincent wielded Elsir with his right hand, Lupa wanted to show she had his right side. It was useless to say anything once the hardheaded wolf girl set her mind on something.

"Yes, the right side is yours... heh." Ester lightly shook her head and sighed.

Koss went beside Vincent when he understood his intention to leave Ester and Tula out of harm's way. He patted his shoulder with one hand and with the other placed a small fat bag in his hand. Where he kept it, Vincent nor Kazumi could understand.

"This old bag of bones wants to take a protection plan from my talented student. If anything happens, please take care of my little princes for me. She's the world to me." Koss said as if saying his last words.

Vincent could see absolute trust in Koss's eyes. They were burning brightly with hope, not for himself but for his daughter's safety. No matter what happened, she had to return home safely.

[1x Small Bag (Multiple Items) (Common Quality) (10x Copper Coins, 30x Silver Coins, 1x Lusterfall Vice Captian Identification Tablet) gained.]