Chapter 55

Noticing the presence of one another, the two gigantic monsters stared down at each other. And to be honest, it felt as if time itself had stopped. During that standoff, the two monsters unleashed their bloodlust and aura without holding back. As a result, a torrent of incredible malice spread out making the entirety of the cave a giant pot full of malevolence.

Upon receiving that wave of malice head on, I flinched. D-damn it… As the veil of spite grew thicker, it also became harder and harder to breathe. …What the heck is that monster even doing here?! I couldn’t help but ask. And as if answering that question, I saw the leader of the apes a little distance away.

Of course, the monster was together with his army. But in contrast to the majority of his soldiers who only have few light injuries, the Gigarillon who was supposed to be their leader somehow has wounds all over his body. More than that, the monster also seemed more exhausted than his soldiers which were not only weird, but also didn’t make sense. Especially considering the fact his two confidants weren’t that tired either.

Don’t tell me… he’s the one who lured that monster here?! To be perfectly honest, that was the only possible explanation why the Gigarillon was more injured than his soldiers. After all, I couldn’t even imagine his two most trusted confidants letting him get hurt. Because for what it’s worth, those two had always been overprotective when it comes to the Gigarillon’s safety.

While I was staring at the Gigarillon in shock, I didn’t even notice that the malice shrouding the entire area was already gone. In fact, I only came back into my senses when I heard the roar and screech of the two monsters followed by the Cerberus’ thunderous steps.

When I looked back, a loud bang rang into my ears and my vision was hindered by a cloud of dust. Following my instinct, I used my speed to move away in a flash all the while gazing upfront with the utmost caution.

Continuous deafening sounds of explosions erupted up ahead. Along with that, the thick cloud of dust also showed no signs of ever beginning to subside. But in the midst of that, I still saw the silhouette of the two gigantic monsters going at it in close combat. Sometimes, the other one would try to move away only to be caught by its enemy. There were also times when there was a sudden flash of light accompanied by a raging gust of wind.

I will most definitely die if I get caught in that… I thought with a jest. Then without hesitation, I decided my next course of action. Okay, let’s just run away from here.

With that in mind, I turned and ran into the opposite direction. On my way, I came across the army of ants who were charging straight into the center of this cloud of dust. Fortunately, it seemed like their senses were also being dulled by the cloud of dust and thunderous sounds, so my stealth became even more effective and they didn’t notice my presence. Though of course, there were still some exceptional ants that could sense me from time to time. But well, they were no big deal so I just made a quick work out of them before adding them to my shadow stacks.

After a while of moving against the unceasing wave of ants, I noticed that the cloud of dust was already starting to subside. And as I continued, the cloud became thinner and thinner until it was almost entirely gone.

As the visibility of the surroundings became much clearer, I also realized that the effect of my stealth would also decrease. And so, I didn’t hold anything back and activated Haste and applied Shadow Augment to my limbs. Using that speed and agility, I dashed around to every possible space while keeping the confrontations against the ants at the bare minimum.

This will be tough!! I thought while cutting away at the nearest ant. And just as I expected, numerous ants always swarmed on me wherever I went which of course hindered my pace. Tsk! I will get tired and be surrounded at this rate!!

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It was then at the height of my desperation when I saw another group going against the flow of ants. So, after luring that monster here, they were now dipping out huh?! I exclaimed inside.

Of course, the group of monsters in questions was the army of apes. And with the Gigarillon and his two confidants at the lead, they were also trying to pierce through the sea of ants. But what was even more shocking was that Gigarillon. Because even though he was hurt and bleeding all over, the guy was still upfront and bravely hacking at those ants in order to create a path for his subjects. And despite struggling like that, the expressions on their faces said only one thing.

Those apes are enjoying this moment, together…

“Their expressions remind you of old times, isn’t it?” Said a voice inside my head.

Shut up! I snapped back.

After shaking those thoughts away, I began to move towards their direction. This is my best bet if I want to survive. I thought to myself.

My plan was actually quite simple. I would follow behind those apes and use their group as both a shield and a spear. That way, I could decrease the number of ants that I would be fighting and preserve my strength in the process. Though of course, this plan would only succeed if they didn’t mind me and let me do my thing. Well, given our desperate situation, they probably will not mind. After all, it’s a win-win scenario since I would be technically defending their backs. And as I had expected, the ape soldiers on the far back of their formation didn’t fail to notice my presence.

Narrowing my eyes on them, I asked with a frown. Now, what will you do? After that, the ape who had spotted me passed the message to the others. Because of that, it didn't take too long for the Gigarillon to make eye contact with me. You don’t mind, do you? I signaled with my eyes. And upon seeing that, the Gigarillon’s mouth curved into a fierce wide smile before turning back.

Following their leader’s decision, the ape type monsters began to focus their attention on defending. And not only that, the apes also altered their formation in a way that seemed to put more emphasis on covering their sides. Good call. I quipped. Now that I don’t have to worry about those apes, I can finally focus on killing these pesky ants! With a mighty roar, I slashed the three ants that jumped me. Then while doing my best to keep up with the group of apes, I finished off the ants that the apes have left on their wake.

Because the apes were clearing the way up ahead, there was a significant drop in the number of ants that I had to fight. And taking advantage of that situation, I stopped the continued activation of Accelerate in order to lessen the burden on my body. Instead, I timed its activation with my movements just like what I did before. Yep, this is more efficient! I thought while biting an ant on its legs before throwing it back to its comrades. As a result, the ants tumbled on their legs and were left behind in the dust.

I don’t really need to kill these guys. All I need to do is slow them down and that should do the job. Probably because they were worried about their Queen, most of the ants simply turned back when they were left behind. And in truth, that might also be the reason why they weren’t swarming us. In short, the concentration of their attacks was focused mostly upfront. But as long as those apes are properly doing their job, we should all be fine. I confidently concluded. But as I was thinking that, there was a sudden change on the battlefield.

It happened just when our group was about to reach an exit. At that moment, I noticed a disturbance in the swarm of ants far on the right side of the apes’ formation. At first glance, it looked as if there was another group of monsters plowing through the sea of ants. But as it got closer and closer, I began to realize that that wasn’t the case at all. Because unlike us, these monsters weren’t being swarmed by the ants. In fact, those ants were opening up a path for them to pass through.

The Anties King and his minions!! Seeing that, I tried to warn the group of apes. But before I even managed to do that, the Anties King charged and crashed at the group of apes. And because the apes on the right side weren’t able to react in time, that solid formation that has brought us this far was shattered in the blink of an eye. What was even worse was that they were also hit by the follow-up attack of three Anties General.

Damn it!! What now?! I could only curse.