Cyrus looked down at the ants with anticipation, so many targets and so many easy pickings leading up to the real fight. Having a couple other fighters with him to take care of the small fry was very helpful in reality. Though that was just another thing he was never going to admit, courtesy of Peluna’s withering gaze if he actually did.

Ultimately, there were some slight adjustments made to the fool proof plan he had originally laid out. Peluna, as always would stay in the back and bring the support from behind with Brummel as her closest guard and would mop up anything that ran past the front lines. The front lines mostly pertaining to Grim and Cyrus as they would carve through the main bulk of the army and attempt to kill as many as possible. They would be backed up by Thea, a swift close quartered fighter who would be able to run around and kill ants on both sides of the fight. It wasn’t like they needed a hardened and thought-out strategy, but at least with this much they wouldn’t be walking in with nothing.

While Cyrus was more than content with this plan, he had some hidden concern. This was mostly stemming from having used his identify on the Prince and the direct guards next to it.

*Black Ant Prince – Level 75*

*Black Ant Royal Guard – Level 48*

There were two royal guard next to the Prince and both were at the same level, looking at the royal guards didn’t elicit much of a reaction from Cyrus. The story was not the same for the Prince, his instincts were almost crying out at the sight, telling him the opponent far ahead was dangerous and not to be underestimated. The General had felt more dangerous than the royal guards though, which put him more at ease when considering his options for the fight.

A loud clang sound could be heard in the distance. This was the signal from Grim, indicating that he was in position to begin the encounter. The sound also drew the attention of the first wave of warrior ants, several of them making their way towards where he stood. This was all the opening Cyrus needed as he leaped from his perch and gathered as much aura in his rapier as he could. They say impressions are important, Cyrus certainly made an impact as he slammed into the ground and cracks scattered over the floor. The burst of aura stretched outwards and cut apart several warriors that happened to be too close.

Thea wasn’t too far behind and with a knife in each hand she cut apart each ant bit by bit. While the stabs and slashes were not that deep, blood loss was going to take effect or their limbs would fall off first. Her method of killing was more on the brutal side but Cyrus couldn’t care less either way, as long as the ants were dead the result was all that mattered. Grim caught up with Cyrus after a few minutes and drew the attention of as many warriors as he could, several stray aura balls from the Shaman hit him but he made no effort to dodge in the slightest. His fists were a weapon on their own as he beat individual ants into the floor, a weapon worth his strength would likely be too heavy with the armor he was wearing.

With his left flank taken care of by Grim, Cyrus was able to focus on the battle in front of him. Unlike the tank, he had to actually dodge the aura shots coming from the Shaman at the rear of the main horde. Several of the shots were stopped far in advance by Peluna, her abilities were proving to be incredible as she blocked attacks for every party member at the same time. She truly was a protection priest, able to defend multiple allies at the same time.

That wasn’t to say that Cyrus wasn’t proving his own mettle as well, his sword became a part of his body as he melted through the attacking ant warriors. One by three they were slain, many of his slashes cutting down several at the same time. On the bright side for the ants, they never suffered as every attack was able to kill them instantly and without a chance for mercy. The Prince at the back wall made little movement except for what seemed to be bored observation, it didn’t look to be threatened at all by their slaughter. Deciding that it had let the fight go on long enough, a rattle from its mandibles and the royal guards from beside the Prince made towards the battle. Finally there would be some challenge amongst the massacres.

Apparently, his comrades share little of his own excitement. Grim was beginning to get far too overwhelmed by the number of warriors and the Shaman blasts were taking a toll on his body. Thea had moved in order to support him, helping to keep the ants at bay as she whittled away at their numbers. The real problem was, the royal ants were about to be upon them, stronger foes required focus unless you wanted to be killed by them. The royal reached Cyrus first, it was clear he was targeted before Grim because most of the ants on his side had been killed already. Before long, he would have been able to go after the Shaman but the royal had anticipated such an action.

The royal was not much smaller than the prince, it had a golden skeletal armor that emphasized its name. Cyrus designated the royal as his [Prey] right away, wanting to kill it quickly and support his comrades if possible. Brummel was now also joining the fight on the left flank; the bulk of the warriors had been eliminated and there was little reason for him to stand by Peluna and watch now. Cyrus maintained his focus on the royal in front of him, swinging his weapon down on its head with unmatched speed. There was no time to dodge and the royal quite literally ate the attack head on.

Its level proved its might as well, tanking the attack was no small task as the armor cracked under his strength but didn’t directly damage the royal. The ant didn’t take this attack lying down and countered with the weight of its body and full strength. This was far more than Cyrus could handle with just his sword and he was thrown back several feet, the sight of an aura ball filled his sight and he rolled out of the way. The ant was on him as soon as he moved, its own aura ball between its mandibles while rearing up to crush him.

Getting on his knees, Cyrus dove forward and tucked his legs into his chest, rolling under the massive royal so that the main body was above him. Much to his grace, the armor was not as thick below the ant’s stomach and he slashed his aura into the body repeatedly. Blood poured out of its body and with Cyrus being directly under, was promptly covered as well. Truthfully, it smelled disgusting and felt equally as bad as it smelt but there was little time for such thoughts. The ant was at the gates of hell and he had little desire to be crushed by the weight of a dead body. Before it fell down, he crawled out from under the body as it fell over, dispatched and broken.

The fight was easier than the General was, ants were a fairly straightforward species even if these were far evolved from the ones on earth. This made him miss the small creatures on his home planet, much easier to crush and much less lethal than these monsters. Turning to his comrades, they had also just killed the royal plaguing them as well. Grim was sitting on the ground catching his breath, his armor was dented from what likely had been taking the royal head on. While it took everything out of him, Cyrus was still impressed that the demon’s body was powerful enough to handle the brute. He wasn’t a tank for nothing. Brummel and Peluna looked the least tired, having not directly fought the horde and Brummel only really having taken care of the Shamans. Thea was bleeding in several places but still standing strong as well.

Cyrus walked over with a smile that showed he was fairly satisfied with the first encounter. The Prince made no moves toward them, rather it chose to watch and see if they would even attack it. Peluna was waiting and as soon as he came in range she cast [Area Heal], a healing spell that would affect everyone within an 8-foot radius. While it wasn’t a full heal, at least everyone was able to get back a little of what they needed.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Grim was chuckling to himself from where he sat on the ground, rubbing the dented spot of armor on his chest. “Funny, how you have nothing but a few scrapes and bruises after the ants and even the royal. We’d be screwed without you here.”

Thea’s wounds had healed pretty well on her body, many of the cuts simply closing and leaving no scar. Magic was truly amazing; on earth it would be wonderful. “The real question is, what do we do against that monster?” Thea let out a shaky breath, everyone else also must be able to feel the aura coming off of the Prince. It was simply waiting, as if it knew no strategy was going to pierce it.

Not good for morale.

“If we run, the beast will simply chase after us. There’s little choice except for us to fight the damned thing, I’d rather not have it at out backs.” Brummel gave his rare piece of input. Though the statement wasn’t ideal it was also true. The System made it clear that the Prince would chase after them anyways and likely bring backup if they didn’t kill it now while there was a good chance.

After a few minutes of rest with the Prince content on waiting for its opponents, Grim got up from where he lay and stood at the head of the pack. His intention was to lock the Prince in a confrontation and give Cyrus an open chance to cut it down. There were little to no obstacles in the room besides the bodies of the fallen, little to work with which was both great and a negative. Making the approach, the Prince finally moved for the first time since they’re arrival and also began its slow approach as well. It was acting a little too carefree which unsettled Cyrus. Surely this monster had some sort of plan that would surprise them?

Peluna cast a party wide dexterity boost with the exception of Grim who received extra strength that he might need to halt the Prince in place. Grim stepped forward ahead of everyone and made to confront the ant by himself, his head was facing downwards with his eyes strictly on the boss ahead. Tensions in the room remained high, everyone was alert for the singular most powerful monster in the anthill. One mistake could lead to death, this world proved it was that simple.

As if it were another mindless worker ant, the Prince charged forward to meet Grim in his head on advance. The demon halted in place and planted his right foot behind him, readying for the impact that the Prince would make. The problem is that impact never came. Instead, the ant dodged around Grim just before they made contact and went for the next closest person, Brummel. The attack was unexpected and the speed was the highest they had ever seen from an ant; his axe was barely ready by the time the Prince pummeled into the dwarf.

Cyrus’ eyes went wide at the sight, the Prince crushed Brummel into the ground and shot an aura ball at the broken body below with just half a second of charging. While Brummel might have been savable before the shot, he was certainly beyond repair now. The mangled body below the Prince did not move, nor were there any limbs still attached to what might have been a body. Within seconds the Prince had made them drop their guard for what looked to be a simple attack and effectively kill one of their parties with ease.

Sweat dripped down Cyrus’ forehead, his palms were wet from how nervous he suddenly began. What would Albus do in this situation? What was the right way to approach a noticeably more powerful enemy? Cyrus felt lost and he hated the way it was making him react, his legs wanted to move but he didn’t want to die yet either.

Should he flee? If he ran away, he probably could get out while the rest of the party was slaughtered by the Prince. Those thoughts left his mind as soon as they passed through, while he was determined he would not be a coward. That would make him feel worse, despite only knowing this party for a short while he didn’t feel as if he could just leave them to die. That would be the same fate that befell his last party, he survived because he ran away and got lucky.

This was not the same.

He was not the same.

His thoughts were broken by a gentle touch on his arm, followed by a gentle smile. Peluna stood next to him with no fear in her eyes despite not being a fighter. It was absurd, despite having no real strength and being a support she was braver than him in the face of death. He was thinking of running while she stood here proudly and willing to fight. Cyrus had never felt like more of a coward until that moment, if anyone were to get away or run, it should be her. It was the same when they fought Albus, she yelled at him to keep fighting at that time too.

You have ambition with no conviction to follow it.

Albus said those words to him during their fight. If he died because of some stupid ant, how was he going to kill a real monster? There was only one way to fix the problem at hand, the Prince was going to become his [Prey]. He placed his hand gently over Peluna’s and removed it, unlike last time when he shrugged her off out of anger he wasn’t so careless as he once was. While he was in no way going to return the smile she wore on her face, he at least nodded in thanks to her. This was no time for wayward thinking, now he had to be focused.

For the first time since he first allowed himself to use it, Cyrus activated the [Life Burn] passive ability. The blood spilled all around began to creep over his back, haunting him as if the lives of every slain ant was fueling his strength. Alone they were worth nothing, but all together they served as a wonderful catalyst for his strength. The strength of his enemies would become his, bit by bit. His vision became tunneled, with only the Prince in sight and he charged to meet the monster head on. His instincts screamed at him to turn around and run but he ignored him, there was no room for thinking, no time for thought. Fear was pushed aside and killing intent took its place.

His rapier came crashing down on the head of the Prince, the impact streaming through its body into the legs of the monster. The floor cracked under the pressure but the Prince remained standing despite the impact. What’s more, the ant was furious, having not expected for any attack to make a real dent in it. An aura ball formed between its mandibles directly in front of his waist and his eyes flickered for just a moment. There was no real time to dodge, the ball slammed into his gut and sent him flying 30 feet backwards. Normally the ground would have hurt just as much, however Peluna caught him in the embrace of her barrier.

His gut was bleeding with several cuts and severe bruises, extreme pain overcame his body just from trying to sit up. There had to be a few broken ribs from the strength of the ball. The Prince had made to charge its now downed opponent but was instead met with Grim, grabbing the mandible on the monster and steering it away from him. Peluna darted over to him and cast a direct [Heal] spell on him, the pain did not go away in the slightest but it became more bearable to the functioning of his body. The bruises and outward wounds healed for the most part but took a lot out of her. If he took a second hit like that, there was little chance she’d be able to cast another good healing spell.

With Grim pulling the Prince by its head, Thea wasted no time to assist and began slashing its body with all she had. Several cuts appeared on the body, but the full armor of the prince was proving far too much for her blades. The knives she held were cracked and likely would break before doing any lasting damage. With a slam of its head, Grim was thrown off the mandible to one of the farther walls. It wasn’t enough to injure him badly but the Prince had bought itself time. Thea became its next target, several needles formed around her and shot out like arrows. Thea was quick, but not even she was fast enough to dodge every needle.

One of them stabbed through her leg, going through and through like a bullet and throwing her off balance. The level gap was proving to be too much for their party, despite their superior numbers. With renewed health, Cyrus ran to her aid, intending to intercept the Prince before it made the next move. Thankfully, he was fast enough and stabbed into its main body with all he had. The armor had not been as tough in the center and his attacked stabbed into the body, making the Prince cry out in pain.

It had not been expecting serious to recover from the aura ball, that’s why they say you should always take out the healers first. Speaking of healers, Peluna made to go and help Thea who was crawling away and leaving a thin trail of blood in her wake but the Prince had clearly learned its lesson. A dozen more needles appeared in the air, forcing Cyrus to jump back as most of them made to kill him first. Still, the damage was done to its main body and would have at least some effects on the fight. The problem was, not all the needles were targeting Cyrus, a couple flew towards Peluna and the downed Thea as well.

Peluna wasn’t an idiot and put her barrier up to block the needles aimed at her and Thea. Thing is, there were several needles. Each one stronger than one of her barriers could handle. She had put up enough to stop the first two. The last needle, hit its mark.

Killing its intended target with a hole in her head.