Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 116: Drink Blood!

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He slept in a crevice for three hours. He dreamt of Mia welcoming him at the gate.

Kai perched on a ridge. Ahead, the desert ended; scrub plains rolled under violet dawn, punctuated by twisted basalt pillars. In the distance shimmered a lone fortress ruin, ancient termite bastion, rumors said now it was occupied by mercenaries beast man.

The system arrow pointed straight at it.

"Well, traitor," Kai whispered, "you found yourself new friends."

He estimated the distance, two, maybe three days’ marches if he skirted patrolled valleys. "Eight days left. Plenty of time to kill him."

He knelt, tapped pouch: "Miryam, quiet now. Things will get loud from here."

A soft heartbeat pulse answered. He set off at a trot, mind sharpening into kill-focus, spear thirsty, timer ticking:

[Reaming Time: 8 days 11 hours 17 minutes ]

Kai’s internal compass now had a thin gold arrow at the rim of his sight. It glowed east-north east. Beyond the last dune the landscape hardened into striated stone, heat-cracked and salt-white. Here the desert ended and the Shatter-Teeth Range began.

(Shatter-Teeth Range began: a maze of basalt fins jutting like broken spears, each razor pillar humming with trapped desert winds.)

He pulled his hood-cloth tighter. Level 30 or not, the night’s chill cut through plate seams, at dawn it would swing back to the furnace. Miryam the egg, a warm marble thrum at his hip felt oddly calm, as though sensing the stone country was safer than sand.

Kai brought up the Status just to anchor himself:

[Name: Kai (Elite Worker Ant)

Species: Monarch Devourer Ant

Level: 30 (⭐⭐)

Exp: 100/1000

HP: 2000/2000

Aura: 3000/3000

Lifespan: 10+ years

Strength: 157

Speed: 120

Stamina: 118

Unallocated stats: 50

Quest Timer : 8d 11h 15m]

"Eight days..." The time felt razor-thin now that he actually had a location. He double-checked the read-out,

[TARGET: Captain Darius

Location: Scour Fort of Shatter-Teeth Range

Distance: 172 leagues]

172 leagues equaled roughly 240 kilometres. "Let’s work," he grunted, and began the transition from yielding sand to bone-white flats.

Salt flats looked empty but seethed with life beneath fissures. Predator Instinct tingle constantly. He kept to the broken seams where thin ridges of quartz offered partial cover.

Near sunrise a tremor rippled underfoot. It was soft and rhythmic. Sand-Saw Millipede, two star rank beast, erupted behind him, serrated legs whirring. It was fast but predictable; Kai plant-pivoted, let it overshoot, then rammed his broken spear deep through the neck-plates. (EXP +20). He drained three gulps of iridescent ichor (+2 stat points), wiped blade, jogged on.

Wind picked up, carrying a keening whistle between basalt towers. Ahead, a double arch of stone formed a natural gate. The ground there was littered with bones. Kai slowed down, he knew trap signs. From above, six Glider Kites (one star rank beast) swooped, membranous wings casting vulture shadows.

He didn’t waste aura; instead he met them with calculated thrusts, one after another, letting momentum skewer each thin chest. Ten minutes later +60 EXP. He harvested all the cores and ate all the essence liquid. (+6 stats point)

EXP: 180 / 1000

Still distant from the next level. He needs to allocate all his stats before the fight. He was planning or trying to collect as many stats points as possible in his journey.

By the mid morning the flats rose into a plateau forested with black pillars. What locals named or called the Garden of Echoes. Every footfall here rebounded a half-second later, twisting a sense of distance. Perfect ambush terrain.

Kai scaled on a thirty foot spine to scout his surroundings. Beyond, the ruined termite fortress jutted from cliffs.

Jutted cliffs: a step pyramid of slag stone, ringed by many half collapsed battlements. Even at five leagues away he saw camp smoke trailing from watch fires. "So Darius is in there... with mercenaries." That explained why the system called it Scour Fort; an outlaw clan must have bought his story.

He would need to infiltrate there. Not frontal assault. First he must cross the Garden alive.

Kai hopped down into a gulley ribboning between pillars. The instant his feets touched gravel, a hiss pulsed through stone. From a cleft rose a Glass-Hide Basilisk. A three star rank beast. It was four metres long, scales translucent like smoky quartz. Eyes were mirrored domes reflecting infinite Kai silhouettes.

It has an uncoiled, tongue tasting aura. Kai’s spear wouldn’t pierce frontal scales. He needed the gill slits behind jaw.

Basilisk opened its mouth with a sonic screech. The echo of walls multiplied waves, hammering Kai’s tympana. He staggered but triggered Antenna Sensory Boost skill, vibrations mapped the beast’s weight shift. Basilisk lunged at him with a bullet of glass. He side rolled to dodge, then he slashed at the flank of the beast but the weapon only glanced off.

Tiny Tank ON. His body plates hardened. He absorbed the next tail swipe, countered with two quick thrusts at gill vents. Hit one cracked scale, basilisk bled with a red waterfall. freewebnσvel.cѳm

Aura 2600, 2400...

Basilisk hissed at him, its mouth glowing green charged breath weapon. Kai measured the distance. It was not enough to outrun. He planted spear butt, vaulted OVER the open jaws at last instant; the breath cannon blasted pillar, spraying molten glass behind him.

Mid-flip he plunged the spear down into the open palate. Beast spasmed, crashed. He landed rolling. One more thrust into the brain and silence fell.

[Ding! System notifications: Enemy killed.

EXP +30

Total: 210 / 1000]

"Essence Eater time," he deserved it. He siphoned all the essence liquid until the shell dulled. (+4 stats points.) Inventory gained one three-star core, heavy but worthwhile.

No sooner had he wiped mandibles than he noticed Miryam the egg humming louder. She liked basilisk blood apparently. He dropped drops of blood onto the egg shell, the runes mark of the egg drank it, pulsing bright.

"Gourmet, I didn’t know you like to drink blood. There is a feast waiting for us." he chuckled. "I will feed you Darius’ blood and his essence is mine. It will be an enjoyable festive."