A large expanse greeted the seven humans, one beastman, and one soul. Many strange broken tree stumps filled their view. Each appeared to have been half-eaten by something with a largemouth. The stumps were also stained with a peculiar faded yellow substance. Their eyes could see a large area that appeared to be mercilessly deforested. The unnatural stumps sent chills down their spine. A sticky, faded yellow substance covered the ground, almost similar to the stained stumps. Every step made a squeaking sound, and it was a bit slippery to walk on. The air seemed strangely humid. It started to feel colder; the visibility suddenly became better with the less fog in this haunted-like place. "No..." Koss uttered after he noticed something oval hiding inside the tree trunk. "Don't tell me. " Vincent blurted after hearing Koss with a concerned expression on his face. "This... this an ants nest! Ant eggs are inside the melted trees. " Koss announced, lowering the morale of everyone in an instant. [This isn't good! Why don't you inspect those two nearby trunks? We might find information that can help.] Kazumi tried to stay level headed and help Vincent stay positive. She wanted to exit Vincent's body and scout the area, but doing so uses a lot of mana. Vincent gulped and took a few steps to his left. Two tree trunks not far from each other appeared to each contain a large egg with different colors. It seemed that each tree trunk had an ostrich sized egg inside. One stump had an egg with a white shell soaking in a faded yellow substance. The other egg had a beehive-like pattern on the shell, with dark green mold-like dots appearing randomly. It looked sinister, unlike the previous egg. [Name] Soldier Ant Egg (Male) [Condition] Healthy, Growing [Detail] An egg created by [Broodmother Queen Ant] An egg grows then matures a Soldier Ant depending on the nutrients the shell absorbs. [Name] Acid Ant Egg (Male) [Condition] Healthy, Growing [Detail] An egg created by [Broodmother Queen Ant] An egg grows then matures an Acid Ant depending on the nutrients the shell absorbs. "These eggs are big. The moldy one is an acid version, and a yellow substance is covering half these eggs." Vincent stated. His hand started to approach the yellow substance with curiosity. "Stop, don't touch anything! Ants use acid to grow stronger eggs! That must be acid! I heard the weakest type of Acid Ant has acid strong enough to melt metal after a few minutes." Koss warned in a hurry. Vincent quickly retreated a few steps. Lupa stopped in her tracks as she was bout to try the same thing. The others who didn't let curiosity control their actions stared at Koss with a worried frown. They got surrounded by many eggs that could hatch at any time. [I feel like we are in a beehive. Let's quickly leave this place, or a Royal Ant Guard might appear.] "Ohh nooo... we are going to die!" Shouted Tulip. Her body shivered from the fear coursing through her veins. "Big sister, I'm scared!" Tula said in a low tone. The afraid Tula became more scared because of Tulip. "Don't be scared and walk beside your big sister." Ester tried to reassure Tula while rubbing her back for comfort. She was, however, as scared as Tula. Ester wanted to hear Vincent say these words to her, but it also meant she was weak and needed protection. A thing she desperately tried to change. *Whoosh* A sudden gust of wind hit their bodies. The fog's density diminished, increasing the range they could see. However, the wind wasn't something that occurred naturally. It was caused by something instead. A being that was hard to notice if it was a strange tree or not became visible. A huge twelve feet tall ant with wings entered their view. It stood on six large legs and possessed four appendages with sharp-looking scythes. Attached at the end of its body was a dangerous looking abdomen. The sack had multiple cracks that faintly glowed yellow. It resembled a hybrid of mantis and ant. *Skroar!* The Royal Guard Ant screeched and sharpened its scythes together. It seemed to have given an order. A loud rumble suddenly sounded. The ground lightly shook as if a pack of horses was running. Ants appeared out of hiding from the unnaturally placed bushes one after the other for a total of twenty ants. Not all had the same appearance; three of them had a sack similar to the monstrous ant. "Huddle with our backs with each other now!" Koss shouted the order from the top of his lungs. [Inspect them first! I can read all the info by memorizing it. Then I will summarize our situation while everyone and you huddle together.] Vincent understood Kazumi's suggestion. He thought it was the best idea at this moment. He could multi-task when it involved double thinking and sight. A boon that shouldn't be wasted. [Name] Royal Guard Ant (Male) [Condition] Healthy, Enraged [Detail] An ant solely created to serve [Broodmother Queen Ant] as their protector by using the best nutrients. They receive orders directly from [Broodmother Queen Ant] and order lower ranks of the colony. Royal Guard Ant is the ultimate version of Soldier and Acid Ant combined into one. Under the Royal Guard Ant appeared to be a large bird nest made out of melted, broken trees. It seemed wood had some acid resistance as acid slowly seeped from corners of the large nest. Two eggs floated inside this pool of acid, but they were hard to notice. Vincent lowered his gaze, and the barely noticeable egg info appeared. Inspection activated on them without any visual hindrance. Vincent became a bit surprised as he didn't see the eggs. However, he decided not to care and keep inspecting. [Name] Royal Guard Ant Egg (Male) [Condition] Healthy, Growing [Detail] An egg created by [Broodmother Queen Ant] An egg grows then matures a Royal Guard Ant depending on the nutrients the shell absorbs. [Name] Soldier Ant Egg (Female) [Condition] Healthy, Growing [Detail] An egg created by [Broodmother Queen Ant] An egg grows then matures a Soldier Ant depending on the nutrients the shell absorbs. Vincent turned his head and inspected every one of the ants surrounding them. Multiple windows flashed for a few seconds, almost blinding Vincent from the brightness of overlapping windows. [Name] Slider Ant (Male) [Condition] Healthy, Enraged [Detail] An ant of the lowest standing. It follows any order given to it by its superiors in the colony and doesn't hesitate to give its life for the [Broodmother Queen Ant] goals. [Name] Acid Ant (Male) [Condition] Healthy, Enraged [Detail] An ant of the lowest standing. It follows any order given to it by its superiors in the colony and doesn't hesitate to give its life for the [Broodmother Queen Ant] goals. "Eat the mudcrab meat now! It will help reduce the killing intent the Royal Guard Ant is emitting." Ordered Koss from the top of his lungs. He then glanced at his daughter and noticed she stayed glued to Ester like chewing gum. Koss ate the meat and returned his gaze that the one. Lupa was next to eat the meat. She then shapeshifted her arms in combat form, extended her claws, and glared at the one. Soon Culo, Hara, and Tulip followed suit. They ate the mudcrab meat and took a few steps back, forming a circle with their backs against each other, not to leave any blind spots unnoticed. Tula couldn't draw the meat from the pocket as her hands trembled like a tremor, and her breathing was becoming heavier. She was too afraid to move her fear-stricken body. Ester forced herself to smile as if the situation wasn't bad. Then said while helping Tula, "Don't be afraid, we are beside you." Tula felt less stressed and afraid by Ester's acting. She remembered how her father, big brother Vincent, and both big sisters were strong. Tula ate the mudcrab. She quickly felt the after-effects activate. Her body shivered less, and a frown appeared on her face as if she was angry at the ants. The mudcrab meat seemed to be a potent and dangerous food. It could turn weak-willed people into doing something they could never do in different situations. Koss mentioned the mudcrab meat was a rare find. Wars would be a horrifying sight if this kind of food were an everyday item. [I have assessed the situation. There are seventeen Soldier Ants and three Acid Ants. We've never fought an Acid Ant before, but we should be wary of the acidity. I think the acid melted the trees.] -I thought there were over ten ants, but twenty and the big boss... - [Don't be dishearted, or the fight will be against us even further. Overheat now makes you stronger than before, and you have also gained the ability to feel malicious intent. Surprise attacks are harder to surprise you.] -... - [Vincent. Lets me ask you this. Why do you fight? What will happen after this fight ends? What kind of life is waiting for you in Lusterfally City?] [I hope these questions will give you the resolution you need to fight the ants surrounding us fearlessly.] Vincent answered the question in a split second in his thoughts. A good life is waiting for him, so survival is a must. To protect his harem became the goal fueling him. Fear disappeared from his body, and unbreakable determination took over. Vincent ate the mudcrab meat and uttered while glaring at the Royal Guard Ant, "Overheat." The Royal Guard Ant felt a glare filled with killing intent. However, it felt strange. The mutation of Overheat and mudcrab meat caused the potency of the murderous glare to increase rapidly. The Royal Guard Ant sensed that a predator hid in sheep's clothing and now started showing their true colors. However, Vincent only had strong killing intent. His power was less than Koss. The Royal Guard Ant turned its gaze on Vincent and noticed him change. The aura surrounding Vincent became filled with a strange devouring killing intent. The pair of green eyes shone wildly, making the Royal Guard Ant feel as if they pierced its soul. The mudcrab meat allowed the other seven teammates to receive a lesser dose of killing intent. They only lightly shook in fear instead of fainting or falling on their knees. Fortunately, the heavy feeling of dread didn't last long. Vincent's rapidly increasing killing intent clashed with the Royal Guard Ant killing intent. Both their killing intent got suppressed, almost negated. The heavy feeling of death suddenly subsided, allowing everyone to breathe easily.