As I run, the two red ants continue chasing after me. I a.s.sume that they also know that they don’t have a chance of winning, yet they don’t let up. Ant societies seem much more tougher than human societies. Because of that, the way I imagine it, there’s nothing unusual about being told to “go die in a suicide attack”.

Well, if they do start running away, I’d just go on the offensive next. Currently, I’m retreating through the air because I want to maintain a favorable distance, although I don’t actually want to run away. If they try to escape, then I will chase and completely annihilate them with [[Kamaitachi]]. Maybe the red ants understand that, and that’s why they’re still chasing me.

For these guys, I guess it’s not possible for them to disperse and escape. Eventually, they’ll just return to their nest and meet up there

I decelerate to provoke the red ants and continue retreating. Now that they can barely use [[Clay Gun]] to shoot at me anymore, they probably want to take this battle into close combat. Therefore, I decelerate. From the red ants’ perspective, this must look like the last good opportunity they’ll have.

The red ants take the bait and speed up. I bet they’re thinking of pouncing on me now that I’ve left an opening by slowing down.

I decelerate even further and continue to

shorten the distance between me and the red ants. They won’t be able to avoid it at this range. I’ll kill one of them with a single shot of [[Kamaitachi]].

I shoot a single [[Kamaitachi]] towards the red ant that’s closest to me.

“Kuchaaa!”

The red ant, which is hurriedly running towards me, gets struck by the sharp wind attack head-on. Its severed legs scatter and the red ant stops moving. Because of inertia, the red ant’s body continues to hurtle forward and literally grinds to a halt on its stomach.

[Obtained 400 Experience Points] [t.i.tle Skill [[Walking Egg Lv -]] activated, 400 bonus points obtained.] [Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 60 to 61.]

The last remaining ant comes diving towards me. Now it’s one-on-one; I can hardly lose with a single red ant as my opponent.

I twist my body away, avoiding its bite attack. The red ant’s defenseless head is presented right in front of me. Ooh, don’t mind if I do.

I extend my arm out as far as it will go, and perform a large swing. Riding on the angular momentum of my arm, my claws. .h.i.t the red ant directly in the neck. With a slapping sound, the red ant’s head flies.

[Obtained 416 Experience Points.] [t.i.tle Skill [[Walking Egg: Lv -]] activated, 416 bonus points obtained.] [Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 61 to 62.]

With a plop, the red ant’s head

head falls to the ground behind me. After the sound pa.s.ses, the ant’s body collapses to the sand beneath it.

[Level of Normal Skill [[Neck Breaker]] has increased from 3 to 4.]

Alright, my skill level also increased.

With this, all four of them are dead. Finally level 62, huh? At this rate, it’s going to take about 20 more ants until I’m able to evolve.

…When I evolve, I wonder if I’ll still be able to fit in the ants’ nest. I don’t know to what extent my size will change, but couldn’t it become too cramped for my physique? Geez, to think I overlooked this. Well, is this alright? No, how would it be?

…Just in case, I’ll prepare for the worst. I’ll absolutely prevent myself from evolving inside of the ants’ nest. If I make one wrong move, I may end up having no choice but to spend the rest of my life in there.

I think I will be fine since there’s probably a selection system in place for my next evolution… But even so, I don’t want to have to be restricted to choosing an evolution based on size and end up as something weak and pitiful. Thinking about this isn’t going to help until I can actually take a look at the evolution list, though.

Now then, time to go get the red ant that is pinned underneath the Big Scissor. This time, I’m going

I’m going with the centipede dumplings as my main strategy, rather than just raising my level.

I follow the path I took while fleeing, now using [[Roll]]. It’s going to save me a lot of trouble if it’s still pinned.

Once the Big Scissor comes into view, I cancel [[Roll]]. Beneath the Big Scissor is the red ant, flailing it’s legs.

“Kuchaa! Kuchaaa!”

That’s good. It hasn’t been able to free itself yet. It chitters energetically.

I circle around behind it and quickly lift up the Big Scissor.

“Kuchi…”

Relieved, the red ant looks back at me.

“Gwaa”

Too bad for you. It’s not a fellow red ant. It’s me.

“Kuchaaa!?”

The red ant retreats back, as if frightened. I follow the movements of the red ant, making sure to keep my distance. I strike at it lightly.

“Guchii!?”

Using my wings, I fly around so I’m behind the red ant. Grabbing onto its back, I grind it against the ground while continuing to use [[Flight]].

“Guchichichichichichichichichaa!”

It’s cruel, but it’s has to be done. Ants spread pheromones to “remember” the path they took. If I fly while carrying it, it’s possible that it may not know how to return to its nest. If I grind it against the ground like this, then the scent should remain.

Because of the low alt.i.tude and the support from below, the burden on my wings is small. I continue dragging the red ant as is and return to the pile of centipede dumplings. Icentipede dumplings. I hurl the red ant into the hollowed out carapace of the large centipede. Leaving it as it is, I land and use [[Roll]] to retreat. I stop midway and observe the red ant’s movements from a distance.

After the red ant gets up, it repeatedly moves its legs and twists its body. It seems that it’s checking to make sure that its body can move normally. It was dragged quite a considerable distance. Honestly, it’s a miracle that it didn’t lose any of its legs.

After that, the red ant approaches the centipede dumplings. Pressing its antennae against them, it tilts its head.

What, is it no good? No, it seems to be good. It might unexpectedly find them edible. I would not want to bite into them again, but there are people who are into things like that. Take it, just take it please. I’m relying on you alone.

The red ant holds the centipede dumpling in its mouth, quickly lifting its head up. Yes, victory.

The red ant goes back the way it came. For now, I feel relieved. The strategy to get them to carry the dumplings back is a success.

[Level of t.i.tle Skill [[Mean King]] has increased from 4 to 5.]

…Right as I’m close to evolving, I get something unpleasant. Well, I was pretty much prepared for this. I’ll have to offset it by increasing the level of [[Rest]] later.