Ari rushed forward.
Each swing of his mandibles cut through another enemy. Bodies dropped one after another and hit the ground with dull thuds.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
The number on the quest screen climbed higher.
A fly slammed into Ari's face.
The hit sent him sprawling into the dirt. Dry earth burst upward around him. Blood ran from his nose and dripped onto the ground beneath him.
He winced and grit his teeth. A sharp sting spread across his face.
His fingers dug into the dirt.
Then he pushed himself off the ground.
There are too many of them, Ari thought.
Nyra kept cutting through the lines of flies.
A fly lunged at her, its fists striking in rapid succession.
Her antennae twitched.
Left.
Right.
She dodged every blow with precise timing. Her mandibles snapped forward and sliced through all four of its arms in one clean motion.
The creature shrieked.
Nyra grabbed hold of its falling body and used the weight to launch herself upward. Air rushed past her face as she rose. Her mandibles cut through the fly's neck.
Its head separated and dropped.
Before the body even hit the ground, Nyra turned and cut down two more flies closing in from above.
"She's a monster…" a fly said, freezing in midair.
The soldiers stared.
Then cheers broke out across the battlefield.
"Captain Nyra!"
"Thank goodness she's here!"
Nyra slashed another fly across the chest. Blood sprayed across her arm.
She drew in a deep breath and paused for a second.
They're not strong, but...
Suddenly a clawed fist entered her field of vision.
Nyra moved instantly.
She ducked under the strike. The fist cut through the air above her head.
Then pain slammed into her stomach.
A kick landed hard against her abdomen.
Her body jolted and her feet dragged against the ground as she staggered back several steps.
"So you're the strongest out of these feeble creatures," a voice said.
A figure stepped forward through the battlefield.
The soldiers stiffened.
"No way… it's Buzzkill," one soldier said fearfully.
Buzzkill smirked and rolled one shoulder.
"I'll give you this. Even with how weak you are, you still managed to survive my attack."
Nyra stayed where she was.
Her breathing remained steady.
"You've got it backwards," she said, her voice low.
Buzzkill frowned.
"What?"
Nyra lifted her eyes and looked straight at him.
"Your leg is still intact," she muttered.
Buzzkill's expression changed.
A second later blood ran down his leg.
His knee buckled.
He dropped to one knee with a sharp breath and grabbed his thigh.
"What?"
His fingers came away wet with blood.
"How…?"
His eyes widened.
When did she?...
Nyra walked toward him one slow step at a time.
Buzzkill's jaw tightened.
"I'm going to kill you!" he shouted.
His wings burst into motion.
He shot into the air, then dove straight at Nyra.
"I'll crush you where you stand!"
The air shifted around her.
Nyra changed her stance in an instant.
Her feet turned.
Her body spun.
Buzzkill rushed past her.
His eyes widened.
A second later he slammed into the ground.
The impact cracked the earth beneath him and sent dirt and broken stone into the air.
Nyra turned and began walking away.
Behind her, Buzzkill slowly pushed himself back to his feet. His breathing came out uneven. Blood continued to run down his leg and onto the broken ground.
"Where the hell are you going?" he shouted.
He forced himself upright and clenched his fists.
"I'm not letting you walk away!"
Nyra stopped.
For a second she said nothing.
Then she spoke without turning around.
"There's no need for me to continue."
Her face was blank.
"Because you're already dead."
Buzzkill's eyes widened.
"What—?"
A thin line of blood appeared across his face.
Then his head split apart.
Blood spilled onto the ground.
His body dropped with a heavy thud.
"Well… damn. The Captain's strength is terrifying," an ant said with a smirk.
"Corporal Aeron, the right flank is under control," another ant reported.
Aeron clicked his tongue and turned toward the soldier.
"Private Rhea," he said. "Are we still under attack?"
Rhea stiffened.
"Well… yes, sir."
"Tch."
Aeron narrowed his eyes.
"Then why are you reporting to me?"
He lifted his weapon and pointed toward the flues.
"I want every last one of them dead."
Rhea swallowed.
"Y-yes, sir!"
She turned and ran off at once.
"I swear… that idiot," he muttered under his breath.
Lancelot stayed locked in combat with a fly moving faster than the rest.
Every strike from his mandible blades missed by inches.
He slashed upward, aiming for its chest.
The fly twisted in midair and slipped past the attack.
A fist slammed into Lancelot's torso.
The impact forced the air from his lungs and sent him sliding across the dirt. He caught himself before falling and pushed his body upright.
Pain spread through his exoskeleton.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
The fly kept moving.
In.
Out.
Its wings buzzed as it shifted through the air, never staying still long enough for him to catch it.
Another strike landed against his midsection.
Lancelot's shoulders tensed.
A sharp breath escaped him as he steadied his footing.
Dammit.
This is getting irritating.
I can't land a single hit on this thing.
The fly hovered above him with a grin spread across its face.
"What's wrong?" it asked. "Can't hit your target?"
Lancelot tightened his grip around his blades.
Before he could answer—
Movement.
A figure dropped behind him.
Beatrice landed hard, dirt pressing under her feet as she drove both mandibles forward without slowing.
The blades pierced through the fly's carapace.
Its body jerked.
Beatrice twisted and lifted it off balance, then drove both blades through its neck.
The fly's limbs twitched once.
Then went still.
Its body hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Beatrice landed in a crouch beside him.
She pressed one hand against her side and held it there for a second.
Her fingers tightened.
Then she straightened and lifted her eyes toward Lancelot.
"Letting your guard down in a battle like this will cost you your life," Beatrice said. "Don't hold back just because you're trying to protect the workers."
Lancelot exhaled and wiped the blood from his mouth.
"...Thanks, Beatrice," he said.
She didn't look at him.
"Get back in formation."
Lancelot tightened his grip on his blades and nodded.
Across the battlefield, Ari cut down another fly.
A body dropped at his feet.
One of the remaining flies suddenly pulled away and shot higher into the air.
Ari's eyes followed it.
His body moved before the thought fully settled.
He gripped one mandible blade.
His fingers tightened around the haft.
Then he threw it.
The blade cut through the air and struck the fly in the chest.
Its body jerked.
A second later it fell from the sky and crashed into the dirt.
Ari walked over without slowing.
He grabbed the handle and pulled the mandible free.
The quest screen jumped
27/30
Blood spilled down the blade as he looked around the battlefield.
Across the battlefield, Isla tightened her grip around her mandibles.
Her legs trembled.
She planted her feet deeper into the dirt and forced herself to stay balanced.
The constant buzzing pressed against her ears.
Her breathing turned uneven.
Then movement caught the corner of her eye.
A fly broke away from the swarm and rushed straight toward her.
Its four arms lifted.
Fists clenched.
Isla let out a sharp scream and swung.
Her mandible cut through one of its arms.
The limb separated instantly.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
The fly cried out and jerked back.
Now's my chance, she thought bracing herself
Lancelot lunged in without hesitation.
His mandibles came down with full force.
The fly's body folded under the strike before collapsing to the dirt.
Lancelot pulled his blades free and exhaled hard.
"Finally," he said, his voice rough. "That's another one."
"Hey!" Isla shouted. "I was the one who injured it! That should've been my kill, Lance!"
Lancelot glanced at her and let out a tired breath.
"Quit acting like you were going to finish it."
He shifted his grip and looked across the sky.
"Besides…"
"There are barely any flies left."
Isla blinked and looked around.
The battlefield had changed.
The panic from earlier was gone.
Groups of low-ranking ants moved together in teams of three, surrounding isolated flies and bringing them down with clean coordination.
Isla mouth opened slightly.
He's right.
Brooks kept moving forward.
Steady.
Unshaken.
Zippy's fists flew at him one after another.
Each hit landed against Brooks's exoskeleton with a dull thud.
Left.
Right.
Another strike to the chest.
Brooks barely moved.
"How…?"
Zippy's breathing turned uneven.
"How are you still standing?!"
Brooks looked at him without slowing.
"It's simple," he said evenly.
Another punch landed against his shoulder.
Brooks didn't react.
"Your attacks are easy to read. I can deflect them before they even land."
Zippy froze.
His wings fluttered hard and he pulled himself backward through the air.
No…
This isn't normal.
He's no ordinary soldier.
But he can't be a lieutenant.
During every previous raid, only sergeants and lower were sent with supply escorts.
That was what the reports said.
Then why...
Why would someone like him be here?
Brooks suddenly surged forward.
The distance between them disappeared instantly.
Zippy's eyes widened.
Brooks's mandibles cut through the air and slammed into his chest.
The impact sent him flying backward.
His body crashed into the dirt.
The force shook through his back and knocked the air from his lungs.
Damn it…
He's too strong.
Zippy forced himself upright.
His wings twitched unevenly behind him as his eyes swept across the battlefield, searching for the rest of his swarm.
Most of them were already down.
The rest had started pulling back.
His chest tightened.
These ants…
They aren't normal.
Brooks stepped forward.
A fly lunged at him from the side, arms swinging wildly.
Brooks didn't even turn.
He caught the attacker by the throat.
His grip tightened.
A sharp twist.
The fly's neck snapped.
Its body went limp and dropped to the dirt with a heavy thud.
Zippy's breathing caught.
I have to get out of here...
Then something moved.
A figure rushed forward from the corner of his eye.
And vanished.
His body stiffened.
Activating his 360-degree vision, he scanned the battlefield.
What was that?
There was a sudden shift in the air.
Zippy turned but Ari was already behind him.
His mandibles gleamed as they cut downward.
Zippy twisted at the last second.
The blades missed his neck.
Pain ripped across his back.
A deep gash split through his exoskeleton.
"Agh—!"
His body lurched forward.
He shot into the air immediately, wings beating hard and uneven.
One hand grabbed at his back as he forced himself steady in midair.
Why couldn't I detect him...
Don't tell me—
He's high-ranked too?
Then why? Why would they send monsters like these on a simple food expedition?!
Zippy stared at them.
Brooks.
Nyra.
Ari.
His eyes swept across the battlefield.
Bodies from his swarm covered the ground.
The remaining flies had already started retreating.
His fists tightened.
"They're all monsters…"
His voice rose.
"Retreat!"
The remaining flies obeyed immediately.
They scattered and fled from the area.
Ari remained where he stood.
His breathing stayed even.
Mandibles in hand.
He watched them disappear into the distance.
Damn…
I really thought I could've gotten a reward if I slayed their leader.