Chapter 52

It has become a bit long. Please bear with me.

The Giant Ant is a monster that mainly inhabits the wilderness, and its solo extermination rank is classified as 4.

This means that a seasoned adventurer who is accustomed to combat can hunt it sufficiently.

However, this is only when it is a single individual, and it is rare for a Giant Ant to be as strong as its extermination rank.

This is because Giant Ants form colonies.

They are social creatures, with various roles such as workers and soldiers, and they operate centered around the queen.

They are omnivorous and greedy for food, and it is not uncommon for them to attack higher-ranking monsters in coordination.

Unless it is an individual that has strayed from the nest, they do not act alone, and their rank varies depending on the size of the colony.

If they form a nest near human settlements, there is a high possibility of significant damage, and in some cases, it can lead to a national-led extermination campaign.

Therefore, the strength of the Giant Ants must be judged not by individual values but by the size of the colony.

They are dangerous monsters for which a bounty is attached just for reporting their discovery and providing proof of extermination.

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A faint flash of lightning trailed behind.

In the next instant, Tomason appeared beside the Giant Ant.

"Ha!"

The staff he swung in a reverse slash tore through the joint of the ant monster.

The surrounding monsters turned to face the rapidly moving Tomason, but by then, he had already moved behind them.

A lightning-enhancement spell, known for its high difficulty even among boost spells, which strengthens the body with lightning.

Using this spell, he subdues enemies with lightning-fast martial arts.

This is why Tomason was called "Lightning."

"Hn!"

Tomason thrust a blade of magic power into a Giant Ant as tall as a man and leaped back.

The remaining monsters started to run after Tomason.

"John!"

"Leave it to me!"

John, passing by Tomason, swung his dual swords, which glowed with a red heat, and cut down the pursuing ant monsters with a single stroke.

"You're still as fast as ever..."

"Who are you to say that, after cutting through the ant monsters like butter?"

After cutting down all the approaching Giant Ants, John, who was cracking jokes, made Tomason smile.

The surface of the Giant Ants is hard, making physical attacks less effective.

John wrapped his dual swords in heat-based magic power and cleanly burned through their tough exteriors.

After hunting down the nearby monsters, a moment of respite opened up.

However, the presence of monsters around them did not disappear, and they did not let their guard down.

"Ha...!"

Will, who had been watching from a distance, let out a sigh of admiration at their strength.

"Grandpa and Uncle John are so strong..."

"Master Will, you're still here?"

Tomason, noticing Will, looked slightly surprised.

John, who was standing next to him, had a similar expression.

The rescued people had started to evacuate, and they thought Will had also started to move, but it seemed he was still there.

Mostly, Edel and Rats were leading the evacuees while Morgan and two of Will's clones were on standby.

"There might still be people running or unable to move..."

Will seemed to have stopped, thinking there might be new people fleeing or unable to move.

Tomason had instructed those who could move to evacuate to avoid such situations, but Will had not noticed.

Will's action came from his pure kindness.

Tomason felt a bit proud of Will's actions and patted his head.

"Ugh?"

"Please don't worry, Master Will. Please return to the mansion quickly and reassure your wife."

"Is Mom worried...?"

"Yes, very... She was crying."

"Will did a bad thing..."

While leaning on Tomason's hand, Will looked dejected.

John and Morgan also smiled wryly.

"Come, Master Will, let's go back."

"Okay..."

Prompted by Morgan, Will nodded and tried to mount Clayman but stopped.

"What about you two?"

"We'll stay here for a while."

"It's dangerous!"

They were going to stay in the city where monsters were rampaging.

It was dangerous, but Will didn't know how strong the butler and gatekeeper of his house were.

Monsters are generally ranked by their strength, and the same applies to knights and adventurers.

Roughly divided into upper, middle, and lower ranks, with further rankings within each.

Tomason and John were both formidable warriors who were highly respected even among the upper ranks.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been given such titles.

"We'll be fine, so..."

Just as John was trying to convince Will and send him off, a young woman ran out from the shadow of a building on the left, out of breath.

A monster ant appeared, chasing after her.

Her clothes were tattered and bloodstained from avoiding the monster's pursuit.

The exhausted woman stumbled, and the monster's fangs approached her.

"Ah!"

"No!"

The woman let out a strained scream, and Tomason kicked off the ground almost simultaneously.

Tomason, moving at lightning speed, intercepted the monster and the woman, blocking the monster's fangs.

"Ugh..."

"Tomason!"

"Grandpa!"

John hurriedly ran to Tomason's side.

Will, trying to follow, was stopped by Morgan.

"Let me go!"

"No, Master Will!"

Morgan held Will tightly, as he would only be in the way if he went now.

"Ugh...!"

Tomason was gradually being pushed back.

Giant Ants have powerful jaws and the strength to lift objects heavier than themselves.

Tomason's lightning-enhanced body mainly provided a significant increase in speed and reflexes.

Even with his body enhanced, he was at a disadvantage in a direct power struggle.

Despite this...

"Someone, help...!"

A maid ran out from the opposite alley, holding a small girl's hand and carrying a baby in her arm.

Behind her, a Giant Ant was approaching.

Morgan quickly put Will down.

"Come, spirits of the earth! Stone projectiles,

Pierce my enemies with the bombardment of rock!"

A pointed rock formed in front of Morgan's outstretched palm and was shot at high speed.

The stone projectile hit the Giant Ant but was deflected by its tough exterior, not stopping it.

"This way! Hurry!"

Morgan raised her hand and ran, and the maid, noticing Will and the others, changed direction and ran towards them.

"Ah...!"

The little girl lost her balance.

The maid hurriedly helped her up, but the Giant Ant caught up to them.

The baby's weak cries echoed cruelly.

"Damn!"

It was too late.

Even though he knew it, Morgan drew her sword while running.

But what could he do from there?

There was no time to reach the maid.

Could he just watch as the maid and the girl were killed?

Just as Morgan, in a last-ditch effort, was about to cast another spell—

"No!"

Will shouted.

In the next instant, Will, who had started running, suddenly disappeared.

Leaving a faint flash of lightning.

"Eh!?"

Morgan, surprised by the flash of lightning that passed by her, let out a cry.

It was the same afterglow that Tomason used in his lightning-enhanced movement.

(I have to do something...!)

For Will, it was a spur-of-the-moment action.

The feeling where actions and thoughts blur.

Will had undoubtedly used a body-enhancement spell similar to Tomason's.

However, Will had one misconception.

The lightning-enhanced body movement, the movement technique derived from it, is not a spatial teleportation.

It is a legitimate martial art often referred to as a flash step or a body flick.

The combination of muscle reflexes enhanced by magic power, the ability to reach lightning speed through magic power guidance, the deployment of a barrier to withstand that speed, and the control of posture at the landing point.

Only when all these elements come together does it succeed.

Will's magic ability was high, but his physical ability was that of a three-year-old.

He was not at the level where he could use advanced movement techniques.

(Ah...!?)

As a result, Will failed the movement.

To put it simply, he couldn't stop.

He flew in the direction of his movement and, with the barrier still deployed, crashed headfirst into the ant monster.

"......!?"

With a loud thud, the ant monster was sent flying backward.

The maid and the girl escaped unharmed and reached Morgan.

"What!?"

Morgan, surprised by the impact sound, looked up at where something had flown.

Will, spinning in the air.

"Eeeeh!?"

Morgan, suddenly thrown into an incomprehensible situation, clutched her head and screamed.

Will had been launched into the air by the impact.

While Morgan was screaming, the ant monster that Will had hit got up.

Surprisingly, one of its front legs had been torn off.

It seemed a new technique had been born, but the monster was still alive.

Recognizing Morgan and the maid as prey again, it was about to attack.

On the other hand, after reaching the peak of his ascent, Will fell due to gravity.

He was well above the height of the building's roof.

If he fell and hit the ground, he would probably die.

The maid and the girl, who had escaped the predicament, and the woman who had been saved by Tomason, all looked up at Will with their mouths agape in shock.

Will's clones also looked up at Will with their mouths agape, reflecting his own shock.

"Ah! Eeeh!? No! Damn!"

Morgan, who was closest, was confused.

The Giant Ant that had gotten up was already in position to attack.

She had to rescue Will and counter the monster simultaneously.

Even with Will's intervention, the situation remained urgent.

However, one thing had improved.

They had time.

Time to get into position.

"Haahh!"

John, reaching Tomason, who was in a disadvantageous position, swung his dual swords, which glowed with a red heat.

He easily cut through the Giant Ant's tough right front leg and retreated, following the ant's movement.

"Not a chance!"

A horizontal slash cut off the remaining front leg.

Unable to support its body, the Giant Ant's head lowered.

"Seeeahh!"

Without losing momentum, John spun and brought his sword down from above.

The Giant Ant, cut from the top of its head, died without even letting out a final scream.

By then, Tomason had already started running towards Will.

"Morgan, take care of the monster!"

Noticing Tomason, Morgan regained her composure and pointed her sword at the remaining Giant Ant.

She ran, shielding the maid and the girl, to put some distance between them.

(What a loss... Earth attributes!)

While cursing in her heart, Morgan closed the distance with the Giant Ant.

Earth attribute magic is generally powerful physically.

It is a very excellent ability.

However, it is easily affected by the terrain.

In the city with paved streets or in dungeons classified as living beings, it cannot exert its full power.

In exchange, earth attribute magic is excellent in increasing strength and hardening the body in body-enhancement spells, so many people who use heavy, expensive armor and serve as front-line fighters have this attribute.

Generally, earth attribute mages are few because they are categorized as mages.

Morgan, as a party leader, took command and served as a mid-guard with relatively light equipment.

She had the ability to generate Clayman and Golems, and it was more convenient to have a nimble attacker.

As a result, Morgan did not have the equipment to maximize the earth attribute's body enhancement.

This meant she had few attack options against weaker monsters.

(There's no choice!)

Wrapping herself in an earth attribute boost, Morgan charged at the Giant Ant.

She hardened her sword with magic power and brought it down from above.

A high-pitched sound rang out as her sword bit into the root of the Giant Ant's fangs.

The Giant Ant, undeterred, increased the pressure and pushed back Morgan's sword.

"Y-You...!"

Morgan pushed back, shifting her center of gravity forward.

In the stalemate, the Giant Ant extended its fangs to bite Morgan.

(Not a chance!)

To avoid being bitten, Morgan dodged the fangs and raised her hand in front of the open mouth.

"Come, spirits of the earth! Stone projectiles,

Pierce my enemies with the bombardment of rock!"

A rock projectile, infused with all her magic power, was shot with tremendous force into the Giant Ant's mouth.

The ant monster, with a tough exterior, could not withstand the internal destruction and collapsed.

"Master Will!?"

Without a moment to breathe, Morgan turned around to see Tomason catching the falling Will.

"...? ...!?"

Will, holding his head, looked up at Tomason.

With tears in his eyes, he was trembling in shock.

His expression seemed to ask what had happened, but Tomason was relieved to see that he was not visibly injured.

"Master Will, please don't surprise me so much. Understand? Boost spells can only be used after you have trained your body. Please refrain from using them until you grow up."

Nodding, Will, still holding his head, agreed with the serious-faced Tomason.

"Do you understand? Good. Then, Master Will, please fulfill your duties."

Nodding again, Will, still in shock, remained silent.

Tomason slowly lowered Will to the ground.

After separating from Tomason, Will instructed his clones to carry the woman and the baby to safety.

"Come, Kino-sensei! Healing breath, heal your patient!"

Will chanted to heal the woman's wounds.

"Eh? Eeeh!?"

The woman, apparently not expecting Will to heal her, was left with her mouth agape.

No one commented on this, and the woman, looking at the maid next to her, saw the maid with a similar expression.

Ignoring the woman, Will went to Morgan and was carried in her arms with the little girl.

Their eyes met in her arms.

"Ah... Thank you..."

After a moment of eye contact, the girl said, and Will blinked.

Will seemed to finally regain his composure and smiled.

"Will was scared."

The girl, looking at Will, who was embarrassed and holding his head, was surprised but smiled in response.

"I was... scared too."

The children laughed together. Morgan, starting the evacuation, watched them and thought,

(No, I was definitely the most surprised. I can't let that go... )

She secretly commented.

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"Finally gone..."

After Will and the others turned the corner and were out of sight, John sighed.

"Still as chaotic as ever... the prince."

Despite the heart-stopping moments, a kind smile appeared on John's face.

"It would be easier to watch if he chose his timing and situation better."

Tomason, who had seen Will and the others off with a calm demeanor, had a distant look in his eyes.

John, who had known him for a long time, noticed that his mind was not at ease.

"So, what do we do? I didn't expect him to mimic the lightning step..."

In fact, there were few masters who could fully use the lightning-enhanced movement technique.

In the Kingdom of Filfarria, only Tomason could.

"Eventually, I will have to teach him. If Master Will wishes, I will teach him the ultimate techniques..."

"The birth of a successor to Lightning..."

However, Tomason shook his head at John's mutter.

"That won't happen... Master Will, he's going to achieve something much greater than that, I have a feeling."

While the title given to one of the few users of the technique in a major country might seem too much, John agreed with Tomason.

"Well, what about this side?"

John turned around.

Ahead, on the buildings, and from the side streets, Giant Ants appeared one by one.

Unlike before, there were larger individuals among them.

Soldier-type Giant Ants.

"Of course, we'll hunt as many as we can here. We can attract the monsters heading towards the mansion, and there's no need to bring the battlefield closer to the mansion."

Even if some monsters managed to break through and head towards the mansion, with Rats and the others sent out, the mansion had sufficient combat power.

"Understood."

With a casual response, John readied his dual swords.

Two against many.

But unlike before, there was no one they needed to protect.

There was nothing holding them back.

"Cut, cut, cut them all down!"

"We will guide these pests who dared to attack our capital city to the afterlife!"

Despite the uncoordinated large ants, a large group including several soldier types.

The battle against a high-rank extermination-scale swarm began.