Reinforcements

“Now is the time! Their movements will surely be hindered by the rain. Let us catch up and wipe them out in one fell swoop!”

“Charge! Kill those monsters!”

Ironclaw finally made up his mind. He would catch up to the migratory colony at full speed and settle this once and for all.

The beastkin army, advancing at full speed, finally caught up to the rear of the migratory colony.

Perhaps they too knew that escape was no longer possible.

The ant colony, which had been fleeing desperately just moments ago, suddenly turned around and crashed head-on into the oncoming beastkin army.

“The Queen Ant! Kill the Queen! She must be where the eggs and larvae are hidden!”

Ironclaw charged onto the battlefield himself.

As the strongest warrior bestowed with the holy spear, he should never hide in the rear to command.

Charging to the front line, Ironclaw focused his attention with all his might, searching for any trace of the Queen Ant.

Unlike before, the migratory colony, now in a defensive posture, adopted a tactic of clustering entirely together to form a massive ant ball.

Tens of thousands of ants packed together densely, resembling a giant living fortress.

Even the smallest worker ants were as large as big dogs, while the larger ones were even more robust than oxen.

The moment one was killed, new ants would immediately crawl out from above and below it, biting and piercing the beastkin warriors with their venomous stingers.

The beastkin had to pierce through this massive living wall, find the Queen Ant inside, and kill her.

Normally, with so many ants crowded together, they would surely squeeze and trip over one another. However, bound by the hive mind, the mutated ants moved without a single misstep.

“Found you!”

Right then, Ironclaw's gaze finally caught something through the gaps in the ant ball.

Countless worker ants were holding snow-white eggs and larvae in their mandibles, desperately protecting them within a hastily dug burrow.

“High Chief! We cannot break through this mad wall at all!”

But the living wall piled up layer upon layer by the ants' own bodies was not something that could be easily breached.

Charging forward recklessly would only result in being corroded by spraying venom, pierced by sharp stingers, or torn to pieces by powerful mandibles.

They even used the corpses of their fallen kin as part of the wall. Even the bravest warriors dared not charge blindly.

“...Follow me. Have you forgotten whose blessing you carry?”

Ironclaw took a deep breath and gripped his long spear once more.

Hearing that he was going to take action personally, the surrounding warriors widened their eyes.

“Blow the horns! We are making history! Who do you think is watching over us?!”

He sneered. The moment his voice fell, the resonant sound of a horn echoed across the battlefield.

Any truly brave beastkin warrior would never take a single step back upon hearing this horn.

“Charge! Now, behold His power!”

With the wolf's reins in one hand and his spear in the other, Ironclaw charged at the very front of the line, completely unleashing the true power sealed within the holy spear.

【The servants are bewildered by this intense storm of magic power】

Even the usually fearless ant colony felt a moment of bewilderment at this instant.

A terrifying magic power, centered on Ironclaw, began to sweep outward frantically.

Ironclaw became the wedge that broke through the defense. The power radiating from him not only strengthened himself, but also buffed all the warriors following closely behind him.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Shaman! Did the High Chief... cast a spell?”

“No! This is not a spell! What in the world is this?!”

The warriors charging behind him were all filled with astonishment, and even the shamans cried out, claiming this was absolutely not shaman magic.

In truth, the power Ironclaw was using at this moment came from a holy relic in which the deity Uria had sealed his own strength.

In this world of Terra, which was not even fully developed yet, this was a power that should not exist.

“Who cares what it is! As long as we win, that's all that matters!”

“Charge!”

But no matter what, this power was their most solid backing at this moment.

Finally, charging with all his might, Ironclaw gritted his teeth and fully released the power accumulated in his spear. A brilliant blue light erupted, instantly vaporizing a massive swath of the densely packed ant colony.

On the other side of the screen, Lin Miao, who was watching this scene, and Uria, who was cheering for Ironclaw, had entirely different expressions—one was filled with shock, while the other was ecstatic.

This was a magnificent and impactful scene, enough to shake the entire battlefield.

Spraying venom, sharp stingers, powerful mandibles, and sharp scythe-like legs—at this moment, they all melted, shattered, and were swept away like ice meeting fire.

“It's over!”

Ironclaw instantly broke through the living wall. With blue magic power still surging around him, he cut down the ants rushing at him along the way and reached the Queen Ant in an instant.

The Queen Ant before him had a body far larger than any other ant, and even amidst such fierce combat, her abdomen was still continuously laying eggs.

Within her helmet-like head, a pair of red compound eyes flashed with a piercing light.

“What?!”

Ironclaw had thought he could kill the Queen Ant with a single strike. But right then, the carapace-like section on the Queen's back suddenly split open with a crack, and four massive scythe-like legs lunged out, slashing down at him fiercely.

Ironclaw had never expected the Queen Ant to possess combat capabilities. In his panic, he raised his spear and barely managed to block the strike.

The Queen Ant's strength shocked Ironclaw once again.

To strengthen herself, the Queen Ant of the migratory colony had not hesitated to pour massive amounts of resources into her own body. Her physical form possessed a strength even more terrifying than that of the strongest mutated tiger hornet ant.

The four scythe-like legs slashed down continuously. Ironclaw, already somewhat fatigued, could only swing his spear frantically to defend himself in a pathetic display.

“Hmph, even if you stall me here, it is meaningless. My warriors have already broken through your defense. Victory is ours in the end!”

Although he failed to kill the Queen Ant in one blow, hearing the battle cries of his comrades behind him, Ironclaw still managed to force a smirk.

He was right.

The terrifying power Ironclaw had displayed greatly boosted the beastkin morale. They had already breached the ant colony's defensive line and were pushing them back bit by bit.

As long as he stalled a little longer, the warriors would rush over and kill the Queen Ant with him. It was a guaranteed victory.

“...Hm?”

【The reinforcement unit led by Elise has arrived, ordering the complete annihilation of the enemy forces】

But right at that moment.

Following the direction of the Queen Ant's raised head, Ironclaw looked behind her and froze in place.

【Elise is delighted; thanks to the assistance of the Great One, she is able to protect the colony】

In the sky, something massive was flying toward them at high speed.

Those were by no means scouts.

Several monsters, with bodies several times sleeker than normal ants and bearing two pairs of massive wings, were collectively lowering their altitude and diving toward the battlefield.